A brief story of a man named Newt...

It would be an understatement to say that Newt Gingrich is a demagogue.

He lacks compassion for the less fortunate among us. He’s proposed cutting off aid to single mothers and sending their children to orphanages.

Last month, he called child labor laws “truly stupid” and said poor children should earn money cleaning bathrooms.

He’s downright Machiavellian. He blasted Democrats for taking money from mortgage giant Freddie Mac — while he was paid $25,000 a month by the same company.

He castigated then-President Clinton for his affair with a White House intern while he himself was having an extra marital affair with a Congressional staffer.

And his lack of ethics is no secret. His colleagues in the House of Representatives voted 395-28 to fine him $300,000 for ethics violations and for lying to them — the first time in history the House disciplined its own Speaker for ethical wrongdoing.

Eighty-four ethics charges were filed against Speaker Gingrich during his term, including claiming tax-exempt status for a college course run for political purposes.

Following an investigation by the House Ethics Committee Gingrich was sanctioned US$300,000. Gingrich acknowledged in January 1997 that "In my name and over my signature, inaccurate, incomplete and unreliable statements were given to the committee".  The House Ethics Committee concluded that inaccurate information supplied to investigators represented "intentional or ... reckless" disregard of House rules.

Special Counsel James M. Cole concluded that Gingrich violated federal tax law and had lied to the ethics panel in an effort to force the committee to dismiss the complaint against him.