Newt Gingrich talks his way into trouble
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Former disgraced Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich is back in the saddle after falling off his horse at the starting line. At least according to one poll (Public Policy Polling), Gingrich is actually the GOP front-runner. But this sudden surge in his popularity may not last. He was caught lying about his involvement with mortgage giant, FREDDIE MAC.
Mr. Gingrich has been relentless in his criticism against FANNIE and FREDDIE–in public. But secretly he was a lobbyist for FREDDIE MAC.
According to Bloomberg News: “Newt Gingrich made between $1.6 million and $1.8 million in consulting fees from two contracts with mortgage company Freddie Mac, according to two people familiar with the arrangement.
The total amount is much larger than the $300,000 payment from Freddie Mac that Gingrich was asked about during a Republican presidential debate on Nov. 9 sponsored byCNBC, and more than was disclosed in the middle of congressional investigations into the housing industry collapse.
Gingrich’s business relationship with Freddie Mac spanned eight years. When asked at the debate what he did to earn a $300,000 payment in 2006, the former speaker said he “offered them advice on precisely what they didn’t do,” and warned the company that its lending practices were “insane.” But former Freddie Mac executives who worked with Gingrich dispute that account.”
Related articles
- Gingrich History of Failing to Disclose Conflicts of Interest (maboulette.wordpress.com)
Rick Perry’s embarrassing political debate blunder
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The big political story of the week was a political blunder in the CNBC debate last Wednesday night by GOP nominee hopeful, and Governor of Texas, Rick Perry. He could not remember one of the three federal agencies he would like to eliminate, if he is elected president.
“Turning to Texas Rep. Ron Paul to boast, Perry said: “I’ll tell you: it’s three agencies of government, when I get there, that are gone: Commerce, education and, the –uh — what’s the third one there? … Commerce, education and the uh, the uh…” before being interrupted by a question. ”The third agency of government I would do away with — education, the, uh, commerce, and let’s see — I can’t. The third one, I can’t. Sorry. Oops”
About 15 minutes later in the debate, Perry said he meant to say that the Department of Energy is the third agency he wanted to eliminate.
It was an embarrassing and excruciating moment for Perry, whose poor debate performances have defined his campaign. His poll numbers have declined steadily since his first debate. Critics have noted that his stamina in the two-hour-long debates seems to wane.
PERRY: I will tell you, it is three agencies of government when I get there that are gone. Commerce, Education, and the — What’s the third one there? Let’s see.
(LAUGHTER)
PAUL: Five.
PERRY: Five. Okay. Commerce, Education, and the –
[UNKNOWN]: EPA?
PERRY: EPA. There you go.
Q: Seriously — is EPA one you are talking about?
PERRY: No, sir, no, sir. We are talking about the — agencies of government — EPA needs to be rebuilt.
Q: You can’t — you can’t name the third one?
PERRY: The third agency of government I would — I would do away with Education, the –
Q: Commerce.
PERRY: Commerce and, let’s see. I can’t. The third one, I can’t. Sorry. Oops.
According to Peter Hamby of CNN, Perry showed up at the spin room after the debate and told reporters, “I’m sure glad I had my boots on because I sure stepped in it out there.”
Flip-Flopper Romney Can’t Close Sale On Conservatives
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It is no secret that Republicans in the country cannot wait to see Obama go, but they are doubtful that Mitt Romney is the guy to make that happen. Over the past decade Mitt has branded himself as a who continually changes his views (flip-flopper) and that, among his many other faults does not sit well with conservatives.
The presumed GOP nominee/presidential candidate is polling behind freshman, Mr. 999, Herman Cain. This of course, is shocking, and seems unreal by many, including the Romney camp. But if I were Mitt Romney, I would be worried because the evidence indicates that–even if he were to win the nomination he may have trouble energizing the all-important Tea Party/independent vote that will play a substantial role in the 2012 Presidential race.
Romney’s problem is best described as his inability to attract and convince real conservatives that he is a worthy candidate for them to galvanize their support behind. He should do well among Northeast conservatives. However, as far as most conservatives around the country are concerned, Mitt Romney is no different that Obama. Hence is difficulty in winning them over.
Make no mistake, the central reason for Mitt Romney’s problems among conservatives is: They accurately perceive that he is not one of them, and having properly recognized this, they become justifiably annoyed at his insistence that he is conservative. While he’s not about to join McCain in calling the Tea Party ‘Hobbits,’ the truth is that there’s no love in the Romney camp for either the Tea Party segment, or the staunchly conservative base of the party. Part of this grows from the fact that he won’t sign on to various Tea Party pledges, but his more enduring problem is that he simply isn’t a conservative and he has too. too many opinions on too many important issues affecting voters.
Crazy battle between Perry and Romney For GOP Nominee
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Wounded and offended, was how the recently concluded Republican, CNN Tea party debate left Governor Rick Perry of Texas, who had to defend a series of attacks mounted by Michele Bachmann and Mitt Romney.
In the debate Bachman pins the Texas governor’s ties to a pharmaceutical giant as the reason for his controversial decision to require the HPV vaccine for Texas schoolgirls. And asserted that; “The drug company gave thousands of dollars in political donations to the governor, and this is just flat-out wrong.”
In response, Perry said Merck, the company in question, had given him a $5,000 contribution. “And if you’re saying that I can be bought for $5,000, I’m offended.”
Mitt Romney, on the other hand, knocked the governor for calling Social Security a ponzi scheme. He also hinted that the governor was dealt four aces in the state of Texas because Texas has no state income tax, low regulation, and is a right to work state, that has oil in the ground.
Perry hits back at Romney
Speaking at Thursday’s fundraiser for Iowa’s Greene County Republican Party, Perry who was desperate to recoup chips he lost in the debate, used the poker analogy to get back at Romney.
“As a son of tenant farmers, I can tell you: I wasn’t born with four aces in my hand.”
He went on to say:
“There’ve been some people who’ve said, ‘Well gosh yeah, you know, Texas, y’all got all that oil and gas and you’ve got this and you’ve got that and what have you,’” Perry said.
Then, reminding the crowd of Romney’s “four aces” remarks, the governor said: “There’s some folks back in Texas who were a little offended by that. We worked hard in Texas. We put good, hard, practical principles into play.”
He did not stop there.
While he reiterated his repeated bashing of President Obama’s health care law, Perry again tied it to the health care law passed during Romney’s term as governor.
“One of my opponents in the Republican primary, while he was the governor of Massachusetts – their job creation in that state was 47th in the nation, while he was sitting as the governor of the state,” Perry said. “Government mandated, government-run health care. It’s part of what he put in place as the governor of Massachusetts.”
“The job creation in Massachusetts, and that legacy of health care in Massachusetts, even makes it worse today. There was a Beacon Hill Institute study that came out and shows that Gov. Romney’s misguided health mandates slowed the income growth and cost Massachusetts 18,000 jobs. If it cost Massachusetts 18,000 jobs, think about what ‘Obamacare’ is going to do to this country. ‘Romneycare’ has driven private insurance costs up by $4.3 billion in Massachusetts.”
Because “Romneycare” increased Massachusetts private insurance costs, Perry said, “It’s cost taxpayers in Iowa, and across this country, nearly $4 billion in Medicaid and Medicare costs. This isn’t just about the state of Massachusetts and the cost to them directly. It’s also costing you.”
Ryan Williams, a spokesman for Romney’s campaign, responded in a statement.
“Gov. Perry was clearly rattled by his poor debate performance in Tampa,” Williams said.
“As a result, he is trying desperately to distract people from the very serious questions that were raised about his record in favor of higher taxes, his support of tuition breaks for illegal immigrants, his attacks on Social Security as an unconstitutional program and his controversial executive order forcing young girls to receive the HPV vaccine.”
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