Now that serial liar, adulterer and cheater, Newt Gingrich, seems poised to take the Teapublican nomination for president, it seems fitting that his rise in the polls coincides with the holiday season. After all, hes the Grinch personified egomaniacal, arrogant and disparaging of everyone else. He dislikes and resents everyone who disagrees with him, which is to say most of the world. And, if elected, he promises to place a lump of coal in everyones Christmas stocking by taking away Social Security and Medicare. He also seems determined to bomb Iran and give all of Palestine to Israel. (And you doubted the Mayan 2012 prophecy!)
Yes, this model of lies, meanness and hypocrisy is now the apparent favorite of Teapublicans far and wide. Newt has taken hypocrisy to new levels, even for Teapublicans. You may remember that he led the impeachment of President Clinton for adultery while having his own affair as his wife was fighting cancer. After marrying his mistress, he later dumped her in favor of a new mistress. Yet he still has the balls to talk about values.
Swept into power in 1994 as the result of his Contract on America, he succeeded in throwing single moms off of welfare and throwing more people into prisons. He claims to have balanced the budget as Speaker of the House, giving no credit to other members of Congress (including Democrats) and President Clinton who signed the budget-balancing bills.
But Newts greatest accomplishment in the House was to be charged with 84 ethics violations for which he was fined $300,000 by a 395-28 vote. He was forced to resign from the House in disgrace – the first time in history that a Speaker was disciplined for ethical wrongdoing saying “In my name and over my signature, inaccurate, incomplete and unreliable statements were given to the committee.”
And Newt hasnt lost his knack for finding questionable ways to make money. In addition to his books and speaking engagements, the Grinch was paid $1.6 million as historian for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the very institutions he blames for wasting taxpayer money and causing our current financial mess. (Of course, he doesnt mention that one of the biggest wastes of taxpayer money was his $1.6 million consulting fee.)
But the best way to summarize Newt is by quoting his former colleagues. Former New Hampshire governor and George H.W. Bush chief of staff John Sununu called Gingrich inconsistent, erratic, untrustworthy and unprincipled. Sen. Tom Coburn, called Gingrichs leadership lacking, and reportedly told his Oklahoma constituents that Mr. Gingrich was the last person Id vote for for president of the United States. Peggy Noonan of The Wall Street Journal offers an even better description of the GOPs leading presidential candidate. She wrote that Newt is a human hand grenade who walks around with his hand on the pin, saying, Watch this!
Its bad enough when we discover an officials character flaws after theyve been elected to office. What does it say about a party if its willing to nominate someone like Gingrich despite his many known character issues? What would it say about our country if hes elected?