Worst Ever Source Of Praise For Newt Gingrich

Last night, former V.P. Dick Chen*y spoke with CNN’s Erin Burnett about Newt Gingrich:   

. . . former Vice President Dick Cheney said he knew Gingrich well and had positive reviews of his political prowess. . .

“We hadn’t had the House since the 1940s. And initially, none of us believed it, but he was persistent. And he was tenacious. He kept it up and kept it up and kept it up. And finally by ’94, he’s the newly elected speaker of the House of Representatives with a Republican majority.”

Uh huh. . .

Aside from the fact that Dick Chen*y’s opinion on anything carries with it, shall we say, baggage, reminding the public about Newt’s speakership is not the very best choice if accolade is intended. Recall that in January 1997 (two years into Newt’s speakership) news coverage across the nation resembled this January 22nd Washington Post article:

House Reprimands, Penalizes Speaker

By John E. Yang
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 22 1997; Page A01

The House voted overwhelmingly yesterday to reprimand House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) and order him to pay an unprecedented $300,000 penalty, the first time in the House’s 208-year history it has disciplined a speaker for ethical wrongdoing.

The ethics case and its resolution leave Gingrich with little leeway for future personal controversies, House Republicans said. Exactly one month before yesterday’s vote, Gingrich admitted that he brought discredit to the House and broke its rules by failing to ensure that financing for two projects would not violate federal tax law and by giving the House ethics committee false information.

“Newt has done some things that have embarrassed House Republicans and embarrassed the House,” said Rep. Peter Hoekstra (R-Mich.). “If [the voters] see more of that, they will question our judgment.”

House Democrats are likely to continue to press other ethics charges against Gingrich and the Internal Revenue Service is looking into matters related to the case that came to an end yesterday.

The 395 to 28 vote closes a tumultuous chapter that began Sept. 7, 1994, when former representative Ben Jones (D-Ga.), then running against Gingrich, filed an ethics complaint against the then-GOP whip. The complaint took on greater significance when the Republicans took control of the House for the first time in four decades, propelling Gingrich into the speaker’s chair. [For the entire article]

I just love the laugh line: “The ethics case and its resolution leave Gingrich with little leeway for future personal controversies, House Republicans said.”  LOL out loud!

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