Posted on 01/26/2012 10:12:01 AM PST by Windy City Conservative
The Romney campaign sends along a statement by Bob Dole pasted below. Relations between Dole an establishment figure in the party and Gingrich were well known to be tense during the 1990s. Here it is:
I have not been critical of Newt Gingrich but it is now time to take a stand before it is too late. If Gingrich is the nominee it will have an adverse impact on Republican candidates running for county, state, and federal offices. Hardly anyone who served with Newt in Congress has endorsed him and that fact speaks for itself. He was a one-man-band who rarely took advice. It was his way or the highway.
Gingrich served as Speaker from 1995 to 1999 and had trouble within his own party. Already in 1997 a number of House members wanted to throw him out as Speaker. But he hung on until after the 1998 elections when the writing was on the wall. His mounting ethics problems caused him to resign in early 1999. I know whereof I speak as I helped establish a line of credit of $150,000 to help Newt pay off the fine for his ethics violations. In the end, he paid the fine with money from other sources.
Gingrich had a new idea every minute and most of them were off the wall. He loved picking a fight with Bill Clinton because he knew this would get the attention of the press. This and a myriad of other specifics helped to topple Gingrich in 1998.
In my run for the presidency in 1996 the Democrats greeted me with a number of negative TV ads and in every one of them Newt was in the ad. He was very unpopular and I am not only certain that this did not help me, but that it also cost House seats that year. Newt would show up at the campaign headquarters with an empty ice-bucket in his hand that was a symbol of some sort for him and I never did know what he was doing or why he was doing it.
In my opinion if we want to avoid an Obama landslide in November, Republicans should nominate Governor Romney as our standard bearer. He has the requisite experience in the public and private sectors. He would be a president we could have confidence in.
Bob Dole is the poster boy on why we don’t want Romney.
Bod Dole... the man who inspired me to vote Libertarian in 1996.
Just added to NRO:
Or maybe that Dole statement was from the Gingrich campaign? That Bob Dole cant stand Newt is (understandably) a recommendation for the former Speakers supporters.
http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/289362/re-dole-goes-nuclear-rich-lowry
Tell me that there isn’t a conspiracy afoot now by the GOP-E to force Romney down our throats...
Every freakin RINO in the country is coming out of the closet.
The establishment Republicans are not capable of giving an honest opinion on this matter. They just feel threatened.
I thought Dole was dead!
I admire his sacrificial military service for this Republic. More recently, though, he has been better at selling drugs than defending the Constitution, or so it seems.
Tom Delay, the old House "Hammer" came out with the same point in an interview I heard yesterday.
http://www.ktrh.com/pages/michaelberry.html?article=9666278
Tom felt the only conservative left in the race was Santorum.
Bob Dole
1. talks about himself in the third person.
2. Isn’t exactly a expert in winning a national campaign.
Hardly anyone who served with Newt in Congress has endorsed him
In other words, for example, Fred Thompson is "hardly anyone".
The party establishment is in full destruction mode. Anybody who is anybody in the Republican Party is on a rampage against Newt, and either Newt will be destroyed or they will. I’m rooting for Newt.
This statement, more than any other, proves to me the GOP establishment is in the tank--not for Romney--but for Barack Obama. They hate Newt because he wanted to take the fight to the Democrats. They don't want to fight the Democrats. They want to be the minority party like the good old days when they could get crony deals and handouts and favors in exchange for dropping their pants, bending over, and reaching across the aisle.
Do you Newt-haters and MittBots see this?! The problem the GOP establishment has with Newt is
Newt wants to win!
All these unmitigated losers coming out and supporting Romney. Dole, McCain, Crist... Romney himself is a multiple-time loser.
I think they want Obama back in the White House.
Great WWII hero and Thank you for your Service Bob. But you did no favors to the Republican Party. And you're not relevant today. Sorry.
Bob Dole...one of the Establishment Republicans.
Bob Dole is a prime reason I am for Newt. Bob Dole HATED Newt during Reagan’s term when Newt worked in support of Reagan.
Tell Bob to keep taking his Viagra and STFU.
Title should read: “Dole goes bonkers!”
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.