Newt Gingrich found a new level of hypocrisy this week in insisting that the Congress has “an obligation” to investigate Speaker Nancy Pelosi. I have been highly critical of Pelosi who at a minimum appears to have abandoned her duties of oversight for political convenience and at worst is outright lying. However, Gingrich who says that Pelosi is acting in a “despicable, dishonest and vicious” way, does not believe that there is any need to call for an investigation into torture and the commission of both federal and war crimes.
Gingrich called Pelosi is a “trivial politician, viciously using partisanship for the narrowest of purposes.” Of course, Gingrich has opposed any investigation into a myriad of Bush violations and alleged crimes. What astonishes me is how comfortable both Democratic and Republican leaders are in such hypocrisy. I discussed the Pelosi story last night on this segment of Countdown.
The fact is that Pelosi should be held accountable for her failure to act on torture and her effort to block any investigation into torture. The support of her district shows precisely the same type of blind party loyalty that Republicans showed to their members from Randy Cunningham to Ted Stevens. This is precisely why the GOP lost power. Voters stand with politicians rather than principles — encouraging this type of flagrant hypocrisy. The manipulation of this scandal by both the Democratic and Republic leadership shows an utter contempt for the intelligence of voters. Likewise, Obama’s abandonment of core civil liberties principles shows that the White House has concluded that the left will never withdraw its support for Obama, even when he is adopting the very same policies as the prior Administration on civil liberties.
For the interview, click here.
For the full story, click here.
Wrong, FD, I am a 30.5 year registered Republican and I almost exclusively voted Republican before that time as an Independent.
Bron98: Welcome to your new political party, the Liberals and the Democrats. Enjoy their company; more taxes, more welfare, income redistribution, open borders, blame america first for everything, etc. ….because if you truly were ever a Republican they will forever hold it against you and look at you as unworthy of their friendship or trust.
AnonY:
Catch 22, let us agree to ignore and forget, for now.
Let’s see now, we have three “FORMER GOP” here, LOL!
The Turley blog appears to be with “FORMER GOP”:
Rcampbell claims to be a former Republican
Bron98 claims to be a former Republican
Former Federal LEO claims to be a former Republican
and of course I am sure pretty much everybody else would claim to be a former Republican who says the party abandoned them also here…..!!! As those “former GOP” would say: “Good Grief, no gay marriage, no abortion at will, no gun control, no income redistribution, no blaming America first! Why, I am LEAVING the GOP!”
LOL!
My goodness, so many self-proclaimed former Republicans expousing left wing ideas with left wingers on a left wing blog. This must be bizarro world – oops, it is!
Former Dem:
Evangelical christians are a threat, they may not even understand themselves, but religious extremisism is a threat to individual liberty. And the fact that republicans are so willing to embrace them is not a good thing. You may think oh they are christian so they will be good and kind and they wont trounce liberty. They will, it is a foregone conclusion. Philosophically they can do nothing else, the seeds of totalitarianism are in their beleif system. If you think the Muslims are different they are not and the outcome will be the same if evangelical christians ever come to power.
God is not a threat to liberty but humans that believe they are doing Gods will, will trounce your rights.
You really must think some of the things you say through to their logical conclusions.
I may not agree with the left on many issues but they at least have it right on this one.
Former Dem, Bush was a bad president but not for the reasons you think I mean.
1. his just war theory lead to untold number of American deaths for no good reason.
2. his compassionate conservatism was a joke.
3. he single handedly gave Obama moral coverage for the massive spending he has embarked upon.
4. his decision to torture is going to cause our country more polarization.
And that leads to the reason he had to torture in the first place-his just war theory. By not totaly destroying Islamic fundamentalism and brining these people to their knees he created the need to even have to use torture. Bush believed that all religions and all people and all countries were/are morally equivalent. His relgious philosophy required the sacrifice of American lives to this tenant.
I am having the monkeys sent here. I already have the doggy. The scarecrow and lion and doing well. The water splashed on the timman he has since rusted. we all went to sleep in that filed of flowers. It rained and as said the tinman rusted the scarecrow got soggy but it kept us dry. The lion came out after the lighten and did not seem so scared.
Those Poppy fields were pleasant though.
FF LEO, Jill. I guess its my turn. Oh well.
PC,
Poof, you are gone. Better watch that bucket of water.
AY,
You forget a lot, but I don’t, nor will I forget that you despise doctors for some reason having nothing to do with me.
You are certainly nothing like mespo.
Off Topic But Cancer Awareness needs you help getting Congress to pass this bipartisan legislation. PLEASE SIGN THIS and Forward to all you know. PLEASE.
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‘…The problem is that Obama is implicated in his own set of war crimes and he’s obviously committed to protecting the prior administration…’
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Obama is not implicated in war crimes. That is not what this is about, no matter how many times you insist that it is. And Obama is NOT ‘in bed’ with the former administration on torture. No matter how many times you insist on repeating it will not make it so.
“…Let me say that again: Dick Cheney ordered torture.”
—
This is not news. People who have been paying any attention at all had already figured this out long ago when we learned that Cheney showed up at CIA and demanded evidence of WMD in Iraq.
CIA was set up in 1947 to operate ‘independently’ and Cheney’s obnoxious appearance there broke a 50 year tradition. Furthermore, the one thing CIA operatives were always assured of was that their identities were safe. He broke that tradition as well.
mespo727272
How soon we forget the “Contract With (on) America.” Projection, maybe?
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I love it, this is great. Mespo you like I forget very little and I appreciate this.
Did we forget the book deal that cost him his position?
FORMER DEM
Please tell me what a blue dog Democrat is….
The definition of a Blue Dog Democrat is one who adheres to the philosphy that they would “…sooner vote for a blue dog than vote for a Republican…” even though they might be quite conservative in their own right.
FORMER DEM
1, May 16, 2009 at 2:23 pm
kathy w: “I’m thinking that just as the R party seems to be tearing itself in two”.
Where, other than in the liberal press, do you see republicans “tearing itself into two”? It seems you liberals are so screwed with pelosi, obama, deficits, taxes, polls turning on you, etc. that you grasp at whatever the liberal press throws your way as a bone.
Well, that would be just about every media outlet in the western world except Faux Noise and the Washington Times. Perhaps you’ve missed the squabbles between Michael Steele/Rush Limbaugh or Colin Powell/Rush Limbaugh or Dick Cheney/Colin Powell or Arlen Spector/Rush Limbaugh/Michael Steel/Colin Powell/Newt Gingrich.
Perlosi is a GOP fascination, not ours. Taxes are lower now for the middle class–what’s the problem? Dick Cheney told Paul O’Neill that “Ronald Reagan proved deficits don’t matter”–what’s the problem? Our guy enjoys an approval rating over 65%–what’s the problem?
As a former (recovered) Republican myself (I quit the party of lunatic fringe in ’92), I can only strongly suggest your best action would be to STFU. Everything being done by the Obama administration is being done to correct the enormous damage done to America over the past 30 years by the insidious cabal that is the Republican Party.
mespo, people like you crying out for another party need to think just what that party would offer that would lend itself to membership. How are you going to carve a party out of the middle when that would have to include people on either side that think your idea of a moderate view is way out there. As am single example, you may think keeping God out of our Schools is a good thing and a centrist idea when most Americans would call that far FAR looney left. Or you may think that more gun control laws are a centrist idea when in fact again that is only the realm of the far FAR looney left.
bron98: if you think evangelical christians are a problem for republicans then you NEVER WERE A REPUBLICAN IN THE FIRST PLACE AND I AM SURE THE REPUBLICANS DON’T MISS YOU.
God Lord, equating evangelicals to book burners. Lord how ignorant.
Bron98:
I wish the GOP would rethink its platform. We need two viable parties and catering to extremists only insures that we will have only one. And if we only have one, we have a Lord Acton conundrum that I would prefer to avoid.
Former Dem:
As a former Repub, I think the party is in dire need of a face lift. They are becoming the party of evangelicals which is not a good thing. We as a country have more to fear from evangelical christians than from the left. Granted they both seem to have no concern for individual liberty but at least the far left will not burn most books. I imagine that what makes one an evangelical is probably the same thing that makes one a far left liberal or far fight facist.
Former Dem,
Have you been asleep for the last few months? Your own people have been going after Michael Steele and Palin to name just two. By the way, isn’t it time for another episode of Fox News?
kathy w: “I’m thinking that just as the R party seems to be tearing itself in two”.
Where, other than in the liberal press, do you see republicans “tearing itself into two”? It seems you liberals are so screwed with pelosi, obama, deficits, taxes, polls turning on you, etc. that you grasp at whatever the liberal press throws your way as a bone.
I’ll look that up Kathy. I’d like to see the people in this party be people of conscience. I’d like it to be brave. I’d like it to take risks. I’d like it full of people willing to face down unjust power, whenever and wherever that occurs.
Donald Kingsburry.