Here is a scary thought. At least one in five republicans we encounter in this are nuts. What other explanation is there for Newt Gingrich’s sudden surge in the polls, or pizza man Herman Cain’s brief time in the political limelight, or Texas Governor Rick Perry momentary fling as the Presidential choice of twenty-plus percent of potential GOP primary season voters.

I’m not complaining. The republican comedy troupe makes writing a blog easy—especially since I can occasionally post re-runs. This week’s disclosure that Newt Gingrich and/or his consulting firm collected more than a million and a half dollars for giving advice to Fannie Mae is the latest of the serial scandals involving the serial adulterer. The former Speaker of the House assured reporters that he was paid as an “historian,” not as a lobbyist.

Gingrich’s explanation is in the same league as his elucidation on Pat Robertson’s CBN about adultery in which he claimed he violated the Seventh Commandment because of his patriotism and love of country. Anyway, I offered my observations last May on the man who will not go away and it’s time for a repeat.

                     NEWT GINGRICH TO TEST HOW LOW GOP WILL GO

Like Donald Trump, the Presidential candidacy of Newt Gingrich is a sick joke—a bit of whimsy that provides comics with punchlines. Neither man has a chance of being nominated, much less being elected. Nonetheless, the two alleged candidacies provide an accurate measurement of the number of people who give will give stupid answers to pollsters.

What person in reasonable control of mental faculties would seriously consider voting for either man. Serial adulterer Newt Gingrich built his career on failure. He failed as as a husband, who hurried to the bedside of his cancer-stricken wife to announce he was divorcing her—and as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives before resigning because of the hypocrisy of lambasting President Clinton for sexual adventures in the Oval Office at the same time he was carrying on with a woman in a Catholic pew.

Gingrich’s Presidential aspirations have made it easy for news reporters searching for a low life worse than the Donald. It took only a few interminable weeks for Trump to display his  true stripes. And none were black. His racism is less subtle than that of Klan Kleagle and Nazi David Duke. But he is worse than Duke because the mainstream media gave him so much access. He is now gone, but sadly, not forgotten.

Everytime I think television news has bottomed out, another sinkhole takes broadcast journalism into deeper disgrace. What happens when Lindsey Lohan announces her candidacy? Will she be given unlimited interviews to accuse Barack Obama of being 51% white because he lacks real rhythm?

At least, Newt Gingrich’s access to the media has been pretty much restricted to the Republican Propaganda Network, aka, Fox “News.”  But in recent days, the network has purportedly cut ties with Newt and its stable of Presidential wannabes/commentators. However, Fox will undoubtedly give them plenty of interview time as the election cycle progresses.

For the time being, Newt Gingrich can make more money soliciting campaign contributions than working as a pundit. Although he must account for a good portion of the money, it provides him a bankroll for a rather elegant lifestyle in the best hotels and restaurants while running for the nation’s highest office.

Gingrich is a smart guy. He will tell you so. Over and over and over, ad nauseum. He lies awake at night devising polysylballic words and phrases to attack his opponents. And that is where he may be useful to the Republican Party.

With Gingrich’s lack of conscience and his propensity for distortion, he could become an attack dog when and if a viable GOP Presidential candidate emerges. Meantime, Republican voters with big bank accounts and small brains can contribute to the Gingrich anti-poverty fund.

Others can simply write and tell the bastard to get a real job.

My memoir, Odyssey of a Derelict Gunslinger: A Saga of Exposing TV Preachers, Corrupt Politicians, Right-Wing Lunatics…and Me is available at amazon.com, soft-cover or Kindle and at independent bookstores like the Cottonwood in Baton Rouge. It offers $19.99 worth of laughs and much more. The book is an account of my illustrious (I choose the adjectives) investigative reporting career. jblisscamp@aol.com.