This lie won’t fly.
I'm still waiting to see a better explanation for what Gingrich meant by the first full quote:
“Incumbent presidents have enormous advantages. And I think what Republicans ought to do is what’s right for America. They ought to do it calmly and pleasantly and happily,”I'll believe the quote is false if someone posts a transcript of the interview or a video. But until then, I say it sounds exactly like something Gingrich would say, because it's what smart political people would say, before they thought about how it would look ideologically.
I've seen no defense of Newt yet that explains that quote, just a lot of people attacking the sources and saying "Gingrich says he supports the House" -- which is what the quotes in this article say as well, except for the part where he seems to say they should surrender and live to fight another day.
It's what Gingrich did in the 1990s, when he was still truly conservative. Why wouldn't that be his first inclination now?
You can fully support someone, and still tell them they need to give up. "You fought the good fight, but you can't win".