Newt: I'm shocked, shocked by Abramoff scandal!

sorry this is a Salon article ...but a good read!

From his lofty perch on the sidelines, the ethically challenged former speaker denounces corruption in politics.

By Michael Scherer

Jan. 05, 2006 | Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who rose to power in 1994 by exposing -- and exaggerating -- Democratic corruption, found himself on familiar footing Wednesday in the basement ballroom of the Hotel Washington. This time, however, his target was the corruption of his own party, and the exploits of one of its former stars, the disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

"The more I have learned about this, frankly the angrier I have gotten," Gingrich, the former speaker of the House, told a gaggle of reporters. "The indifference to right and wrong is very troubling."

Just minutes earlier, he had been warmly received by more than a hundred members of the Rotary Club of D.C., a group who had listened attentively after lunching on beef stew and lemon cream cake and singing a spirited round of the Washington Redskins anthem. The timing of Gingrich's indignation was impeccable: Exactly 24 hours after Abramoff had entered a guilty plea, sending shivers of fear through much of Capitol Hill, he had scheduled a speech on the problems of congressional corruption. The back of the room was lined with television cameras. Reporters littered the ballroom, leaning on its mirrored columns. At 62, Gingrich appeared to be one of the younger people in attendance.

"Washington will presently get caught up in sophisticated, complicated self-analysis when the facts are pretty simple," he told the crowd. "People did the wrong things and they should not be allowed to get away with it."

more...

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2006/01/05/gingrich/print.html

Because his cut wasn't worthy of his lofty status. :evilgrin:

After all, he's the one who started this ball rolling.

And what was he finally ousted for? I can't seem to recall....

Love it.

And welcome to DU!
:toast: :beer:

I don't know if that got him the boot, but it must have helped. Newt, Henry Hyde in plain sight and Livingston I presume all got hit with the hypocrisy hammer for dabbling in office interns.

He went after Clinton for an affair while he was having one, he went after Jim Wright for the exact same ethics violations he was committing at the same time (and was later reprimanded for)... Oh what's the use? We all know he's a piece of shit. Ask his wives.

RETRIBUTION.

DeLay attempted a power play/coup against Newt while Newt was all powerful in the House GOP. Newt won, but after the poor GOP congressional results in the 1998 elections - he stepped down; wouldn't have happened (his stepping down, not the poor election results) had he not been so weakened - and "betrayed" by DeLay. This is all about dealing back to DeLay - and testing the waters to see if he can now get traction as a national political figure (which he won't for the reasons to which you allude.)

Once in a while you got to hose out the barn.
http://www.freesqueeze.com/abramoff.htm

Like the scene out of Casablanca where the Inspector is suddenly shocked to discover that there is gambling going on in Rick's Saloon.