[CutePuppy]

He probably did in his speech because that would be in keeping with his custom and it probably was not reported in this article. I would not be surprised that the media does not believe itself to be in the business of offering its bandwidth for solutions about how to defeat Democrats.

Correct, it's just another case of Gingrich being "lost in translation." This was not a policy speech or policy paper (he published great analysis and some suggestions in the open letter to RNC shortly after Romney's ignominious defeat) - this was just a short introduction address to the Boston meeting with RNC Chair Priebus.

Clearly, "beyond" doesn't mean "instead of" - it means having something to "back it up" and provide a positive, hopeful agenda. You can't beat "something" with "nothing" as many people, including Mr. Romney, had to learn again in 2012.

Short articles in Politico and Boston Herald provide a little more colour, better insight and direction than Reuters':

From Newt Gingrich: No GOP health care plan - Politico, by Tal Kopan, 2013 August 14

< snip > ..... "I will bet you, for most of you, you go home in the next two weeks when your members of Congress are home, and you look them in the eye and you say, 'What is your positive replacement for Obamacare?' They will have zero answer," Gingrich told the Boston crowd ..... < snip >

..... "We are caught up right now in a culture, and you see it every single day, where as long as we are negative and as long as we are vicious and as long as we can tear down our opponent, we don't have to learn anything. And so we don't," Gingrich said, ..... < snip >

..... "I think part of what we have to do in the era of Obama's disaster, is we have to get beyond being anti-Obama, and we have to reconvince people you can have hope in America, that we can have a better future," Gingrich said, according to video of his remarks.

Priebus told CNN he did "not completely" agree with Gingrich's remarks ..... < snip >

From Gingrich tells GOP gathering: 'Get beyond being anti-Obama' - BH, by Matt Stout, 2013 August 14

< snip > ..... "I don't think we beat Hillary Clinton in a personality fight because the media will prop her up," Gingrich told his fellow members in a welcome luncheon ..... < snip >

..... Gingrich, in an event dubbed "Becoming the Party of Breakout," addressed more than 100 Republicans as part of the kickoff to the four-day event, emphasizing the need to address technology and new ideas to shake up the Republican Party. ..... < snip >

..... many Republicans who oppose the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare, can't offer an alternative. "It's a very deep problem. Breakout means you have to do the homework. "We have to get beyond being anti-Obama."

[CutePuppy]

Gingrich is basically saying that the GOP is being obstructionist on the issues of the day. That's a pretty cheap shot. He's basically echoing the Obama line. With friends like these, who needs enemies?

How did you come to that conclusion? I hear him saying exactly the opposite.

He is telling elected Republicans that they are all talk and no action, that by not having or being unable to articulate the positive alternative agenda they can be easily portrayed as the "obstructionists" and The Party of No and that they are now or will be losing the PR war to the Dems (as they have done consistently on a number of issues of the day for a number of years now) if they don't have the answers or vision beyond the "Obama is XYZ and his XYZ policies are bad [for you, for the country, for the world]" because people that need to be reached have tuned this out long time ago. That it's time move past the numerous failures of 2012 and learn the lessons, so they don't keep repeating them.

More simply, he is saying that they are lousy "obstructionists" and they need to up their game and offer people "change and hope / hope and change" the same way Reagan did, Clinton ("the man from Hope") did, Gingrich did (with Contract with America) and Obama did, or they will lose more PR battles and not gain much ground in 2014 and 2016 and beyond.

Democrats, on the other hand, are actually organized to make they horrible agenda a PR success - for example see how they intend to enroll as much of low-information segment of population into Obamacare to make it look like enough of a "success" to boast and push the program beyond the tipping point:

From Retirees in Enemy Territory Go Door-to-Door on Obamacare - BL, by Alex Nussbaum, 2013 August 14

Republican governors seeking to make their states enemy territory for Obamacare are facing a counteroffensive. Among the vanguard: two 74-year-old retirees walking the streets of working-class New Jersey. ..... < snip >

..... The campaign is relying on tactics honed in Obama's election victories to promote the law in states where leaders such as New Jersey Governor Chris Christie have shown little support. Low enrollment early on could deal the act a serious blow, raising costs for consumers, bolstering Republican attacks and deepening public skepticism. Success could smooth its path into the future. ..... < snip >

..... Would Obamacare cover everybody in the house? "It's for everyone in America," Lee said. ..... < snip >

"Anytime you can talk to people who don't know about the law and give them some information, that's a success," she said. "This is just the first step. These people, we'll be contacting them again." ..... < snip >

I prefer the friends who tell me the truth, not who tell me what I want/like to hear. Gingrich tells them what they are facing now and what they should be ready face in the near future and concrete steps on how best to deal with these challenges, and he points out that most of them and the party in general is still in full "blame and flame" mode and is ill-prepared to deal with realities on the ground.

"A man can't be too careful in the choice of his enemies" - Oscar Wilde

Same goes for friends. With friends like Gingrich we might yet win on the issues.