What an honor! A select group of lucky doctors is getting a personal invitation from Newt Gingrich and — that’s not all. If you call today you’ll get a genuine plaque, good while supplies last.

With the promise of proximity to power and the allure of mutually shared disgust for Obamacare, the invitation is framed as a celebration of the private health care over government intrusion. It’s also a bit of a sham. There is no mention of the fact that attendance at the event costs $5,000. Nor, for that matter, is there an explanation as to what merits qualifies someone for the 2010 Champions of Medicine” honor; or that hundreds, if not thousands, have received the same fax.

So why am I flogging good old Newt? I don’t know, sentimental reasons maybe. And it’s almost Halloween and a lot of people will be dressing up as vampires this year. The undead are in fashion. But mostly it’s because Kmareka covered Gingrich’s troubles the last time his PAC put out a mass mailing like this.

That mailing targeted businesses, but without much discrimination. Perhaps the quality that distinguished citizens worthy of the honor was having a listing in the Yellow Pages. Some commercial sex vendors got warm personal invitations to Newt’s special reception for enterprising Americans, and then were rudely dis-invited. I don’t know what’s more disgraceful– probably the rude brush-off. I think Newt would have gained more votes for the GOP by showing hospitality to the strippers, and he could have appeased the religious right by claiming the strippers got saved. This has worked for some ministers.

Newt might be safer with doctors, but that’s not guaranteed. There’s some shady ones out there, like ‘Dr.’ Laura and the obstetrician who treated ‘Octomom’ (still at large, but on trial).

I do look at the walls when I visit a doctor, check out the framed diplomas and all. If I see the Gingrich plaque (supplies limited! call today!), I’ll expect to find the wastebaskets full of discarded scratch tickets and mail from the Publishers Clearing House.