Yesterday, while courting a conservative group called the "Family Leader" in Iowa, Newt Gingrich made headlines for making a fidelity pledge to his third wife.
This pledge was made in an effort to help shore up the conservative Christian vote for Iowa's republican presidential primary in three weeks.
Why is this headline-worthy?
Former house-speaker Gingrich is as well known for his past infidelities as he is for his partisan politicking. Gingrich has admitted to affairs while he was married to his first wife and again while married to his second wife. Since those naughty indiscretions occurred, Gingrich became Catholic and supposedly sought forgiveness from God.
Despite his past failures at "traditional" marriage, Gingrich is a rabid defender of the Defense of Marriage Act (written into law when he was speaker of the US House of Representatives) and a vocal supporter of a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. To prove just how much he means business this time around, Gingrich says he will respect the institution of marriage by staying faithful to his wife.
The fidelity pledge he took was done as an obvious effort by his campaign to court votes. But, more importantly, it was to silence his opponents Rick Perry and Mitt Romney. Recently, Perry and Romney have both made pointed statements about their long, committed marriages (bringing obvious attention to Gingrich’s marital shortcomings).
In a state where 6 in 10 people identify as born-again or evangelical Christians, pledges like Gingrich's and statements like Perry's and Romney's really pander to the conservative Christian base.
Ironically, though, this year’s Republican presidential primary has been fraught with moral scandals than the so-called “godless liberal” left. (Hermain Cain, anyone?)
Not only that, but the Republican presidential candidates have been continually asserting themselves not only as the best leaders to fix our economy, and end foreign wars, but also as family men completely devoted to their wives.
But let’s take a walk down memory lane...
Back in the 90's when President Clinton was weathering the Monica Lewinsky storm (when Gingrich was Speaker Gingrich) I remember asking my mom about what I was hearing in the news. She explained some of the news stories to my 6th grade mind and told me that it was bad that President Clinton was unfaithful to his wife and bad that he lied about it. Simple enough.
Unwilling to leave it at that, I asked her if she thought he should be allowed to stay president.
And I will never forget what she, the fabulous and unrelenting liberal democrat she is, told me.
She said, "I voted for that man because I like his politics. And he will help people like us keep the lifestyle we want. We work hard and he will protect our middle class."
But, I asked, "Aren't you mad he had a girlfriend AND a wife?"
Her response? "I didn't elect him my moral leader. I elected him my president."
I was floored. And every time I think about this conversation, I am still floored. Back in the 90's, partisan politicking was pretty intense but it is, in retrospect, NOTHING like it is today.
My mom saying she didn't elect her president as her moral leader must seem pretty naive to a lot of people now, but given all of the news in the headlines about people's lives in their own bedrooms, I think that her attitude is refreshing. She (like many others) wants a leader who strives for economic and social justice, and doesn’t seem to care who he dates on his or her free time.
Fidelity, infidelity and sexual orientation are hot button issues in politics these days. The line between public politics and the intimate, personal lives of politicians is nonexistent. And presidential candidates purposely posture themselves in elections as moral leaders who are above foibles in an effort to win votes. Such a thing didn't exist a couple decades ago.
Can you imagine politics without headlines like Gringich's yesterday?
No? Yeah, me neither.
But wouldn't it be nice if we could focus on policy without focusing on everyone’s sex lives?
Now that, my dear readers, would be refreshing.
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erikdolnack
Some facts:
1. Newt Gingrich has been married three times.
2. Newt’s first wife was his former geometry teacher, Jackie Battley. He was just 19 years old (she was 26). That marriage ended in 1980 when Newt had an affair with a woman named Marianne Ginther.
3. Newt’s campaign treasurer L.H. “Kip” Carter, claimed that Newt said of his first wife, “She’s not young enough or pretty enough to be the wife of the President. And besides, she has cancer.”
4. Jackie Battley had to take Newt Gingrich to court to get him to pay alimony and child support for their two daughters.
5. During the 1990’s, as he was sitting on the trial to Impeach President Clinton, Gingrich was having an ongoing affair with a staff of the House of Representatives named Callista Bisek (who was 23 years younger than he). Gingrich married Bisek in 2000 and is still married to her today.
6. Newt Gingrich converted to Catholicism [from Southern Baptism] in 2009. The Catholic Church does not tolerate divorce.
7. Newt Gingrich got a draft deferment during the Vietnam War and did not serve his country when called.
8. Newt Gingrich bounced 22 in 1992 checks while serving in the House of Representatives.
9. One woman named Anne Manning (like Gingrich, also married at the time) claims to have had numerous sexual affairs with Newt Gingrich and was quoted as saying of Mr Gingrich, “We had oral sex. He prefers that modus operandi because then he can say, ‘I never slept with her.’”
Those bit of evidence require no additional commentary from me. They speak for themselves.
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Delightful!
My sentiments exactly. His actions speak for themselves.
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#9 he learned from Clinton! Hahahaha
erikdolnack
Actually, Bill Clinton could learn from Newt Gingrich: on how to cheat (on not one, but at least two wives) successfully, pay no price, and still maintain a loyal following who vote that “character” matters in elections.
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Haha, good call, Erik! I guess Clinton is just an amateur!
erikdolnack
Am I the only one that thinks that Gingrich’s new wife, Callista Bisek has a botox face that strongly resembles Jack Nicholson as the Joker from the Batman movies?
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Haha, I see the resemblance! She is definitely a fembot!