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<DIV class=timestamp>November 18, 2011</DIV>
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<H1><NYT_HEADLINE version="1.0" type=" ">The Inside
Man</NYT_HEADLINE></H1><NYT_BYLINE></NYT_BYLINE><NYT_TEXT>
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<P>For months, Newt Gingrich tried to ingratiate himself with the Republican
Party’s right wing by tearing down the two government-sponsored mortgage
companies, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. He joined the counterfactual conservative
chorus that prefers to blame the companies for the housing crisis rather than
the banks. He lamented their cozy relationship to Washington’s insiders. And he
was rewarded with a swell of support from the anybody-but-Mitt-Romney crowd.
</P>
<P>The self-styled reform candidate left out a small detail. He made a great
deal of money from Freddie Mac for many years, and he was deeply tied to its
power structure. </P>
<P>In his latest book, “To Save America,” Mr. Gingrich slams the companies as
“so thoroughly politicized” and “irresponsible” that they should be replaced by
smaller companies, without government backing, that “focus on making a profit,
not manipulating politicians.” In an October debate of the Republican
presidential candidates, <A title="NYT report"
href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/17/us/politics/newt-gingrich-on-defensive-over-freddie-mac-fees.html?_r=1&ref=politics&pagewanted=all">he
suggested</A> that Representative Barney Frank be put in jail for being close to
Freddie’s lobbyists. </P>
<P>In a debate earlier this month, however, he was asked what he did in exchange
for $300,000 from Freddie in 2006. He said he advised the company, “as a
historian,” not to make loans to people without a credit history. That’s a nice
sum for fortune-cookie wisdom, but it turned out to be just a fraction of his
inside deal. This week, <A title="Bloomberg report"
href="http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-11-17/gingrich-said-to-be-paid-at-least-1-6-million-by-freddie-mac.html">Bloomberg
News reported</A> that Freddie Mac paid him between $1.6 million and $1.8
million in “consulting fees” over eight years beginning in 1999, ostensibly to
help design a program to expand home ownership, among other policy matters. </P>
<P>The real reason he was hired, as company officials make clear, was to act as
a liaison to conservatives on Capitol Hill. It wasn’t technically a lobbying
job, but in 2006 Freddie needed help with rising Republican anger at the
companies, and the former speaker of the House had the right credentials. That’s
typical of the mortgage companies, which over the years have handed out large
paychecks to <A title="NPR report"
href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92540620#92534513">many
of the biggest names in Washington</A>, from both parties, in hopes of staying
on everyone’s good side. </P>
<P>It’s also typical of Mr. Gingrich, who has become quite prosperous trading on
his influence in Washington while simultaneously pretending he despises the
city’s essential nature. The man who regularly rails against “the Washington
culture of consultants” is one of its better-paid members. On Friday, <A
title="WP report"
href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/gingrich-think-tank-collected-millions-from-health-care-industry/2011/11/16/gIQAcd72VN_story_1.html">The
Washington Post reported</A> that one of his think tanks collected $37 million
over the last eight years from health care companies and insurers that wanted to
be close to a prominent Republican. </P>
<P>Hypocrisy and hyperbole are bound up in the daily promises of the Republican
candidates to shut huge parts of the government. Rick Perry wants to close two
or possibly three departments; Michele Bachmann would close the E.P.A. and
repeal its regulations; and Mr. Romney would scrap a health care system
virtually identical to the one he created in Massachusetts. But Mr. Gingrich’s
deception was offensive its own way. He has benefited lavishly from the very
spendthrift cronyism that he attacks. </P><NYT_CORRECTION_BOTTOM>
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<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Verdana>__________________________________</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Verdana>Wayne A. Fox<BR><A
href="mailto:wayne.a.fox@gmail.com">wayne.a.fox@gmail.com</A><BR></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>