Posted on 01/12/2012 1:36:51 PM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
For those who might have missed it, Fox News’s Greta Van Susteren interviewed Newt Gingrich last night and asked whether he was “backing down” on his “attack on Bain capital.” Gingrich replied:
Well, first of all, I’m not attacking Bain Capital; I’m questioning Mitt Romney’s judgment, I’m questioning Mitt Romney’s decisions. He’s the person who has gone around saying that his business career is one of his two credentials. The other is his governorship. He doesn’t want to talk about his record as governor ’cause it’s too liberal for a Republican primary, and he doesn’t want anyone to talk about his business career….
“You know, this isn’t about free enterprise….This isn’t about capitalism. This isn’t even about private equity funds. This is about one person who wants to be president of the United States. He owes the country an explanation: Why were certain decisions made? How were they done? What was the consequence of them? Does he stand by them in retrospect? Now, surely, if he’s gonna go around running for president saying his 25-year business record is proof [that people should vote for him], he ought to be willing to discuss the 25-year business record, instead of suddenly jumping up and saying any questions are a sign you’re attacking free enterprise. That’s baloney.
“I have a very long record as a Reagan conservative. I have consistently worked to make sure we had more enterprise, not less; more jobs, not less; more entrepreneurs, not less. And in fact I would say that Mitt Romney did pretty well under the tax laws that I helped Ronald Reagan pass in the 1980s. So he ought to be happy with my role in expanding free enterprise and my role in the 1990s as speaker in cutting the capital gains tax — the largest tax cut in capital gains in American history came while I was speaker, so this is not about free enterprise. This is about one person, Mitt Romney, and what he did.”
In response to a follow-up question, Gingrich added,
“The question here is, various newspapers have reported, and an entire documentary has been made, about three or four cases that are very specific. Now, I think if Governor Romney thinks there’s nothing there, he ought to just hold a press conference, walk the news media through it, explain how it was done, let people see it. But I find it strange that they are so sensitive on this issue that they’ve sort of pushed the panic button.
“But understand me: This is not about free enterprise. This is about the character, values, and judgment of a particular person who is running for president of the United States. And it strikes me, just as with his record as governor, where his record’s very different from his advertising, he owes the country some candor, and he owes the country some facts. That’s all I’m saying.”
Van Susteren then asked Gingrich to explain his apparent about-face on running attacks ads. Gingrich said that, after Iowa, he and his wife Callista had a day-long discussion about whether his campaign should continue its policy of unilateral disarmament in that regard, and he decided that doing so would effectively mean “getting out of the race,” which he wasn’t prepared to do.
During the interview, Gingrich also went on the offensive:
“[N]ow we’re in South Carolina, which is my country. This is where, as a Georgia conservative, I have a pretty good idea how to campaign. And we’re gonna make it a clear race: a Reagan conservative from Georgia? — or a moderate from Massachusetts?
“...[I will] lay out [Governor Romney’s] liberalism on issues like abortion, gun control, raising taxes. These are all issues which, when the voters of South Carolina understand them, he’s gonna get remarkably few votes down here, because he’s not pro-life. He in fact put Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion provider in America, into Romneycare. He has tax-paid abortion in Romneycare. His administration approved building an abortion clinic for Planned Parenthood. He appointed pro-abortion judges. These things all happened after he claimed he was pro-life....”
Moments later, Van Susteren interrupted and playfully deadpanned, “So I guess it’s fair to say you are gonna fight back.”
Immediately thereafter, Van Susteren interviewed Rick Santorum, who said,
“I think what Newt just talked about with going after Governor Romney’s record in Massachusetts is absolutely dead-on. Governor Romney’s record in Massachusetts is deplorable. It is not a conservative record. It’s tax increases. It’s, as he mentioned, $50 taxpayer-funded abortions in Romneycare. There are a whole host of fees and things that the governor put in place that, actually, he even proposed and a Democratic legislature wouldn’t got along with some of his tax increases….
“As Newt said, gun control, abortion, and a very bad record on taxes and spending — those are the kinds of things that I wanna talk about here in South Carolina.”
And don't forget about booting the bondholders from the front of the line and handing the company to the union cronies of the President.
-PJ
“The GOP and the communists Democrats will make sure Romney wins.”
What we are witnessing is the shootout at the RINO corral....Perry and Newt won’t go down without a fight !
Romney and his business partners at Bain were into making dollars for themselves instead of products to be made by and sold to the USA public let alone the world markets.
Newt please Stfu about this. it’s time to move on.
There is nothing further to gained from this.
Newt please Stfu about this. it’s time to move on.
There is nothing further to gained from this.
“This morning Megyn Kelly interviewed McCain. He said, and I’m paraphrasing, to just look at GM. They got a bailout, they had to fire a lot of people and that was painful but now they’re on a big upswing and are hiring again. That’s how capitalism works.
So, there you have it. Capitalism now means taxpayer funded bailouts.”
Jeesh these guys show why they can’t win elections. It’s like juvinile: Why did you do that Mitt? Oh well bammy did it first. Never mind that the voters hated the bailouts.
Also, this plus what Romney said yeterday now means that:
Obamanomics = Romneynomics
Obamacare = Romneycare
I’m not even sure these jokers care whether they win or not.
Earlier today, I heard one of Governor Romney's surrogates make the analogy that his dealing with troubled companies was just like a doctor dealing with a sick patient. Some patients get better and some die. The doctor moves on. While that simplified view is exactly what Rush and Hannity have bought into, it ignores the reality that just as you have good and bad doctors you also have good and bad businessmen. In reality, the bad practitioners are the ones who taint the profession, not the person who exposes the misconduct.
Rush tries to cast himself in the role as guardian of the free enterprise system and as such reacts impulsively to any perceived criticism of his baby. He is just like a overprotective grandfather whose favorite grandchild is criticized. Hannity just wants to be Rush.
Even if they do win, we lose because there’s still gonna be a wild-ass liberal in the WH.
“Even if they do win, we lose because there’s still gonna be a wild-ass liberal in the WH.”
Ain’t it the truth!
Ideally, in a just world, Mittens would be running in the RAT Primaries. Alas, on this planet, God created an unjust world.
My dad lost $50,000 on that deal. That put a pretty big hole in his finances.
Two-hour debate unnecessary. I won’t take that long.
He has done more to put Ronald Reagan’s conservative policies into government practice than anyone else presently running for the Republican Party presidential nominee position.
I usually ignore endorsements, as they’re benerally quid pro quo arrangements, but Gingrich is now endorsed by Michael Reagan, Art Laffer, and numerous other former Reagan administration officials.
When Newt was in Congress, President George H.W.Bush had decided to announce he would work with the Congress and raise taxes, thus violating his “Read my lips...” promise. Congressman Gingrich wouldn’t support that action. I view Newt’s act as conservative, and not the action of a RINO.
Newt Gingrich is pro-life, pro-2nd Amendment and loves America and understands its citizens. As a historian, he thoroughly knows the U.S. Constitution and our nation’s history.
He allied himself with Ronald Reagan to build the Reagan Coalition, the Religious Right, and the Republican majority (together the Reagan Revolution) which directly led the downfall of the Soviet Union, the Contract with America, government reforms, less government, tax cuts, a balanced budget, and the great, longstanding Reagan economy.
Washington is broken, it doesn’t work the way it is supposed to and Newt said, if elected, he will work to change the way Washington does business.
Who died and made you King?
I can give you more than fifty reasons why Conservatives shouldn’t vote for Rick Santorum.
What A Big Government Conservative Looks Like
http://www.redstate.com/erick/2012/01/06/what-a-big-government-conservative-looks-like/
Posted by Erick Erickson (Diary)
Friday, January 6th at 12:13PM EST
NEA
Voted for taxpayer funding of the National Endowment for the Arts.
Voted against a 10% cut in the budget for National Endowment for the Arts.
Bankruptcy
Voted for a Schumer amendment to make the debts of pro-life demonstrators not dischargeable in bankruptcy.
Defense and Foreign Policy
Voted for the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).
Voted against requiring the President to certify that the CWC is effectively verifiable.
Voted against requiring the President to certify that that Iran, Iraq, Syria, Libya, North Korea, China, and all other countries determined to be state sponsors of terror have joined CWC prior to submitting the instrument of ratification.
Voted for the START II Treaty
Voted to allow the sale of supercomputers to China.
Voted to ban antipersonnel landmines
Voted against increasing defense spending offset by equivalent cuts in non-defense spending.
Voted to require that Federal bureaucrats get the same payraises as uniformed military.
Voted to allow food and medicine sales to state sponsors of terror and tyranical regimes such as Libya and Cuba.
Voted to limit the President’s authority to impose sanctions on nations for reasons of national security unless the sanctions were approved by a multilateral regime.
Voted against requiring Congressional authorization for military action in Bosnia.
Voted to give $25 million in foreign aid to North Korea
Voted to weaken alien terrorist deportation provisions. If the Court determines that the evidence must be withheld for national security reasons, the Justice Department must still provide a summary of the evidence sufficient for the alien terrorist to mount a defense against deportation.
Voted against delaying the India Nuclear until the President certified that India had agreed to suspend military-to-military exchanges with Iran.
Voted against the Conventional Trident Missile Program
Nominations
Voted for Richard Paez to the 9th Curcuit (cloture)
Voted for Sonia Sotomayor, Circuit Judge
Voted for Richard Holbrooke to be Ambassador to the UN
Voted for Margaret Morrow to be District Judge
Voted twice for Marsha Berzon to the 9thg Circuit
Voted for Mary McLaughlin to be District Judge
Voted for Tim Dyk to be District Judge
Voted for James Brady to be District Judge
Labor
Voted against National Right to Work Act
Voted against Real of Davis-Bacon Prevailing union wages
Voted for Alexis Herman to be Secretary of Labor
Voted for mandatory Federal child care funding
Voted for Trade Adjustment Assistance.
Voted for Job Corps funding
Voted twice in support of Fedex Unionization
Voted against allowing a waiver of Davis-Bacon in emergency situations.
Voted for minimum wage increases six times here here here here here and here
Voted to require a union representative on an IRS oversight board.
Voted to exempt IRS union representative from criminal ethics laws.
Voted against creating independent Board of Governors to investigate IRS abuses.
Guns
Voted to require pawn shops to do background checks on people who pawn a gun.
Voted twice to make it illegal to sell a gun without a secure storage or safety device
Voted for a Federal ban on possession of “assault weapons” by those under 18.
Voted for Federal funding for anti-gun education programs in schools.
Voted for anti-gun juvenile justice bill.
Reform
Voted for funding for the legal services corporation.
Voted twice for a Congressional payraise.
Voted to impose a uniform Federal mandate on states to force them to allow convicted rapits, arsonists, drug kingpins, and all other ex-convicts to vote in Federal elections.
Voted for the Specter “backup plan” to allow campaign finance reform to survive if portions of the bill were found unconstitutional.
Voted to mandate discounted broadcast times for politicians.
Voted for a McCain amendment to require State and local campaign committees to report all campaign contributions to the FEC and to require all campaign contributions to be reported to the FEC within 24 hours within 90 days of an election.
Immigration
Voted against increasing the number of immigration investigators
Voted to allow illegal immigrants to receive the earned income credit before becoming citizens
Voted to give SSI benefits to legal aliens.
Voted to give welfare benefits to naturalized citizens without regard to to the earnings of their sponsors.
Voted against hiring an additional 1,000 border partrol agents, paid for by reductions in state grants.
Taxes
Voted against a flat tax.
Voted to increase tobacco taxes to pay for Medicare prescription drugs
Voted to increase tobacco taxes to fund health insurance subsidies for small businesses.
Voted to increase tobacco taxes to pay for an $8 billion increase in child healh insurance.
Voted to increase tobacco taxes to pay for an increase in NIH funding.
Voted twice for internet taxes.
Voted to allow gas tax revenues to be used to subsidize Amtrak.
Voted to strike marriage penalty tax relief and instead provide fines on tobacco companies.
Voted against repealing the Clinton 4.3 cent gas tax increase.
Voted to increase taxes by $2.3 billion to pay for an Amtrak trust fund.
Voted to allow welfare to a minor who had a child out of wedlock and who resided with an adult who was on welfare within the previous two years.
Voted to increase taxes by $9.4 billion to pay for a $9.4 billion increase in student loans.
Voted to say that AMT patch is more important than capital gains and dividend relief.
Welfare
Voted against food stamp reform
Voted against Medicaid reform
Voted against TANF reform
Voted to increase the Social Services Block Grant from $1 billion to $2 billion
Voted to increase the FHA loan from $170,000 to $197,000. Also opposed increasing GNMA guaranty from 6 basis points to 12.
Voted for $2 billion for low income heating assistance.
Waste
Sponsored An amendment to increase Amtrak funds by $550 million
Voted to use HUD funds for the Joslyn Art Museum (NE), the Stand Up for Animals project (RI) and the Seattle Art Museum’s Olympic Sculpture Project (WA)
Voted to increase spending on social programs by $7 billion
Voted to increase NIH funding by $1.6 billion.
Voted to increase NIHnding by $700 million
Voted to for a $2 million earmark to renovate the Vulcan Monument (AL)
Voted for a $1 billion bailout for the steel industry
Voted against requiring that highway earmarks would come out of a state’s highway allocation
Voted to allow Market Access Program funds to go to foreign companies.
Voted to allow OPIC to increase its administrative costs by 50%
Voted against transferring $20 million from Americorps to veterans.
Voted for the $140 billion asbestos compensation bill.
Voted against requiring a uniform medical criteria to ensure asbestos claims were legitimate.
Voted to increase community development programs by $2 billion.
Spending and Entitlements
Voted to make Medicare part B premium subsidies an new entitlement.
Voted against paying off the debt ($5.6 trillion at the time) within 30 years.
Voted to give $18 billion to the IMF.
Voted to raid Social Security instead of using surpluses to pay down the debt.
Health Care
Voted to allow states to impose health care mandates that are stricter than proposed new Federal mandates, but not weaker.
Voted twice for Federal mental health parity mandates in health insurance.
Voted against a allow consumers the option to purchase a plan outside the parity mandate.
Education
Voted to increase Federal funding for teacher testing
Voted to increase spending for the Department of Education by $3.1 billion.
Voted against requiring courts to consider the impact of IDEA awards on a local school district.
Energy
Voted to allow the President to designate certain sites as interim nuclear waste storage sites in the event that he determines that Yucca Mountain is not a suitable site for a permanent waste repository. Those sites are as follows: the nuclear waste site in Hanford, Washington; the Savannah River Site in South Carolina; Barnwell County, South Carolina; and the Oak Ridge Reservation in Tennessee.
Voted to make fuel price gouging a Federal crime.
Elvis, circa 1977?
No one has to vote for Romney. There is no one to blame but the ignorant electorate that votes for him.
Probably late 60s. Oh, this is so cool!
Quick Elvis story...this happened in the late 60’s around the time of Elvis’ Comeback Special when he was very thin and fit and was just starting to play Las Vegas. A bunch of girls went to an Elvis concert and sat all along one row. They brought with them a huge banner. In the middle of the concert in a lull between songs, these girls stood up, unfurled their banner, and all together screamed their banner’s message to Elvis: ELVIS, YOU’RE THE KING!
Elvis stopped dead. The entire arena fell silent. Elvis pointed at the girls and their banner and said, “No, Jesus Christ is the King.” The girls dropped their banner, fell silently into their seats and then shrank like wool sweaters in the dryer.
Probably late 60s. Oh, this is so cool!
Quick Elvis story...this happened in the late 60’s around the time of Elvis’ Comeback Special when he was very thin and fit and was just starting to play Las Vegas. A bunch of girls went to an Elvis concert and sat all along one row. They brought with them a huge banner. In the middle of the concert in a lull between songs, these girls stood up, unfurled their banner, and all together screamed their banner’s message to Elvis: ELVIS, YOU’RE THE KING!
Elvis stopped dead. The entire arena fell silent. Elvis pointed at the girls and their banner and said, “No, Jesus Christ is the King.” The girls dropped their banner, fell silently into their seats and then shrank like wool sweaters in the dryer.
(Courtesy of Ann Barnhardt, at barnhardt.biz)
I think IF Newt wins SC by several points, he deserves a one on one with Willard in FL.
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