E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSS
Richard Shiro / AP
Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich speaks at Tommy's Ham House in Greenville , S.C., on Wednesday.
COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Newt Gingrich pushed back on a New York Times article published Wednesday that explored how he avoided the legal definition of “lobbyist” while still providing many of the services that registered lobbyists do.
In an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, taped Wednesday morning, Gingrich said that talking up issues important to his clients with former colleagues represented nothing more than his sharing personal opinions as a private citizen.
“If Newt Gingrich believes that and happens to also be working with companies who care about that, and I walk in to see friends of mine and talk about the issue, they’re responding to what Newt Gingrich believes,” he said.
He also addressed a specific instance in 2005, mentioned in the Times article, in which he held a press conference with Rep. Patrick Kennedy and Sen. Hillary Clinton to push for passage of a bill to increase the use of electronic health records.
Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich is attracting large crowds in South Carolina. He has traveled across the state appearing at a number of town-hall style meetings. NBC's Ali Weinberg reports.
While Gingrich said in 2005 after the press briefing, “We’re launching a bill,” he said on Wednesday that he was not advocating for specific legislation but simply using the shock value of appearing with two New York Democrats to bring attention to a shared priority.
“We sent a signal we ought to have health information technology you could never have done if you were alone,” he said. “And so they want to say, well, isn’t that lobbying? No. That’s called being a citizen. As a citizen, I’m allowed to have an opinion. As a relatively famous citizen, I can broadcast my opinion in lots of places.”
In part of the interview that was cut from the broadcast version, Gingrich also stood by his comments about not having to lobby because he was already wealthy, although he said the statement “may have sounded a little bit too self-serving.”
“I made pretty good money out of speeches. I didn’t have to lobby. I had 13 New York Times bestsellers out of my 24 books, I was doing speeches, I had lots of things going on,” he said.
NBC watched part of the hour-long interview as it was taped at Tommy's Ham House in Greenville just after Gingrich gave a town hall there.
GOP hopefuls Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich have begun to engage each other with gentle jabs, suggesting they now see the nomination as a two-man race. Meanwhile, Herman Cain tried to rally enough support to stay in the race. NBC's Lisa Myers has more.
Leave a Comment:
Uh Huh!
And I am Queen Elizabeth - it's a magical thing - because EVERY ONE of my friends, familiy, co-workers & neighbors have a HALF OF MILLION DOLLAR line of credit with Tiffany's...
Not to mention, a frigid wife - who swaps BJ's for diamonds...
This swine in a Ham House. Fitting to say the least!
Come on Newt, your hubris is fabulous!! He is a self described" famous citizen", who is "already wealthy".
Hope he gets the nomination.... The GOP is resurrecting their dead to run against Obama.
The DNC couldn't have it any better to run against POOT
FEISTY: Now that's harsh, even by your standards. Funny & true, but harsh:)
He is a citizen in the mold of grover norquist, and has all of the same goals and interests, and is looking out for number one!
Oh, so it's to tell the truth night in lieu of another debate -
Okay.
Other than that, I'm a Christian. Really I am.
Just like Newt.
All you guys gotta go back to the last page and read B-B-B-Brian's 2.12 post this guy is ready to be commited
On second thought, I'll take that FEMA money if my neighborhood gets destroyed. But ONLY if it hits me personally.
Same with stimulus money. I'll take it if it helps me. (But don't tell anybody).
All you guys gotta go back to the last page and read B-B-B-Brian's 2.12 post this guy is ready to be commited
A FOX lay in his path and he tripped over it. He's down for the count.
I did not lobby, I did not need to lobby, because I made a lot of money lobbying, OK Newt you outsmarted everybody again, and if we quote you we are lying, right genius. Whatever you say bucket head.
Newt is co cliche. He apparently got all the blowjobs he could get from his staffers. He then was ridiculously hypocritical regarding Clinton. And he loves to pay off his women with diamonds. Ertha Kitt's alter ego would just purr over this little fatty, who is so eager to please his bad mamas and loves Tiffany's. I could just see Newt taking every opportunity "to teach" for million dollar payments to buy her jewelry and her singing, "You are my baby." She could have sung his divorce petition to his Wife #2 on her hospital bed.
The libs have gone mad. You corraled Newt in your web of deceit. You will be wishing for Cain desperately!
I actually SAW the entire hour long interview and it was very impressive. He is a gifted orator.
Imagine the debate between Gingrich and O'bama.....
Great ad just put out by the Ron Paul campaign. Watch out Newt!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWKTOCP45zY&feature=youtu.be
And there are many sleazy citizens operating in legal grey zones... citizens who take bribes... citizens who defraud their employees and investors... Bernie Madoff, who was also a rich citizen ... the creepy citizen who pinches your ass in the break room at work... So many kinds of the citizens! Oh, the citizenry, Newt!
and a CELEBRITY, no less! lol... what a fat blowhard Newton is.
Gingrich would win easily any stage debate. He also said he would allow Obama to use his teleprompter during the debates ( because he knows Obama can't speak without it).
Newt will go great in the debates....it's the fact checking afterward he will have a problem with. Why would any one vote for someone whose own party kicked them out of congress when they were Speaker of the House.
He has far too much baggage (part of being a career politician) and the Dems will have a field day with it.
I guess we will just have to wait and see if republicans suddenly decide to accept everything they rail about and sacrifice their self respect by nominating an amoral, Washington insider, who was already run out of Congress as Speaker of the House, by his own party. We will see exactly what they value.
Yep, when they want to 'splain themselves and their misdeeds, meaning spin they go to FoxSnooze. How else could they find a sym"PATHETIC" audience.God I love Fox it provides some very amusing "news". By the way when is the blond bimbo Miss Kelly volunteering to get sprayed with the "food product"? Oh I see......... the same time Sean Insanity is going to be water boarded. Thanks to News Hounds they watch Fox so I don't have to.LOL!
About the only "good" thing one could say about Newt the Toot, is he makes Romney look good. I'm a Progressive, wouldn't vote for either of these phony rich creeps, but it sure is entertaining to watch Fox News swing in the wind, as they now push the Newtcake. lol
I am not a lobbyist, darn it !!!!!!
So RepubliCons, your "family values" means it's OK to replace the First Lady position with the Second Other Woman!
This is past tin hat stuff! Newt has a bad case of ...is there a psychological complex called "The Emperor has No Clothes"? Newt thinks his sh1t don't stink as the saying goes!
The beginning of the death spiral as Newtie lies and uses DC insider speak to try and disquise that he's just like any other washington insider.
It will kill his candidacy faster than Cain's died.
Ron Paul is the only CONSISTENT PRINCIPLED choice of the group and is the only anti-establishment candidate out of everyone including Obama.
Gingrich has been vetted more and longer than Obama! Newt has no secrets. Everything has been out in the open for 25 years.
We still do not know the real Obama, where are his former classmates? What kind of grades did he receive in college? Didn't he ever have a former girlfriend? Why haven't we heard from her what he was like? Why haven't we heard from ANY of his school friends?
Why have we not heard one "peep" from anyone in his past?
It's bizarre. Unnatural.
A lobbyist is someone that gets paid to push for a specific piece of legislation.
Did Kennedy or Clinton pay him for his support, or was it volunteered?
I suspect it was the latter.
Willing.Sniper makes good points at Post #2.2. We know almost nothing about Obama's past - not his grades, not his former live-in girlfriend, no interviews with classmates, no details about his seamy associates (some of whom are in prison), which is highly unusual for a candidate for President (much less THE President).
Simply stated, he was not 'vetted' to any reasonable degree, and that lack of information continues to this day.
Charles Manson isn't TECHNICALLY a murderer. So what's he been doing in jail all of this time?
I can't believe that there are those that will dismiss the corrupt actions of this guy and cast a vote for him to lead. Cheney stepped out of Haliburton and into the VP spot. Check the no-bid contracts that went to a company that continues to pay him. This guy is a leech to the maximum. "Ordinary citizens" don't make $M's lobbying the government and then take the spot. It's 90% of what is wrong with our government. The guy "forgets" how much he made lobbying. Going all the way to the right wing SCOTUS and creating loopholes to steal money---just the guy we need when we're in the toilet.
The guy makes Clinton's moral failures look good.
On my Scorecard, I had it that Gingerich would stick his foot deep into his mouth and fade away. I am seeing someone who is a bit more reserved and thoughtful than in the past. There never has been any question about his IQ - the problem was he could not control himself.
The real concern about Cain is he has put himself in ackward situations in the past and probably into recent history. Solid proof that he crossed the line doesn't appear to be forth coming.
Romney appears a bit smarmy - his finger prints are on the move to get several state primaries he could win moved up. Perry isn't giving me a lot persuade me. Bachman is fading, Santorum isn't getting much traction, Huntsman is a non-starter. Ron Paul hasn't much of a clue about how foreign policy works and would be far worse than a less informed Cain. Any good executive can make a good decision provided the information presented is accurate.
Making a selection is going to take some more observation and thought.
Clinton had a 20-year old intern on her knees in the oval office; yet democrats don't think HE is immoral and unworthy.
Gingrich divorced a woman who asked him for a divorce first. A much older woman he married when only 19. So what.
In other words, he's a politician whore selling himself to the highest bidder. Flip-flop Newt follows the money, not the morals or ethics he preaches so much about to everyone else. Newt should be tossed to the curb for accepting money (payoffs) with the Freddy Mac and Fannie Mae along with others he has taken money from. Newt is not trust worthy at all.
RON PAUL 2012
Soooooolynnnndraaaaa!!!
There is not enough time....we must elect our whore now....
Masterbate and sleep deeply tonight....That is the vision afforded to me....
I'm pissing my pants like a circus elephant!!!
Clinton was/is a scumbag Gingrich was/is a scumbag.....I have no party affilation and even if I did in my book both are scumbags....that's the facts jack.
Gingrich was most definitely a lobbyist. Gingrich most definitely is a liar. Gingrich most definitely is a sleazy pos!!
The man is the epitome of a self-aggrandizing, favors-trading, corrupt, anti-women, career politician....
Gingrich is definitely the problem, and definitely not the solution. Get real.
I am not a lobbyist because I DO NOT LOBBY! So Newt IS a lobbyist because, surprise, surprise, he does lobby. Obviously Newt has the mistaken idea or he just outright lies because , surprise, surprise, he lobbies some companies. So he just lied outright since he does lobby. But Newt has always been a bait and switcher hustler. And in the end, the same junk about Newt will come out just like it did about Cain. The most disgusting of which was when he had his wife at the time served divorce papers during the time she was taking chemo therapy for active Cancer.
What a hero! Ick is all I can say.
I don't think ANY REPUBLICIAN OR TEA PARTY can tell the TRUTH, all they do is lie and lie. We have seen it over and over.
GOP will not pass the payroll tax for the middle class unless its paid for, what about paying for the tax cuts for wealthiest, why is it we have to pay for the tax cuts for the middle class but not wealthiest??? And don't give that sh.. about "they are job creators" BULL!
Many do. His marital infidelities were and should have remained a private matter between him and his wife. When he lied about it to the entire country (instead of telling everyone to MYOB), he made himself unworthy. However, lying about sexual misconduct is different than lying about being a lobbyist. One is a private issue between consenting adults. The other shapes policy that affects us all.
Sandtrich,
I can't believe anyone would vote for a nonAmerican...meaning a person who was raised amongst our enemies during the most impressionable time of a peron's life. to make it worse I can't believe anyone would vote for a guy who started his political career in the home of a known American terrorist...who tried to blow up our Marines at their Marine Corps ball... I can't belive anyone would vote for a guy who sat in a militant antiwhite church for 20 years listening to "God Dam Amerca-God Dam America"....I can't believe that anyone would vote for a man whose wife is obviousley antiAmerican except for now that she uses our tax money to go on elaborate vacations every other month. I can't believe that anyone would vote for a guy who NEVER had a job dosn't show his school records or real birth certificate has 13 SS#'s and several alias's. I can't believe that anyone would vote for Barack Hussein Obama...the anti white-anti American Marxist whose wife is only proud of her country for the first time in her life.... unless you are a Marxist-antiwhite-antiAmerican yourself!
"Gingrich: I'm not a lobbyist, just a citizen"
Spoken, of course, like a true lobbyist.
Fiesty et. al.,
You might enjoy this one:
http://www.youtube.com/embed/CWKTOCP45zY
(I swear this is like watching WWE!)
Anti-establishment is not necessarily a good thing. An effective president has to know how to work within the political system to get things done. To my way of thinking, that's Obama's biggest failure. He doesn't really know how Washington works. You can't come to Washington and think that somehow your great ideas will persuade everyone to do things your way. You have to know how wield power.
Look at it his way. Would you trust an "anti-establishment" surgeon to operate on you, or would you want to find the most-experienced, best-education surgeon around? I think that most people would prefer the experienced, educated surgeon. Yet, somehow, many voters seem to think that just anyone with a little "common sense" can lead the world's largest economy and the world's most powerful military.
And, let's face it, some of Paul's ideas are just plain nutty and would be a disaster for this country, such as ending mandatory funding for public education.
He is a politician has been for years. He took $1,000,000.00 plus from fannie
when it was Billions in the hole. Lets face it 95% of these politician are Crooks
they don't care about you or I, just themselves. Vote them all out!!
Newt certainly knows how Washington works.
The system is broken....Broken badly and needs a major change of trajectory to get it working for the people again. Newt & those like him are the problem. That's just all there is to it....
He disgusts me so much I can't even type a decent comment without wanting to curse. Just to summarize what I intended to say before the disgust became overwhelming: Newt Bad.
People who defend Gingrich's immorality give me the giggles. You can't compare him to Clinton. That's absolutely absurd. Clinton wasn't out campaigning against Republicans, trying to get them impeached because they had an affair.
dEd Grimley and FlBikerChick
Clinton's immorality was just as bad if not worse than Gingrich's (both scumbags as previously stated). Clinton was elected to be President of the US not to bang interns who were paid or funded by the taxpayers to provide a service or learn something. Who gives a damn about his marriage, I care about the example he set, the standards he held up as a President of the US..... we might expect that behaviour from a high paid basketball player and then we tell them they are "role models" for the youth....but it's MYOB if its the President of the US or the Speaker of the House....get serious.
Beanne..... you must be a person that is hard to convince.....you still don't believe that a vast majority of the electorate voted for the current President, gee you would figure by now you would have come around from the dream that Crash McCain and Crazy Sarah won the last election. What a blow it must have been. You have been watching way too Faux News you need to get out more.
Not one of the Crazy Eight and especially NEWT will stand up to media scrutiny in the general election, remember at the moment they are just fighting amongst themselves .... wait till they have a real opposition.
Oh get over yourself, how the Hell is Clinton's even remotely as bad? Gingrich was trying to impeach the guy for doing something that he himself was doing. No, his was a step further in that he was cheating on his wife while she was in the hospital.
Big friggin deal, the president cheated on his wife, welcome to 1950-present-future. I wouldn't have done it in his position, but it's nothing that should've even been public knowledge in the first place. The only reason I care about Gingrich being such a prick is that he's such a MASSIVE hypocrite about it and everything else.
Newt = family values (3 wives / 2 affairs we know about)
The man is the ultimate sleazyball like his lyin' buddy the Pizza Boy
So while Bill was out preaching "family values", going to Church, prancing around with his holier than thou attitude and all the while banging young inexperienced school girls.....that is not being a hypocrite..... WHAT ARE YOU ON.
Don't give the oh everyone was doin it story.....if that's so then it was OK for Gingrich. I've been around since the 50's so I know Clinton is the only one dumb enough to get caught with his pants down in the White House, and that doesn't even begin to cover what he was accused of prior to that.
I wouldn't vote for Gingrich because he's a liar and a crook, and I think when the wash is all done Bill will be in the same boat!
That is such garbage that what Clinton did was none of our business for Christ Sake he was the President, he was living in our house and that is the kind of example we want set.......you gotta get off the weed.
Ron Paul is FOS.
"banging young inexperienced school girls"
No banging, no school girls, get your chit straight.
And when exactly was that? Or do you have the two of them mixed up?
You two are living in your own reality..... so Bill was just getting BJs from this intern....who had to be a "school girl" or would not likely have been an intern, and he never had intercourse with her or any of the other interns, and he never lied about it, and he never had any other women, and he wasn't involved in White Water, and he didn't understand the question or didn't know oral sex was also considered sex by the rest of the intelligent world.......yeah right!!!!!
You can believe what you see or you can believe what others want you to see ......your choice. In my life Bill Clinton ranks just behind Nixon for the worst President the US has survived.
He sounds like the elephant man " I am not an animal "
Bottom line he is a liar just like Cain his bud..
Much like Herman Cain, I never trust a man who refers to himself in third person.....twice in the same sentence!
Lies just like all the Democrats.
Donkephants -- all of them. There is only one kind of politician anymore. Yeah, let's debate the meaning of the word "is" for another decade. :(
The Elephant man speaks. "I am not a monster!" oh damn you sw
Sorry Fiesty did it to me on the last one..
So I saw. I missed the enter button twice. Too many martinis with a large red rabbit last night.
Tricks are for kids...
Silly... ;o)
Right Feisty, he's just one of us.....not. These critters are so self delusional, they cant even keep their stories straight.
Do you suppose, they even know who they are anymore?
i guess that Mr. Gingrich is not "technically" a lobbyist, but he certainly has used his clout to influence legislation and to gain access to legislators for business people. Sounds like lobbying to me.
When?
Willing.Sniper
What planet have you been living on, Planet FOX I guess.
National Poll: Gingrich 45% Obama 43%
Oh yeah..
Never did trust those FOX polls.
The former House Speaker, Newt Gingrich also leads by 18 points among unaffiliated voters. (Independents)
Where was the poll taken? At country clubs and Ku Klux Klan meetings?
A year away and your using ever changing poll numbers to bolster your stance.
Isn't he the third or fourth Republican to be on top now? If anything, polls this early out, are good for toilet tissue.
The reason why Obama is campaigning full time is his poll numbers are horrible!
Well below Jimmy Carter at this point. He freaking out. For good reason, he won't make it next time.
Anyone who thinks a poll of 1000 people is representative of a populace of 300+ million is delusional. And that applies to ANY poll.
Willing: apparantly you do not do much reading up about your boy. He's become quite wealthy since being kicked out of Congress on ethics charges, mainly by selling influence on health care and on "advising" as a historian mind you the insitutions he says were responsible for the financial meltdown: Freddie Mae and Fannie Mac. Re-read the poll. The McClatchy one you site which is meaningless anyway at this point, still shows Obama two points ahead of Gingrich, basically a tie. And of course, that presumes Gingrich wins the nomination, which he will definately not. The Republican nominee will be Romney and Romney won't even get close.
and of course they loved him here in South Carolina, but then they aren't to bright down here either.
You are so right, and if you move to any other state, it will drop the average IQ of both locations by as much as 50 points.
Most people in the south have an IQ less than their waist size, but many of them cna type---given enough time
Oldpilot: Except for South Carolina.
If it looks like a lobbyist, talks like a lobbyist, and walks like a lobbyist, it is a lobbyist, regardless of legal parsing. What will Newt say next? "I did not have sex with that woman?"
Newt says that he is 'famous'. Infamous is a better description, Newt!
It's pretty easy to have all those best sellers when the people who buy them don't read anyways...They just buy them 'cause Oreilly tells them to....And put them on a shelf to look smart and let people know which side they are on..
And they all contain the same crap. Only the book jackets are different.
Its amazing how easy it is to lie for a professional politician like Gnewt. Its not "lobbying " but just a regular citizen talking about issues. Give me the 30,000 a month he charged Fannie May and Freddie Mac to just "talk with friends and colleagues".
I'm a citizen too. I mean, don't we all get paid almost 2 million dollars to lobby, oops, I mean citizen the government to do things for big companies?
I am not a lobbyist,just a citizen....Citizens united,you know ;)
Oh, Newt wants to talk about his book deals. He's made alot of money on them, huh? He almost got away with taking $4.5 million up front from Rupert Murdoch in '95, until he got caught and gave the money back. It was eventually one of the things that cost him his leadership position. Apparently, there was a 1984 book deal that was just an excuse to shake down supporters. If Newt ends up on the ticket, I think there will be many questions about what a good book salesman Newt is.
thanks. i remembered something about that.
The only reason why I would buy his is book is to BURN IT!
According to Newt, he's a "celebrity".
and Obama going on Jay Leno, American Idol show, The Oprah Show, The Ellen Show, is somehow not acting like a "celebrity"??
Obama is another Brittany Spears wanna be.
I really feel sorry for you Republicans... don't have a decent, intelligent and "clean" candidate amongst you. Is this group really the best you guys have to offer up as President of the United States. Offer up Newt and Obama won't even have to campaign anymore! The Republican debates are downright entertaining... laugh my butt off everytime I watch one... how do you get so many idiots on one stage???
Obama is as dirty ass they come. Filthy in fact.
Celebrity Politicians!! Does Newt have a fragrance yet???
Willing sniper, why not take your cracker ass back to fox news posts. Nobody here gives a damn what you have to say.
Willing: you've completely lost it. This is the President of the United States you're speaking about. if you want to disagree with is policies, pretend you are an adult and act like one.
Newt, Inc. , 'nuff said.
Lobbyist??? Nah...
I'm a historian. One that got more than $1 million in fees from Freddie Mac...
With that kind of mad cash in being a "historian", I'm sure we'll see a surge in history majors at most major colleges.
He got more than 1 million or his firm did? Does Newt have any Larry Sinclair or slum lord Rezco buddies?
He and his family ARE his firm. Look at the stories about "all in the family".
LOL people here are so business savy ....
Bravo, Ron Paul. He and his campaign appear to be the only people willing to stand up to Newt Gingrich and the rank hypocrisy that embodies the disgraced former Speaker Newt has been -- and will continue to be -- a tool for corporations and the kind of special interests that are draining the lifeblood from America. The man is a fraud, not a conservative. He is no different than Mitt Romney in his open embrace of flip-flopping for political expediency. Shameful... http://www.sunstateactivist.org
Ron Paul should be the choice of anyone that might consider Newt Gingrich and doesn't like the more moderate Repubs like Romney or Huntsman. Gingrich IS the epitome of the problem in Washington - just read about his guy !!!
Not a Lobbyist? ROTFLOL,, Newt is the pimp of lobbyists
His offices are on K St
Newt Gingrich, the career politician and millionaire "consultant" for the health care mortgage industries & Freddie Mac
Newt sitting on a couch with Nancy supporting Global Warming, Nancy & Al Gore
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaZFfQKWX54
He actually admitted that his former support of global warming was a serious mistake on his part.
How many more mistakes can we forgive, allow?
Ya. He's just a citizen who gets paid by corporations to convince his friends in the government to send money their way. Ya.
Dan,
I worked as a lobbyist for 15 years, and you know what? Your comment offends me. I do not like Newt Gingrich, but you have no idea what a lobbyist is or what a lobbyist does.
In fact, you may not realize it, but you are probably represented by one or more lobbyists. Are you a member of a labor union? Are you a member of a trade association? Are you a member of the NRA? Are you a member of AARP? Are you a member of AAA? Are you a member of an organized religion? If so, part of your dues or contributions are going towards paying for a lobbyist.
Sorry Marty. With over 14,000 currently registered lobbyist, forgive me if I am a bit fed up with the bribery, back scratching and manipulation. Over 25 lobbyist per politician is sickening.
Marty, we don't care if it's for the church bizarre, coffee shops, child care, sick kids, poor people, pharmaceutical companies, car companies, oil companies or aero space companies.
We are sick to death of lobbyists. Period
frespech: you might be 'sick to death' of lobbyists, and Newt definately is one whether technically he's registered or not, but they are legal and they are protected in the US Constitution (the "petition your government" thing). It's called free speech.
The lobbying industry is why our country is so screwed up and the reason our government has become so corrupt.
The average citizen group cannot afford well-connected lobbyists. They are for only the wealthy and corporations, obviously.
I am Newt. A type of lizard. Good luck..
I work for Geico.
Faux News demonstrates that censorship can be positive.
As someone who LIVED through Newt's government shutdown and the Republican face-plant that followed, I CAN'T vote for him. Period.