Newt Gingrich stumbles: is it fatal?

A couple of days ago it was Romney with the $10,000 bet, this morning it’s Newt Gingrich trying to explain why he used a liberal attack on Romney. No, not that Romney was a liberal, I mean Newt Gingrich sounded like a liberal himself. And Charles Krauthammer last night took him to task.

It all began with the back-and-forth between Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich over who has the dirtier money. Romney attacked Gingrich for taking money from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Gingrich counterattacked by asking Romney to give back the money he made bankrupting corporations at Bain capital. Of course Bain capital is a venture capital firm. Its job is to buy companies fix them up making solvent if possible and ultimately create jobs. It is a key part of our capitalist system.

On the other hand, Gingrich’s business, while private, go with government entities and taxpayer money. I’m not sure there’s anything evil about either one of them. What’s evil is the way Newt went after Romney attacking the very system that he supposed to be supporting.

Via  the right scoop, here’s Charles take on it. Enjoy my little mobsters.

 

Is there anybody out there I can get my arms around?

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Jim Vicevich

Jim is a veteran broadcaster and conservative/libertarian blogger with more than 25 years experience in TV and radio. Jim's was the long-term host of The Jim Vicevich Show on WTIC 1080 in Hartford from 2004 through 2019. Prior to radio, Jim worked as a business and financial reporter for NBC30 - the NBC owned TV station in Hartford - and as business editor at WFSB-TV in Hartford for 14 years while earning six Emmy nominations and three Telly Awards.

43 Comments

  1. Lynn on December 13, 2011 at 8:00 am

    What a great way to start my day. Here we go again, the conservative candidates give the issues for the Left to blow them up. My take is Conservatives will intellectually side with Romney and Krauthammer, with this issue.? Mitt is pure capitalism here. There is a theory that the Conservative who can show he is the MOST UNLIKE President Obama will win. However, Mitt still has the sword of Romneycare dangling over his head.? My gut tells me that it is absolutely impossible to stay above the fray and stay on civil terms until the nominee is selected.? Just as it is impossible for me, not to take potshots when I write in this blog. We are human. I am still with Newt and I hope this was just a slip and not the old Newt insider coming back.? Can’t wait for my Gingrich 2012 bumper sticker to get here.



  2. Anybody but Obama on December 13, 2011 at 8:07 am

    Seems the pundits are making a bigger deal out of it then the voters.



  3. crystal4 on December 13, 2011 at 9:36 am

    First sign of Newt going “bye-bye”? Rupub talking heads turning on him out of fear. Too bad.



  4. Dimsdale on December 13, 2011 at 11:16 am

    Too bad for the Dems that this all becomes old news, a year before the elections.? ?bama and the Dems, will just perpetuate failure, giving more and newer gifts to the Republican candidate, whoever he/she ends up being.



    • crystal4 on December 13, 2011 at 5:28 pm

      True Dimsdale…the Repub leadership is advising their “muppets” (Fox news commentators) who to get rid of …the ones who would absolutely lose.
      Too bad. First Cain (Uzbeki beli stan stan) then Newt (more baggage than QE II).



    • Dimsdale on December 13, 2011 at 7:12 pm

      Have you seen/listened to those montages of the coordinated, repeated talking points regularly done with the left wing media?? It really puts shows who the “muppets” really are….



  5. Lynn on December 13, 2011 at 3:59 pm

    Just put my “Newt 2012” on my car. I am declared, but will vote for the Better than Obama candidate



  6. jjflynn on December 13, 2011 at 5:58 pm

    ?
    The objection I have to the whole affair is that our two top candidates are harshly critizing each other for legally making money in the private sector. We don?t need to be giving the Dem?s fodder for sound bites. I believe both Newt and Mitt respect the US Constitution. I will crawl over broken glass to vote to defeat President Obama who seems to have a very different view of our Nation and heritage. ???
    ?



  7. teeoff55 on December 13, 2011 at 8:27 pm

    Really? ?Honest to Goodness Really? ?This is the best you guys can come up with?
    There are two main issues here in this discussion as I see it.
    First, ?does either one of these candidates have the temerity to debate Obama hard and fast enough to point out the failure of his policies? ?I think they could both handle the pressure. Yes, they each have their baggage. ?Romney’s is health Care and Newt’s is his infidelity and his demeanor that led to his exodus from being Speaker. ?However, neither of these two candidate’s pieces of “carry-on” baggage can compare to the “extra-fee check-in” baggage Obama brings to the table.
    Second, who, when you really search your conservative soul (or in Jim’s case, your Libertarian soul), who really defines a FISCAL CONSERVATIVE? ?Certainly not the one who takes on Democrat talking points and chastises a fellow Republican for his work in the private sector that is often immediately demoralizing but ultimately produces a long term gain in both revenues and employment.

    Romney is portraying himself as a level headed business man. ?Newt is?portraying?himself ?as an brilliant idea man who can’t control his mouth or his temper.

    Thank you, but I’ll choose the former rather than the…



  8. Anybody but Obama on December 13, 2011 at 9:01 pm


  9. JBS on December 13, 2011 at 9:04 pm

    Earth to Newt and Mitt: “Please, shut up!”
    ?
    ?bama is the problem; he is the one to attack.



  10. Anybody but Obama on December 13, 2011 at 9:10 pm


  11. ricbee on December 13, 2011 at 11:39 pm

    I could stomach the eye of the Newt but many others can’t. Let’s take Perry,the best of the mess.



  12. Lynn on December 14, 2011 at 8:00 am

    Ric, can’t you find a better word than mess? Perry’s OK with me, but how about Perry is the best of the rest….



  13. crystal4 on December 14, 2011 at 8:01 am

    “but ultimately produces a long term gain in both revenues and employment.”..Seriously, teeoff, SERIOUSLY? Do some research.
    What Mitt did was buy VERY profitable businesses with little down. (They had to be profitable or he would not get financing for them.)? He would then pile tons of debt on to these companies.
    So, after draining the companies for management fee, dividends, gets tax loopholes, etc., he drives the businesses into bankruptcy (after getting huge payoffs for himself and his partners.) . Millions lost their jobs in companies that were very viable, very profitable (before Mitt got his mitts on them).
    So tell me how these tactics which destroys jobs, businesses, families and economic growth ultimately helps the economy?
    ?
    ?
    ?



    • Anybody but Obama on December 14, 2011 at 8:23 am

      Crystal its obvious you don’t have a clue.?



    • crystal4 on December 14, 2011 at 8:40 am

      And it’s obvious that you cannot answer a question, you can only? just throw out the ad hominem attacks.



    • Dimsdale on December 14, 2011 at 8:47 am

      You don’t really want to go there, do you?? 😉
      ?
      Why would a “highly profitable company” be bought up by Bain, or allow itself to?? Maybe you should look up the history of Staples.



  14. Anybody but Obama on December 14, 2011 at 8:52 am

    Educate yourself on how companies like Bain operate and then we can have the discussion.



  15. crystal4 on December 14, 2011 at 9:02 am

    Dimsdale, you’ve never been in the business world, have you? Every company, everybody has a price and any business owner knows that you cannot sell for a good profit (or sell at all-no bank will finance)?? if you are on the downswing.
    I got a good lesson once from a relative who made a fortune by opening bars . he told me he really made more money by making them successful and then selling them than running them.



    • Dimsdale on December 14, 2011 at 10:47 am

      Ah, but I have.?? Why would Bain buy a company that would make them scads of money and tank it?? How about the examples where Bain took floudering, near bankrupt companies and brought them back to health?? The bar example has no relevance here, as Bain does not make the businesses, as you relative did, they would be the buyer.? Besides, in this economy, how do you have a failing bar?? 😉
      ?
      Address the Staples example.



    • crystal4 on December 15, 2011 at 8:00 am

      More money made from draining them via salaries and dividends and then stiffing the creditors than keeping them alive..try to follow along here, Dimsdale.



    • crystal4 on December 15, 2011 at 8:10 am

      The Buyout of America: How Private Equity Will Cause the Next Great Credit Crisis. There is an entire chapter on Mitt Romney and Bain Capital. Kosman describes in detail how Bain and Romney bought up troubled companies, slashed budgets and pensions, and then used the savings to pay huge dividends to themselves, often leaving the company for dead.



  16. Anybody but Obama on December 14, 2011 at 9:16 am

    Crystal Bain doesn’t borrow from the bank



  17. JBS on December 14, 2011 at 9:36 am

    With the leading candidates knifing each other and airing their egos at every opportunity, we may just come full circle back to Ron Paul.
    He at least seems to be keeping his message without joining in the feeding frenzy that GG and MR cannot seem to rise above.
    They, and they alone, with a lot of help from the smug, jackal-MSM will torpedo any any prospect of either one being a successful candidate. The electorate will only remember the unending gaffs, misspeaks, barbs and attacks.
    Good grief!



  18. RoBrDona on December 14, 2011 at 1:54 pm

    These folks are SUPPOSED to stumble at this point. Its political Darwinism and I love the process – it is part of what makes America.? As for Ron Paul, there are many things admirable there, but his total lack of understanding of any form of rational foreign policy is a deal breaker.? ?



  19. teeoff55 on December 14, 2011 at 5:28 pm

    crystal4…I disregarded all of your statements as soon as you said “millions lost their jobs”. ?You are the one who needs to do some research. ?The rest of your diatribe was equally ridiculous.



  20. gillie28 on December 15, 2011 at 4:07 am

    If Republicans seriously want to beat Obama, Newt would NOT be the person to win.? Romney is a decent, upright, moral person and would have a?far better chance, in my opinion. ?I’d rather have God looking down on him as the US President and be able to bless and protect this country again.



  21. gillie28 on December 15, 2011 at 4:21 am

    Mitt Romney earned a Juris Doctor and Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard Law School and Harvard Business school.? He took Bain & Company out of a severe financial crisis and made most of his wealth as ceo of Bain which was a private equity company that became one of the richest in the US…”Mr. Romney?s company, Bain Capital, sent in a team of 10 turnaround experts from Boston to ferret out waste, motivate executives and study untapped markets” (NY Times).???Would think these are great qualifications to help bring country out of an economic crisis.? Given up on Perry ever making an impact!!!!



  22. gillie28 on December 15, 2011 at 4:23 am

    p.s. appreciate that many here are “die-hard” conservatives and find Romney too “liberal.”? But, every president has to move to the center anyway once into the job.? Plus, I hate labels!



  23. gillie28 on December 15, 2011 at 6:20 am

    Good questions to ask, from National Review: “As Republican primary voters consider their choices, they should ask themselves several questions: Which candidate is most likely to make the race turn on the large questions before the country, and not his personal idiosyncrasies? Which candidate is most likely to defeat Obama? Who could, if elected, form an effective partnership with Republican leaders and governors to achieve the conservative agenda?”



    • crystal4 on December 15, 2011 at 8:49 am

      Gillie, you have no choices. Repub leadership is annointing Romney as it’s candidate.? The no. 1 issue now is “job creation”.? He’ll get creamed on this in the debates because of Bain capital..bet there are victims lining up now for the commercials (it’s how he lost against Kennedy in the senate race.)
      Please mark this down 12/15/2011- and see if I’m right next year..



    • gillie28 on December 18, 2011 at 4:30 pm

      “YOU” have no choices…I’m not a republican, neither do I hold allegiance to ANY political party.? Labels and institutions are not my thing.



  24. gillie28 on December 15, 2011 at 9:21 am

    He recovered the company and made it the #1 wealthiest in the US.? Streamling and improving the economy is the way to go, Crystal.? Sorry, worked in too many places where people wasted company time and “did their own thing” to worry about getting rid of non-productive elements if you want the country to recover (you do want that, right???).? As the Scripture says, “The labourer is worthy of his hire”? (De 25:4; 1 Tim 5:18); ” “If you don’t work, you don’t eat”??And now we’re getting reports that a bunch of lazy good-for-nothings are taking advantage of you. This must not be tolerated.” (2 Th 3:10,11)



    • crystal4 on December 15, 2011 at 9:26 am

      Not what happened..he gutted productive companies for his own gain..see above comments.



  25. gillie28 on December 15, 2011 at 10:00 am

    The first company he invested in with Bain was Staples….oooh, no hiring there.? most of the other companies he worked with were “levereaged buyouts,” ie. they were bankrupt or close to it.? If Bain hadn’t gotten involved there would have been NO employees….get that??? What do you think a for-profit company is going to do?? lose money by keeping on dead weight and letting the company leveraged get further in debt?? No, no, no.? So, everyone has a story.? So what?? Doesn’t mean their stories are true….Bain has a balance sheet and records.?



  26. gillie28 on December 15, 2011 at 10:04 am

    firm invested in or acquired many well-known companies such as Accuride, Brookstone, Domino’s Pizza, Sealy Corporation, Sports Authority, and Artisan Entertainment, as well as lesser-known companies in the industrial and medical sectors.Romney’s wary instincts were still in force at times, and he was generally data-drive and averse to risk.He wanted to drop a Bain Capital hedge fund that initially lost money, but other partners prevailed and it eventually gained billions.He also personally opted out of the Artisan Entertainment deal, not wanting to profit from a studio that produced R-rated films.[38] Within Bain Capital, Romney was viewed as a very fair manager and he received considerable loyalty from the firm’s members…..my bet is he gained more employees than were laid off as the BROKE companies became profitable again.? or is that too logical????



    • crystal4 on December 15, 2011 at 12:28 pm

      Gillie, even newt has started on the story of his gutting 4 companies and stiffing his creditors and laying off thousands..if he is the nominee, the Dems will crucify him.



    • gillie28 on December 16, 2011 at 3:30 am

      Newt, Thurs: ?I do regret taking a shot at Mitt. It was foolish on my part. … I think people who run those companies have an obligation to run the companies effectively and to do the best they can and I?ve said in the past, many times, that he?s a good manager.?



  27. Anybody but Obama on December 15, 2011 at 3:50 pm

    Gillie gets the win



  28. rickyrock on December 17, 2011 at 11:12 am

    Oh Please ………..So now Newt back pedals again ……….I could never vote for Gingrich …bs is bs polished or not.The biggest issue he has is making 1.6 million from freddie mac as a private citizen.Interesting thing is that it doesn’t fit the explanation given by Freddie Mac officials.”Former Freddie Mac officials familiar with the consulting work Gingrich was hired to perform for the company in 2006 tell a different story. They say the former House speaker was asked to build bridges to Capitol Hill Republicans and develop an argument on behalf of the company?s public-private structure that would resonate with conservatives seeking to dismantle it.”Sorry guys but newt is not telling the truth.



  29. sammy22 on December 17, 2011 at 11:25 am

    Even Ann Coulter does not want him to run.



    • Lynn on December 18, 2011 at 4:40 pm

      That’s OK with me, never listen to Ann Coulter



gingrich

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