“Friday night and the lights are low
Looking out for the place to go
Where they play the right music, getting in the swing
You come in to look for a king
Anybody could be that guy
Night is young and the music’s high
With a bit of rock music, everything is fine
You’re in the mood for a dance
And when you get the chance…”
The popular “gay anthem” song, ‘Dancing Queen,’ echoed through the crowd during a speech in Ames, Iowa in mid-May of this year. Among the embarrassed was presidential candidate Newt Gingrich. Newt quickly turned off the ringer for his cellphone and continued on with the speaking engagement.
Six months later, during breakfast fundraising event in Urbandale, Iowa, the former speaker was interrupted yet again by the dynamic Swedish pop song.
Newt went on record with reporters, saying the song is “amazing.” Newt went on to give praise to one of his favorite movies that popularized the tune, “Mamma Mia.”
“When they do ‘Dancing Queen’ in the movie, I just think it’s a great sequence. I love that sequence — the energy, the excitement.”
While loving a particular song doesn’t necessarily call Newt’s sexuality into question, it does make a person wonder if the self-proclaimed Christian conservative finds courage and a sense of release through the ‘coming out’ of Colin Firth’s character in the movie, a gay banker.
The presidential candidate’s outwardly views on the subject of gay marriage appears to fall in line with many of his Republican counterparts. Though not addressed on his campaign website, Newt responded to the Des Moines Register: “I believe that marriage is between a man and woman. It has been for all of recorded history and I think this is a temporary aberration that will dissipate. I think that it is just fundamentally goes against everything we know.”
Newt is no stranger to secrets and this isn’t the first time he’s advocated for one issue, while perpetrating the exact opposite. Being the first Speaker of the House to face discipline for ethics violations, Mr. Gingrich has a track record for being disingenuous and downright hypocritical. The latest evidence of Newt’s hypocrisy relates to his criticism of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Beginning in 1999 and lasting through 2007, Gingrich worked as a “historian” for Freddie Mac, which resulted in $1.5 million dollars worth of contracts.
During the 2008 campaigning season, Newt blasted candidate Obama’s acceptance of Fannie and Freddie contributions. In a Fox News interview, Gingrich stated that GOP nominee John Mcain “should have turned and said, `Senator Obama, are you prepared to give back all the money that Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae gave you?’”
While many would dismiss the whole ordeal as politics as usual, a pattern of deception emerges when his love life is examined. During his reign over the House of Representatives, Newt engaged in an affair with his current wife, then Callista Bisek, while heading up the Lewinsky investigation against former President Bill Clinton. With three marriages under his belt, two ending as the result of extramarital affairs, Newt seems to have trouble finding what he’s been looking for. Could he be searching for a ‘king’ that appreciates his ‘Dancing Queen’ tendencies?
As media scrutiny over Gingrich’s deeds intensifies, the public may become privy to other ‘covert operations’ advocated by the Presidential front-runner.