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The very first question in last night’s debate was directed to Newt Gingrich, and it dealt with the gossip that had generated so much chatter throughout the day. CNN’s John King noted that Gingrich’s second ex-wife claims he asked for an “open marriage,” and asked the disgraced former House Speaker, “Would you like to take some time to respond to that?”
The answer led to two standing ovations from the Republicans in the audience. Here’s the video:
Gingrich clearly expected the question, and swung at it as if it had been set on a tee for him.
“I think the destructive, vicious, negative nature of much of the news media makes it harder to govern this country, harder to attract decent people to run for public office. And I am appalled that you would begin a presidential debate on a topic like that.
“Every person in here knows personal pain. Every person in here has had someone close to them go through painful things. To take an ex-wife and make it two days before the primary a significant question for a presidential campaign is as close to despicable as anything I can imagine…. I am frankly astounded that CNN would take trash like that and use it to open a presidential debate.”
When King mentioned that the story didn’t come from CNN, Gingrich hit him again, saying, “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.”
Gingrich then denied the allegations, before concluding, “I am tired of the elite media protecting Barack Obama by attacking Republicans.”
Over the course of just three minutes, we learned exactly why Gingrich is a competitive presidential candidate: he understands the Republican id perfectly.
The right really does believe they’re victims. As Steve Kornacki explained very well, “It’s no mystery why the audience of Republicans so instinctively and passionately rallied to Gingrich’s defense. His final line was the key: that the liberal media is out to get Republicans and will stop at nothing to destroy them is an absolute article of faith on the right…. What Gingrich did brilliantly on Thursday night is to articulate this paranoid victimhood in a clear and compelling (for his audience, at least) way. It’s the same basic trick he pulled in this week’s other debate, when he connected with another strain of the persecution complex: that honest, tax-paying Republicans are the victims of a dependency class of poor people and minorities that Democrats intentionally enable.”
Conservative voters hate the media, so Gingrich exploits that hatred. Conservative voters don’t like feeling defensive about race and policy, so Gingrich tells them why they shouldn’t. His debate performances are like dopamine for the right-wing soul.
And because Gingrich understands this so well, the nature of the story shifts — it’s not about Gingrich’s scandalous personal life and his habitual adultery; it’s about those media scoundrels trying to keep Republicans down. GOP voters should feel sorry for Gingrich, the argument goes, because they feel sorry for themselves.
The fact that this article of faith is a fantasy is irrelevant. Indeed, it just takes a moment of independent thought to tear the house of cards down: was Gingrich condemning the “despicable” media when news organizations obsessed over Anthony Weiner’s personal life? How about Eliot Spitzer? Or John Edwards?
More to the point, when Gingrich was helping lead an impeachment crusade against President Bill Clinton, and the media’s obsession with a sex scandal was boundless, did Gingrich whine, “I think the destructive, vicious, negative nature of much of the news media makes it harder to govern this country”? If he did, I missed it.
But for GOP voters in South Carolina, none of this matters. Gingrich “gets” them, and it’s why he’s now favored to win tomorrow’s primary.
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Danny on January 20, 2012 8:44 AM:
At this point, the only thing the Republican party believes in seems to be hating liberals, feeding the 24h news cycle and working the referee. They should be called on that, as soon as the primary is over.
Darsan54 on January 20, 2012 8:46 AM:
Conservatives are just a sorry, sorry lot.
c u n d gulag on January 20, 2012 8:47 AM:
And John King, that square-jawed, handsome "newsman" with a Pi-IQ, came in, and like a terrible Starting Pitcher, for a first pitch threw a batting-practice fastball right down the middle of the plate to a guy whose only skill is in hitting batting-practice fastballs right down the middle of the plate out of the park.
Now, here's today's toss-up question - is John King really THAT f'in stupid, or was he out to give Newt a way to handle this latest scandal in the only way he can? Attack!
Here's the answer to today's toss-up question: YES!
MattF on January 20, 2012 8:51 AM:
I can't bring myself to root for Noot. He's a very bad person, far worse than Romney, and I'm persuaded that 'worse is better' is a dangerous political principle. If he wins the primary it's a disaster for the Republicans, but it's also a disaster for the rest of us.
walt on January 20, 2012 8:53 AM:
Maybe Newt Gingrich doesn't deserve all the credit but who else did so much to turn politics into all-out war? As Danny above states, hating liberals is Republicans' main duty as partisan soldiers. It can irrational, mendacious, stupid, and hypocritical, but that's their job. And they perform it spectacularly well, to the point of paralyzing government and making modest reform impossible. When the time comes to assessing blame for our national decline, we shouldn't forget who started this war and why. It was the right with their racial animus and paranoia.
ClearEYe on January 20, 2012 8:55 AM:
Better than anyone else, Gingrich understands the use of language as ''A Key Mechanism of Control,'' the focus of his notorious GOPAC memo:
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article4443.htm
He is a master of the dark art he helped create. Anyone who covers him or opposes him is foolish not to study his methods or to consider the implications for our democratic republic.
Danny on January 20, 2012 8:57 AM:
@c u n d gulag
You seem to be under the impression that CNN is in the business of looking good and holding politicians accountable. But they're in the pro wrestling business.
lou on January 20, 2012 8:58 AM:
If that question revealed more of Gingrich and the voters to whom his response best landed then it has merit just for that.
Look at the polls to see how the women feel about him. I am sure his response only worsened his position with the females.
So, no, John King is not that f'ing stupid. But Gingrich, by far, is that f'ing despicable. King's question merely shined more light on him.
RepublicanPointOfView on January 20, 2012 8:58 AM:
Gawd Damn Liberal Media...
Out to destroy republicans and out to protect Obama! It is obvious that the liberal media is not talking about Mitt Romney's $30-$100 Million in offshore accounts so that they can use it as a sledgehammer this fall.
Newt has seen the light and has repented and has been forgiven for his past sins. Sarah Palin is correct that the candidates need to be vetted, but these sludge level attacks on Newt are obscene. When the hell is the liberal press going to doing the vetting of Obama that they never did in 2008???
As for Benen's reference to Weiner, Spitzer, and Edwards; they are heathen jesus hating liberals who have not asked and received god's forgiveness.
N.Wells on January 20, 2012 8:58 AM:
"And I am appalled that you would begin a presidential debate on a topic like that."
And I am appalled that a person as despicable as Gingrich is taken seriously in politics in this country.
ThisGuy on January 20, 2012 9:00 AM:
Last night South Carolina conservatives took a huge progressive step forward ushering in a laissez-faire hedonistic society.
We will never again hold our leaders to any sort of standard to their sexual proclivity. No matter what sorted torrid affairs any elected official has had in the past or currently on going. Conservatives say its just OK with them and should be celebrated in front of god and the public. It's a new day in America we will except all forms of marriage arrangements from anyone seeking public office or public service, we shall no longer even ask about the morals of those who seek such positions. So thank you South Carolina Conservatives for finally putting this issue to rest, we will no longer care if our leaders covet another mans wife, or commit adultery whether if it is with the same or opposite sex. your progressive forward thinking leadership on this issue will always be remembered.
Hedda Peraz on January 20, 2012 9:01 AM:
Mr. Benen writes:"The right really does believe they’re victims."
Truer words were never penned! Since that notorious philandering liberal Benjamin Franklin first put quill to foolscap, were have been the victims of relentless diatribes from the Left.
We try to celebrate Christmas, and we are mocked. Our children try to pray in school and they are thwarted by the so-called "Constitution".
White Christian Americans are the most persecuted minority in history!
c u n d gulag on January 20, 2012 9:01 AM:
Danny,
So true...
Ron Byers on January 20, 2012 9:03 AM:
We know the Republican base will turn out this fall. The real question is will we be able to turn out the Democratic base.
Damn I wish we could have a debate about real issues.
Right now Newt Gingrich is the most energetic candidate on the public stage and the most flawed. The real question for Newt is the one Santorium ask, can the Speaker stay focused long enough to actually solve a problem.
T2 on January 20, 2012 9:07 AM:
gulag, I agree with your assessment of the "question". If CNN had wanted to rig the "debate" so Gingrich could hit it out of the park, the question about his infidelity would be the one to do it. They served it up and he hit it. Just like the Network knew he would. I almost wonder if CNN provided the use of a script writer to Newt?
T2 on January 20, 2012 9:09 AM:
dear Ron Byers....what makes you think Gingrich wants to solve any problems? The only thing on his mind is paying the monthly Tiffany bill.
sick-n-effn-tired. on January 20, 2012 9:11 AM:
@ ThisGuy
You forgot the astrick
* Republicans Only Need Apply.
Everything a Democrat does is still beyond the pale.
Skip on January 20, 2012 9:11 AM:
Come on, ladies of America. Here is your chance to give the highest seat in the land to a serial cheater who is being "victimized" by one of the wives he dumped for a younger piece.
Newt really brings it home what faith, ethics, and morality are really about...PR image and arrogance.
I wouldn't vote this man in to clean the WH toilets. Half of me wants Newt to get the nom, so Obama can stomp his nasty ass from Maine to oh, lets say Hawaii!!!
John Iwaniszek on January 20, 2012 9:12 AM:
You left out South Carolina's own philanderer in chief, Mark Sanford, from your list of adulterers.
max on January 20, 2012 9:14 AM:
Get a grip. This is South Carolina, a state that threatened to secede in 1830. Newt is a dinosaur. If you were to use a single word to describe him it would be incoherent. All the Dems need to do is roll out file footage of him railing against Bill Clinton's sexual escapades in the 1990s and show it side by side with last night's screed. In a month Newt will end up where he belongs, a tragi-comic figure; a footnote in U.S. history. As a journalist, King was right to bring this up immediately, given the evangelical presence in that state. His mistake was overestimating the intelligence of the fools sitting behind him and how easily they are manipulated. Hitler said it best to his inner circle: "It's a good thing for leaders that men do not think". Unfortunately for Newt, he won't be able to get away with this in a national election.
j on January 20, 2012 9:25 AM:
I have an unrelated comment this morning. I used to be a supporter of OWS, but last night Obama went to a fundraiser
in Harlem, the OWS people demonstrated hatefully against him, they have ignored Romney's fundraising there from the elite Wall Streeters, have they gone crazy - the way I see it Obama is their best hope!
Skip on January 20, 2012 9:28 AM:
So the entire national media got to listen to him bash them and now they'll do what...nothing.
protect Obama? decent people? if Obama was cheating, we'd have another showy impeachment with Newt heading the villagers because "he knows personal pain".
We can't let these people take over this nation again before we've even leveled out from the last bunch.
TR on January 20, 2012 9:31 AM:
As a Democrat, I'm thrilled.
Newt is going to make Goldwater look like a world beater.
Eric on January 20, 2012 9:32 AM:
What was appalling in last night's exchange about Newt's serial infidelity was that King and his fellow questioners let him get away with it. The Gingrich campaign depends on not being called on lies and evasions. It has to be run in an alternate reality. The "journalists" like King who enable that deception are not being balanced, they are participating in the lie.
SYSPROG on January 20, 2012 9:40 AM:
'destructive, vicious, negative nature'...yes GOP, blame EVERYONE but yourselves. C'mon South Carolina...show the country how stupid you are cuz this shit won't play in Preoria...
bigtuna on January 20, 2012 9:48 AM:
to wit - in the Salt Lake paper this am, the small lower left pg 1 box story for the debate coverage headline?
"Gingrich scolds CNN moderator"
game, set to the newtster and his winkie
pol on January 20, 2012 9:48 AM:
This is what's scary about Newt. Republicans REALLY, REALLY don't care that he's a serial philanderer... not even the evangelicals. They just hate liberals. Most of them are as two-faced as they can be, and will vote for him because he's their best hope. He says all the right buzzwords. I'll bet you anything Newt gets the nomination.
Bob M on January 20, 2012 9:49 AM:
John King should have just said, Well, just substitute Barack Obama's name for yours. What is your response?
RT on January 20, 2012 9:50 AM:
If Romney was behind Marianne's interview, that sure blew up in his face. A serial flip-flopper like Romney will never understand that Gingrich is popular with the brutish GOP base because he always brazens it out and he never apologizes.
Pal2008 on January 20, 2012 9:51 AM:
These people, the so-called conservatives, are not well.
biggerbox on January 20, 2012 9:56 AM:
What was really pathetic was the way King tried to scurry out from under Newt's attack by pointing out that it wasn't HIS network that ran the interview, thereby granting Newt's contention that there was something shameful about it.
I have to think CNN/King was trying to set Newt up to hit it out of the park, and King got confused about the game there for a moment, and thought Newt was really mad at him, not just ritually invoking the angry victimhood of the Right.
Beejeez on January 20, 2012 9:58 AM:
A brief and completely random sampling of sponsors of the liberal/socialist/unAmerican news media:
CBS News -- Kraft Foods, Merk & Co., General Mills, Bristol-Myers, Pfizer, Nissan, Campbell's Soup, Ford, Kia, Morgan Stanley, Infiniti Automobiles, Ziploc, Estee Lauder, Cingular Wireless, Majestic Star Casino, Home Depot, Lowe's, Toyota.
NBC News -- General Electric, Progressive Insurance, Kashi Cereals, Lenscrafters, Ameritrade, Aruba Tourism.
ABC News -- Scott's Miracle-Gro, GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, General Mills, DirectBuy furniture, Proctor and Gamble, Johnson and Johnson, Red Lobster, Bank of America, AT&T, Sony Corp., McDonald's, Progressive Insurance, Nestle, Georgia-Pacific.
CNN -- JK Harris & Co., AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals, Sprint/Nextel, Subaru, Philips, Boston Market, Liberty medical, Live Well Financial, American Coalition for Clean Coal, Dodge, Hyundai, Exxon Mobil, EHealth Insurance.
Well under-representative of drug companies, true. Still, I could not find the American Communist Party, The Mao Museum, the Socialist Worker's Party, The Nation magazine, the Democratic Party or the Civil Liberties Union among any of them.
jsjiowa on January 20, 2012 10:03 AM:
I think King had every right to ask the question, and was extremely disappointed that he didn't push back against Gingrich. A good journalist would not have accepted that kind of evasion. Why not follow-up by asking Gingrich if he truly believes that journalists don't have the right and obligation to ask not only about issues that go to a person's character, but in this case, also hypocrisy? King blew it.
SWENXOF on January 20, 2012 10:07 AM:
I was beginning to wonder where that Marine booing, execution cheering, GOP bunch had gotten to. They're back in fine form after last night's stand, clap, and whistle fest for the world's biggest serial cheating hypocrite. And yes, I saw a lot of old white ladies standing and clapping Newt's "shame on you for even thinking of bringing up my adulterous past" screed. Pathetic, republicans are fucking pathetic.
T2 on January 20, 2012 10:07 AM:
Eric, today's Republican Party depends on the Media never calling them "on it". And it very seldom does. If it does, there's usually an example of some Democrat doing some vaguely similar thing so "both sides do it". The reason we are in the situation we are in, politically, stems from the Media's decision to let the GOP do or say anything with total freedom from being "called on it".
T2 on January 20, 2012 10:11 AM:
"John King should have just said, Well, just substitute Barack Obama's name for yours. What is your response?"
I'd like King to have said "Well, just substitute Bill Clinton's name for yours. What is your response?
Of course, that would have been off-script.
SKM on January 20, 2012 10:20 AM:
j,
You used to support OWS. Look up the supporters, I used to think they may help things along, then I had heard on the radio that they are funded by the American Nazi Party - I looked it up, and there it was. I have also heard that their purpose is the replace Obama with Romney or Paul.
Rita on January 20, 2012 10:25 AM:
If a murderer on death row says he has found Jesus and is now saved, thus should be spared execution, he is laughed at and scorned by the very same people who are now oh, so willing to forgive Gingrich because, after all, he has repented and sought forgiveness.
Rita on January 20, 2012 10:28 AM:
The right's meme on John Edwards is that the liberal media enabled his bad behavior, treated him like a golden boy, and it was only the renegade National Enquirer who had the courage and spunk to bring his affair to light.
truthbetold on January 20, 2012 10:28 AM:
Funny how questions about Newt's character is verboten but not anyone else who is running. He attacks President Obama's character all the time. He attacks the media for looking into his character but will feed that same media his character attacks on others.
SKM on January 20, 2012 10:31 AM:
This is the problem I have with Gingrich, he has a fit when people bring up his affair/divorces, yet, he is one that is against a woman picking and choosing if she wants pro-choice/pro-life. In order words, he is saying stay out of my personal life, but, I can institute laws to control yours.
If he, and any of the other candidates wants to focus on the issues, then why do they keep bringing up Obama's name? Why don't they just get down to what they would do, their policies. And the moderators should make sure that they stop the practice of bashing the current president and just focus on the issues and how they would deal with it.
Although, I won't be voting for any of the GOP candidates, they all have flaws. And even if Santorum makes it so far, they will not let him get the position. He was one of the original 'Gang of Seven,' now there are called the 'Gang of Six.' He was blamed for taking down one of their favorites, John Ensign. He exposed scandals of members of congress and senate, I think it had something to do with post office. In this, they would look at him as a snitch and letting the public know what they don't want us to know.
SKM on January 20, 2012 10:38 AM:
Gingrich and other criticized the President for blocking Keystone project, even the unions.
Something they are not talking about, if this was approved, this would result in 'eminent domain.' Meaning, they government would be able to take a landowner/homeowners property if they need to in order to finish the project - sometimes they take it ahead of time.
We've had too many foreclosures, and too many people losing their properties. We don't need more of it.
RS on January 20, 2012 10:42 AM:
What a repugnant human being, and what a sad, pathetic debate crowd.
tomb on January 20, 2012 11:07 AM:
You make excellent points about Gringich's disingenousness; however it WAS dispicable to air that interview.
JEA on January 20, 2012 11:11 AM:
Gingrich is a bomb-thrower, and he loves that role. He lives for it. And it serves him quite well in front of conservative audiences because it’s exactly what conservative audiences want to hear.
Which is why he got the standing ovation last night for ripping CNN and ABC.
BUT – if he should win the nomination, the bomb-throwing will NOT work with independents, because independents want a candidate who will work with and compromise with the other side of the aisle to get things done.
Unfortunately for Gingrich, he doesn’t offer much as a nominee other than the bomb-throwing.
Fire with Fire on January 20, 2012 11:43 AM:
"More to the point, when Gingrich was helping lead an impeachment crusade against President Bill Clinton, and the media’s obsession with a sex scandal was boundless"
The quote above from your article invalidates everything you wrote. Having been alive at the time I remember very distinctively how the media defended and worked hard to ignore the scandal and in the end when Clinton was proven to have coerced a the witness into provided false testimony to the court in writing the media decided to present republicans as making it all about sex.
You are lying profoundly throughout the entire article.
cathymac on January 20, 2012 11:58 AM:
As to the culture of victimhood which characterizes the right: they're correct in their belief that nobody likes them. They're whiny, mean, unreasonable, and frequently delusional. They don't even like each other. When was the last time anybody used the term ' beloved' to characterize a politician on the right? I believe that hasn't happened since the Reagan years, and then their 'beloved' was a b-movie actor they confused with the Gipper because he once played him in a movie.
So. There's that.
SKM on January 20, 2012 12:19 PM:
This my friends is class warfare in action.
They feel they deserve special treatment, meanwhile denying others the benefit.
They want their sex lives secret, but not yours.
They want their government jobs, but not for you.
CNN is not liberal, the last time I checked, they were the ones really into the Tea Party.
718BKNYC on January 20, 2012 12:51 PM:
And this is why the news media is overrun by second rate buffoons. I can't understand how King wasn't prepared for the attack that CNN had to know was coming. Were they thinking he would tell the truth or twist a lie to make it fit his alternate reality? Of course not. But true to form, they simply cannot uncover even recent history to show how, at minimum, the GOP are hypocritical hysterics. How the Clinton era, Edwards era, and for Christs sakes Weiner era scandals were left off the table in response is unfathomable. There had to be a point in asking the question in the first place. The lead off question at that, right? All it was was he said/she said reporting and entertainment. Don't bother peeling the onion or preparing with follow up questions or anticipated responses. Another example of a society caught up in today with no interest in learning from yesterday. Can't remember shit to save their lives. Shame on John King.
bdop4 on January 20, 2012 12:59 PM:
Max @ 9:14 a.m. is right. If South Carolina is the bellweather state for national consensus, then this country is completely and irredeemably fucked.
The fact they love this assh*le just proves that they are assh*les. Yeah, tell me again about your "family values."
As lou @ 8:58 a.m. also notes, the only women that will vote for Newt are the submissive, radical authoritarian wackos.
Newt's bomb throwing may get him the SC primary, but it's gotta be hurting him with indepedents and moderate conservatives.
Michael on January 20, 2012 1:05 PM:
was Gingrich condemning the �despicable� media when news organizations obsessed over Anthony Weiner�s personal life? How about Eliot Spitzer? Or John Edwards?
I don't remember the "media" attacking Weiner. Weiner tweeted it. I don't remember the "media" attacking Spitzer - He hired a prostitute. As the executive officer of NY, he should have been arrested and tried for the crime. Instead, the "media" gave him a job. The "media" did a great job ignoring John Edwards. It was a tabloid that broke the scandal of his life.
More to the point, when Gingrich was helping lead an impeachment crusade against President Bill Clinton, and the media�s obsession with a sex scandal
Bill Clinton was not impeached for banging an intern. Bill Clinton was impeached for committing perjury. He lied under oath.
goterpsgo on January 20, 2012 1:08 PM:
I think the issue Newt's critics only imply but don't explicitly state is that his infidelity is a litmus test of his personal integrity and moral compass.
Is that important? If you say yes, someone could come back and ask if you were OK with Clinton being fallatio'd a bunch of times and then tried to dodge the issue. Personally I wouldn't have cared about what Clinton did because I generally liked what he did as President.
In this vein, I think Newt's affairs would and should be considered irrelevant. And IMO Newt's proposed policies are monstrous and inhumane.
Jon Marfelson on January 20, 2012 1:27 PM:
Gingrich condemning the “despicable” media when news organizations obsessed over Anthony Weiner’s personal life? How about Eliot Spitzer? Or John Edwards?
Exactly! I remember when the media opened up a 2008 DNC debate with a question to John Edwards about his marital infidelity.
Wait a minute...
Squeaky McCrinkle on January 20, 2012 1:46 PM:
A more cynical person than I might think that the first question to Gingrich was a set-up.
Newt Gingrich is the ultimate sleazy hypocrite, all politician all the time.
CATMAN on January 20, 2012 2:26 PM:
Here is a song that encapsulates my attitude towards forgiveness and redemption for Newt:
http://youtu.be/r7nY6hdsIoI
The title is "God does but I don't"
boctaoe on January 20, 2012 3:20 PM:
Since all Republicans in the 99% will vote against their self interest, all female republicans will vote against their self interest, all minorities will vote against their self interest and that includes LGBT republicans, I see a tough road for Obama. Our fight to win should be to get out the vote for as many Democrats as possible. After all we outnumber them
RalfW on January 20, 2012 3:57 PM:
I think the destructive, vicious, negative... news media makes it harder to govern this country, harder to attract decent people to run for public office.
So it's the media's fault that Gingrich seeks office? Because it's danged clear from his philandering record of cheatin', dumpin' and marryin' again that he is not a decent person.
So of course he's attracted to Pennsylvania ave. The press makes it so attractive to people of low morals and even lower zippers. Right?
emjayay on January 21, 2012 12:14 PM:
Michael: Bill Clinton was a complete idiot to fool around with Monica. I don't remember exactly what he said under oath, but it was probably a half truth he was hoping to get away with. And he would have, if poor Monica hadn't been browbeaten into telling. When he insisted famously "I never had sex with that woman" he was technically correct, if "having sex" means intercourse, not fooling around. Yes, he was hoping the public would take what he said as meaning "nothing happened."
The Republicans spent millions (wasn't it $70M?) trying to find something, anything to hang Clinton on. They lucked out with a blow job. The perjury bit was the justification but the sex was the real reason. And it didn't work.