I hear the Newties throwing around the word “true Conservative” or “Reaganesque” like a cheap tokens to buy off the gullible. A man who isn’t faithful to one he has given a sacred vow will not be faithful to one who has given him his trust. Not very “conservative” if you ask me.
With that said, we're talking about the first Speaker of the House ever to be disciplined by Congress for an ethical wrongdoing. The guy was sanctioned $300,000 on a 395–28 House vote. He had eighty-four ethics charges levied against him. The man's ethical shortcomings cost us the midterm elections in '98, after which he was pretty much ran out of town.
The man announced his intention to divorce his first wife while she was on her hospital bed because he was having an affair with another woman. Although Gingrich denies it, L. H. Carter, Gingrich's former campaign treasurer, claims that Gingrich said, "She's not young enough or pretty enough to be the wife of the President. And besides, she has cancer." He remarried just six months after finalizing his divorce, only to have another affair with another woman (almost half his age) while simultaneously going after Bill Clinton for the exact same thing.
The essence of America, everything that makes us good, prosperous, and free, lies within our moral values. Gingrich is a brilliant man who has a way with words but you cannot convince me that he actually "gets" in his heart what makes America tick -- the very way he lives his life and the character he has repeatedly shown proves that he does not get it.
Again, I'm not saying I would not vote for Gingrich. The man has done impressive things and can probably rightfully be credited with stopping Clinton from taking this country in the direction Obama has. But I caution everyone reading to approach the man with the healthy distrust due to all slick politicians and not to be swooned by the fact that he knows how to play to your heartstrings. I pray that I am wrong but Newt Gingrich has struck me as, at the end of the day, always having been in it for Newt Gingrich -- he says and does the things he says and does less because he believes in them and more because he knows it's a fruitful path to power. He did not, after all, go after Bill Clinton because he thought the guy did something wrong, like the rest of us did -- it was something he was doing himself. He did it because he figured it would bolster his own standing.
One can advocate and promote all the right things for all the wrong reasons. As conservatives we distrust the government in part precisely because it is run by politicians like Gingrich. This is what sets us apart from Democrats -- we know we can't trust our guys and we pressure them accordingly. If we start trusting them because they say what they know we want to hear, however... well, we become useful idiots just like those across the aisle.
Please list all the campaign promises Newt broke in the two decades he served in Congress. Funny, I’ve never seen any of the Newt bashers mention even one.
He who is without sin cast the first stone! If you're looking for a perfect Messiah I suggest you vote for the incumbent! If you don't have a problem with a flawed human being who understands this time in history I suggest you stop looking at personal sins (for which he has repented) and start looking at his vision for restoring America. I watched Newt balance the f'ing budget and reform welfare with a democratic President so don't tell me he's not conservative. Please point me to ANYONE who has actually accomplished anything close to this??
I wish I lived in your America where things were going so well and there were so few serious problems that I could afford to base my decision on who to elect for President on such a frivolous, inconsequential matter that has no discernible impact on a President’s job performance.