Somebody Buy Newt Gingrich a Dictionary!
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.
--Matthew 23:27 (KJV)
Former Georgia congressman Newt Gingrich has admitted he was having an extramarital affair the whole time he led the charge against President Clinton over the Monica Lewinsky affair. But he says in an interview with James Dobson, founder of conservative Christian group Focus on the Family, that this doesn't makes him a hypocrite.
Why? Because…
"The president of the United States got in trouble for committing a felony in front of a sitting federal judge. I drew a line in my mind that said, 'Even though I run the risk of being deeply embarrassed, and even though at a purely personal level I am not rendering judgment on another human being.' As a leader of the government trying to uphold the rule of law, I have no choice except to move forward and say that you cannot accept ... perjury in your highest officials."
I see. He "drew a line in his mind" between what he was doing and what other people were doing. Way to take back the moral high ground, Newt.
I have to wonder, how much duplicity are conservative Christians willing to swallow for the sake of political expediency? What will it take before they catch on that most of the politicians who proclaim themselves to be arbiters of morality are the rankest hypocrites who whitewash to their sins while gleefully manipulating gullible voters?
Just to sum up...
-- Newt Gingrich told his first wife, Jackie Battley, that he was divorcing her while she was in the hospital recuperating from cancer.
-- Newt Gingrich divorced his second wife, Marianne, after having a long-term affair with staffer Calista Bisek.
Yet all the while...
-- Newt Gingrich campaigned on a platform of restoring morality and family values to government.
-- Newt Gingrich led the campaign to impeach and/or censure President Bill Clinton for lying about having an extramarital affair.
Give me a break! I know Christians are supposed to believe in forgiveness and turning the other cheek and all that other high-fallutin moral stuff, but this isn't a case of "Oops, I did a couple of things I'm not proud of." This is an all too common case of Machiavellian political manipulation. Newt Gingrich has calculatedly portrayed himself as a supporter of traditional Christian values while living a life that radically contradicts these values. That is the EXACT definition of hypocrisy.
Merriam-Webster's online dictionary defines hypocrite as:
Main Entry: hyp·o·crite
Pronunciation: 'hi-p&-"krit
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English ypocrite, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin hypocrita, from Greek hypokritEs actor, hypocrite, from hypokrinesthai
1 : a person who puts on a false appearance of virtue or religion
2 : a person who acts in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feelings
- hypocrite adjective
Since Newt Gingrich, however, doesn’t seem to understand the meaning of the word "hypocrite," I propose we launch the "Buy Newt a Dictionary" campaign. For mere pennies, you too can contribute to the linguistic edification of a right-wing demagogue. Here's how it works. Give whatever you can. When we've saved enough money, we'll purchase a dictionary with the page for HYPOCRITE prominently bookmarked, and we'll send it to his campaign headquarters at:
Gingrich Communications
1425 K Street, NW
Suite 350
Washington, DC 20005
202-587-5710