Newt Gingrich Controversies

[PhuturePriest]

Today they released a few videos of Newt's ex-wife talking about him. People are taking this in a very anti-Newt way, but I see some interesting things. First: Why did they decide to release these videos after deciding that they wouldn't until after the election? Honestly, I think it's quite convenient that they happened to ignore this decision the moment Newt was polling above Romney by two percent. Also, why is anyone taking this seriously? Obviously this woman has a lot of resentment and hate towards Newt, so she's most likely making a lot of things up. As my mother pointed out, my dad almost always forgets what she wanted him to get at the store. Even though it's accidental, she could go on the news and say "He never cares about what I want and will never take care of my needs!"

I don't know, maybe I just love his policies too much. What do you guys think? I think she's just blowing things out of proportion because she can't stand that he's doing well. It was more than a decade ago, and she can't get over it. This is a sign that she has grown much hate for him and will do anything to take him down. Besides, people do change over a decades' time. People believe that it's impossible to change, but it's not. In fact, no person is the same after ten years. Over the past two years I'm almost unrecognizable to my former self, immoral self. So I'm going to take Newt's side and say that he's a changed man, that has had no proof of resorting back to these things, and has all the proof in the world that he's completely different now.

[Jesus_lol]

Until i see proof to the contrary, Newt is still the same scum he was 10 years ago.

[PhuturePriest]

[quote name='Jesus_lol' timestamp='1327006104' post='2371566']
Until i see proof to the contrary, Newt is still the same scum he was 10 years ago.
[/quote]

First, be charitable. That is not a charitable post. I disagree with Obama on almost everything, but I would never call him that.

Second, there is proof. There's proof that he's living a good, Catholic life, and that he is living faithfully to his wife. I have never seen him act contrary to this. He's been interviewed on EWTN, and is good friends with a Priest. Simply saying that there's proof he's a bad person is not sufficient. If there's proof, you need to state it. Otherwise, I don't want you to post on this thread. Either post charitably, with sufficient information, ask a question, or steer clear of this thread.

Edited January 19, 2012 by FuturePriest387

[BG45]

The reasons I'm not the biggest fan of Newt:
1) He's on his third wife, who was once his mistress, he does marry every mistress he cheats and gets caught with.
2) He shut down the government in the 90s. You know the budget threat the GOP keeps doing that keeps sending the stock market into a tailspin and cost us our AAA credit rating due to the brinksmanship between Democrats and Republicans? He didn't back down when he did it to Clinton.
3) He is a major supporter of 3 strikes laws, one of the reasons after our draconian drug policies that we're constantly overflowing the prisons. To give an example of how ludicrous these laws can be applied, in California it is a felony to steal a pomegranate. Steal 3 pomegranates, one time each, and you're in prison for life.
4) I'm pro-life, and that means to me, being more than pro-fetus. Newt is for the death penalty. In 1994 he voted against replacing it with life imprisonment (which is cheaper btw).
5) He wants to expand our prison system, or at least he did as Speaker of the House. Currently our mass incarceration is leading a number of states into bankruptcy.
6) In 1998 he wanted to increase the penalties on drugs, as of 2002, more than 50% of all federal inmates in our overcrowded prison system are already there for drug offenses.
7) He wants to downplay multiculturalism and replace it with "patriotic education".
8) His idea to win the war in Iraq in a 2007 interview involved forcing every citizen of that nation to get a biometric ID card, set up secret military tribunals to detain and try citizens in secret like Lincoln did in the Civil War. What's to keep him from wanting to do that here?
9) He's very anti-press. Referring to it at one point as part of a triumvarate, the media-academic-legal elite.
10) He says if you're not loyal to the US, you can't serve on his Cabinet. He doesn't set out anything to say how this loyalty is determined, just makes vague rhetoric about Pakistan, Communists, and Nazis.

That said, I do like a lot of his stuff in energy, foreign policy, etc.I especially like his opinion of term limits on Congress and that we need to actually build our infrastructure to be competitive.

As for his first wife being bitter...if I was lying in a hospital bed fighting cancer and my hypothetical spouse left me for another person they had been cheating on me with and brought that person to see me, I would be kind of embittered too. Of course there's debate over whether she wanted the divorce or he did, depending on who you believe.

*Points 1 and 2 are easily Googled or found on even Wikipedia. Points 3-10 all can be found under the comprehensive list for Newt's opinions on the issues at [url="http://www.ontheissues.org/Newt_Gingrich.htm"]OnTheIssues.Org.[/url]

[Papist]

[quote name='BG45' timestamp='1327009570' post='2371599']
As for his first wife being bitter...if I was lying in a hospital bed fighting cancer and my hypothetical spouse left me for another person they had been cheating on me with and brought that person to see me, I would be kind of embittered too. Of course there's debate over whether she wanted the divorce or he did, depending on who you believe.
[/quote]

Didn't exactly happen that way.[url="http://www.factcheck.org/2011/12/the-gingrich-divorce-myth/"]http://www.factcheck.org/2011/12/the-gingrich-divorce-myth/[/url]

Edited January 19, 2012 by Papist

[Jesus_lol]

which explains Newt telling his campaign treasurer "[color=#000000][font=sans-serif][size=3] "She's not young enough or pretty enough to be the wife of the President. And besides, she has cancer." about his first wife?[/size][/font][/color]

[size=3][font=sans-serif][color=#000000]oh and then when he started cheating on the 2nd wife(his previous affair) with a new woman, he offered his 2nd wife an "open marriage" and when she rightly refused, he divorced her for his current wife.[/color][/font][/size]

Edited January 19, 2012 by Jesus_lol

[Papist]

Wow.

[BG45]

[quote name='Papist' timestamp='1327013483' post='2371623']
Didn't exactly happen that way.[url="http://www.factcheck.org/2011/12/the-gingrich-divorce-myth/"]http://www.factcheck...h-divorce-myth/[/url]
[/quote]

My apologies for being wrong on a portion of one point. It's difficult to discern the truth at times when Gingrich's daughter appears to be lying about the process by stating the divorce [url="http://www.creators.com/conservative/jackie-gingrich-cushman/setting-the-record-straight.html"]was her mother's idea.[/url]

[quote]My mother and father were already in the process of getting a divorce, which she requested.
[/quote]
Unless, of course, a well known conservative speaker and activist just happened to mis-speak about something so important that she remembers so well and meant it was her mother's idea to separate, not that she requested it via a filing for divorce. Before anyone complains CNN is biased against Newt, the [url="http://www.cnn.com/2011/12/26/politics/gingrich-divorce-file/"]court documents they link to are not[/url], and they show that he is the one who initiated the divorce proceedings. His former wife however, did initiate the contempt proceedings for his failure to pay alimony as dictated in the final divorce judgment. He in turn initiated the 1994 modification to the alimony agreement where he agreed to pay her $350 more per month in exchange for her never being able to file against him again.

Edit: Had "than" typed, replaced with "that".

Edit 2: In case anyone wants a source of J_lol's cancer comment: [url="http://www.nytimes.com/1994/11/24/us/gingrich-s-life-the-complications-and-ideals.html?pagewanted=6&src=pm"]The Wall Street Journal: Gingrich's Life, the Complications and Ideals[/url] It comes down to who you believe. One of his former confidants said Newt told him that, Newt's supporters say he's just a miffed former aide over not being asked to go to DC with him.

Edited January 19, 2012 by BG45

[Ice_nine]

[quote name='FuturePriest387' timestamp='1327001825' post='2371540']
Today they released a few videos of Newt's ex-wife talking about him. People are taking this in a very anti-Newt way, but I see some interesting things. First: Why did they decide to release these videos after deciding that they wouldn't until after the election? Honestly, I think it's quite convenient that they happened to ignore this decision the moment Newt was polling above Romney by two percent. Also, why is anyone taking this seriously? [b]Obviously this woman has a lot of resentment and hate towards Newt[/b], so [b]she's most likely making a lot of things up[/b]. As my mother pointed out, my dad almost always forgets what she wanted him to get at the store. Even though it's accidental, she could go on the news and say "He never cares about what I want and will never take care of my needs!"

I don't know, maybe I just love his policies too much. What do you guys think? I[b] think she's just blowing things out of proportion because she can't stand that he's doing well[/b]. It was more than a decade ago, and [b]she can't get over it[/b]. This is a sign that she has grown much hate for him and [b]will do anything to take him down.[/b] Besides, people do change over a decades' time. People believe that it's impossible to change, but it's not. In fact, no person is the same after ten years. Over the past two years I'm almost unrecognizable to my former self, immoral self. So I'm going to take Newt's side and say that he's a changed man, that has had no proof of resorting back to these things, and has all the proof in the world that he's completely different now.
[/quote]

So you don't enjoy people making assumptions about Newt's character, but you have no qualms insinuating that his former wife is a envious, embittered woman fixated with revenge because she just can't "get over it."?

This is hypocrisy isn't it?

[Marie-Therese]

[quote name='FuturePriest387' timestamp='1327008069' post='2371582']
First, be charitable. That is not a charitable post. I disagree with Obama on almost everything, but I would never call him that.

Second, there is proof. There's proof that he's living a good, Catholic life, and that he is living faithfully to his wife. I have never seen him act contrary to this. He's been interviewed on EWTN, and is good friends with a Priest. Simply saying that there's proof he's a bad person is not sufficient. If there's proof, you need to state it. Otherwise, I don't want you to post on this thread. Either post charitably, with sufficient information, ask a question, or steer clear of this thread.
[/quote]

Charity also includes not demanding that a person refrain from posting because you don't like their tone or opinion. If you think someone is less than charitable, that's fine, feel free to opine. However, no one here gets to decide who posts where because you don't like what they say. Charity is a two way street.

[quote name='Ice_nine' timestamp='1327018337' post='2371681']
So you don't enjoy people making assumptions about Newt's character, but you have no qualms insinuating that his former wife is a envious, embittered woman fixated with revenge because she just can't "get over it."?

This is hypocrisy isn't it?
[/quote]

The answer to that is yes.

If anyone needs a reason to disqualify Newt as a serious candidate for the highest individual office in the country, the fact that he is the only Speaker of the House ever to be punished for ethics violations should be sufficient. The character issues notwithstanding, the fact that someone has a documented past involving questionable ethics in office should be enough to stop a candidacy. However, as plenty of American political history demonstrates (I'm looking at you, people who voted for Marion Berry), nothing forces voters to exhibit anything remotely resembling discernment, or the sense God gave a goat. If consorting with hookers whilst smoking crack can get you re-elected to the mayorate of Washington DC, then why should a documented history of ethics problems be a problem for a president?

[4588686]

[quote name='FuturePriest387' timestamp='1327001825' post='2371540'] So I'm going to take Newt's side and say that he's a changed man, that has had no proof of resorting back to these things, and has all the proof in the world that he's completely different now. [/quote]


He's the same self-important arse he was three decades ago. How do you know that? Listen to him speak. I think it's disgusting that you just attribute this woman's pain and accusations, which are the same his other ex-wife made, to false accusations simply because you like his politics. I think Newt Gingrich is an interesting guy and I like him politically fine, but if you really think that he's significantly different man now then he was then then you're just naive. Newt Gingrich believes that Newt Gingrich can do whatever he wants because Newt Gingrich is a world-historic figure to whom the 'rules' don't apply.

[4588686]

It's like during the 9-11 Mosque controversy. When he said that the ability of Muslims to build Mosques should be contingent on the ability of Christians to build Mosques in Saudi Arabia. He's a smart enough man to know why that's a stupid thing to say. But he was fine saying something he knew was utter the essence of cow just so he could through out some red meat. I think he's a man with interesting thoughts, at times. But I've never seen any evidence that he has even an ounce of personal integrity.

[BG45]

I swear my thoughts just turned to Pokemon. "A wild mod appeared, Mod teleported the thread to Debate Table". Not at anyone in particular, I'm kinda surprised it wasn't punted after my ten item list.

[4588686]

[quote name='BG45' timestamp='1327009570' post='2371599']


As for his first wife being bitter...if I was lying in a hospital bed fighting cancer and my hypothetical spouse left me for another person they had been cheating on me with and brought that person to see me, I would be kind of embittered too. Of course there's debate over whether she wanted the divorce or he did, depending on who you believe.

[/quote]

No no, silly. That's his first wife who had cancer. His second wife he left shortly after she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Very different. Because had she had cancer then it really would have been in bad taste to leave a second time.

[ardillacid]

[quote name='Jesus_lol' timestamp='1327006104' post='2371566']
Until i see proof to the contrary, Newt is still the same scum he was 10 years ago.
[/quote]how does one go about proving that negative? I see you already dismiss his conversion...