{"id":9948,"date":"2006-10-06T21:50:27","date_gmt":"2006-10-07T04:50:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/2006\/10\/06\/newts-are-small-and-slimy.html"},"modified":"2006-10-06T21:50:27","modified_gmt":"2006-10-07T04:50:27","slug":"newts_are_small_and_slimy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2006\/10\/06\/newts_are_small_and_slimy.html","title":{"rendered":"Newts are small and slimy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Except for the former GOP House Speaker. He’s not small …<\/p>\n

Found the Gingrich quote I was looking for<\/a> — from NPR’s Morning Edition<\/em> this morning:<\/p>\n

\n

CORLEY: Before addressing a fundraiser, Newt Gingrich quickly came to the support of Dennis Hastert. He said the speaker had taken the right steps in calling for the FBI to investigate the Mark Foley scandal. But Gingrich also suggested that Democrats, and the media, had a hand in the controversy, since Foley’s text messages to an underage page, were made public just weeks before the November election. Gingrich said he’s not sure what impact the scandal will have to retain a majority in Congress:<\/p>\n

GINGRICH: What if it does turn out that, in fact, this entire thing was rigged by liberals and Democrats, that this entire thing was done deliberately and methodically, and in fact, it is the equivalent of a large dirty trick.<\/strong><\/p>\n

CORLEY: Gingrich says if Mark Foley had not resigned, he’s certain Speaker Hastert would have worked to expel him.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Except that there’s plenty of reports about Republicans having reported this, past and present, and Hastert has already accepted “responsibility” for the whole mess. Couching the whole scandal in terms of it being an “October Surprise \/ Dirty Trick” — i.e., that it’s not true — is … well … just damned goofy.<\/p>\n

This article<\/a> — which has the above quote, and others — talks at length about this particular (and particularly reprehensible) talking point among the GOP.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \nAll indications are that the story was broken by GOP House folks. There’s no credible evidence that the Democrats (or ABC) knew about this before the story broke, and every indication that the Republican House leadership did. Trying to claim the former to take away from the latter is ludicrous.<\/li>\n
  2. \nBut even if it were so — so what. If the Dems knew that the GOP was trying to sweep this under the rug, and held onto it for an October surprise, it would be a rather reprehensible trick on their part — but it wouldn’t in the least exonerate the GOP House leadership, let alone Foley.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Rrg.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Except for the former GOP House Speaker. He’s not small … Found the Gingrich quote I was looking for — from NPR’s Morning Edition this morning: CORLEY: Before addressing a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9948","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics-law"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":25786,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2012\/01\/28\/the-best-reason-to-vote-against-newt-gingrich-to-date.html","url_meta":{"origin":9948,"position":0},"title":"The best reason to vote against Newt Gingrich to date","author":"***Dave","date":"Sat 28-Jan-12 8:54pm","format":false,"excerpt":"The company that wants to keep him ... #ddtbReshared post from +Breaking NewsHerman Cain endorses Newt Gingrich for presidentWest Palm Beach, Fla., USASat Jan 28, 9:11 p.m. EST: +POLITICO reports that +Herman Cain has endorsed +Newt Gingrich for president, calling him the right person to address the \"crisis of leadership\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":130810,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2016\/06\/07\/when-you-lose-newt-gingrich.html","url_meta":{"origin":9948,"position":1},"title":"When you lose Newt Gingrich","author":"***Dave","date":"Tue 7-Jun-16 5:07am","format":false,"excerpt":"Newt still supports Trump, but has criticized his racist comments about American-born District Judge Gonzalo Curiel, who is overseeing suits against Trump University. Newt joins Paul Ryan, Mitch McConnell, and John Kasich in \"supporters\" who think Trump's off-base in claiming that Curiel's Mexican heritage means he should recuse himself from\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":11487,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2007\/08\/16\/he_turned_me_into_a_newt.html","url_meta":{"origin":9948,"position":2},"title":"“He turned me into a Newt!”","author":"***Dave","date":"Thu 16-Aug-07 1:32pm","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cAs an American, I am sickened that the political leadership of America could continue to go on vacation and do nothing,\u201d he said. \u201cWhy are the August vacations for the...","rel":"","context":"In "Elections 2008"","block_context":{"text":"Elections 2008","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/politics-law\/elections-2008"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":24638,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2011\/12\/18\/for-a-self-labeled-historian-gingrich-has-a-doltish-view-of-american-history.html","url_meta":{"origin":9948,"position":3},"title":"For a self-labeled historian, Gingrich has a doltish view of American history","author":"***Dave","date":"Sun 18-Dec-11 10:53am","format":false,"excerpt":"The Founders made it clear that you can't rely on people in power to exercise personal restraint in that power, or that such powers would only be used in extraordinary circumstances. Yet that's what Gingrich is pushing for here -- ignoring the courts (including SCOTUS) whenever it opposes his agenda;\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":25563,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2012\/01\/18\/whod-think-i-would-be-so-torn-about-a-political-scandal.html","url_meta":{"origin":9948,"position":4},"title":"Who'd think I would be so torn about a political scandal?","author":"***Dave","date":"Wed 18-Jan-12 6:07pm","format":false,"excerpt":"On the one hand ... Drudge is an obnoxious partisan hack who craves attention that he thinks he is so deserving of. On the other hand, so is Gingrich. Hate to see one succeeding by torpedoing the other. On the other hand -- having Newt hoist (or so rumor says)\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":25764,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2012\/01\/26\/doles-revenge.html","url_meta":{"origin":9948,"position":5},"title":"Dole's Revenge","author":"***Dave","date":"Thu 26-Jan-12 6:10pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Bob Dole issues a statement (through the Romney campaign) claiming that Newt's antics during his tenure as House Speaker torpedoed his own '96 presidential aspirations. An excerpt:\"If Gingrich is the nominee it will have an adverse impact on Republican candidates running for county, state, and federal offices. Hardly anyone who\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9948","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9948"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9948\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9948"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9948"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9948"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}