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Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has a new historical novel coming out and he’s eager to use it as an excuse to clog Twitter with 140-character missives from dead men.

On Saturday, the pol-turned-think tanker will conjure black magic and resurrect General George Washington, Private Jonathan Van Dorn and Hessian commander Colonel Johann Rallhas — key figures in the historic crossing of the Delaware River and Battle of Trenton. Once they’re dusted off and fed heavy sedatives to cope with what democracy’s become, Gingrich will hand them iPhones and force them to re-enact the events.

“In To Try Men’s Souls, Bill Forstchen and I try to bring Washington and the other historical figures to life, trying to imagine what their conversations were like and what they were feeling while crossing the Delaware in extreme cold and sleet,” said Newt Gingrich. “This “twitternactment” will be a new way for people to experience history “in the moment.”

Gingrich says you can witness these historic figures make typos and needlessly hashtag trending topics by following @genwashington76, @pvtvandornNJ and @colonelrall.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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HI-OH! Make some room on your mantel, Gingrich

Remember a few months back when Newt Gingrich’s D.C.-based American Solutions for Winning the Future (really, what a fucking ridiculous name) “mistakenly” named Allison Vivas, president of the adult film company Pink Visual, its “Entrepreneur of the Year” for 2009?

Our extended kin at the Washington City Paper reported the story and, in the process, created the coolest URL in the history of the Internet. Everyone had a laugh.

The biggest bummer in the series of events was that Gingrich’s staffers realized their mistake. They then canceled a private dinner with Vivas, slamming the brakes on what surely would’ve been a deliciously awkward moment between the former House Speaker and the woman behind such legendary films as Monster Cock Junkies and Double Penetration Tryouts. In a perfect world, that dinner would’ve taken place Wednesday night.

The City Paper’s Dave McKenna exchanged emails with Vivas yesterday. He asked her how she spent what should’ve been an intimate dinner with Das Newt.

And guess what? Ole Newt’s getting an award!

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Newt's fave

OK, this item from our sister rag, the Washington City Paper, involving Georgia’s own Newt Gingrich is the weirdest thing I’ve seen all day.

Seems that Newt’s catchily named PAC, American Solutions for Winning the Future (better known to millions as ASWF), named as its “Entrepreneur of the Year” a California-based gonzo pornographer whose video titles include Anal Devastation, Interracial Booty Patrol, Double Penetration Tryouts and Monster Cock Junkies, Vol. 5.

Allison Vivas, who heads up Pink Visual, received a letter this week congratulating her on behalf of “Newt’s Business Defense and Advisory Council,” which had selected her for the honor in “recognition of the risks you take to create jobs and stimulate the economy.”

Included was a personal invitation:

“Newt would like to arrange a private dinner with you at the historic Capitol Hill Club on the evening of October 7, 2009 in Washington. You’ll dine privately with Newt at this exclusive venue and he’ll take the occasion to present you with your well deserved award and have your photo taken together.”

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Newt Gingrich has an op-ed in the the AJC today extolling the vital importance of truth in the health care debate.

Ha.

And ha.

He is the same man who went on TV Sunday and defended Sarah Palin’s crackpot bullshit about Obama’s health proposals killing old people and babies.

And let’s not forget, Newt’s also a serial adulterer who gives speeches about the importance of traditional marriage.

Newt Gingrich treats his conservative audience like they’re idiots.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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On Friday, crybabyquitter ex-Gov. Sarah Palin typed some foam-mouthed gibberish on her Facebook page about Obama creating “death panels” to kill old people and her babies.

Speaking to the Washington Post’s Ezra Klein, Sen. Johnny Isakson said Palin’s comment was “nuts.”

I just had a phone call where someone said Sarah Palin’s web site had talked about the House bill having death panels on it where people would be euthanized. How someone could take an end of life directive or a living will as that is nuts. You’re putting the authority in the individual rather than the government. I don’t know how that got so mixed up.

Hooray for sanity.

It’s a shame Isakson speaking a simple truth is newsworthy, but the fact is there aren’t many Republicans willing to go on the record calling-out Palin for her endless shitstream of vile stupidity.

Two days ago, Newt Gingrich had ample opportunity to disagree with Palin’s blatantly false smear when he appeared on ABC’s This Week With George Stuffing Envelopes, Newt Gingrich chickened out.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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On June 23, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford admitted to an affair with an Argentinian woman, following in a long line of less-than-faithful Southern politicos.

“It’s gonna hurt, and we’ll let the chips fall where they may. … The bottom line is this: I’ve been unfaithful to my wife. … I spent the last five days of my life crying in Argentina.”

— Sanford during a June 23 press conference

“There were times when I was praying and when I felt I was doing things that were wrong. But I was still doing them. … I look back on those as periods of weakness and periods that I’m … not proud of.”"

— Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich admits his infidelity in a 2007 radio interview with “Focus on the Family“

“I told my wife that I had a liaison with another woman, and I asked for her forgiveness. … You cannot beat me up more than I have already beaten up myself.”

— Former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, in a 2008 statement about his affair

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Newt Gingrich now says he regrets calling SCOTUS nominee Sonia Sotomayor a racist.

Good for Newt.

That reminds me — last week I told a friend of mine that Newt Gingrich is a disgrace to the nation.

I would like to apologize to CL’s readers for not also saying it on this blog.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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Newt hearts Twitter

Newt’s bringing his unique brand of sanctimony to the Twit-o-sphere.

Via AJCer Jim Galloway’s Political Insider blog:

Former U.S. House speaker Newt Gingrich just twittered the following to his closest 344,357 friends about five minutes ago, never mentioning U.S. Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor by name:

“White man racist nominee would be forced to withdraw. Latina woman racist should also withdraw.” …

The aide said the “tweets” are genuine, which makes Gingrich the most prominent Republican yet to take a hard line against Obama’s nominee for the high court.

Newt Gingrich, defender of “white man racists” and traditional marriages. We Georgians should be proud.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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Georgia Republican Congressional candidate Mike Evans — who knew? — has joined The World’s Greatest Catholic Newt Gingrich in calling for U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi to resign over her comments about torture. STEP DOWN, MS. SPEAKER!

Evans, who wants to succeed gubernatorial candidate Nathan Deal in Congress, said in an unexpected and rather hilarious press release:

“It’s unbelievable that a leader trusted with so much power would attack the integrity of the Intelligence community for petty political posturing. Someone this irresponsible does not deserve to serve in a role that makes her second in line to the Presidency.

The person who’s first in line, however? Badass. Evans continues:

“If the voters of north Georgia trust me to be their voice in Congress, I will not sit idly by while radical liberals endanger our country and our families to cover up their hypocrisy.”

Evans is a former State Transportation Board chairman. He resigned from that post after he and Gena Abraham, then-state Department of Transportation commissioner, disclosed they had fallen in love. They later married and now reside in Forsyth County. Prior to Evans’ service on the transportation board, he served four terms as a state representative.

(Courtesy MikeEvans.org)

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JASON PYE: No tea and no sympathy for Republicans who neglected to complain about big government when Republicans were the ones growing it.

The Washington Independent’s David Weigel interviewed local Libertarian Jason Pye about mainstream Republicans piggy-backing on the Tea Party protests.

In Pye’s estimation, the participation of people like Newt Gingrich taints the tea party’s small government message:

“Bringing in someone like Gingrich takes away from the message,” said Pye, a Libertarian Party activist and writer who lives in the suburbs outside Georgia’s capital city. “It makes the people putting together the rallies look like pawns, for lack of a better term.”

Last November, we profiled Pye on our list of Atlanta’s 11 Least Influential People. He has since made us look bad for bestowing that honor upon him by showing up on lists of influential Liberatarian bloggers and writing a column for the Examiner. How un-un-influential of him.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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NEWT GINGRICH: Loves traditional, heterosexual marriage so much, he's done it three times.

According to the Associated Press, ex-Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich told an audience at UGA’s law school yesterday that Friday’s Iowa Supreme Court decision legalizing gay marriage in that state was “outrageously wrong.” Gingrich, according to the report, told the audience he supports “traditional” marriage.

How does Gingrich define “traditional” marriage?

FOXNews (from 2007):

Gingrich, who frequently campaigned on family values issues, divorced his second wife, Marianne, in 2000 after his attorneys acknowledged Gingrich’s relationship with his current wife, Callista Bisek, a former congressional aide more than 20 years younger than he is.

His first marriage, to his former high school geometry teacher, Jackie Battley, ended in divorce in 1981. Although Gingrich has said he doesn’t remember it, Battley has said Gingrich discussed divorce terms with her while she was recuperating in the hospital from cancer surgery.

Gingrich married Marianne months after the divorce.

Will someone please tell those pesky gays to stop wrecking Gingrich’s beloved traditions? Hasn’t the guy suffered enough?

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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Newt Gingrich received the glossy treatment from the New York Times Magazine this weekend.

The former Republican House Speaker wants to become a guiding light for the once powerful political party that’s trying to find its way.

On a possible 2012 run for president:

Gingrich said he was focused on building his own movement, his party of the American people. “Now, if in that process I end up helping to shape the ideas and the language and the solutions that for a long period of time define the choices in America, then I’ve succeeded,” he said. “If in that process personal ambition leads to the presidency, that’s fine, but it’s a secondary achievement, I think.”

I said I doubted anyone could be elected president if he actually felt that way.

“I think I’m closer to Benjamin Franklin than to George Washington,” Gingrich told me. “I’m a contributor to my country and to my times. If it turns out that there’s a moment when it makes sense to run, then I’ll run. But if I end up never being able to run, then it won’t devastate me.”

Not a lot of new Newt news there, but it’s worth a read. Even if only for the mental image of Gingrich blurting out “The 1913 Girl Scouts’ Manual!” while discussing steel plants closing.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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U.S. Rep Tom Price, R-Alpharetta, has submitted an open letter to conservatives via Peach Pundit that outlines his prescription for reviving the GOP. But, before you get too excited, be warned it’s pretty standard stuff:

• 

  Rep. Tom Price

  Back to basics: The first step starts with a little bit of self-reflection and “re-learning” the core principles of conservatism. Only through understanding the past can our core principles be applied and developed into meaningful solutions to tackle the challenges facing America.

• Rebuild the party’s infrastructure and coalitions: There must be a specific focus on nurturing the grassroots, shoring up ties with existing coalitions and leading thinkers, and creating new infrastructure to meet the challenges of politicking in a new century.
• Remain unified and disciplined: Hostile Democrat majorities and liberal special interests are more energized than they have been in decades. Without unity and discipline, the differences between the two parties become blurred, and conservatives have every right to question allegiance to Republicans.

And so forth. Unfortunately for Georgia conservatives looking for guidance, Price ain’t exactly Newt Gingrich.

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— Newt Gingrich was in Macon Wednesday, and Lucid Idiocy checks in on his various pronouncements. I remember when Newt was something of a liberal, back when he was a West Georgia College professor who played weekly poker games with a group that included Col. Bruce Hampton. Newt is proof that, like cats, politicians can have nine lives.

– DriftGrift adds a new feature, his “afternoon Jay.” And it kicks off with a $150,000 shopping budget for new work clothes. I did that with my last job. Didn’t you?

— But the lovely Sara at Going Through The Motions reminds us that Alaska is not exactly a high-fashion Mecca. I remember that from Northern Exposure, which was really filmed in Washington state, but what the heck? It was still one of the greatest television series ever. And Sara also points out that looking good is much more important for female candidates than their male counterparts. Touche.

— Poor D-Cup at Politits. She has the worst feeling ever: a co-worker who professes that they could never vote for a black man decides to cancel out D-Cup’s vote for “that one.” Don’t you just hate it when that happens?

— At the Wren’s Nest, there was a similar WTF? moment when a staffer of color began to lead a tour and a white person on that tour had a question and then a comment that has to be read to be believed. Let’s at least hope the tourist was from lower Alabama.

— And, finally, lost in all the election hub-bub … it’s almost Halloween. Which for me, means my annual birthday has arrived. For everyone else, it means trying to find that ever-elusive Halloween costume. But worry not. The fine ladies at Pecanne Log have got you covered with costume ideas galore.

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GOV. SONNY PERDUE AND HOUSE SPEAKER NEWT GINGRICH: Amused to find out that they’ve suddenly become outsiders, reformers and agents of feminism.

(Photo by Joeff Davis. Galleries of Joeff’s photos from both party conventions can be found on his web site, Joeff.com)

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— As Clayton County tries to rebound from four years of chaos, B. King over at Terminal Station writes a thoughtful analysis on how Eldrin Bell borrowed from his experience in Atlanta politics to put together a successful coalition of candidates.

— After a long absence, DriftGrift offers up yet another “Morning Wooten”. Fortunately, he saved up all those lost Morning Wootens and combines them all into one.

— Over at Going Through The Motions, Sara treats us to a few of her random thoughts. Most notably, she’s not happy with John Edwards. Especially because he was cheating on his wife as she battled cancer. Sort of like a former Georgia politician of note handed his wife divorce papers while she was in the hospital being treated for cancer. Call us, John; we’ll put you in touch with Mr. Gingrich so the two of you can commiserate.

— Mingaling is getting married in a DIY ceremony, and she’s sharing with us. Today’s topic: How to make a Boutonnière for the boys.

— Most have applauded the city’s recent crackdown and people hanging out in Barbara Asher Square at Five Points. But Arc of Time has a different perspective, arguing that it gives the city character and diversity.

— And, finally, it turns out we’re not the only ones confused by this Russian invasion of Georgia. On the Georgia (that’s state, not nation) feed for Lefty Blogs, are such headlines as: “Cheney: Russian aggression must not go unanswered” and “Russia versus Georgia; the reality of Obama’s candidacy” and, our fav, “Is Georgia the last Iraq casualty?” Time to get the hell out of here, ya know?

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Emory grad, former West Georgia prof and all-around party animal Newt Gingrich, when not busy playing coy about a run for the White House, likes to write books. Usually they’re about the Civil War or have self-help titles — Winning the Future, Restoring the Dream — but now he’s got a new tome out about saving the environment.

The book, A Contract with the Earth, espouses an anti-regulation, pro-technology approach to moving toward a cleaner environment.

Bravo, Newt, thanks for caring! But Joe Romm at ClimateProgress — he no likey. (Emphasis Romm’s.)

You may be surprised that Newt calls himself an environmentalist, given that he co-authored and then worked to enact the anti-environmental Contract with America. Oh, but Newt now claims:

I don’t think that the environment was a central focus of the Contract With America. I don’t think that it was bad for the environment. I don’t know of a single thing in the Contract that was bad for the environment.

I think Salon had to pause in the interview at that point to allow Newt to douse the flames that began engulfing his trousers. In fact, the CWA was a clever, stealthy attack on the environment as detailed by NRDC in a lengthy analysis (summarized here), by the Sierra Club, and by the National Wildlife Federation, which wrote at the time: “Taken as a whole, the House plan constitutes the broadest and deepest attack ever mounted against laws that protect public health, the environment, natural resources and wildlife.”

The only thing more gut-busting than Gingrich claiming that the CWA and related legislation wasn’t bad for the environment is his newfound embrace of technology as the answer to climate/energy problems.

Recall that in the 1990s, the Gingrich Congress tried to shut down the Department of Energy, slash all clean energy research (including biofuels), stop the joint government-industry effort to develop a superefficient car, and zero out all programs aimed specifically at reducing greenhouse emissions and accelerating technology deployment (for some history, see my 1996 Atlantic Monthly article and this 1997 article).

Well put. He goes on to stab a bunch of holes in Gingrich’s “incentives” idea — rewarding companies that produce cleaner technologies with huge tax breaks — and brands him as the politician who has done the most to undermine America’s leadership in clean technology since Reagan. Worth reading.

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(Photo by Joeff Davis)

Influential talk-radio host Neal Boortz was shocked this morning — shocked, I tell you —as he blasted Barack Obama for failing to wear an American flag lapel pin in Iowa campaigning.

“Barack Obama will no longer wear a flag on his lapel because he says it is a symbol of supporting the war in Iraq,” Boortz said, in the midst of his incredulity and outrage over Obama’s near-treasonous wardrobe admission.

Never mind that Obama never actually said the lapel omission had anything to do with Iraq. Or that it’s pitiful to try to turn lapel flags into a litmus test for presidential candidates. Surely, I thought, Boortz must brandish the flag on his chest wherever he goes out in public! Then, Andisheh pointed out that Boortz (left) didn’t appear to be wearing a flag at an event CL photographer Joeff Davis shot last week. Neither did the ever-patriotic Newt Gingrich (center). Nor überpatriot Sean Hannity. Strange. Perhaps, they were wearing patriotic underwear.

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NEWT GINGRICH AT SOLUTIONS DAY IN COBB: Gingrich is beloved by social conservatives for having exclusively heterosexual extramarital affairs.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

Newt’s had a busy week.

Last Thursday, the Republican former speaker of the House threatened promised to run for president if he received $30 million in contributions during October.

His political think-tank, American Solutions, held a political gab fest called Solutions Day. It was designed to brainstorm “nonpartisan” solutions to America’s problems and featured an appearance by noted nonpartisan problem-solver Sean Hannity.

He published a book called Contract with the Earth advocating what he calls “mainstream” environmentalism (translation: other environmentalists are hysterical radicals).

And then, on Saturday, he says he changed his mind about running because he didn’t want to step down as head of American Solutions. “I’m not going to walk off and allow American Solutions to collapse at this point.”

A nation weeps.

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Newt Gingrich is back, talking about a run for the presidency again. Here’s the strange thing: Some of what he says makes sense. And when Newt Gingrich becomes the voice of reason, it’s really time to get worried about things.

The part-time Georgian who left Congress in disgrace and went after President Clinton for the Monica Lewinsky incident — even as he himself was having an affair — is back and still making noise about running for president. Gingrich tells the National Journal:

“The most tempting thought about running next year is the idea of debating Senator Clinton. That would be fun. … She is actually much more centrist than MoveOn.org. She is much tougher on military affairs than [her party's] Left. She is more rational, and I have very great respect for her as a hardworking professional. No Republican should think she is going to be easy to beat.”

He also throws a bomb at the Republican Party for not separating itself from the failed presidency of George W. Bush:

“I think [French President Nicolas] Sarkozy said it very well when he said of the Chirac administration, ‘We need a clean break.’ There is no excuse for not controlling the border. There is no excuse for New Orleans being the mess it is. I think we ought to say these things are not right. … There is nobody out there prepared to say, on the Democratic side, “If we don’t win in Iraq, here’s how big the mess is going to be,” with the exception of Joe Lieberman. There is nobody out there on the Republican side who is prepared to say, ‘You know, we are going to have to do it differently.’ I mean, ‘Stay the course’ is not a rational option.”

Will Newt run? Don’t be surprised.

Will Newt win? No. He’ll be the right’s version of Ralph Nader.

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“Young Americans should not be killed by people who should not legally be in the United States in the first place,” Mr. Gingrich told Republicans gathered in Ames, Iowa, for the Iowa Republican Party straw poll.

I agree with Newt.

Americans should be killed by other Americans.

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While I think it’s pretty accepted in political history that the Republicans’ takeover of Congress in 1994 (thanks to Bill Clinton’s missteps, Newt Gingrich’s belligerence and that catchy “Contract With America” gimmick) is a lesson in political hubris, it’s nice to revisit the good old days.

Interestingly enough, Rich Galen, Gingrich’s former communications director, offers up a nice look back in Salon at the takeover, which preceded the disastrous showdown with Clinton over Medicaid and the subsequent government shutdown in 1995. He uses this overview as a lesson for the Democrats as they try to take advantage of their regaining control of Congress after the 2006 elections. It’s informative stuff, including this little trinket…

The decision of congressional Democrats to surrender on the matter of a withdrawal date in order to get an Iraq funding bill that President Bush would actually sign is yet another example of a canon of life in Washington: The White House controls the legislative process in 2007 just as it has for more than 70 years, since FDR reversed the flow of power from one end of Pennsylvania Avenue to the other.

Galen concedes the parallels are not exact, but the point is made: If you’re going to dictate the agenda, you’d better have the power to actually do so.

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4.5 presidential candidates are coming to Atlanta this week.

Why 4.5?

Newt acts like he’s running, but he hasn’t declared.

Check them out while you can. Georgia is solidly Republican, so the likelihood of seeing them in 2008 outside the doors of a high-dollar fundraiser event is pretty low.

In strictly nonpartisan, alphabetical order:

Hillary Clinton: Sat., May 19, 7 p.m., at the home of Michael Coles ($1,000 to get in)

John Edwards: Thurs., May 17, 5:15 p.m., Georgia World Congress Center (free)

Newt Gingrich: Fri., May 18, Borders bookstore in Buckhead at 4 p.m., GOP Convention at Gwinnett Civic Center at 7 p.m.

Rudy Giuliani: Wed., May 16, noon, Emerson Student Center at Oglethorpe University (free)

Mitt Romney: Fri., May 18, 3-3:30 p.m., Gwinnett Civic Center (free, for those in the convention hall)

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A few weeks ago, one of my reporters told me that the Georgia General Assembly was going to adopt a new health insurance savings plan being pushed by a Newt Gingrich think tank. My first question to him was: Since when does Newt Gingrich have credibility?

Newt is a great example of how somebody who thinks fast on his feet and has a smooth delivery can talk his way out of anything. Even through ugly public divorces, affairs (in the plural) and now, the revelation that he was cheating on his wife in private at the same time he was leading a very public witch-hunt against President Clinton because Clinton was dumb enough to get a blow job in the Oval Office.

Is there any end to the hypocrisy?

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It’s hard to muffle the audience at the annual and generally raucous Buckhead Coalition luncheon, a close encounter of the Atlanta kind that smushes together corporate heavy hitters and media paparazzi in a West Paces Ferry eatery a size too small for the crowd.

But the newly minted chairman of the Fulton County Commission, John Eaves, managed to drop jaws and provoke palpitations at the Jan. 31 shindig. He had a little help from a slippery critter called a Newt, which is generally a small amphibian but at the lunch was clearly a forked-tongue reptile.

Continue reading “A reptilian Newt’s forked tongue” at atlanta.creativeloafing.com.

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