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Gingrich campaign insists no lobbying on behalf of Freddie Mac
The Hill, Washington, DC ^ | 2011-11-11 | Justin Sink

Posted on 11/11/2011 7:43:07 PM PST by rabscuttle385

Newt Gingrich's campaign is pushing back against criticism that the former Speaker consulted with embattled mortgage lender Freddie Mac, insisting that Gingrich did not lobby on behalf of the government corporation.

Gingrich was pressed on the ties during Wednesday evening's Republican debate — the Speaker was paid $300,000 in 2006 — but insisted that he only met with Freddie in his capacity as a historian, not as a lobbyist.

"I have never done any lobbying," Gingrich said. "Every contract was written during the period when I was out of the office, specifically said I would do no lobbying, and I offered advice."

(Excerpt) Read more at thehill.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: fanniemae; freddiemac; gingrich; gse; liar; lobbyist; november2011; rino
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1 posted on 11/11/2011 7:43:09 PM PST by rabscuttle385
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To: rabscuttle385

He’s lying! He said that Freddie was a model organization when conservatives were trying to reform it before the economic collapse.....pull your heads out of the sand folks, Newt is Establishment


2 posted on 11/11/2011 7:45:49 PM PST by Bigtigermike
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To: rabscuttle385

Oh Newt! You are so cute when you lobby...errr...give advice. here’s some advice: STFU and don’t mess this election up. TY from your fellow Republicans...errr..I mean REAL Republicans. Everytime I finish reading about this man, Iget a sudden urge to take a shower and clean myself off. RINO


3 posted on 11/11/2011 7:48:19 PM PST by Osamabindead
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To: Bigtigermike

“He’s lying! He said that Freddie was a model organization when conservatives were trying to reform it before the economic collapse.....pull your heads out of the sand folks, Newt is Establishment”

If he said that, and I take you at your word, he does have a LOT to answer for. It’s one thing for Barney Frank to support these thieves, it’s another for a prominent Republican to do so.

...sounds like he has a “Perry problem”.


4 posted on 11/11/2011 7:50:57 PM PST by BobL (Send Rove a Message, VOTE CAIN, no matter what)
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To: rabscuttle385

So.... what did newt do for the 300 grand?


5 posted on 11/11/2011 7:54:02 PM PST by guitarplayer1953 (Rebellion to Tyrants is Obedience to GOD! Thomas Jefferson)
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To: Bigtigermike

Do you have a link for that information? I would appreciate it very much.


6 posted on 11/11/2011 7:54:12 PM PST by true believer forever (First, they came for the rich.)
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To: BobL

Speaking of Perry, where are the Perrypals tonight?


7 posted on 11/11/2011 7:54:16 PM PST by gov_bean_ counter ( The Prudential Governor... Have you bought your piece of the Rick)
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To: rabscuttle385
but insisted that he only met with Freddie in his capacity as a historian,

Does he really think we'd believe that Freddie paid $300K for a history lesson?

8 posted on 11/11/2011 7:56:17 PM PST by Prokopton
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To: rabscuttle385
So - the media gets indignant if you lobby Freddie and Frannie yet, no indignation or outrage heard regarding the absurd bonuses and mismanagement by the people who are actually running the place?

Makes sense to me.....

9 posted on 11/11/2011 7:57:40 PM PST by capydick (''Life's tough.......it's even tougher if you're stupid.'')
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To: rabscuttle385

A “government corporation” is something that should never exist.


10 posted on 11/11/2011 7:57:48 PM PST by GeronL (The Right to Life came before the Right to Happiness)
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To: true believer forever; BobL
Pushing back, Freddie Mac enlisted prominent conservatives, including Gingrich and former Justice Department official Viet Dinh, paying each $300,000 in 2006, according to internal records. - Gingrich talked and wrote about what he saw as the benefits of the Freddie Mac business model.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/28108013/How_Freddie_Mac_Splashed_Cash_to_Halt_Regulation
11 posted on 11/11/2011 8:05:36 PM PST by Bigtigermike
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To: Bigtigermike

A lobbyist goes to government officials to try to get “x” for the company he/she represents. Newt was paid for advice, not to go to officials to get “x”. Newt also says they didn’t take his advice. That shouldn’t be a surprise. They kept runnning it in the ground.


12 posted on 11/11/2011 8:10:59 PM PST by Marcella (Newt will smash Obama in debates. Newt needs money.)
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To: gov_bean_ counter

“Speaking of Perry, where are the Perrypals tonight?”

The Ohio babe told me that her shift starts at 3 AM tonight (Central). She has to work this weekend, pretty bumbed. She does have next weekend off though. Benefits are good though.

The others have been told to quiet down a bit. They weren’t really helping much and with Perry’s latest flub, they get some down time to re-organize their thoughts.

The campaign is also having a tough time figuring out who to attack now that Cain, Romney, and Newt are almost tied, so they’re waiting to see who’s head pops up.


13 posted on 11/11/2011 8:12:20 PM PST by BobL (Send Rove a Message, VOTE CAIN, no matter what)
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To: Marcella

I don’t think most people know why lobbyists do, they just have heard lobbyists = bad for so long it’s fixed in their minds. When they hear the word they immediately go into the same mode they go into when they hear other charged words like banker or boogieman.


14 posted on 11/11/2011 8:17:11 PM PST by brytlea (An ounce of chocolate is worth a pound of cure)
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To: Bigtigermike

Newt is part of the beltway insiders. Even if he was not lobbying what the hell is he getting $300,000 for???

I know who will REALLY work toward stopping all the worthless glutenous govt spending, IT IS CAIN!!!


15 posted on 11/11/2011 8:17:44 PM PST by Fred (no job no house no gas no food no problem Obama 2012)
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To: gov_bean_ counter

I think they’re here, they just keep forgetting what they were going to say. ;>)

Sorry... I just couldn’t help myself.


16 posted on 11/11/2011 8:23:23 PM PST by Gator113 (~Just livin' life, my way~... Newt/Cain 2012..."Save a pretzel for the gas jets.")
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To: BobL
IF Gingrich can pass Romney, that takes away the “anybody but Romney” meme the Perrypals have been pushing. It would be great to have two smart, articulate conservatives in front of Romney. If that happens Perry's support will be reduced to his Family and Friends cell circle and a few of his big money boys from Texas. They have heavily “invested” in Perry and couldn't wait to take their corruption national. Well if they are still looking for a good ROI, it will have to be on the backs of Texans (again).
17 posted on 11/11/2011 8:26:32 PM PST by gov_bean_ counter
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To: Marcella

I am so glad that someone, such as you, is paying attention. That is how he explained it at the debate.


18 posted on 11/11/2011 8:26:57 PM PST by Gator113 (~Just livin' life, my way~... Newt/Cain 2012..."Save a pretzel for the gas jets.")
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To: true believer forever
I have read one of the best books on the subprime crisis: "Reckless Endangerment: How Outsized Ambition, Greed, and Corruption Led to Economic Armageddon" by Gretchen Morgenson and Joshua Rosner.

In 1995, Jim Johnson (Fannie Mae CEO) the corrupt liberal SOB responsible for damaging our economy more than any other single person (in my opinion) was in the process of opening up Fannie Mae branches all over the country.

James Johnson saw the company as the cash cow it was for the bureaucrats who ran it, and implemented a strategy that was on the job 24x7 with eyes and ears everywhere. He created Fannie Mae branches in a huge number of cities across America (I think it was between 50 and 100) staffed by like-minded people who served as the canary in the coal mine for any push back. They had armies of powerful lobbyists with lots of important connections.

At the opening of one of these branches in Atlanta he got on stage with that guy, and this is what he said:

Gingrich: "Fannie Mae is an excellent example of a former government institution fulfilling its mandate while functioning in the market economy...Fannie Mae has had a regional presence in Atlanta for over 40 years and the announcement of a partnership office demonstrates its continued commitment to affordable housing in the Atlanta metropolitan area."

(Note that as the authors state, it was COMPLETELY FALSE AND INACCURATE to characterize Fannie Mae as a "former government institution".)

More to the point...Newt shouldn't have been up on the stage with this guy because he was a crook and a damned evil liberal hack, he shouldn't have been up there because he was for small government (and Fannie Mae was the complete ANTITHESIS of that) and he shouldn't have praised Fannie Mae, which more than any other institution has damaged the economy immeasurably.

In my opinion, there is a lot to like about Newt and the way he changed the political scene when he entered it, but I have a hard time explaining his support for Fannie Mae. He isn't the same guy he was in 1994.

19 posted on 11/11/2011 8:30:26 PM PST by rlmorel (The Rats won't be satisfied until every industry in the USA is in ruins and ripe for nationalization)
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To: Fred

I think it’s called consulting, which is not the same as lobbying. I don’t think he’s hidden the fact that he was a consultant. I appreciate that you are for Cain (I like him too) but consulting and lobbying are two different things. If you have a consulting business and someone hires you to give them advice, that’s what you do.


20 posted on 11/11/2011 8:34:10 PM PST by brytlea (An ounce of chocolate is worth a pound of cure)
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