AI
Saturday, December 03, 2011 10:33:08 PM
Gingrich’s always-massive ego is out of control
Newt "I'm the greatest" Gingrich
By DONALD HILTON
December 1, 2011
Talk to Republicans and Democrats alike about former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and one word emerges.
Ego.
In a field where ego reigns supreme, Newt Gingrich’s ego is considered supersized by those surveyed by Capitol Hill Blue.
“He’s out of control,” says former Congressman and MSNBC talk show host Joe Scarborough.
In recent days, Gingrich has taken credit for ending the cold war, for engineering the “Reagan Revolution,” bragged about how he doesn’t need money because people pay $65,000 a pop just to hear him speak and compared himself with legendary world leaders like Winston Churchill.
“Give me a break,” says Scarborough. “His comments are an insult to Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and others.”
In Congress, Scarborough was part of a group of young GOP conservatives who engineered Gingrich’s ouster as Speaker of the House, saying he had abandoned the principles of the Republican Party.
Scarborough isn’t the only Republican sounding warning signs about Gingrich’s illusion of self-importance. Republican strategist Rich Galen, a longtime Gingrich confidant, warns that “sooner or later,” Gingrich’s ego will sink his Presidential bid.
This week, Gingrich said he “helped Ronald Reagan bring down Communism.”
That came as a surprise to former members of the Reagan administration.
“Newt Gingrich is a loudmouth, boorish asshole,” says one former Reagan White House staff member who asked not to be identified. “When Republicans took control of Congress in 1994, he killed the party’s chance to make a difference with his extremes. Now he wants to do the same thing to the GOP chances to defeat Barack Obama.”
Heads turned this week when Gingrich called himself “an enduring celebrity” whose fame — he claims — matches that of top tier stars.
That comment provided fodder for cable-TV satirist Stephen Colbert, who said Gingrich thinks he is a bigger star than dozens of celebrities.
“At least his head is,” Colbert said.
© 2011 Capitol Hill Blue
http://www.capitolhillblue.com/node/42460 [with comments]
===
Is ‘New Newt’ an electable commodity?
Newt Gingrich and his trophy wife Calista
By DONALD HILTON
November 30, 2011
Meet the “New Newt,” a repackaged Newt Gingrich currently grabbing the spotlight as the GOP flavor of the month in a crowded and volatile race for the presidential nomination.
Some see him as the long-sought conservative alternative to frontrunner Mitt Romney.
Others see him as just another Washington establishment hack with too much political baggage and too many ties to special interests.
“Gingrich’s past is a problem,” a longtime GOP operative tells Capitol Hill Blue. “He’s damaged goods.”
Damaged goods or not, Gingrich is surging in recent polls, rising to a strong second place in New Hampshire, leading in some Iowa surveys and touted as a contender to win in South Carolina.
But the same social conservatives that Gingrich seeks to attract have doubts about the new and improved Newt.
“This is a man who talks family values out of one side of his mouth while cheating on two previous wives,” says GOP voter Michelle Atkins of Atlanta, Georgia. “I have no use for a Republican Bill Clinton.”
While his personal life raises eyebrows, his activity since resigning as Speaker of the House causes even more concern.
Gingrich banked $1.6 million as a consultant for Freddie Mac, the federally-back mortgage giant that right-wingers want eliminated. He bragged in South Carolina Tuesday that he “didn’t need the money” because he pulls down $65,000 each for speeches.
Such extravagances don’t sit well with fiscal conservatives.
Then there is a changing religious affiliation. Born a Lutheran, he became a Southern Baptist for political expedience in his Georgia district but converted to Catholic after dumping his second wife for a younger woman — House staffer Calista Bisek.
Bisek and Gingrich were nailing each other while the then Speaker publicly chastised President Bill Clinton for his dalliance with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
Gingrich and his trophy wife have a fondness for the high life. They ran up a half-million debt with Tiffany’s and Bisek had sizable balances on her charge account with the fancy New York jeweler while still working as a staff member for the House Agriculture Committee.
“Newt may say he doesn’t need the money, but he does need to keep those high-dollar checks rolling in to pay for Calista’s charge accounts,” says a former Gingrich campaign aide.
© 2011 Capitol Hill Blue
http://www.capitolhillblue.com/node/42454
===
(linked in) http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=13863833 ( http://www.capitolhillblue.com/node/1015 ) and preceding and following
Newt "I'm the greatest" Gingrich
By DONALD HILTON
December 1, 2011
Talk to Republicans and Democrats alike about former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and one word emerges.
Ego.
In a field where ego reigns supreme, Newt Gingrich’s ego is considered supersized by those surveyed by Capitol Hill Blue.
“He’s out of control,” says former Congressman and MSNBC talk show host Joe Scarborough.
In recent days, Gingrich has taken credit for ending the cold war, for engineering the “Reagan Revolution,” bragged about how he doesn’t need money because people pay $65,000 a pop just to hear him speak and compared himself with legendary world leaders like Winston Churchill.
“Give me a break,” says Scarborough. “His comments are an insult to Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and others.”
In Congress, Scarborough was part of a group of young GOP conservatives who engineered Gingrich’s ouster as Speaker of the House, saying he had abandoned the principles of the Republican Party.
Scarborough isn’t the only Republican sounding warning signs about Gingrich’s illusion of self-importance. Republican strategist Rich Galen, a longtime Gingrich confidant, warns that “sooner or later,” Gingrich’s ego will sink his Presidential bid.
This week, Gingrich said he “helped Ronald Reagan bring down Communism.”
That came as a surprise to former members of the Reagan administration.
“Newt Gingrich is a loudmouth, boorish asshole,” says one former Reagan White House staff member who asked not to be identified. “When Republicans took control of Congress in 1994, he killed the party’s chance to make a difference with his extremes. Now he wants to do the same thing to the GOP chances to defeat Barack Obama.”
Heads turned this week when Gingrich called himself “an enduring celebrity” whose fame — he claims — matches that of top tier stars.
That comment provided fodder for cable-TV satirist Stephen Colbert, who said Gingrich thinks he is a bigger star than dozens of celebrities.
“At least his head is,” Colbert said.
© 2011 Capitol Hill Blue
http://www.capitolhillblue.com/node/42460 [with comments]
===
Is ‘New Newt’ an electable commodity?
Newt Gingrich and his trophy wife Calista
By DONALD HILTON
November 30, 2011
Meet the “New Newt,” a repackaged Newt Gingrich currently grabbing the spotlight as the GOP flavor of the month in a crowded and volatile race for the presidential nomination.
Some see him as the long-sought conservative alternative to frontrunner Mitt Romney.
Others see him as just another Washington establishment hack with too much political baggage and too many ties to special interests.
“Gingrich’s past is a problem,” a longtime GOP operative tells Capitol Hill Blue. “He’s damaged goods.”
Damaged goods or not, Gingrich is surging in recent polls, rising to a strong second place in New Hampshire, leading in some Iowa surveys and touted as a contender to win in South Carolina.
But the same social conservatives that Gingrich seeks to attract have doubts about the new and improved Newt.
“This is a man who talks family values out of one side of his mouth while cheating on two previous wives,” says GOP voter Michelle Atkins of Atlanta, Georgia. “I have no use for a Republican Bill Clinton.”
While his personal life raises eyebrows, his activity since resigning as Speaker of the House causes even more concern.
Gingrich banked $1.6 million as a consultant for Freddie Mac, the federally-back mortgage giant that right-wingers want eliminated. He bragged in South Carolina Tuesday that he “didn’t need the money” because he pulls down $65,000 each for speeches.
Such extravagances don’t sit well with fiscal conservatives.
Then there is a changing religious affiliation. Born a Lutheran, he became a Southern Baptist for political expedience in his Georgia district but converted to Catholic after dumping his second wife for a younger woman — House staffer Calista Bisek.
Bisek and Gingrich were nailing each other while the then Speaker publicly chastised President Bill Clinton for his dalliance with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
Gingrich and his trophy wife have a fondness for the high life. They ran up a half-million debt with Tiffany’s and Bisek had sizable balances on her charge account with the fancy New York jeweler while still working as a staff member for the House Agriculture Committee.
“Newt may say he doesn’t need the money, but he does need to keep those high-dollar checks rolling in to pay for Calista’s charge accounts,” says a former Gingrich campaign aide.
© 2011 Capitol Hill Blue
http://www.capitolhillblue.com/node/42454
===
(linked in) http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=13863833 ( http://www.capitolhillblue.com/node/1015 ) and preceding and following
Greensburg, KS - 5/4/07
"Eternal vigilance is the price of Liberty."
from John Philpot Curran, Speech
upon the Right of Election, 1790
F6
Join the InvestorsHub Community
Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
