Book by Sen. Tom Coburn says Newt Gingrich drained lifeblood from Republican revolution

When Dr. Coburn says Gingrich would be “the last person I'd vote for for president of the United States,” then you know that Gingrich is no small government conservative and is probably as arrogant as they come.  In a choice between the words of Dr. Coburn and Newt Gingrich, I will Dr. Tom 100% of the time.  I trust my Senator when he speaks and don't trust a thing Gingrich says.  His track record is one of what is best for Newt not for the country or for people who work around him.  Newt would spend our tax dollars on pet projects which is what he tried to do as Speaker.  He thinks he is smarter than almost anyone else.  If you don't believe me, listen to his arrogance in saying he will be the nominee.  Not with my vote he won't as I join Dr. Coburn.

Coburn said Gingrich usually made freshmen feel “as if we didn't have much value because we didn't know anything about the political game in Washington. … It would not take long for us to become ‘the conservatives' to him.”

Too many sources are saying that Gingrich did not get along well with conservatives in the House as he preferred to deal with Democrats then small government conservatives like Dr. Coburn,. Joe Scarborough, Steve Largent, and others.  Arrogance to the core from Gingrich.  Why is he the Fox flavor of the week when he declares he is smarter than all the Fox pundits.  Is there anyone in America who is smarter than Gingrich?  (sarcasm)

If Gingrich is half as arrogant as he comes across, he has the capability of being worse than Obama flying around in AF One and enjoying all the trappings of the Presidency like he is a king.  He was not a team player as speaker so why would that change as President.  He is not conservative when it comes to the economy, healthcare, global warming, and he is not the most conservative on pro-life unless it gets votes.  The head of NH Right to Life just endorsed Rick Perry which speaks volumes.

Ethics and Gingrich should not be used in the same sentence and I apologize for doing just that.  My complaint in the past has been if you are running for President your life should be an open book and that includes ethics complaints in the House which Newt is fighting his former friend Pelosi on releasing.  The most bizarre part are some conservative sites wanting them kept secret?  The same sites that demanded Obama release his records now say ethics complaints against Gingrich should not be released.  Hypocrisy at its finest is on display from some conservative pundits and writers in this election.

Book by Sen. Tom Coburn says Newt Gingrich drained lifeblood from Republican revolution

Oklahoma U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn's recent criticisms of Newt Gingrich's leadership are tied to clashes in the 1990s when the two served in the U.S. House 

BY CHRIS CASTEEL ccasteel@opubco.com
Published: December 7, 2011 

WASHINGTON — Sen. Tom Coburn, who said Sunday that he would have trouble supporting Newt Gingrich for president, described the former U.S. House speaker in his 2003 book as a “Career Republican” who looked down on a band of conservatives seeking to curtail government spending. 

As told in “Breach of Trust,” written by Coburn after he left the U.S. House and before he ran for the U.S. Senate, Gingrich's leadership “seemed erratic” after the 1995 government shutdown. Coburn also wrote that the speaker had “an inability to discipline himself in his public comments.” 

Coburn, R-Muskogee, and other conservatives clashed with Gingrich several times over spending, and some talked in 1997 about removing him as speaker. 

Gingrich, who resigned from the House in 1998, is gaining strength in the Republican presidential field and leads in the early caucus state of Iowa, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll released Tuesday. 

Coburn's criticisms 

On Fox News on Sunday, Coburn said he found Gingrich's leadership lacking but declined to provide more details. At a town-hall meeting in Oklahoma last year, Coburn said Gingrich was “the last person I'd vote for for president of the United States,” the Tulsa World reported. 

At that meeting, Coburn said Gingrich, who has been divorced twice, doesn't have a commitment to marriage and that “his life indicates he does not have a commitment to the character traits necessary to be a great president.” 

In his book, Coburn limits his criticisms of Gingrich to policy matters, mostly about the budget.
Coburn was part of the 1994 freshman class that gave Republicans control of the House for the first time in 40 years. According to Coburn, Gingrich ultimately abandoned the principles that drove the Republican resurgence and failed to keep promises to slash spending. 

“From the perspective of many members of the class of 1994, it was Gingrich who had drained the lifeblood from the Republican revolution with some of his political decisions,'' Coburn wrote. 

Didn't feel valued 

Coburn said Gingrich usually made freshmen feel “as if we didn't have much value because we didn't know anything about the political game in Washington. … It would not take long for us to become ‘the conservatives' to him.” 

Coburn has not endorsed a Republican presidential candidate for 2012. In 2008, he campaigned for Republican Sen. John McCain in the primaries and the general election.

Read more: The Oklahoman

Thank you Dr. Coburn for your honesty on Newt Gingrich -- very refreshing to see someone step forward and give us the facts that Newt Gingrich did not value 'the conservatives' in the House who were elected in 1994.  That says a lot about Newt's real ideology which is more moderate than he portrays.