Gingrich's corruption

[tabatha]

November 18, 2011|Steve Chapman

Conservatives may be able to forgive Newt Gingrich for being an adulterer and for his flip-flops on climate change and mandatory health insurance. They are willing to put those aside because they think he's shown a fierce attachment to their cause. But the latest revelations will be harder to digest, because they suggest that his allegiance is for sale.

USA Today reports, “In a series of op-eds stretching over several years, Gingrich repeatedly advocated for various health-care related issues, including electronic health care records, ways to improve the health care sector, and medical malpractice reform without acknowledging the issues were directly connected to the members of the Center for Health Transformation, a for-profit think tank he founded in 2003.”

That news comes after reports that he got some $1.8 million from the mortgage giant Freddie Mac for "strategic advice." He now claims he told the people at Freddie Mac their business model was "insane," a claim they deny. He also said he was paid for his advice as a "historian," which would make him one of the highest-paid historians alive.

In fact, Gingrich has lied about how much he got from his well-heeled clients and what he got it for. For conservatives who distrust Washington insiders, capital corruption and dishonest politicians, it doesn't get any worse than that.

Newt is currently enjoying a boomlet in the polls. He should enjoy it while it lasts, which won't be long.

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-11-18/news/chi-gingrichs-corruption-20111118_1_newt-gingrich-center-for-health-transformation-health-care

[asjr]

1. Newt is about as good a con-man as

Bernie Madoff.