A False Equivalence

Carol Platt Liebau | December 12, 2011 7:10 PM

Did Newt Gingrich really just analogize trading on his own Washington-insider connections, lobbying for Freddie Mac, to Mitt Romney's private sector work at Bain -- and adopt a left-wing argument that somehow dynamic capitalism is evil if it ever results in job losses?

That kind of argument belongs to Occupy Wall Streeters -- not a self-proclaimed conservative seeking to run the world's preeminent (capitalist!) economy. What's more, what many find unpleasant about Gingrich's relationship with Freddie Mac isn't just its outcome; it's the fact that it existed in the first place as a prime illustration of the "crony capitalism"/Beltway revolving door mentality (brilliantly excoriated by Sarah Palin) that Americans rightly abhor whether it's exhibited on the left or the right.

It's enough to make one understand why Michael Savage is offering Newt $1 million just to get out of the race.