Tale Of The Tape, Political Bogeyman Edition: Nancy Pelosi Vs. Newt Gingrich

Newt Gingrich is the former Speaker of the House. And Nancy Pelosi also used to hold that title. And the similarities between the two don’t end there. Although embraced by their followers, they’re absolutely reviled by those with opposing views: The New York Divide congratulated Pelosi for making a “most corrupt” list three years in a row; the Star-Ledger called Gingrich “the sluttiest streetwalker on K Street.” And these are just the nice comments.

In a weird example of the pendulum swing of partisan politics, the vilification by on party gives credibility and power within one’s own party. Even with their strong personalities and political profiles, the two had managed, thus far, to stay out of each others’ respective ways. Until Pelosi told Talking Points Memo on Monday that:

“One of these days we’ll have a conversation about Newt Gingrich,” Pelosi told Brian Beutler. “I know a lot about him. I served on the investigative committee that investigated him, four of us locked in a room in an undisclosed location for a year. A thousand pages of his stuff.”

Gingrich responded that he welcomed those talks, pointing out that anything Pelosi reveals from the private sessions is against House ethics rules. Pelosi backed down later on Monday, with her spokesman saying she was referring to public record.

This will likely not be the last of the tussles between the dueling Speakers. So we present the tale of the tape — a quick refresher on what you need to know about Gingrich and Pelosi:

NEWT VS. NANCY: TALE OF THE TAPE
Birthday	June 17, 1943	March 26, 1940
Home District	Suburban Georgia	San Francisco
…But Born In	Pennsylvania	Maryland
Past Scandals	Affairs while married; ethics violations while in Congress	Possible insider trading
Messaging	Conservative, with a very rare liberal slant on minor issues	Consistently progressive
Personal Life	Divorced twice; currently married to his third wife, Calista	Married 48 years
Religion	Roman Catholic	Roman Catholic
Possible Nepotism?	His daughter, Kathy Gingrich Lubbers, is president of Gingrich Communications	Her daughter, Alexandra, has produced three election-themed documentaries with startling access to politicians
Alleged Air Travel-Related Silliness	Shut down government, allegedly over airplane seating arrangement on Clinton’s Air Force One	Allegedly had a “party plane” with thousands of dollars worth of booze and food.
Embarrassing Moment Caught On Video	This	This
Signature Gavel Moment	Contract With America	Health Care Reform
Popular Urban Legend That Has Since Been Proven Untrue	He served his cancer-stricken wife divorce papers while she was in the hospital.	She couldn’t answer a question about which of Captain Cook’s voyages was his last.

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