There was a lively exchange between Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich at the ABC/Yahoo! debates in New Hampshire. The sparks flew over Gingrich’s failure to serve in the military, yet later becoming a very vocal war hawk as a statesman. Paul originally called Gingrich out as a “chickenhawk,” and it seems the label is going to stick this time as the former House Speaker’s numerous skeletons again come to the light of day.
Gingrich used the old marriage and education deferment strategy to avoid the draft board, even going so far as shacking up with his old High School Geometry teacher at nineteen and popping out their first child in 1963.
His first practice at love — something he’s won/failed at oh so many times — is tainted by a shockingly bizarre relationship even by today’s standards, youthful desperation to “escape the totalitarian regime of his stepfather’s home” and yet another of America’s military conflicts that threatened to take his chubby ass to the front lines of the bloody empire. These teenaged glimpses are the most telling images of Newt’s inner character struggles.
Gingrich has been truthful in the past about his unease with the decision to fold diapers rather than lug a machine gun through Vietnam jungles, saying “Given everything I believe in, a large part of me thinks I should have gone over.” Or, he could just admit he’s grown up to be an over-compensating, loudmouth bully with nothing to back it up except other people’s children.
During the debate however, the moderators sought to find out if Paul was capable of taking on the ‘Grich in person. The end result was a one-two body blow, the first truth hit administered by Paul who contrasted himself with the former speaker, saying “When I was drafted, I was married and had two kids — and I went.”
And then funnily enough, Gingrich unwittingly administered a second brutal blow to himself while the audience was applauding, offering up, “I wasn’t eligible for the draft. I wasn’t eligible for the draft.” Wuss.
Wikipedia defines chickenhawk as “a political epithet used in the United States to criticize a politician, bureaucrat, or commentator who strongly supports a war or other military action, yet who actively avoided military service when of age.” Gingrich has often saber-rattled at the Middle East on the campaign trail, referring to the Muslim Brotherhood as “a mortal enemy of our civilization.” In May, he fear-mongered to an audience that “if they can kill us, they will.”
It’s obvious to even the casual observer that Gingrich’s foreign policy would be a continuation of American militarism around the globe. It’s even more obvious that the one calling for it is indeed a chickenhawk. We’re waiting patiently for the Paul campaign to level the same criticisms at Romney, another notorious draft dodger.
Update: Leave it to CNN’s cynically named Truth Squad to expose themselves as nothing more than a Pack of Liars omitting the real story and shilling for…. who gives a damn what reason, stop shilling!
Update II: Screencapped, because I know how these CNN jackasses would like to try and control their epic failure in ethical journalism.
Update III: Newt “I wasn’t eligible for the draft” Gingrich is a member of a cute club called the “war wimps” for good reason. Funny thing about a guy not eligible needing so many draft deferments. Cool lie, bro.
Update IV: We’re waiting for a correction from CNN, just don’t hold your breath for a speedy one. It’s sad to see any information company behave as though their customers are stupid and should be kept that way as long as possible.
Update V: Justin Raimondo eviscerates, then deep fries the chickenhawks in his article at Lew Rockwell. I’m glad at the very least the Internet is allowing our fighting men and women to see which politicians are upstanding and which ones have big yellow stripes running down their backs.
sucker, ʟʟᴄ