Romney Campaign Press Release - Newt's Caught Between the Moon and Freddie Mac

Nevadans Who Have Suffered During The Housing Crisis Are Still Waiting To Hear Exactly What Speaker Gingrich Did For Freddie Mac:

Bloomberg: Gingrich Was Paid At Least $1.6 Million By Freddie Mac. "Newt Gingrich made between $1.6 million and $1.8 million in consulting fees from two contracts with mortgage company Freddie Mac, according to two people familiar with the arrangement." (Clea Benson and John McCormick, "Gingrich Said to Be Paid About $1.6 Million By Freddie Mac," Bloomberg, 11/16/11)

"The Freddie Mac Executive Who Hired Gingrich Was ... The Head Of Freddie Mac's Lobbying Operations. ... [I]t Appears He Was Being Paid To Aid Freddie Mac's Lobbying Agenda." (Timothy P. Carney, "Gingrich Worked For Freddie Mac's Lobby Shop," The Washington Examiner, 1/23/12)

Gingrich's Contracts Mention Monthly Invoices That Provide More Detail About His Work — But Gingrich Has Not Released Those Documents. "At least one clause implies that more detailed records were submitted as part of his consultancy. A provision in the 'compensation' section of the contract required Mr. Gingrich to submit a 'detailed description of the services performed during the prior month' on the 15th of every month. His payment was contingent upon receiving those invoices. Those invoices were not made available Monday." ("Gingrich Releases A Freddie Mac Contract With Few Details," The New York Times, 1/23/12)

In September 2008, Gingrich Admitted He Had Been "Perfectly Happy To Not Push The Issue As Long As [Freddie And Fannie] Weren't Failing." GINGRICH: "But there is zero reason now that they have failed — I was perfectly happy to not push the issue as long as they weren't failing. But now that they have clearly failed their fiduciary responsibility, there is zero reason for the average taxpayer to bail out these institutions." (Newt Gingrich, Remarks in St. Paul, MN, 9/3/08)

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Nearly Six In Ten Of Nevada's Mortgaged Homes Are Underwater. "Nevada has the highest negative equity percentage with 58 percent of all of its mortgaged properties underwater, followed by Arizona (47 percent), Florida (44 percent), Michigan (35 percent) and Georgia (30 percent). This is the first quarter that Georgia entered the top five, surpassing California which had been in the top five since tracking began in 2009." (CoreLogic, Press Release, 11/29/11)

Nevada Is The Only State In The Nation Where Mortgage Debt Outstanding Surpasses The Total Property Value Of All Mortgages Outstanding. ("Q3 2011 Negative Equity By State," CoreLogic, 11/29/11)

Meanwhile, Speaker Gingrich Is Focused On Higher Ambitions — To The Moon And Beyond:

Last Week, Gingrich Promised To Establish A Permanent Colony On The Moon And Continue Onward To Mars. "Newt Gingrich told a cheering crowd along Florida's Space Coast late Wednesday that he would establish a permanent colony on the moon, and develop a spacecraft that can get to Mars, by the end of his second term as president. Gingrich, who has long held a fascination with space exploration and has talked extensively about further missions to the moon, Mars and beyond, committed for the first time to pushing aggressively for such programs if he wins the White House." (Amy Gardner, "Gingrich Pledges Moon Colony During Presidency," The Washington Post, 1/25/12)

How Would Newt Explore And Colonize Outer Space? Perhaps He Would Look To Freddie Mac's Model:

In April 2007, Gingrich Praised Freddie Mac's Contributions To The Housing Market In A Piece Published On Freddie Mac's Website. GINGRICH: "I think it is telling that there is strong bipartisan support for maintaining the GSE model in housing. There is not much support for the idea of removing the GSE charters from Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. And I think it's clear why. The housing GSEs have made an important contribution to homeownership and the housing finance system. We have a much more liquid and stable housing finance system than we would have without the GSEs." ("Market-Based Models Are Key To Transforming U.S. Government To A 21st Century Organization," FreddieMac.com, 4/24/07)

Gingrich Further Stated That A Model Like Freddie Mac's Should Be "Seriously Considered" For Space Exploration. GINGRICH: "I like the GSE model because it provides a more efficient, market-based alternative to taxpayer-funded government programs. ... I think a GSE for space exploration ought to be seriously considered — I'm convinced that if NASA were a GSE, we probably would be on Mars today." ("Market-Based Models Are Key To Transforming U.S. Government To A 21st Century Organization," FreddieMac.com, 4/24/07)