Tweet
Newt Gingrch’s American Solutions has been hailed by right wing bloggers like Soren Dayton and Matt Lewis as "the conservative MoveOn," and they are playing a big organizational role in tomorrow’s Tea Parties. But according to IRS documents filed by American Solutions, they have paid out over $4 million in the past two years to Moby Dick Airways, a company that charters private planes for Presidential candidates and the RNC — something MoveOn has never done.
Ironically, Newt has been chosen by the organizers of the the New York Tea Party to speak on the topic of "fiscal responsibility."
According to OpenSecrets, there are 14508 contribution records for American Solutions in 2008. Though much has been made of Newt’s billionaire boys’ club funders, they comprise only a handful of the organization’s donors. Most of the people who gave did so in much more modest amounts — their reports list far more retired, self-employed or unemployed people giving $100 or $200. Cabinet makers, lawn care professionals, truckers and other small business owners far outnumber Las Vegas hotel magnates. Of the $25,489,668 in contributions received, $7,343,986 is simply listed as "aggregate below the threshold," which means donations under $200 that don’t have to be broken out (though if you look at he list, many more donations under $200 are listed).
So why did Newt need to pay 15% of the organization’s income to a company that charters private planes? Newt wasn’t a Presidential candidate at the time — at least not officially, though he spent $90,000 in March 2007 "crisscrossing the country aboard the charters of Moby Dick Airways." There were questions at the time as to whether Newt could legally use money raised by American Solutions for a presidential bid. He wrote a soul-wrenching letter to the American Solutions list in October 2008, saying that the corset of McCain-Feingold was too tight for him, and forced him to choose between running American Solutions and running for President. Bob Bauer scoffed at the notion, saying Newt "made a political decision and hit upon a face-saving explanation," but by the time 2008 rolled around, it’s indisputable that Newt was not running for President.
Nonetheless, OpenSecrets reports that American Solutions paid $3,360,346 to Moby Dick during 2008.
Newt is on record as having a strong opposition to the use of private planes. He went on Hannity & Colmes in 2008 to spread the false story that Nancy Pelosi’s use of a private jet was unprecedented, and said that Dennis Hastert "did not get a private plane. Hastert most certainly did have the use of a private plane, but Gingrich’s word as former Speaker of the House carried tremendous weight with Fox viewers. He enthusiastically chimed in with Sean Hannity to bash "Princess Pelosi," saying "you do not need to have a personal jet to run around."
On their contributions page, it says "American Solutions is here to serve as your voice in the political process." Did the people who gave this money think they were donating so Newt and Company could jet around on private planes?
Here’s Newt on the subject of "private planes" with Alan Colmes:
COLMES: On the private plane for Nancy Pelosi: She was advised after 9-11, as I understand it, for security reasons, to — that she needed to have the private plane.
GINGRICH: That’s –
COLMES: That’s why she has it –
GINGRICH: That is just –
COLMES: — based on what happened after 9-11.
GINGRICH: That’s baloney. That is just baloney. Denny Hastert did not get a private plane. There’s no reason for anyone but the president and vice president of the United States to have that level of security.
COLMES: But she was taking advice to do this. She didn’t decide to do it. She was advised that this would be the safest way for her to travel.
HANNITY: She asked for a bigger plane.
GINGRICH: Alan.
COLMES: That’s what happened.
GINGRICH: Alan, if you believe that, I want to introduce you to Mr. Martyr who may have a little bit of his phony stock left, because I’m sure he’d like to sell it to you.
Their donation page says that "American Solutions is here to serve as your voice in the political process." But when Gingrich was criticizing Nancy Pelosi for flying in a private plane, he said "it is fundamentally wrong because it distances a member of the House of Representatives from the public they serve."
Newt evidently believes that it’s possible for him to fly on private planes and still "serve" without suffering such distance.
I asked Ilyse Hogue, Communications Director of MoveOn, if this kind of expense for luxury transportation was normal for an organization like theirs. She said "MoveOn members donate an average of $42 in tough economic times to support a vision of progressive change. With millions of members invested in our campaigns to get health care, jobs, and accountability from our elected officials, we keep our overhead low and our results high. Most MoveOn staff don’t even have a private office outside their homes; forget about private planes"
I contacted Dan Kotman, Press Secretary of American Solutions for a comment, but he hasn’t responded.
Related posts:
Spotlight
Support this site!
Subscribe to the newsletter
Advertise on Firedoglake
Send
us your tips
Make us your homepage
About Firedoglake
Truth never interferes with Noot’s pronouncements.
Hell is an idea first born on an undeclared private jet flight.
Kotman: “Maybe if I ignore her, she’ll leave me alone…”
Moby Dick Airways?
The Great White Newt.
My kingdom for a harpoon…
Call me Fishtail
I wonder if the Great White Newt was riding Moby Dick to his paid speaking engagements?
Jane -
did you happen to see the Think Progress I left ya at the bottom of the last Million Man Mock-Up thread ??
you had probably already seen it, being Jane and all, but just in case :D
Thar she blows!
Nicely done Jane. Makes me wonder if Ol’ Newt needs to declare the value of those flights as income on his tax returns.
It is so typical of Newt to be accusing his opponents of doing exactly what he himself is or has been doing. He should start a Third Party and call it the Projectionists Party.
The one thing you can always count on with Republicans is they are full of shit and, as usual, Newt is leading the parade.
“Family Values” and 3 marriages don’t mix, and nothing says “Fiscal Responsibility” like 4 million in private flights.
I guess flying commercial economy class is out of the question.
Projectionism has a whole chapter in the rethug SOP handbook
Perhaps he is afraid of small planes falling from the sky…
Noot is a Republic so he is not required to have his deeds match his words.
Moby Dick. Gingrich as Ahab or Gingrich as the Great White Whale?
Gingrich sucked a whale-sized portion of working peoples’ donations so he could travel in style.
There is so much money involved that I wonder if Gingrich was using some of it for other personal expenses like hookers and blow.
A la Mike Connell? Has he recently crossed Rove?
Well, newts ARE amphibians…
There’s a great photoshop opportunity lurking here…
It’s good for me but not for you, so do as I say, but not as I do.
One is compelled to wonder, just how much of Moby Dick LLC Newt owns, directly or through a shell or two. And who else owns a piece in that venture.
I mean, doing well by doing good is a basic principle of Republicanism and Newt is nothing if not a Republican.
OT: I don’t know where else to add this trash. I heard a bit of Ingraham while in my car this am. There was a guest, first called Ralph, and then Ralph Peters, I think. It was not enough for him to call our Pres. “girlie” because of the Pres.’s restraint in the recent “pirate” episode. Then he proceeded to rec. mayhem of most every and horrific variety. He’s likely some sadistic, sociopathic friend and admirer of our former Pres, that would be W, who liked to torture and pull the heads off of living things. Laura was all atwitter.
“crisscrossing the country aboard the charters of Moby Dick Airways.”
Having a whale of a time?
Call me
NewtIshmael.OT Paul Minor’s wife Sylvia passed away last night
http://rawstory.com/blog/2009/…..tion-case/
Oooh. I may have to try something later.
Okay, we’ve got teabagging, 24M4, a Dick Armey and now Moby Dick?!! I mean, this is just too much. What a hoot.
I’m imagining a newt with a teabag in its mouth.
googling Moby DIck Airways -
there was a diary about American Future Fund over at Big Orange – in the comments, the diarist points out big bucks paid to Moby Dick – over a year ago – there’s a link to IRS returns but I can’t get it to show me itemizations
just in case anyone else wants to do some digging
comment
original diary
That’s horrible.
When did America become a country that has political prisoners? First Siegelman, now Paul Minor. When can we [edited] the former Bush administration officials [edited]?
There are so many more questions to ask:
* How much did American Solutions pay for Newt Gingrich’s wardrobe?
* How many French bottles of wine did Newt buy with American Solutions money?
* How many wind turbines could Americans buy with the money Newt used to pamper himself?
Oh, the list is endless …
I wanna know who in bloody fuck denied his latest furlough request – was it the original prosecutors or did it come from DOJ/HQ ??
looks like it was the local goons – using Priscilla Owen’s earlier denial of his request for release pending appeal. Owen is a Rove protege
Wow, 15 PERCENT on private jets alone! If I’m not mistaken, most non-profits operate their entire organization on about 10 percent of what they receive (salaries, office rent, supplies, computers, etc.)
That is just gross misspending. If I’d given money and learned it was just going for Newt to jet-set around the country, I’d be pissed.
Teabagger-in-Chief, yayyy!
Couldn’t happen to a nicer newt.
Interesting company with interesting business ties.
HA!
Noticed Oldwt making the rounds over the weekend and joked with my better half that we’ll be seeing headlines this week about Oldwt being a “possible” Prez candidate. This same process has happened for years. I was joking cuz this same thing happened a month or two ago (and I was correct then as well), and didn’t think they’d do it again so quickly. But lookee here from today on the Yahoo frontpage courtesy of the AP!
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/200….._next_step
Like freakin clockwork. The AP and BigMedia is literally, I mean literally, Newt’s ad agency. The guy can do whatever he wants with them.
there was a squiblet about Ghouliani using them as a private aviation “broker”
There is not a more sleazy, reprehensible, phony, means spirited prick in national politics.
Gingrich is the worst.
-G
Behold a pale whale dick.
Newt Gingrich, thar he blows.
-G
This has been the Newt Gingrich m.o. since the 80s. They used to call it, “Newt, Inc.” He established a web of interlocking non-profits through which his supporters could make unlimited, tax-deductible donations to organizations that existed, in reality, solely to support his “lifestyle.”
Ostensibly, they were “educational foundations,” but the only “educating” they did was stage Gingrich lectures and speeches about the evils of liberalism and the “welfare state,” versus the fabulous benefits of the “conservative opportunity society.” The Progress and Freedom Foundation, the Abraham Lincoln Opportunity Fund, National Empowerment Television, Earning by Learning, etc. paid for all the lifestyle expenses associated with shuttling Newt around the country to make speeches (at resorts, five star hotels, etc., and flying chartered jets). What couldn’t legally be covered by the nonprofits was covered by GOPAC. The speeches were often videotaped and then sold and resold to supporters, as well.
Newt is in the business — literally the business — of monetizing his own bullshit.
Hey, whatever keeps you in shabu shabu, I guess. He’s no different in that respect from Martha Stewart, who redecorates her own houses as a business expense.
But it’s a longstanding tradition with Newt, that his big brain be carried around on silken sedan chairs wherever he goes.
don’t leave out the Republican Party of Virginia … Virginia Is For Lovers
There I fixed for ya bonkers!!
Moby Dick…Dick Armey…dick Cheney…Rush Limpballs…
Starting to see a trend here.
Welcome !
I am unable to comment at your place or Big Orange through some ongoing technical glitch
so allow me to say thanks for all you are doing. love your work !
Quick search reveals Moby Dick Airways incorporated in Alaska. Principal is Douglas (”Dug”) Garrett. Garrett’s address is in Washington DC. He was formerly President of a company called Republican Presidential Travel.
Isn’t Moby Dick a social disease?
Ya know, that IS incredibly accurate in regards to Newt Gangrene and Repubs in general.
Since the election of Carter the Republican heirachy (elected and endowed) have been falling into line as dominos marked with lies and bribes. Like an underground cell, everyone knows a part of the jigsaw game plan and someone to implicate in the chain subversive activities. Can they really trust each other? No, especially not opportunists like Newt who is way down the line of financial noblesse oblige and like to run their mouths. Every tool as a finite useful life.
Any connection between American Solutions and Air Solutions LLC?
Crap, for the amount of $$$ Newt is “blowing” on Moby Dick Airlines, he could buy out the entire First Class section of a commercial jet and fly “unmolested.”
Then he could at least claim he “flew commercial, not that expensive private stuff.”
So little imagination, these whales.