Interesting articles attached below by R. Emmett Tyrell (American Spectator) and Elliot Abrams (asst Sec of State under Reagan) regarding the “real” Newt Gingrich.
While Gingrich states he is nothing like Bill Clinton and was a key supporter of Ronald Reagan, these two writers show that Gingrich was as narcissistic as Pres Clinton and a major Republican critic of Reagan’s foreign policy.
One thing that leaders of the Gadianton Robbers had in common: they were great flatterers, believed that their own methodologies were good, and while saying nice things to the people, supported those that were in cahoots with them. Someone who will leave two wives, when they are suffering from serious illnesses, and create his own version of history, seems like someone who will do almost anything to get gain.
http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/289159/gingrich-and-reagan-elliott-abrams
http://www.nysun.com/opinion/william-jefferson-gingrich/87674/
Nice hatchet job on Newt. Can we do Reagan next?
Newt Gingrich is a quitter. I wish he would quit this campaign.
Family Values, Newt style: Using daughters from your first wife to convince everyone that your second wife is lying about your 3rd wife.
Just maybe, just possibly, this comparison might be *way* over the top.
Adam G.
It supposeth me that thou are a child of hell.
I am afraid any argument using Elliot Abrams to defend it immediately makes me suspect it. It is personal, very personal.
In the 1980’s we had an exchange student from El Salvador at the high school where I was teaching. She was not a Communist. She was not radical. She just was a young lady who wanted to follow in her parents footsteps and become a teacher. She never lived to see her dream coem true.
After she returned home a right wing death squad killed her and her parents. Her crime was simply that her mother and father were teachers. Thousands were murdered because they might not have supported the military dictatorship, including four American nuns who were also raped before they were slain.
Who was greatly responsible for the U.S. supporting the military dictatorship and the Death Squads? Under Secretary of State Elliot Abrams. Who lied to Congress about what the death squads were doing and defended the dictators? Elliot Abrams.
Stan, so Abrams made a bad choice between a ruthless dictator and a ruthless communist dictator. That was not uncommon a few decades ago. It was part of the Truman Doctrine – to oppose and contain communism no matter how. JFK supported a ruthless dictator in Vietnam, to keep a ruthless communist dictator from coming on board. LBJ did it. So did Reagan. George HW Bush took down a couple dictators (Panama and Iraq)the USA had previously put in place.
Hopefully we’ve learned our lesson and aren’t doing that anymore. But in reality, sometimes you have to choose what you believe is the lesser of two evils. Given that Marxism had slaughtered millions across the world (20 million in USSR alone) suggests that the right wingers of El Salvador was the lesser evil.
Sadly, in such a contest of ideologies, the innocent always get hurt. Just look at the tens of thousands of Iraqi and Afghani civilians that have died in the last ten years, either directly or indirectly due to our presence there. Yet, look at the hundreds of thousands being killed by the Taliban and Saddam previous to our intervention. The Taliban kept women as virtual slaves. Saddam’s son would kidnap women to rape.
This is not a Utopian world we live in. Abrams made some tough choices, often becoming tragic. But he also helped develop the strategy that destroyed the USSR, freeing hundreds of millions of people from Marxist tyranny.
Given that context, I think I would at least consider his words.
“The right wingers of El Salvador were the lesser evil.”
Reminds me of the Sarah Silverman holocaust skit, a conversation with her niece: “Aunt Sarah, did you know that Hitler killed 60 million Jews?” “Actually, it was 6 million, not 60 million!” “Oh yea, I knew that. But seriously, what’s the difference?” “Uh…the difference is that 60 million would have been UNFORGIVABLE young lady!”
After Newt wins the nomination, I’m thinking of putting out an “Vote for Anybody but Newt 2012” sign on my lawn and see what happens.
“The right wingers of El Salvador were the lesser evil.”
How could it be otherwise? After all, they were financing <a href="http://www.salon.com/2012/01/20/the_roots_of_bain_capital_in_el_salvador/"Bain Capital.
Gingrich asked if he could join our Danite band. I told him we don’t take Gadiantons. Right, guys?
We do have to have our priorities straight, no? Unless he is baptized and paying 10%, he cannot join up with the Danites.