Face Of Hypocrisy

That's right folks...Newt Gingrich. Of course I could have put up anyone of a number of the NeoCon movement but today Mr. Gingrich will be the featured attraction.

As I write this article let us not lose sight of the fact Mr. Newt Gingrich is in the market to run as the 2008 Presidential Republican nominee and is desperate for people to forget what a corrupt creep...oops, politician he really is.

Now on to the hypocrisy of Newt Gingrich...

As David Sirota reminds us, while Newt is making mewling sounds of protestation in regards the corruption in Washington let us not forget he helped Jack Abramoff reach the pinnacle of where he now stands. He was bosom buddies [no offense to bosoms] with Abramoff as much as was Tommy DeLay.

With the help of David Sirota's fine research skills let us take, as Sirota says, a trip down memory lane...

GINGRICH STARTED THE K STREET PROJECT: "Starting in the mid-1990s, some Republicans, including then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) and DeLay, have advocated tracking the political affiliation of lobbyists, as part of an effort to place more conservatives on K Street." [Source: Washington Post, 8/2/02]

GINGRICH RAKED IN CASH FROM THE K STREET PROJECT'S SHAKEDOWN OPERATION: "Their strategy, which Norquist dubbed the 'K Street Project,' was designed to transform Washington's business PACs and lobbies -- and the businesses they represented -- into loyal soldiers in the new Republican revolution. In exchange for legislative favors, Gingrich, DeLay, and other congressional leaders expected that the businesses would provide the funds to keep them in office. Meanwhile, Norquist's group, the Christian Coalition, and other Wednesday groups would be rewarded with generous 'educational' contracts from the Republican campaign committees. In 1996, Norquist's Americans for Tax Reform received a $ 4.6 million windfall from soft money contributions to the Republican National Committee. This new strategy worked admirably during Gingrich's first six months as speaker. While the Republican leadership introduced a spate of controversial bills gutting regulatory agencies, business contributions more than doubled from what they had been during a comparable period in 1993." [Source: American Prospect, 3/13/00]

GINGRICH OVERTLY USES LEGISLATIVE FAVORS TO GET LOBBYIST CONTRIBUTIONS: "The most famous and ominous warning came in 1998 from then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) and then-Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-Tex.). The two leaders held up a vote on intellectual property legislation in protest of the Electronics Industry Association's plan to hire a Democrat to run the group." [Source: Washington Post, 6/26/03]

And not to be forgotten...

ABRAMOFF KNOWN TO BE CLOSEST TO GINGRICH: "Few lobbyists in Washington are closer to House power brokers Newt Gingrich and Tom DeLay than Abramoff." [Source: Washingtonian, 12/98]

ABRAMOFF REGULARLY TOUTED HIS PROXIMITY TO GINGRICH & USED IT TO WIELD POWER: "In these capacities and through his work on political campaigns and grassroots efforts with organizations such as the Republican National Committee, the Christian Coalition, and the National Jewish Coalition, Abramoff developed and maintains strong ties to Speaker Newt Gingrich, Majority Leader Dick Armey, Majority Whip Tom Delay and Republican Policy Committee Chairman Chris Cox and their staffs." [Source: Preston, Gates & Ellis Press Release, 12/30/94]

ABRAMOFF & GINGRICH WORKED CLOSELY ON THE K STREET PROJECT: "Jack Abramoff, a lobbyist here who is close to Mr. Gingrich, said House Republicans were watching very closely to see whether lobbyists were making more than a token effort to help Republicans stay in power." [Source: New York Times, 3/20/95]

K STREET SAW ABRAMOFF AS THEIR BRIDGE TO GINGRICH: "The GOP victories in 1994 transformed [Abramoff] into a valuable asset as law firms recruited activists with connections to the new Gingrich team." [Source: National Journal, 7/29/95]

Now kids for the really juicey part of Newt Gingrich's hypocrisy...

All the while Newt was calling for the impeachment of a President [On July 15, the party sent letters to House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Minority Leader Richard Gephardt, formally requesting that the "United States House begin Articles of Impeachment" against Clinton and Gore.] for lying about a consensual sexual relationship with one of his aids, he (Newt) himself was doing the exact same thing and one of the reasons he stepped down as Speaker of the House.

So when you hear Newt Gingrich bemoaning the recent corruption in Washington, please remember where and with whom it all started.

Thank you.

Impeach