When the story of the 2012 Republican primary is written, yesterday’s debate in Sioux City Iowa, will be remembered as the night Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-MN, turned the knife in former House Speaker Newt Gingrich’s candidacy by forcefully holding him accountable for his influence-peddling past.
Asked for “hard evidence” that Gingrich has “engaged in influence-peddling,” Bachmann replied: “It’s the fact that we know that he cashed paychecks from Freddie Mac. That is the best evidence that you can have: over $1.6 million. … The evidence is that Speaker Gingrich took $1.6 million. You don’t need to be within the technical definition of being a lobbyist to still be influence-peddling with senior Republicans in Washington, D.C., to get them to do your bidding.”
Bachmann is right. And not just on Freddie Mac. Gingrich also took money from the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America while he personally asked members of Congress to vote for the 2003 prescription drug bill.
When the Sioux City Journal fact checked Gingrich’s reply to Bachmann, “I did no lobbying of any kind for any organization,” they cited his work for Freddie and PhRMA and deemed his denial “false.”
The Washington Examiner‘s Tim Carney explains why Gingrich’s lobbying denials are such a decisive factor: “1) Newt says he didn’t lobby. He did. That means Newt is not telling the truth. A candidate serially telling untruths is a reason to not like that candidate. 2) Newt didn’t simply lobby for businesses. He lobbied for businesses that were trying to profit at the expense of everyone else by increasing the size of government. This was what he did at Freddie Mac, this was what he did expanding Medicare to subsidize his pharmaceutical clients, and this was what he did helping ethanol companies get subsidies.”
GOP Debate
The Washington Examiner‘s Michael Barone: “Big winner in the debate: Mitt Romney. Loser in the debate: Newt Gingrich…. [Romney] gets points, I think, for hailing the Ryan-Wyden initiative as “a big day for the country” and “an enormous achievement.” He touted again and again his private sector experience, while noting self-deprecatingly and even citing specifics that he was not always right (preemptive attempted insulation against Democratic attacks in the general).”
The Weekly Standard‘s Jay Cost: “I thought Newt Gingrich did not do well. Not just when he defended his (essentially indefensible) work at Freddie Mac, but also when he cited FDR as a model for how he would handle the court. Terrible argument, one that any self-proclaimed constitutional conservative should be concerned about.”
The Weekly Standard‘s Stephen Hayes: “Romney didn’t make any major mistakes and had several good moments. In response to a question about what sectors of the U.S. economy will be generating jobs in 10 years, Romney gave a nearly pitch-perfect answer explaining that the government shouldn’t make decisions that the free market will.”
RedState‘s Erick Erickson: “Michele Bachmann got to Newt. She got the better of him on the issue of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae and he treated her so dismissively on the issue of abortion I expect it to really hurt him more with women.”
Townhall‘s Guy Benson: “Gingrich started out on shaky ground as moderators and rivals alike pounced on his Freddie Mac money problem. His answer was erratic and unconvincing — comparing the huge, broken GSE to Habitat for Humanity and asserting that it “shares his values.” His contention that his actions weren’t tantamount to lobbying drew scrutiny and fire from several other candidates, and his suggestion that he didn’t actually attack the Ryan Medicare reform plan was preposterous on its face.”
National Review‘s Victor Davis Hanson: “Romney does best when he is not on the attack, but is explaining the private sector and faulting Obama. He is now getting much better at explaining away his two vulnerabilities — the flip-flopping charge and the Massachusetts health-care plan.”
Around the Bigs
The Wall Street Journal, Corzine Knew Of Fund Transfer: Jon Corzine, the former campaign-money bundler for President Obama bundler and former Democratic governor and U.S. Senator of New Jersey testified that he knew about allegedly illegal fund
Gallup, Americans Prioritize Economy Over Reducing Wealth Gap: More Americans say it is important that the federal government enact policies that grow the economy (82%) than say the same about reducing the income and wealth gap between the rich and the poor (46%).
The Hill, Deal reached on $1 trillion omnibus bill: House Appropriations Committee Hal Rogers, R-Ky.,announced last night that House and Senate negotiators have reached a tentative agreement on a $1 trillion omnibus spending bill that would avert a government shutdown. The House and Senate are expected to vote on the bill today.
The Washington Examiner, Obama abandons demand for millionaire tax: President Obama’s liberal base is disappointed that Democrats have given up trying to pay for the payroll tax cut with a millionaire tax hike. “So much for a really good talking point for Democrats in 2012,” wrote progressive blogger Joan McCarter on Daily Kos.
The Washington Post, Medicare’s ‘SGR’ formula has snowballed to budget-busting juggernaut: The cost of fixing the formula that controls how much Medicare pays doctors has transformed into a budget-busting juggernaut that would cost $300 billion to fix permanently.
The Los Angeles Times, U.S. stands by California bullet train project despite critics: The Obama administration vowed Thursday that it would not back down from its support of California’s bullet train project. At a House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee hearing, Federal Railroad Administration chief Joseph Szabo testified, “We are not going to flinch on that support.”
The New York Times, Walkouts by Nurses Loom as Hospitals Seek to Cut Costs: Facing changes in Medicare and Medicaid caused by Obamacare, hospitals are cutting costs which is provoking strike threats from nurses’ unions nationwide.
The Washington Examiner, Gray: Feds should pay Occupy costs: Policing the Occupy DC protesters has cost the District of Columbia $1.6 million since October, Mayor Vincent Gray said Thursday, and now he wants the federal government to pick up the tab.
Campaign 2012
Romney: South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, one of the most sought-after remaining Republican endorsements, will come out for Mitt Romney Friday morning.
Iowa: The Washington Examiner‘s Byron York reports that Mike Huckabee would not enter the race even if his supporters tried to draft him. “No, I think all the doors are well closed. I don’t think I feel a draft at all,” Huckabee said.
Righty Playbook
The Weekly Standard‘s Matt Labash remembers Christopher Hitchens who died last night.
The Heritage Foundation calls the omnibus agreed to by Congress last night “another get-out-of-town budget debacle.”
The Enterprise Blog
‘s Joseph Antos call the Ryan-Wyden Medicare reform plan, “one step closer to a Medicare reform that can work.”
Lefty Playbook
The Huffington Post‘s Sam Stein reports that the White House is “concerned” about the Ryan-Wyden Medicare reform plan.
Talking Points Memo reports that insiders on Capitol Hill believe the Ryan-Wyden Medicare reform plan is a “complete political loser” for Democrats.
ThinkProgress‘ Igor Volsky worries that the Ryan-Wyden plan will eventually become just the Ryan plan.
