January 23, 1997

Gingrich Smiling - And, why not?

The writer would be smiling, too, if it were certain that he had gotten away with misuse of funds (stealing) and conspiring for illegal tax deductions (tax fraud). The House has given Gingrich, regardless of a $300,000 slap on the wrist, its full support of his activities.

Speaking of the fine, who is it paid to, how long does he have to pay it, and what happens if he doesn't pay it?

Get this. It may be possible that he can use campaign funds or establish a legal defense fund for himself. This means the fine may not even come out of his own pocket but out of either contributors' pockets or the public's pocket. Doesn't that blow your mind?

Adding to his smile, the writer supposes, is also the high probability that he will keep his job rather than being ran out of Washington on a rail as he should be. Again, if Gingrich didn't know that what he was doing was illegal, why did he lie for two years? Only the guilty must lie.

The Gingrich situation is a prime example of how politicians treat their own and the behaviors they accept. Rather than being prosecuted as you or I would be, his case has avoided the courts. No impeachment, no conviction, no potential for prosecution in the eyes of the law.

Hence, the people's opportunity for the complete truth about Gingrich and the right of the public to try individuals of power for societal wrongdoings in the courts has been condemned once again.

Do as we say, Ladies and Gentlemen, not as we do.