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."
The President knew exactly what he was doing, he wanted to get rid of that pesky Republican congress so he could get his Illegal Amnesty bill passed.
He was almost giddy at the prospect of giving the Dems everything they want, especially the Amnesty bill.
Mike Pence
Never heard of him (except until yesterday) imagine the name recognition he must have with the average American voter who doesnt go to places such as FR
Hey newt, how original of you to come out and trash Bush after the loss. I cannot believe the Bush-hate I have been reading from freepers as well.
Wow...no wonder they call this the stupid party.
It wasn't a big duh to the morons in the White House, apparently. George Allen would be in the Senate next year if they'd properly tossed Rumsfeld aside.
Damn right he is. Hell, if the Dems had people of his vision and intellect, the GOP would go the way of the whigs.
It bothers me that we have to hold all of our people to some supra human standard while the dems let drunken trash and pornographers rise as high as they like so as to benefit the party. I'm separating what a man does in his private life with his marital partners.
Hell, if I vetted employees in this manner I'd have nobody except Jehovah witnesses in my employ.
Newt is an unvarnished political genius. - And he doesn't drive cars off cliffs with his bimbos. That would be a crime, now wouldn't it? - and that, to me, should disqualify someone for office, not having more than one wife.
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,"
Now we have some agenda pushers in there!
lets list some items on our new agenda!
Gay gay gay 24hrs a day!
Higher taxes!
Reparations for slavery!
Impeachment!
Open Borders ,undocumented persons will step to the front of the line please!
Even higher taxes!
More Gay stuff
oh yeah de-fund the military!
DUmmies on the intelligence comittie!
bi monthly increases in the minimum wage!
oh yes higher taxes!
Islamic studies in public school!
He's right. The GOP squandered the opportunity of the century to pack it to the rat party. Yes, that is what it is about. Don't believe that? Just look at what the dems have done over and over to get back power. They are up front, in your face and never back down and make nice. Just as it is when dealing with terrorists, when they slap you slap them back, don't try to ignore it in order to "not stoop to their level". When the dems lie, bring it up front and scream it in their face that they are liars and let the world know why they are liars. When the dems hit you, hit them back harder and repeatedly. Quit being wusses, if the dems don't like something, shove it in their faces. Veto their pet bills, use their tactics such as fillibustering judges against them now that the GOP is in the minority. Do IT! They did it and obviously gained no ill will from the electorate. Finally, now is the time to rid ourselves of the rinos. Kick the asses of the state GOP to get rid of the Hagels and McCains.
The bottom line is that the dems are NOT our friends, never have been and never will be. The goal always should be to defeat them and not to bow to them. GET SOME NADS GOP AND FIGHT!
> Newt needs to have a nice cup of STFU.
Newt appears to have forgotten the 11th Commandment: Thou shalt not speak ill of a fellow Republican.
Dang you liberal-like idiots. I knew that's all a bunch of you would have as a response to Newt. "How many ex-wives blah blah blah."
Can't refute his ideas so you start with the personal attacks. Shame. Shame. Shame.
Newt 100% spot on.
As far as the timing of the Rumsfeld's departure, no time was good. If it was announced two weeks before the elections, it would've been a "stunt". Maybe if it had been done at the start of the year, or the start of the spring...some time before the general public began to notice the campaigns, then the new SecDef might have had a chance to put another face on the war.
Let me make it clear: I think Rummy is a great guy and did a fantastic job. The politics of the situation, though, would have been better if he had left earlier.
Of course, I don't think anyone went to the ballot box thinking about Rumsfeld...just the "war" in general.
Another thing that the Republicans SHOULD have done but didn't: point out the Democrats' hatred of the troops--Durbin's comments, Kennedy's comments, Murtha's comments, Kerry's comments...all were fodder for showing how the Democrats don't really support American military success. But the REPUBLICANS were too sensitive, and didn't want to "question the patriotism" of the traitorous 'rats.
So, here we are. Let's do our best to change course in two years.
You believe that lie? They lied to us because they believed that the lie would keep Republicans motivated to vote on Tuesday and that firing Rumsfeld would demoralize Republicans. It was all politics.
Newt, STFU.
Give me your plan, not who you blame.
You will never sit behind the desk of the oval office.
Reagan would shake his head and turn his back on you, as I have done.
Newt would not get my vote either!
George W. Bush is STILL our President. We are still at WAR. We don't need to start eating ourselves. Newt never learns from his mistakes. He can hide ego to be President for only so long and then the vicious side of him comes out.
If I hear him one more time on Hannity, I'm going to start to start listening to Jerry Garcia and the Greatful Dead.
Remind me again ... the reason he had to resign from Congress was ????
I know this is tough to air out in the open and I think Newt should think before he says things but he is telling the truth.
Bush was the leader of the Republican Party (whether you like it or not) and he did take responsiblity for the election results. Compassionate conservatism and trying to "split the baby down the middle" does not work. Bush needed his conservative base to come out in this election (especially in a mid-term) and they were not convinced are excited about what Republicans have been doing.
A wake up call is a good thing ever once in a while. I just hope we will not be paying very long for this mistake.
a blind squirrel finds a nut from time to time. Arnold just twists to accommodate our radical left wing legislature run by people who want to make California part of Mexico again.
He's got my vote if he runs.
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