Newt Gingrich And Tom Reynolds: Sex, Lies And Videotape

Michael Patrick Leahy wants to know who lied to Newt Gingrich, or is Newt now lying himself to protect members of the old boy GOP network. Unfortunately, it seems to be a fair question to ask. If there is a game afoot, it wouldn't be the first time Newt Gingrich went to bat for Tom Reynolds, now a figure in the Scozzafava nomination.

Conservatives around the country are baffled not only by Gingrich's odd decision to support Scozzafava, the ACORN supported RINO in the NY 23 special election, they are also troubled by his strident repetition of the false assertion that Scozzafava was locally selected and is locally supported.

"Why did Gingrich endorse her?", they wonder.

Perhaps more ominously for his rapidly fading hopes for a 2012 Presidential bid, conservatives are beginning to question his integrity. His constant repetition of the false "she's locally selected" mantra seems as off message as Scozzafava's numerous well documented campaign missteps.

Fulton County's Dugan articulated this sentiment very clearly, when he said in an exclusive TCOT Report interview recently:

"Either Newt Gingrich is lying, or someone misled him."

Along with video at TCOT Report of Newt going on Fox to defend Scozzafava with false information, there's a video clip available via the otherwise repulsive Media Matters of Gingrich going on Fox to defend Tom Reynolds in the Mark Foley affair that led to Reynold's ouster. Given what we later learned of the Foley messages, is there a pattern of Newt betraying principle to defend Reynolds and or GOP insiders emerging here? That's another fair question, not an accusation. Finally, given the seemingly abysmal record of Reynolds during his NRCC tenure I learned of just now while reading Leahy's report, why is Reynolds playing any significant role in trying to elect Republicans? He seems to have done just the opposite during his time at the NRCC? Is this all a case of who you know and why, as opposed to doing what's right and best for both the Party and the conservative movement? If so, then it is indeed looking more and more like well past time that the GOP shaped up and started cleaning house.

Discussing the recent resignation of former Rep. Mark Foley (R-FL) with host Chris Wallace on the October 1 edition of Fox Broadcasting Co.'s Fox News Sunday, Fox News political analyst and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA) claimed that House Republicans would have "been accused of gay bashing" if they had "overly aggressively reacted" to Foley's allegedly inappropriate email communications with a 16-year-old male congressional page when House Republicans reportedly first learned of Foley's actions in late 2005. As Media Matters for America has noted, the House Republican leadership -- including House Majority Leader John Boehner (OH), National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Tom Reynolds (NY), and a senior aide to House Speaker Dennis Hastert (IL) -- has reportedly known for months about Foley's emails. Wallace then asked: "How would it have been gay bashing?" Gingrich replied: "Because it was a male-male relationship," adding that "there was no proof" that Foley was a "predatory person."

Comments

[zaugg]

I also heard somewhere that there were weighted votes by certain committee members. What happened to "one man, one vote"?

[Peg C.]

I don't speak for all conservatives, but Newt has lost all my trust. He's been more into self-promotion than conservatism-promotion for years. Go away and learn some humility, Mr. Gingrich.

[Joe]

Newt, you not only missed the bus, but the bus ran over you. It is okay though, because you never had much chance in 2012 anyway.

[montee]

Come on guys, won't you give Newt a break. Forgive and forget?

[Philip McDaniel]

Newt needs to shut up and get on with his life...retired. As for the rest of those moron in the NRCC, they should be kicked to the curb after being handed their heads by the electorate next week.

[gary gulrud]

As you are ably beginning to reveal, the core of this fruit is rotten. We're not talking, this time, about amoral avarice, but no matter. Looking at revenues with one eye and the debt curve with the other our only option is unwind governments at every level.

States are the primary beneficiary of Stimulus II which will run out at the end of 2010. This has only postponed the pain. States will no longer be able to prop up their big cities with transfers.

Therefore, we have to have an entirely different political class to effect these changes. Voting for the "lesser of two evils" or being an obedient party team member got us into this mess.

[WestWright]

Good point GaryG. The GOP/NRCC/Newt have missed the biggest paradigm shift in the electorate in at least a Century. The Citizens who pay the freight have had it with their elected employees and both of the Political Parties are oblivious of their impending doom. They ignored the 912 march on DC but they will not be able to do so soon!