Showing posts with label Newt Gingrich. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Newt Gingrich. Show all posts
Monday, June 25, 2007
Newtonian Logic Confuses Me
I get emails. There was a Google ad I saw for Ann Coulter once, and signed up to read her columns. Figuring that this would be good for blog posts occasionally when she said something incredibly stupid was a good bet.
It just wasn't Coulter of course. Conservative book club memberships, hit pieces on democrats from Robert Novak, insanely offensive repeat spam about how all muslims are evil followed. So too does an email "newsletter" from Newt Gingrich. Today's installment is about how limiting campaign contributions is bad because Michael Bloomberg might run for President as a third party candidate.
The other news this week is that New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg changed his party affiliation from Republican to Independent as the first move toward what many people think will be a run for President.
I think Bloomberg has done a terrific job as mayor, and people of New York who've twice picked him to lead their city seem to agree. He has every right to decide to run for President, and I hope he does. He will make a fantastic addition to the race.
But the possible Bloomberg candidacy highlights yet another of the anti-democratic, pro-Washington power structure aspects of the McCain-Feingold so-called campaign finance law.
Michael Bloomberg is a billionaire with plenty of money to spend on campaigning. When he ran for re-election as mayor, he reportedly spent $112 a vote. If Bloomberg enters a three-way presidential race as an Independent and spends just half of what he did per vote for his two campaigns for mayor, the amount would be enormous. In this model, if Bloomberg targeted the same number of votes as Clinton did in 1992 to win 43% of the vote and the presidency, Bloomberg would spend upwards of $1 billion dollars. That's BILLION with a B.
Billion with a B eh? Newt believes that to get away from Washington values, we need to free up Washington lobbyists so they can pour massive amounts of money to candidates who will beholden to them. Nothing says sixth district of Georgia values quite like $500,000 bundled from a trade group.
Newt thought getting blow jobs from an office worker wasn't technically sleeping with another woman so his ideas are creative all across the board. Newt is promoting his new book in Texas, CaliforniaIowa, and New Hampshire. Can you say September announcement? I think you can.
Mrs Gingrich would make a wonderful first lady. She could even help President Gingrich on policy issues. She does have government experience. She worked in Gingrich's office during his second marriage.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Newt Gingrich spoke at the Liberty University commencement. One of his big topics was religious people getting picked on alot (he knows how to target a crowd).
"This anti-religious bias must end."
"In hostility to American history, the radical secularists insist that religious belief is inherently divisive," Gingrich said, deriding what he called the "contorted logic" and "false principles" of advocates of secularism in American society.
"Basic fairness demands that religious beliefs deserve a chance to be heard," he said during his 26-minute speech. "It is wrong to single out those who believe in God for discrimination. Yet, today, it is impossible to miss the discrimination against religious believers."
Steve Benen, guesting at TPM is incredulous at these statements.
Impossible to miss? It can't be that impossible; I have no idea what on earth he's talking about. Religious beliefs don't have a chance to be heard? Since when?
I'm hard pressed to imagine what country Gingrich and the 12,000 people who applauded his worldview are living in. Out of the 535 members of Congress, 50 governors, the president, vice president, the Bush cabinet, and nine Supreme Court justices, there is exactly one person -- not one percent, just one guy -- who does not profess a faith in God. If polls are to be believed, less than 5% of the population describes themselves as non-believers.
Steve is referring to California congressman Pete Stark, who came out of the closet as an atheist recently. He is waging a one man legislative campaign against the Godly good folk. He is quite successful obviously.
I would like to use this as a springboard back into a subject near and dear to my heart. Most people are lying about their religious faith. A study just came out that revealed 60% of Americans can't name five of the ten commandments. Think on it for a moment. You believe in God, he created the Universe, the stars, the earth, life as we know it, and you can't be bothered with remembering half of a very small list of things he commanded you to do?
How is that even possible? There are people who know the batting average of every member of the 1958 Chicago Cubs, yet don't know the Ten Commandments. What is their faith exactly? That is why fundamentalists, and pseudo fundamentalists like Gingrich annoy me beyond belief. If Newt Gingrich genuinely believed in an omnipotent, omnipresent God, would he have been getting blow jobs from soon to be wife #3, still married to #2, while at the same time impeaching Bill Clinton? Would he lie about his opponents so easily?
Bearing false witness is one of the ten commandments. You can look it up. The late Jerry Falwell had no problem skipping over that problematic order from the God he allegedly believed in. The amount of sin in our country, and the lack of a half assed effort to actually know what your religion tells you goes hand in hand.
My definition of sin is different than some. I believe sin is an absence of faith. If your faith tells you that God is everywhere, including in the very room with you at all times, you would behave differently. I mean believe it in the same sense that your mother was sitting on a chair, staring at you, and giving you a look. That kind of faith. You would modulate your behaviour (well I hope so), knowing that your mother would totally dissaprove of most "fun" things you were contemplating.
Our faith in America is as cheap as our culture. It's something we clothe ourselves in, like a fashion trend, when it is convenient. If it's not, we are in a hotel room with a hooker, followed by a Sunday sermon, sobbing that we have sinned.
I am more than tired of "faith" being used as a justification by people whose very practices belie their whole argument. There are some very excellent Christian people out there who do believe from the depths of their soul, and behave like it. Personally, the ones I know I can count on both hands. I suspect that in real life, their numbers are smaller than those who profess to be atheists.
If Gingrich wants fairness to Christians in this country, perhaps he should actually become one and see how it fits him. Until then, I would encourage his wife to not allow him time alone in the office with young assistants.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Family advocate James Dobson, widely considered an important GOP rainmaker, says he will not vote for former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani under any circumstance in the upcoming presidential elections because of his positions on abortion, domestic partnerships for homosexual couples and other moral issues.
Dobson says today in an exclusive WND column, speaking strictly as a private citizen, "I cannot, and will not, vote for Rudy Giuliani in 2008."
"It is an irrevocable decision," says the founder and chairman of Focus on the Family. "If given a Hobson's – Dobson's? – choice between him and Sens. Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama, I will either cast my ballot for an also-ran – or if worse comes to worst – not vote for the first time in my adult life."
Dobson says, "My conscience and my moral convictions will allow me to do nothing else."
Dobson also said that he would not take a shower with, or "be going Dobson" with Giuliani. But, Newt Gingrich might be SpongeDob Stickypants worthy.
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Obviously, liberals are to blame for everything including Virginia Tech according to the Newtster. In the link, it is noted that Newt blamed liberalism for Columbine. What should have been mentioned was Gingrich's other history of pulling this crap.
Every time something bad happens, liberals are to blame. Take that fine young liberal woman Susan Smith who drowned her kids. According to Gingrich, it was the fault of the lefties. Then reality kicked in.
Journalists might also ask Gingrich about Smith's stepfather, Beverly Russell. Prior to the kids' disappearance, Russell was busily campaigning not for the depraved Democrats, but for Newt Gingrich and his minions. Russell was a Republican leader in South Carolina and local organizer of Pat Robertson's Christian Coalition.
During the nine days that Susan Smith had the country hunting for a nonexistent black carjacker, Russell urged nationwide prayer for the two missing kids: "All we can do is pray. This is a nightmare."
A prominent businessman and stockbroker, Russell married Smith's mom after she divorced Smith's dad (who later committed suicide). From the age of six, Russell raised Susan Smith in an upper-middle-class, church-going home. Gingrich's campaign comments notwithstanding, the home was free of counterculture and welfare-state influences.
But Susan Smith attempted suicide at age 13, and at age 15 told authorities that her stepdad had been sexually molesting her for at least a year. Her mother helped talk her out of pursuing charges against Russell. (At age 18, she attempted suicide again.)
In other words, this act is getting extremely stale. In 1994 it was Susan Smith, then in 1999 it was Columbine, now it's Virginia Tech and the serial adulterous, hypocritical windbag is given a microphone to say these things repeatedly without rebuttal. I am tired of the act. Did liberals make Newt divorce his first wife (and geometry teacher) when she had cancer? Did liberals make Newt have to be sued for child support? Did liberals make Newt cheat on his second wife in the office while he was displaying moral outrage about Bill Clinton?
We liberals must be awfully busy to cause homicides and to keep making Newt act in morally repugnant ways. I never realized we were this powerful.
Friday, April 06, 2007
There was a certain irony in the recent demise of the College Republicans at the University of Vermont. What ultimately proved to be the club's undoing was an appearance on campus by a national Republican heavyweight: Newt Gingrich.
When the club invited Gingrich to speak at Ira Allen Chapel on Oct. 6, 2005, he settled for an undisclosed honorarium that was apparently higher than the College Republicans could afford. They took out a $7,000 loan from the Student Government Association to help pay the bill, but more than a year later, when the loan still wasn't fully repaid after several ultimatums, the Student Government Association decertified them. In other words, the College Republicans were removed last month from UVM's long list of "recognized," or subsidized, student clubs.
That left the College Democrats and the International Socialist Organization as two of the more prominent political organizations for students, and it left political conservatives with virtually no formal organizational outlet on campus.
That will teach the young kids a mighty fine lesson.
Monday, April 02, 2007
Newt Gingrich has a scare article out at Human Events about how much those "liberal taxers" are planning on raising YOUR taxes. To do this, he uses funny numbers to lie to anybody stupid enough to not understand logic and math.
You Know You're Going to Pay More Under the Liberal Tax Increase When ...
... You're a family of four earning $60,000 a year: Your income-tax bill will rise 61% in 2011, from $3,030 to $4,893.
... You're an elderly couple earning $40,000 a year: Your taxes will go up by 156% in 2011, from $583 to $1,489.
... You're a woman: You could be one of the 83 million American women who could see their taxes rise by an average of $2,068.
... You're married: You could be one of the 48 million married couples who will pay an average of $2,899 more under the liberal tax increase.
... You have kids: 42 million families with children will pay an average of $2,181 more in taxes.
... You're a small-business owner: 26 million small-business owners will get a tax bill for an average of $3,960 more than before.
Which one are you?
First let me get to the easiest part. Averages are a funny thing. Let's say Bill Gates' taxes get raised $500,000,000 a year. 4,000,000 people get a tax break of $100 a year. On average, everybody's taxes went up $25. It is an outrage! Whenever a Republican throws an average tax rate figure at you, know that this is what they are doing. Average means it doesn't really affect you greatly if you are working class so we want to fool you into fighting a tax break for our corporate masters who are working against your interests. We think you are dumb enough to go along with it.
If democrats were really going to hit Joe Six Pack who has 3 kids with a tax hike of $3,500, the Republicans would scream about it from the roof tops with those specific numbers. When they start using averages, it means that taxes on the super wealthy are rising, and in order to make people unaffected by it outraged, they average Bill Gates, Paris Hilton, and Oprah in with you who aren't getting taxed, as an average so you get offended by those people messing with your paycheck. For all you know, you could be getting a tax break. Newt would never tell you that.
Secondly, projecting numbers way out into the future is typically pointless because things change. Whatever the democrats plan today, or Bush planned yesterday can be quickly countermanded by facts on the ground, or changes in leadership. Bush submits proposals that will do certain things by 2012 in his mind. Yeah, and I plan on my car that flies in 2012 too.
The woman thing really cracks me up. The only thing women are good for in Newt's mind are blowjobs and divorcing. 83 million women might see their taxes go up ON AVERAGE $2,068. Ok, now remember that Oprah, Martha Stewart, Venus Williams, and Sandra Bullock are included in this average. Newt is hoping that you can not tell the difference between throwing a bunch of numbers together and dividing them, and what somebody at the say 50th percentile of income would be paying in taxes.
Newt Gingrich thinks you all are stupid. Seriously. The numbers are nothing like he suggests. However, there is a philosophical school that is opposed to taxes on the wealthy. It can be argued on the grounds of trickle down economics. Newt isn't making that argument though. He is trying to deceive. In other words, he is an asshole.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Rudy Giuliani fucked his cousin for over a decade, then got an anullment because he didn't realize it. His father was apparently mobbed up, he dresses in drag, supports abortions, gay rights, endorses democrats, and liked the assault weapons banning bill. He cheated on his wife in public, then kicked her out to live with a gay couple. He is leading the field in the GOP primary.
John McCain screwed around on his first wife, married his second a month after the ink was dry.
Newt Gingrich... well books can be written about his moral lapses. Apparently it doesn't count as sex if it's a hummer because he didn't "sleep" with them. He led the crusade against Clinton's moral failings.
Now thrice married Fred Thompson is entering the picture. He dated liberal journalist Margaret Carlsson for a time. But, he is on tv.
What is wrong with Republicans? Seriously? It's like they are running the morally lax olympics here. Newt is expected to medal. Can we stop the meme that Republicans are the values party? These folks don't share my values. I do like Newt Gingrich's sex scenes in his novel though. They are teh hot. Perhaps the Republicans are going the way of the whigs before them. Or, they can get Tv's Gopher from the Love Boat in. He almost became Governor of Iowa. Stranger things have happened.
Friday, March 09, 2007
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Republican presidential candidate John McCain, who remarried one month after his 1980 divorce, said Friday that the personal lives of White House hopefuls shouldn't become an issue in the 2008 campaign.
"I would like to see this campaign conducted on past record and ambition for the future," McCain told reporters after a fundraising luncheon in Charlotte, N.C. "I would hope that gossip _ or, quote, 'family issues' _ would not enter into this campaign."
McCain's call to keep personal lives private came the same week that chief rival Rudy Giuliani asked for privacy as he deals with strained relationships within his family, including estrangement from his children.
The Arizona senator's remarks also came as former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, a potential candidate for the GOP nomination, admitted to having an affair at the same time he was leading the effort to impeach President Clinton for allegations of perjury connected with the president's affair with Monica Lewinsky.
Ok, let me get this straight for just a second. All the talk about Clinton's personal life was important for the campaign trail in 1992 and 1996. But, we should move beyond all that now since most of the leading GOP contenders make Clinton look like a choir boy in comparison. Clinton did not parade mistresses around the Governor's mansion in Little Rock. He used hotels damn it.
This is pretty pathetic even for the Republicans, which is setting the bar way down low. It kind of reminds me of when after the ridiculous investigations of Clinton spent tens of millions of dollars, the Republicans hawked tapes saying Clinton was a coke dealer, George (5-4 in the Supreme Court) Bush came to town and said we should have a new tone, a tone where democrats don't do to us what we did to them.
That's worked out great for the country. Fuggetaboutit. If that Cousin fucker, or that cancer divorcer, or that mistress loving, trophy wife grabbing want to run for President, they are running under Clinton rules. I hope you kept all your billing records Rudy. Newt, well fuck you Newt. Keating 5 was a real scandal McCain, let's explore that a bit shall we all.
I also call on Larry Flynt to pay as much as he can afford to any of the ex-lovers, mistresses, one night stands of these guys to appear in a women of the GOP primary hopefuls pictorial. If they all commit, the issue will be as thick as a phone book.
The Reverend Jerry Falwell said Friday that former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has "come to grips with his personal failures."
The evangelist this week invited Gingrich, a possible Republican presidential candidate in 2008, to be the commencement speaker at his Liberty University. Another potential GOP contender, Senator John McCain of Arizona, spoke last year.
Falwell recalled the challenge conservative Christians faced in 1980 "when our candidate, Ronald Reagan, had gone through a divorce. We wisely made allowance for God's forgiveness and American was the beneficiary of this historic champion."
What a load of crap. That fat pompous ass would never "forgive" a democratic politician for 1 affair, or 1 divorce. As long as the candidate wants to institute Jay-sus world, ban abortions, and play the Washington version of smear the queer, they could literally fuck a goat and Falwell would say the goat was a temptress or temptor depending on it's sex. Oh, and they have to be for tax breaks for the rich too. Jesus was big on that one.
Thursday, March 08, 2007
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, a potential Republican presidential candidate, will appear on James Dobson's Focus on the Family radio show and describe getting on his knees and seeking God's forgiveness for his moral failures, according to excerpts released Wednesday by the evangelical group.
Gingrich talked to Dobson by phone for a two-part installment to air today and Friday.
Focus on the Family spokesman Gary Schneeberger emphasized that the men do not discuss the presidential race and that Gingrich's appearance should not be read as an endorsement.
This is incredibly rich. Newt Gingrich of the divorcing his wife while she went under cancer treatments, getting hummers in the office from office staff, while married to wife #2 is now SAVED! Praise Jesus, pass the endorsements along Dr. Dobson. What a load of crap. Gingrich's problem isn't as much his shriveled penis as it is his enormous ego. Gingrich wouldn't humble himself in front of God. He would humble himself under SpongeDob though in order to get an endorsement.
Sunday, March 04, 2007
SEASIDE, Ore. (AP) - Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani's presidential bid looks like it's picking up steam in Oregon.
Giuliani easily won a straw poll Sunday taken among delegates to the Dorchester Convention, an annual gathering of influential Oregon Republicans. He picked up 60 votes from attendees, nearly twice that of his closest competitor, former Georgia Rep. Newt Gingrich, who finished with 35 votes.
Among the other marquee candidates, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who has received endorsements from Oregon GOP party chair Vance Day and former gubernatorial candidate Kevin Mannix, pulled in 23 votes. Arizona Sen. John McCain brought up the rear with 19 votes, though he has won the endorsement of Oregon's most prominent Republican, U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith.
Yes, the party of morality loves them the cross dressing Mayors from East Coast cities. The cognitive dissonance created an earthquake according to anybody who has listened to the rhetoric of the GOP since Jerry Falwell put down a chicken wing long enough to mug for a camera.
Guiliani cheats publically, has no experience, has favored abortion, limits to gun rights, lived with a gay couple, dressed in drag, married his cousin, is a Catholic. If a democrat had all those qualities, Karl Rove would die from auto-erotic complications from masturbating over those possibilities for too long. With Rudy though, the media and the GOP are acting like the populace has collective amnesia about their entire agenda of the last 25 years.
I am so glad to see that Gordon Smith, of the terrified of the voters, and now opposing the war is boldly endorsing the most outspoken GOP war hawk. There hasn't been a greater mixed message since we gave Native Americans blankets as a friendly gesture.
Is this all they got? Well, Newt "the infected Giraffe" Gingrich hasn't gotten into the race yet. Perhaps he can marry Romney's wife without going through the pesky fourth divorce. There is Republican unity for 2008. All the candidates suck individually, as a whole though, they are spectacularly crappy.
Dear old Newtie is considering a jump into the Presidential campaign. Since he and Frank Luntz designed "the Contract for America" in 1994 to rip roaring success/failure depending on your point of view, Gingrich has decided on a sequel, this time for the 21st and a half century.
Like the first contract, this one has ten items, like the 10 commandments, but with pithier language that has been poll tested for certain. God didn't focus test first though right?
Well, here are the 10 principles that Gingrich believes will keep us safe until January 1, 2100 or January 1, 2101 in case you know when centuries actually begin and end. Newt actually uses roman numerals, just like Jesus. He's a historian after all.
I.Defend America and our allies from those who would destroy us. To achieve security, we will develop the intelligence, diplomatic, information, defense, and homeland security systems and resources for success.
I agree. We need to bug Cheney's secret location so we can head him off at the pass. So far, so good.
II.Transform the Social Security system into personal savings accounts that will enable every worker to have higher retirement incomes from their own work and avoid the need for financial support from their children.
Bush had a mandate for doing that after his 2004 election. He vaguely mentioned the idea in the fall that year. His efforts so far have really pushed the ball forward. This plan should pass congress when monkeys fly out of my butt.
III.Recenter on the Creator from Whom all our liberties come. We will insist on a judiciary that understands the centrality of God in American history and reasserts the legitimacy of recognizing the Creator in public life.
To that end, the flying spaghetti monster will be honored with statues, and free bread sticks at all participating Olive Gardens.
IV.Establish patriotic education for our children and patriotic immigration for new Americans. To achieve this, we will renew our commitment to education about American citizenship based on American history and an understanding of the Founding Fathers and the core values of American civilization. We will insist that both our children and immigrants learn the key values and key facts of American history as the foundation of their growth as citizens.
It's kind of like the dream of One Worlders of black helicopters flying under the UN logo, shipping people off to re-education camps except this time there is a lot of american flags, and short shrift of things like slavery, stealing the land from the Natives. Oh, and lots of Souza music.
V.Meet the triple economic challenges of an explosion in scientific and technological knowledge, an increasingly competitive world market, and the rise of China and India by implementing:
1. A new system of civil justice to reduce the burden of lawsuits and to incentivize young people to go into professions other than the law.
2. A dramatically simplified tax code that favors savings, entrepreneurship, investment, and constant modernization of equipment and technology.
3. Math and science learning equal to any in the world and educating enough young Americans to both discover the science of the future and to compete successfully in national security and the economy with other well-educated societies.
4. Investing in the scientific revolutions that are going to transform our world—particularly in energy, space, and the environment.
5. Transforming health care into a 21st Century Intelligent Health System that improves our health while lowering costs dramatically. In the process, American health care will become our highest value export and foreign exchange earning sector.
This is kind of cheating. We are talking about India, China, tax breaks for the rich, investing in Newt's old scheme of sex in space, and tort reform probably if I read the Gingrich code in #5 correctly. Back to part 3 for a second. How are we to lead the world in math and science when Gingrich's base believes that fire is scary, and Noah rode a dinosaur a few thousand years back? Those details likely will be worked out later. Oh, and everybody I know went to law school. It's what the cool kids do. But we need more people on Wall Street to survive. Who is going to cold call my grandmother with a boilerplate stock, if the youth actually start suing these firms for stock manipulation?
VI.Let's put the cripples to work with electrical prods if we can figure out a scheme for that, and Alberto Gonzales is still the AG. "So every person has a real opportunity to pursue happiness as their Creator endowed." Newt actually is a strong supporter of doing this on an office desk, with somebody other than his wife. The girl told him the creator endowed him well too (she was lying).
Work to include every American in a system of patriotic stewardship so every person has a real opportunity to pursue happiness as their Creator endowed. Prepare for the aging of the baby boomers and their children so we can have active healthy aging with the best quality of life, the longest period of independent living, and the greatest prosperity. We will:
1. Develop a system in which those who wish to stay economically active are encouraged and incentivized to do so because active people live longer and healthier, have a greater opportunity to pursue happiness, and are less of a burden on their fellow citizens;
2. Develop a system of independent living and assisted living that increases the years in which people can be on their own and in most cases enables people to live their entire lives with freedom and dignity;
3. Develop a new model of quality long-term care in which both the care and the quality of life are compatible with a twenty-first century American expectation of progress and innovation;
4. Use the new technologies and new scientific knowledge to turn disabilities into capabilities and change government regulations and programs to help every American achieve the fullest possible ability to pursue happiness.
VII.Change the mindset of big government in Washington by replacing bureaucratic public administration with Entrepreneurial Public Management so government can operate with the speed, effectiveness, and efficiency of the information age.Yes, let's make it so. These details are so specific that anybody can follow the blueprints. Halliburton can run the Interior department. This vision is truly breathtaking... in it's stupidity.
VIII.Balance the federal budget and insist on a lean government, low tax, low interest rate economy to maximize growth in a competitive world.With Republicans still around? How is that going to happen in a world where Republicans get to play with money. Pulllease.
IX.Insist on congressional reform to make the legislative branch responsive to the needs of the 21st century.We just did that. It was called the November elections.
XEnsure an election process that is honest, accountable, accurate, and free from the threat of illegal votes or subsequent litigation.Let's reintroduce the poll tax, literacy test, and we can use a Sherman-Williams paint sampler swath to put against your skin to determine if you are white enough to vote. The cut off might be at papaya, or even gold coast if our polling improves with latinos. With everybody out of law school, you won't be allowed to sue anyways, so suck it up, or you get to go to Patriotic Camp for two more months.
If we insist on these goals and insist on electing leaders at all levels dedicated to these goals, we will be able to leave our children and grandchildren an America of safety, health, prosperity, and freedom that would make our parents and grandparents proud. We too will have done our duty to our country and our achievements as citizens will be worthy of the America we inherited.
With this bold new agenda, Newt Gingrich will burst into the lead in the GOP primary, then get caught with a hooker in his Cadillac in an alley in Nashua, New Hampshire. The media will say we should just move on, it's not important, but he will skip the rest of the campaign on the trail to have a quickie divorce, fourth mariage and honeymoon in Tahiti sandwiched in between his acceptance speech from a funky bar on the Polynesian Island.
He will gain 49% of the vote, blame his loss on the liberal media and their traitorous agenda, then return again 8 years later with another new plan.
Thursday, March 01, 2007
From wingnut central, there are reports on Newt Gingrich's comments last night in a debate with Mario Cuomo.Sure, I have mocked Newt's giraffe hunting analogies, as well as his lack of faithfulness to his wives, but another thing that is incredibly understated about Newt is that he has some really crazy ideas. He is a historian, the conservatives say. He's actually got ideas about things other than hitting Jack Abramoff up for more money. Here is historian Newt discussing the Iran situation.
He suggested that “a country that did not insist on putting its secrets on page one of the New York Times would in fact be able to have industrial sabotage” against Iran’s only oil refinery, which would render Iran dependent on imported gasoline and hasten the collapse of the current regime.
Firstly, what a dick. That being said, Gingrich apparently has no flipping clue as to why the Iranians have issues with us. In 1933, Brittish businessmen decided it would be a good idea to represent the Iranian oil companies themselves in signing a 28 year oil rights contract with the puppet government of Iran. Also in this contract was a clause that allowed them to extend the contract from it's end in 1961 to 1993 for a total of 60 years, at a fixed price. That meant, screw inflation or the price of oil, they would still only receive the same amount per barrel. Great long term planning, not so good for Iran.
In 1950, parliament member Dr. Mohammed Mossadeq lobbied to get the contracts voided. In March 1951, they were ended and two months later he was elected Prime Minister. You can probably figure out the rest. The CIA and Brittish intelligence helped engineer a coup that overthrew him in 1953 to place Mohammed Reza Pahlavi in as a puppet. He became better known as the Shah of Iran. He was very pro-western friendly of course. Not so friendly to his people, who often ended up tortured if his authority was questioned.
This was the background that most Americans didn't know in 1979 as the radicals in Iran finally overthrew him. Iran was not a radical country until his rule formented fundamentalism in a great way as a backlash against his subservience to the west.
Newt Gingrich's answer to the Iranian crisis is therefore retarded. Crippling the Iranian oil industry by destroying their refinery is not going to make the citizens of Iran jump up with joy and praise the shrewd thinking of Newt "the giraffe" Gingrich. It will actually strengthen the radical elements, and anger the moderate elements in the nation. We may be willfully ignorant of our history with Iranian oil, but Iranians aren't.
Conservative activists are talking up Newt Gingrich now as the heir apparent to Ronald Reagan. They are more correct than they could ever know.
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