An excerpt from You Don't Know Me: A Citizen's Guide to Republican Family Values

We were originally going to call our book (You Don't Know Me), A Citizen's Guide to Republican Family Values A–Z, because we categorize the different manifestations of Republican sexual disorder and hypocrisy alphabetically, from Adultery under the letter "A" to Zoophilia under "Z." A majority of the infractions are criminal in nature, and the most disturbing category is pedophilia. There are 46 Republican pedophiles listed under this heading, out of a total of 110 individual cases in the book. That's almost 45 percent.

For shock value, we could have chosen the letter "P," but we chose "G" for Radar instead, because you find under this letter the heading "Gingrich Family Values." It is the longest entry in the book, because the information concerning former Republican speaker of the house Newt Gingrich's tawdry escapades in this regard is by far the most extensive of any Republican political figure included.

Discover the real reason for his visit to the hospital when his wife was just getting out of cancer surgery, what he was up to sexually while he was trying to get President Clinton impeached, why his church had to take up a collection for one of his ex-wives, and the importance of his "little boy smile."

Bottom line, the leader of the so-called "Republican Revolution" is almost as much of a reprobate as any of our pedophiles.

GINGRICH FAMILY VALUES
Speaker of the House married high school math teacher at 19 years old, had two children, wife supported him through college, graduate school, and early campaigns

In 1962, at the age of 19, Newt Gingrich married his high school geometry teacher, Jackie Battley. Battley was seven years older than Gingrich. The couple had a daughter nine months later and another daughter three years after that. None of Gingrich's family attended the wedding, which his stepfather, Bob Gingrich, vehemently opposed.

In 1985, Gingrich said his first marriage made sense at the time:

"Jackie was my math teacher in high school and it really made a tremendous amount of sense to marry at the time, when I was a freshman in college. Who you are at 19 may not be who you are at 39. We were married not quite a year when Kathy was born, so I had a daughter in my sophomore year of college with all the economic pressures that implies, and then Jackie Sue was born when I was in graduate school."

According to Dolores Adamson, Gingrich's district administrator in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Jackie financially supported Gingrich:

"Jackie put him all the way through school. All the way through the PhD ... He didn't work."

According to a profile in the Washington Post, the Gingriches' friends characterized Jackie as a "cross between a mother and a wife":

"The couple's friends said Jackie Gingrich seemed like a cross between a mother and a wife, with Newt usually seeking her advice before making decisions and Jackie counseling him like a student. They were loving, always holding hands in public."

Gingrich went to Congress by touting role as family man, 18 months later divorced wife, forced her to discuss details in hospital while recovering from cancer treatment

During his successful 1978 campaign for Congress, Gingrich ran ads against his opponent, Virginia Shapard, in which he claimed that he would "keep his family together" if he won the election, unlike his female opponent, who planned to commute to work so as not to uproot her family. Eighteen months later, Gingrich told his wife that he was filing for divorce.

Gingrich claimed discussed divorce with wife for 10 years, wife says divorce was "complete surprise"

In 1985, Gingrich told the Washington Post that he and Jackie had considered divorcing for 10 years:

"I think the most diplomatic thing to say is I understand what they mean when they say irreconcilable differences. We had been talking about it off and on since 1969. I am a very shy person. I had not dated much when I met her. I think I was very lonely and I think I was very driven ... If you decide in your freshman year in high school that your job is to spend your lifetime trying to change the future of your people, you're probably fairly weird. I think I was pretty weird as a kid."

"He can say that we had been talking about it for 10 years, but the truth is that it came as a complete surprise. He's a great wordsmith ... He walked out in the spring of 1980 and I returned to Georgia. By September, I went into the hospital for my third surgery. The two girls came to see me, and said Daddy is downstairs and could he come up? When he got there, he wanted to discuss the terms of the divorce while I was recovering from the surgery ... To say I gave up a lot for the marriage is the understatement of the year."

In 1984, Lee Howell, a friend of Gingrich's, described the hospital incident to Mother Jones:

"Newt came up there with his yellow legal pad, and he had a list of things on how the divorce was going to be handled. He wanted her to sign it. She was still recovering from surgery, still sort of out of it, and he comes in with a yellow sheet of paper, handwritten, and wants her to sign it."

When the Washington Post asked Gingrich whether "he handled the divorce as insensitively as portrayed," he said:

"All I can say is when you have been talking about divorce for 11 years and you've gone to a marriage counselor, and the other person doesn't want the divorce, I'm not sure there is any sensitive way to handle it."

Friend says Gingrich thought Jackie was too frumpy for Washington

In a 1984 Mother Jones profile, Howell, who had worked as a press secretary during early Gingrich campaigns, claimed Gingrich saw Jackie as a liability:

"Jackie was kind of frumpy. She's lost a lot of weight now, but she was kind of frumpy in Washington, and she was seven years older than he was. And I guess Newt thought, well, it doesn't look good for an articulate, young, aggressive, attractive congressman to have a frumpy old wife."

Former campaign worker claims Gingrich said Jackie not pretty enough to be president's wife; Gingrich claims man disgruntled worker who was fired

In 1994, L. H. "Kip" Carter, who served as Gingrich's campaign treasurer in his early campaigns, claimed that Gingrich told him that Jackie was not pretty enough to be his wife. According to Carter, Gingrich said:

"She's not young enough or pretty enough to be the wife of the president. And besides, she has cancer."

(Photo: Getty Images)

"This is a guy I deliberately fired because we got into an argument about whether or not he had to tell me what he was doing. If you could cross-reference every person quoted in every one of these articles [about his divorce], they're almost always the same three people. ... So here's this image that on the one hand, Gingrich really sheds people, except by the way, there are people now who have worked with him for a quarter century. Now which is true?"

Carter claimed that he resigned.

Divorce court filings revealed failure to adequately support children, church had to take up collection for family

According to court papers filed during Gingrich's first divorce, Gingrich was paying his wife $400 a month in support in addition to $40 each for his daughters' monthly allowances. According to local papers, Jackie could not pay her basic household bills and was in danger of having her utilities cut off. Members of her church took up a collection to help her "make ends meet." After Gingrich provided the judge overseeing the case with an accounting of his monthly expenses, which included $400 for "food/dry cleaning etc.," the judge ordered Gingrich to pay more.

Nine years later, called first divorce "a tragedy," said never spoke badly of ex-wife

In 1994, Gingrich called his divorce of Jackie "a tragedy":

"We had been through counseling in the 1970s. It didn't work. It was a tragedy. I wish it had not happened. I mean you go through life and sometimes things happen. ... In a different world maybe it would have worked differently. And I never speak ill of my ex-wife. She raised two wonderful daughters."

Former campaign workers reported affairs during first marriage

A 1984 profile of Gingrich in Mother Jones and a 1995 profile in Vanity Fair included interviews with former staffers and neighbors who claimed that Gingrich had repeated affairs while he was married to Jackie and while running for Congress.

According to Mother Jones:

"Another former friend maintains that Gingrich repeatedly made sexual advances to her when her husband was out of town. On one occasion, he visited under the guise of comforting her after the death of a relative, and instead tried to seduce her. In certain circles in the mid-1970s, Gingrich was developing a reputation as a ladies' man."

Dot Crews, Gingrich's campaign scheduler, claimed that it was "common knowledge" that Gingrich had affairs:

"It was common knowledge that Newt was involved with other women during his marriage to Jackie. Maybe not on the level of John Kennedy. But he had
girlfriends—some serious, some trivial."

Carter claimed that Gingrich's affair negatively impacted the1974 campaign:

"We'd have won in 1974 if we could have kept him out of the office, screwing her on the desk."

Carter also recounted having Gingrich's two young daughters with him when he saw Gingrich having oral sex in a parked car:

"As I got to the car, I saw Newt in the passenger seat and one of the guys' wives with her head in his lap going up and down. Newt kind of turned and gave me his little-boy smile. Fortunately Jackie Sue and Kathy were a lot younger and shorter then."

Gingrich and second wife Marianne Ginther (Photo: Getty Images)

In response to allegations of infidelity in his first marriage, Gingrich told Mother Jones:

"I'm not going to get into those details or the questions about 1974. I think there is a level of personal life that is personal. ... I had married my high-school math teacher two days after I was 19. In some ways it was a wonderful relationship, particularly in the early years ... But we had gone through a series of problems—which I regard, I think legitimately, as private—but which were real. There was an 11-year history prior to my finally breaking down, and short of someone writing a psychological biography of me, I don't think it's relevant."

Gingrich told the reporter that he felt his actions were "inconsistent" with his public statements on family values and that he altered his rhetoric to address this concern:

"In fact I think they were sufficiently inconsistent that at one point in 1979 and 1980, I began to quit saying them in public. One of the reasons I ended up getting a divorce was that if I was disintegrating enough as a person that I could not say those things, then I needed to get my life straight, not quit saying them. And I think that literally was the crisis I came to. I guess I look back on it a little bit like somebody who's in Alcoholics Anonymous—it was a very, very bad period of my life, and it had been getting steadily worse. ... I ultimately wound up at a point where probably suicide or going insane or divorce were the last three options."

Gingrich has admitted to being a "sinner":

"I would say to you unequivocally—it will probably sound pious and sanctimonious saying it—I am a sinner. I am a normal person. I am like everyone else I ever met. One of the reasons I go to God is that I ain't very good—I'm not perfect."

On another occasion, he told the Washington Post that he had led a "human life":

"I start with an assumption that all human beings sin and that all human beings are in fact human. I assume that all reporters fit the same category. And I think one of the things that increases our cynicism is creating a totally phony model that says you're either a total saint or you can't speak, which is crazy. So all I'll say is that I've led a human life."

Woman claims that in affair with Gingrich, only had oral sex to ensure deniability

In September 1995, Vanity Fair published an article in which Anne Manning, a former Gingrich campaign volunteer, claimed that she had a months-long affair with Gingrich while he was married to Jackie. It was the first time that Manning had spoken about the affair, and it received widespread news coverage. According to Manning, Gingrich would only have oral sex so that he could deny the sexual relationship:

"We had oral sex. He prefers that modus operandi because then he can say, 'I never slept with her.'"

Manning called Gingrich "morally dishonest" and claimed he threatened to accuse her of lying if she revealed their relationship:

Indeed, before Gingrich left that evening, she says, he threatened her: "If you ever tell anybody about this, I'll say you're lying."

Did not directly deny charges, but suggested accusations were a left-wing conspiracy

In a radio interview following the publication of the Vanity Fair article with Manning's allegations, Gingrich did not deny the affair but instead suggested that liberals were trying to derail his agenda:

"I knew when we started down this road ... if we're going to have a revolution to replace the welfare state, we better expect those people who love it to throw the kitchen sink at us. And they have thrown the kitchen sink and other parts of the house as well."

Gingrich refused to comment specifically on the allegations, instead branding the article "tabloid journalism":

"I'm not going to comment. That's the kind of tabloid journalism that goes with the territory. We're trying to focus on things that matter to the American people, and we're not going to get involved in that kind of gossip. We're not going to comment, period."

Gingrich's aide, Tony Blankley, echoed his boss's sentiments:

"It's trash and I don't see any reason to get into hateful allegations from hateful people from 20 years ago. It's just a bunch of tabloid psychobabble."

Married second wife six months after divorce finalized, admitted to six-year affair during second divorce

In 1981, Gingrich married Marianne Ginther, whom he met at a political fund-raiser.

In 1999, Gingrich reportedly asked Marianne for a divorce over the phone while she was visiting her mother. Marianne has said that she was "blindsided" by the request. The divorce played out in the papers until the Gingriches finally settled in mediation in December 1999.

Prior to the settlement, Marianne had asked Gingrich to provide the following information:

"The names of anyone else he's slept with during the marriage, with dates and times.

"A list of money or property he's given or lent to any other sexual partners.

"His thoughts on whether he has behaved according to the concept of 'family values' he espoused.

"Examples of conduct that either partner committed that contributed to their separation."

Gingrich with current wife Callista Bisek (Photo: Getty Images)

As early as 1995, Gingrich had a relationship with his third wife, Callista
Bisek. According to Vanity Fair:

"Since Newt became a national celebrity, he has no shortage of female admirers—from Callista Bisek, a former aide in Congressman Steve Gunderson's office who has been a favorite breakfast companion."

During his 1999 divorce from Ginther, Gingrich admitted to a six-year affair with Bisek, who ultimately became his third wife. As he had with Marianne, Gingrich met Bisek at a fund-raiser. Bisek was 33 years old at the time and worked for the House Agriculture Committee. During the divorce, Ginther attempted to compel Bisek to appear for a videotaped deposition. Bisek argued that she could not be required to testify because of "the constitutional prohibition against self-incrimination because adultery is a crime in the District of Columbia."

Had second marriage annulled after marrying third wife, ultimately renewed vows in Catholic ceremony

Gingrich and Bisek were married in August 2000. In 2002, Gingrich asked the archdioceses of Atlanta to annul his marriage to Ginther, despite the fact that their marriage was Lutheran, not Catholic.

In August 2003, after receiving the annulment, Gingrich and Bisek renewed their vows in a Catholic ceremony.

Mom said third marriage "first time" she believed "Newty is in love"

According to Gingrich's mother, Kit, his marriage to Bisek is his most successful:

"I liked her from the first time I saw her. This is the first time I can ever remember seeing that Newty is in love. When you see him, he just beams."

Did not criticize Clinton for adultery, instead focused on lying under oath

In 1998, Gingrich told the Washington Post that Clinton should be impeached because of "a pattern of felonies" and "not a single human mistake." Gingrich said the Lewinsky situation was not sufficient for impeachment:

"I don't think the Congress could move forward only on Lewinsky."

Admitted to extramarital affair during Lewinsky scandal, claimed situation different because did not lie under oath

In 2007, Gingrich admitted in an interview with Reverend James Dobson that he was involved in an extramarital affair at the same time that Clinton was involved with Monica Lewinsky. Gingrich distinguished himself from Clinton by noting that he never lied under oath:

"I had been through a divorce, I had been through depositions. If you don't tell the truth under oath, the whole system breaks down."

GROPING
Former Hawaii house minority leader charged with abusive sexual conduct after groping a sleeping stranger on an airplane

In December 2004, Hawaii legislator Galen Fox was arrested for groping the woman seated next to him on a flight from Honolulu to Los Angeles. The 27-year-old woman had taken a Dramamine and fallen asleep. When she awoke, she felt a "warm sensation against her crotch and discovered the male passenger in the seat next to her ... had his hands in her jeans and was rubbing her crotch."

Fox explained that he thought the sleeping woman's lack of response after he rubbed against her arm and leg signaled that she was "interested in some physical contact."

After his arrest, Fox issued a statement: "I vigorously fought charges against me, which I hold to be untrue."

In court, however, he admitted that he intentionally rubbed her crotch and that "she did not invite his conduct nor give him permission to touch her."

The judge in the case read a letter from the victim: "Since that flight, I have had difficulty sleeping and I have been having nightmares of Galen Fox ... I brought this case because I had the right to sleep on a plane without being groped."

Fox was charged with abusive sexual conduct, sentenced to three months of house arrest and three years' probation, and ordered to seek psychiatric treatment.

Republican governor accused of groping and sexual harassment by several women

In October 2003, during the California recall election, the Los Angeles Times wrote a story about six women who accused then-candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger of fondling and sexually harassing them. Four of the women said that he groped them, another charged that he tried to take off her swimsuit, and still another claimed that he had pulled her onto his lap and asked her about a particular sex act.

Although Schwarzenegger denied remembering any of the incidents and called the story "trash politics," he offered a broad apology to the women:

"I always say that wherever there is smoke, there is fire.

"So I want to say to you, yes, I have behaved badly sometimes. Yes, it is true that I was on rowdy movie sets, and I have done things that were not right, which I thought then was playful. But I now recognize that I have offended people. And to those people that I have offended, I want to say to them, I am deeply sorry about that, and I apologize."

Admitted to orgies with other bodybuilders at his gym

In an interview in the adult magazine Oui, the future governor discussed partaking in group sex with fellow bodybuilders at his gym:

"Everyone jumped on [the woman] and took her upstairs where we all got together."

Not all the bodybuilders participated, he added, "just the guys who can fuck in front of other guys. Not everybody can do that. Some think that they don't have a big-enough cock, so they can't get a hard-on."

In May 2000, Matthew J. Glavin was arrested for indecency in
the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area after he masturbated in front of and grabbed the groin of a male park ranger. Glavin initially denied the charges but ultimately pleaded guilty.

In December 2000, Glavin was fined $1,000, sentenced to one year probation, and banned from federal parks during the probation. The judge rejected the prosecutor's request for three months' house arrest, saying it would interfere with Glavin's alcohol
treatment program.

After he was arrested, it was revealed that Glavin had pleaded guilty to a similar charge in 1996, paid a $1,000 fine, and served six months probation.

At the time of his arrest, Glavin had headed the conservative Southeastern Legal Foundation for six years. The foundation was seeking President Clinton's disbarment and had submitted briefs in support of the Boy Scouts' effort to ban gay Scout leaders and in support of anti-affirmative action litigation.

Utah state legislator resigns after arrest for soliciting male prostitute, pleads guilty to charge

In March 2003, Utah state representative Brent Parker (R-Wellsville) resigned after he was arrested in Salt Lake City for soliciting an undercover male police officer for sex. According to the arrest report, Parker grabbed the police officer's crotch,
offered him $20, and asked for his number so he could call him whenever he was in town. Parker was married at the time with grown children and grandchildren.

Three days after his arrest, reporters with Salt Lake City Deseret News approached Parker on the floor of the state house to get his reaction to the charges. He begged them to hold the story until the end of the legislative session, but they refused. Parker handed House Speaker Marty Stephens a handwritten resignation letter, effective immediately, and fled the building.

In April 2003, Parker pleaded guilty to soliciting sex. The court agreed to drop the charge against Parker in a year if he completed a 10-week "Johns Program" designed to treat sex solicitors.

Parker's wife stood by him as he apologized to family and friends:

"I apologize to my family, church, community and constituents."

Win McCormack is the publisher and editor in chief of Tin House magazine and a political activist in the Democratic Party. His work has appeared in Oregon, The Oregonian, Oregon Humanities, Tin House, and The Nation. He is the editor of Profiles of Oregon, Great Moments in Oregon History and The Rajneesh Chronicles, in which his contribution received the William Allen White commendation for investigative coverage. As a publisher he has been involved with numerous publications, including the start-up of Mother Jones, as well as Oregon, Oregon Business, Oregon Home, Travel Oregon, Military History Quarterly, and Art and Auction. He holds a bachelor of arts in government from Harvard College and a master's of fine arts in creative writing from the University of Oregon. He presently writes on politics and resides in Portland, Oregon.