Posted on 11/10/2006 6:59:08 AM PST by Pokey78
After having watched the majority he engineered in 1994 crumble in this week's elections, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich laid into President Bush and congressional Republicans in an Atlanta appearance Thursday.
Taking questions after a medical forum, the former GOP congressman from Cobb County said four c's — an absence of competence in Republican performance, an absence of candor, corruption and the bad advice of consultants — led to Tuesday's defeat.
But Gingrich saved his strongest words for President Bush's performance at the Wednesday press conference announcing Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's resignation. Bush told reporters that he had planned to replace Rumsfeld since before the election, despite praising the unpopular defense secretary a week ago and saying he would remain for the duration of his presidency.
"If the president had decided to replace Secretary Rumsfeld he should have told us two weeks ago," Gingrich said. "I think that we would today control the Senate and probably have 10 to15 more House seats. And I found it very disturbing yesterday in the press conference, the explanation that the President gave.
"We need candor, we need directness," said Gingrich, a potential 2008 presidential candidate."We need to understand the threats we faced with are so frightening and so real, the danger that we'll lose two to three American cities so great, that we cannot play games with each other, cannot manipulate each other, we have to have an open and honest dialogue, and I found yesterday's staments at the press conference frankly very disturbing."
He condemned Bush's admission that in making last week's statement about Rumsfeld, he had known he was being misleading.
"It's inappropriate to cleverly come out the day after an election to do something we were told before the election would not be done," Gingrich said. "I think the timing was exactly backwards and I hope the President will rethink how he engages the American people and how he communicates with candor."
He contrasted the euphoria of 1994, when his Contract with America agenda helped ended decades of Democratic rule in the House, with the bitterness of Tuesday night's Democratic sweep.
"I remember what it felt like the night we were at the Cobb Galleria and for the first time in 40 years we won control of the House and (there was) the Contract with America and people were very exicted about welfare reform and cutting taxes and balancing the budget and all those things, and I have to say 12 years later that I'm very disappointed, but if you look at what I've said all year, I'm not surprised."
As for whatRepublicans should do now, he said, "I believe the House and Senate Republicans and the White House need to take a deep breath and think very seriously about this election result, because I think we're at a very important turning point this is either a temporary interruption of what has been a gradually consolidating center-right majority, or this is a breakdown of that center-right majority leading to a significant effort to establish a center-left government majority."
This why I will never vote for Newt in a primary.
Captain Obvious alert.
Careful Newtie, a couple of your ex-wives might have said the same thing to you. Watch it.
Too late, the door is open and we cant go back.
Why did Newt have to leave again?
Did he serve divorce papers on his sick wife?
Or was that JOhn Kerry?
LOL, Newt needs to have a nice cup of STFU.
That Gingrich! Always with the jokes. Everyone knows that Bush and the Republicans are not responsible for their loss. They were done in by those insignificant Libertarians. That little snob, Medved, says so.
Newt is the LAST guy who should start pointing his finger around.
Seems to me like the LEADER of a movement is not the person who should start blaming people for that movement failing, when THEY were forced to resign for unethical behavior.
Gingrich is right and it's what I've been saying. Bush and Rove are to blame for squandering this once in a lifetime Republican control of congress. With that being said, it's time for the GOP to clear out the hacks running it now and bring in people with vision who can bring back the magic that Gingrich and others brought back in 94.
Too bad James Rogan isn't in congress. He'd be the ideal minority leader.
Newt is a decent guy, but any man who has 2 ex wives shows he is lacking in commitment and responsbility, therefore I would never vote for him.
Right on Newt.
Precious from a guy who cut tail and run when his backside was under fire after giving his opponents ammunition.
So many screw ups. It's like the Titanic, if any one thing had been different, it may not have been the disaster it was. I hadn't thought about McCain and his role in the 2006 disaster, but Hugh Hewitt's column reminds us what part he played as well.
I liked Rogan. I wonder what he's doing these days.
While that does sound like something John Kerry would have done, it was Newt Gingrich. I think he might make a good GOP Chairman, but he could never be elected to national office, so people may as well drop that idea.
Everyone knows that Bush and the Republicans are not responsible for their loss.
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:-)
I agree that he has no room to talk. However, I do agree with him on this.
Sounds like fairly accurate observations. There was zero accomplished in this last term. A simmering Iraq situation that did not appear to be improving (with poor communication of the fact from the GOP), no economic accomplishments, and a less than popular stance on immigration. It looked like those in power in the House were more interested in enjoying the power than pushing an agenda.
Wasn't Kerry's first wife going through a really bad depression?
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