Newt Gingrich $4 Million in Debt; Staffers and Creditors Fume (Ron Paul, suspect, Clinton)

[All American NYC]

Newt Gingrich ends his White House dream today with his political committee facing a mountain of debts -- owing about $4 million to scores of businesses and campaign workers around the country who fear they will never get paid.....He was reckless in running up these bills, especially in the last month or so of the campaign when it was quite clear that Mitt Romney would be the nominee,"

Now if he can't handle personal bills just think if he were elected President.

I wouldnt hire Newt to manage a hot dog cart

[GregW]

Too bad these were not student loans. These he can bankrupt out of and live the high life without interruption. That is just not right but it is RIGHT.

[Frank DeForrest]

An ego can be a costly thing to maintain

[Benicar]

Originally Posted by Frank DeForrest

An ego can be a costly thing to maintain

Exactly! Narcissism at its finest. His ego wouldn't allow him to quit gracefully when it became apparent he had no chance of winning the nomination. Clearly, he didn't give a damn about his campaign workers, or the tax money squandered on Secret Service protection. Imagine had this egomaniac ever become president.

[lifelongMOgal]

Originally Posted by GregW

Too bad these were not student loans. These he can bankrupt out of and live the high life without interruption. That is just not right but it is RIGHT.

Ummmm, no, student loans are not dischargable debt.

[legalsea]

It does seem odd that Mr. Gingrich and his campaign ramped up the debt in the last month of his campaign. The article notes that he is hoping that Mr. Romney will help him 'retire' the debt if Mr. Gingrich endorses Mr. Romney.

I suspect that some of the small businesses that extended credit to Mr. Gingrich will be out of pocket, at least for a few years. However, such is political life. Many past candidates also incurred quite a bit of debt.

Indeed, here is an interesting article about how Ms. Clinton (from 2008), Alan Keyes (from 200) and others are still trying to pay off campaign debts:

Clinton, Giuliani, Edwards campaigns still in debt - Dave Levinthal - POLITICO.com


As for the bankruptcy suggestion herein: I suppose that a political committee may well be eligible to file for bankruptcy, but it would certainly be political suicide to do so. I am now aware of any such committee (or politicain) having done so in the past few decades, although my memory may well be faulty.

[HistorianDude]

Originally Posted by GregW

Too bad these were not student loans. These he can bankrupt out of and live the high life without interruption. That is just not right but it is RIGHT.

You can't "bankrupt out" of student loans.

[lifelongMOgal]

Why is anyone suprised? Didn't the GOP, under Newt's term as Speaker, begin racking up Billions in debt for the US?

Clearly the man who can be trusted to responsibly handle finances in lean circumstances is Ron Paul.

[GregW]

Sorry for the badly constructed sarcasm. I meant to say I wished Mr. Gingrich's campaign debts WERE like student loans and he was personally responsible for the entire amount without the possibility of bankruptcy. A political campaign is not a business and should be treated differently.

My thoughts on business bancruptcy is for another thread.

[ChiGuy2.5]

Originally Posted by HistorianDude

You can't "bankrupt out" of student loans.

Re-read what he posted. He said too bad that they aren't students loans because Newt CAN bankrupt out of those debts. He was implying that if they were student loans, Newt would be stuck with them which is what he deserves.