Buy Now! Own NewtGingrich.Com! Won’t Last Long!
With the holiday season rapidly upon us, what do you get for the Republican primary candidate who has everything? American Bridge 21st Century has the perfect gift: NewtGingrich.com As the people who brought you RomneyForSenate.com, it’s not that we didn’t have our own ideas about what to do with the site. But, in true holiday spirit, we figured it might go to someone with greater need than us. Maybe someone trying to get that added edge going into 2012, or perhaps someone who may have been too busy earlier in the year to secure it on their own. We thought of giving it away, but we wouldn’t want to be accused of being socialists. So, make your best offer. We’re asking for $1 million, but we’d be happy to accept $500,000 in bling. Heck in the spirit of Christmas we might even let it go for $10,000.
VIDEO: "Those Who Live In Glass Houses…"
Mitt Romney’s struggling presidential campaign is on the attack against former Speaker Newt Gingrich over a consulting contract with Freddie Mac. Romney has demanded Gingrich return money he made from the deal. Yet as the Boston Globe reported, Romney himself has up to $500,000 in a mutual fund that is heavily invested Fannie & Freddie -- outside of his blind trust. Does that mean Romney will return the up to $50,000 he made from investing in Fannie & Freddie?
Romney Bet Big On Fannie And Freddie
Despite the blame Romney has placed on Fannie and Freddie for the economic crisis, Romney has profited handsomely off of the companies. According to financial disclosure statements, Romney has invested up to a half million dollars in a mutual fund heavily invested in Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Federal Home Loan Bank notes. The pay-out on Romney’s bet: up to $50,000. These investments weren’t made until the latter half of 2007. And, as the Boston Globe reported, “unlike most of Romney’s financial holdings, which are held in a blind trust that is overseen by a trustee and not known to Romney, this particular investment was among those that would have been known to Romney.”
Romney’s Freddie Mac Attack on Gingrich Reeks of Hypocrisy
Washington, DC – Mitt Romney’s struggling presidential campaign is on the attack against former Speaker Newt Gingrich over a consulting contract with Freddie Mac. While desperate attacks have been a pillar of Romney’s long, 17-year political career, this week’s iteration is even more hypocritical than we've come to expect from Romney. As the Boston Globe reported, Romney himself has up to $500,000 in a mutual fund that is heavily invested Fannie & Freddie -- outside of his blind trust. The investment was made in late 2007, just “around the time that the scale of the housing crisis was coming into focus.”
Washington Monthly: Romney gambles on Freddie Mac attack
On December 12, 2011, Washington Monthly's Steve Benen reported:
There is, however, a problem: Romney has some Freddie Mac troubles of his own. [...] It leads to a pretty straightforward question: if Gingrich should return the money he made by working for Freddie Mac, should Romney return the money he made by investing in Freddie Mac?
USA Today: Romney jabs Gingrich for 'erratic outspokenness'
On December 12, 2011, USA Today reported:
Romney, speaking to Fox News this morning, also said the former House speaker should return the money he received from Freddie Mac. Gingrich made at least $1.6 million from the mortgage giant, providing what he called "strategic advice." Gingrich responded by suggesting Romney should return money he earned while leading Bain Capital, a venture capital firm. Romney has been criticized for his work at Bain, whose leveraged buyouts of companies sometimes led to layoffs. [...] he Democratic group, American Bridge, is reminding reporters that Romney made money from his investments in Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.
USA Today: Bachmann, Democrats take shots at Gingrich
On November 17, 2011, USA Today reported:
American Bridge 21st Century, a Democratic organization, has a new video out today that compiles some of Gingrich's past statements about Fannie and Freddie with clips of more recent coverage.
TPM: Gingrich Jokes About His ‘Historian’ Gig For Freddie Mac
On November 11, 2011, Talking Points Memo reported:
Newt Gingrich said during Wednesday’s debate that he worked for housing giant Freddie Mac as an “historian” in 2006 not as a lobbyist. That would make him one highly paid historian. While Freddie Mac confirmed that he did no lobbying work, government watchdogs told TPM that it was a fairly arbitrary distinction since ex-politicians are often hired as “consultants” who use their connections to perform similar functions. And that’s why they get paid the big bucks: Gingrich earned $300,000 for a year’s work with Freddie Mac while the average history professor has an average salary of about $63,000.Would that make Newt the highest paid historian in history? See Newt's answer after the jump
AP: Going Off-The-Cuff, Romney Does Himself Few Favors
On October 28, 2011, the Associated Press reported:
"Mitt Romney may need a censor. For himself. In the last few weeks in Nevada, the man who owns several homes told the state hit tough by the housing crisis: "Don't try and stop the foreclosure process. Let it run its course and hit the bottom." At one point in Iowa, earlier this year, the former venture capitalist uttered, "Corporations are people," with the country in the midst of a debate over Wall Street vs. Main Street. At an event in economically suffering Florida, the retiree — who is a multimillionaire many times over — told out-of-work voters, "I'm also unemployed." Over the past year, the Republican presidential candidate has amassed a collection of off-the-cuff comments that expose his vulnerabilities and, taken together, cast him as out-of-touch with Americans who face staggering unemployment, widespread foreclosures and a dire outlook on the economy..."
MEMO: Perry, Romney, And The Mortgage Crisis
As the GOP frontrunners continue to attack President Obama on the economic crisis caused largely by the subprime mortgage meltdown and the subsequent recession, information about Rick Perry’s and Mitt Romney’s questionable dealings with regard to this crisis has come to light.