Newt Wins GOP Hearts By Attacking "Elite Media" Over "Despicable" Open Marriage Claims

Newt on high (AP)

Last night's GOP debate in South Carolina was notable for there only being four candidates left in the scrum (remember when Herman Cain used to be there?), but the true winner of the wintry evening was Newt Gingrich, who has been surging in recent polls for the state's primary as well as starring in The Real Housewives Of The GOP. When CNN debate moderator John King asked Gingrich about his second ex-wife's claims that he asked for an open marriage, Gingrich fired back, calling the question "destructive" and "despicable." "I am appalled you would begin a presidential debate with a topic like that. Every person knows personal pain ... I am astounded CNN would take trash like that and use it to open a presidential debate."

Gingrich noted that his daughters asked ABC News to pull the segment. And then King gave Gingrich the opportunity to rally the audience:

KING: As you noted, Mr. Speaker, this story did not come from our network. As you also know, it is a subject of conversation on the campaign. I'm not -- I get your point. I take your point.

GINGRICH: John -- John, it was repeated by your network. You chose to start the debate with it. Don't try to blame somebody else. You and your staff chose to start this debate with it.

(APPLAUSE)

Let me be quite clear. Let me be quite clear. The story is false. Every personal friend I have who knew us in that period said the story was false. We offered several of them to ABC to prove it was false. They weren't interested because they would like to attack any Republican. They're attacking the governor. They're attacking me. I'm sure they'll presently get around to Senator Santorum and Congressman Paul.

I am tired of the elite media protecting Barack Obama by attacking Republicans.

(Here's the full transcript.)

Poltico writes, "The crowd ate up the red meat about the 'elite media,' and the tone of the debate was immediately set. Nothing that happened after those first five minutes were anywhere near as memorable. Gingrich had the type of moment that GOP strategist Alex Castellanos has described as a critical 'moment of strength.' This is, of course, Gingrich’s specialty - whipping up the GOP base’s distrust of the mainstream media.... The crowd’s strong response inoculated him over the ex-wives issue and made it all but impossible for other candidates to attack him. Rick Santorum came the closest to touching it, but veered away just before he crossed the line into booing territory."

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By Jen Chung in News on January 20, 2012 12:20 PM

Comments [rss]

Ryan

That was a cowardly attack by CNN (big surprise), but boy do Republicans get testy when called out for being hypocrites. I can't believe the audience was so excited to defend a nasty adulterer like Newt. It just shows me that Republicans are only about moral values on the surface.

Also, CNN isn't liberal. CNN is a perpetual pot stirrer. There's a huge difference.

randomtransplant

Thats great that he blames the "elite media" for attacking republicans, when the media has bend bending over backwards to sell the fiction that any of the republican candidates have a snowballs chance in hell.

Shooting the messenger is a sign of a guilty conscious.

MaseInYourFace

Could South Carolina be any more different than NYC? Wow what a country...

MaseInYourFace

Classic GOP move. Any time you get challenged on any issue, turn it out around and frame it as being persecuted by the "elite" media. Who better to demonstrate the use of it than a creator of it?

EdwardAmame

But enough about the ex-wives.

How about the GOP guys and gals who served in the House with him? The ones who tried to de-throne him only 3 years in as their House Speaker in 1997? Geez. Wonder why they did that? Santorum brought it up last nite, but only hinted at Gingrich's problems.

EdwardAmame

Newt certainly knows his audience. He articulated the right's paranoid victimhood in a way that brought them to their feet.

MaseInYourFace

Exactly.

Rocknrope

Christ, arguing political morality is like arguing who's the skinniest runway model - they're all obscene.

Mordicai

Yeah, if he had an open relationship, it wouldn't be NEARLY the indicator of an unethical piece of garbage. I mean, he would still have left his partner while she was sick, but at least he wouldn't be a corrupt, lying, cheating adulterer.

Keep on bragging there, Newt! You're a real fine piece of work, scumbag.

YouandWhoseArmy3D

The "elite media" is so corporate (I would say conservative media but like the liberal media it's probably BS to call it that) that Newt's attack of the media is completely ridiculous and such an obvious deflection of a perfectly legitimate question.

No matter what you think of the guy Ron Paul is the only non corporate candidate running for president (and yes this includes Obama).

Mordicai

Well, there will be others when the general election starts, but yeah. I hate Ron Paul but he's not a corporate stooge. A stooge whose policies would reward robber barons, but he came to them on his own.

AuntySemantic

Newt is an embarrassment on so many levels, but everyone has a right to personal privacy. Too bad Newt is not in favor of personal and sexual privacy when it comes to everyone else....F**KING hypocrite asshole.

SeasTooFarToReach

I did not watch the debate but I agree that it's stupid to even bring the open marriage thing in a question/call for comment. And to start it off, no less!

Oh, journalism! Degraded to a mere TMZ Washington edition soap opera because of their hunger for ratings.

If one of the other candidates brings it up after Gingrich starts spewing talking points about "family values" or the "sanctity of marriage" THEN it's fair game.

Mordicai

He went after Clinton, & wants to legislate bigotry into marriage. That makes it fair game, I think.

SeasTooFarToReach

I'm not defending him. He's an hypocrite. I simply don't think it had any place in the debate at that point.

Again, if he had talked about the "sanctity of marriage" then it's a great follow-up to say "but, Mr. Gingrinch, your ex-wife has accused you of..." Or if he's being interviewed in a program.

Mordicai

Even things like "your ex-wife has accused..." are...well, okay, tangent. I feel like that is part of the downfall of the "news." The lack of journalism. DO SOME REPORTING! I mean, guy at the debate, you don't have to pretend like this is hearsay. Newt's behavior is part of the legal record. Use facts; you don't have to act like "facts" go against "fair & balanced."

jibbly

It makes it fair game, period.

Roger_the_Shrubber

Not a Newt fan but what he did was fantastic. About time these democrat party propagandists got called out for the liberal lapdogs they are.

MattS

You are completely serious. And a complete knob. If I didn't know any better, I'd think that your statement was straight out of the Onion. It's so ridiculously, stereotypically wingnut it's amazing. The hypocricy is dripping off of that scummy scummy little joke of a man.

CurmudgeonNYC

Seriously, like anyone could actually look at this dipshit and think "Yes, here is a smart, patient, level-headed man." Let;s call a spade a spade, or in this case a condom full of marinara sauce. Newt sucks.