Tag: imploding

Newt Gingrich, Man of the People

Newt Gingrich’s imploding presidential campaign lost its top two fundraising officials yesterday as The Washington Post revealed that the Republican candidate and his wife had a $1 million line of credit at Tiffany & Co; this is in addition to the smaller ($250,000 to $500,000) line his wife reportedly held in 2005 and 2006.

The resignation of Jody Thomas and Mary Heitman means that at least 18 top officials have quit the campaign in the past 3 weeks, and the Associated Press is now reporting that the campaign is also $1 million in debt.

It’s been a rough few weeks for Gingrich’s campaign, which has been in a downward spiral ever since he got in trouble last month for criticizing conservative darling Paul Ryan’s budget plan as “right-wing social engineering.”

The former history teacher was supposed to be the Serious Ideas Man of the Republican primary, whose main obstacle would be his tendency to lecture on random topics rather than engage. But perhaps his financial mishaps make him more down-to-earth. After all, Real Americans also get divorced (twice) and rack up massive debt for stuff (jewelry) they don’t need. [Associated Press]