Bitter Backstory Between Newt Gingrich and Romney Backer Susan Molinari Points to Candidate's Self-Destructive Nature (Harry Walker)
It would seem that many in the black community aren’t the only ones ticked off at Newt Gingrich. Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign will host conference call later today with two surrogates, former Rep. Susan Molinari and former Sen. Jim Talent. Well, it seems that Susan Molinari has a deep-rooted beef with Newt Gingrich, according to Naked Politics:
Molinari’s dislike for Gingrich spans more than a decade. She served with him when he was House Speaker. She saw, in her words, how destructive and egotistical he is.
“Incredibly smart and pragmatic, he is at his best when he is building a team. He is at his worst and most self-destructive when he swells with his own sense of invulnerability and moves to the front and center,” Molinari wrote in her book. “Representative Mom: Balancing Budgets, Bill and Baby in the U.S. Congress.”
Molinari’s beef with Gingrich has a deeply personal aspect as well. Her husband, former Rep. Bill Paxon, was a top leader in the coup to oust Gingrich in 1997. It failed. Some blame Republican leader Dick Armey, now the leader of tea-party organizer FreedomWorks, for selling out his fellow plotters when he learned that Paxon would be speaker and not him.
Paxon mysteriously soon left his post in Congress. It was never clear why
“There is a concerted effort to take Bill Paxon out before he becomes a bigger threat to Gingrich than he is,” Hill reporter Sandy Hume reported at the time, according to this Arianna Huffington. “Paxon and Armey haven’t been on speaking terms since the coup.”
Soon after, Hume, son of the Fox commentator, committed suicide.
Oh what a tangled mess Newt Gingrich has woven during his tenure as Speaker of the House, yet we still see some remnants of that behavior rearing its ugly head out on the campaign trail, as evidenced from his racial politics at the expense of the black community. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Susan Molinari’s dad, Guy Molinari, hates Newt Gingrich’s guts, so it’s no surprise what her position on the former House Speaker would be.
Oh, by the way, the Romney campaign is laying into Newt Gingrich. They have released a new ad, “Undisciplined” attacking the egomaniac:
While it’s a little disingenuous for Mitt Romney to attack Newt Gingrich, particularly since in 1994, while Gingrich was touting the Contract With America, Mitt Romney was literally running the other way. Here’s an interesting column from Major Garrett about that hot mess and watch the video below. This is all playing to President Obama’s favor:
