Posted on 01/01/2012 4:40:23 PM PST by VinL
Struggling to reverse a slide in his standing, Republican presidential contender Newt Gingrich said Sunday he'd been "Romney-boated" in Iowa and suggested his GOP rival would buy the presidency if he could.
The sharp words against Mitt Romney, a multimillionaire many times over who is in strong contention to win Iowa, come two days before voters here weigh in on the Republican field. It was part of a stepped-up effort by Gingrich to contrast himself with Romney, and the candidate said he would adopt an even more aggressive strategy when the race moves to New Hampshire, the former Massachusetts governor's backyard.
Gingrich's nautical attack was a reference to a 2004 TV ad campaign by a group called the "Swiftboat Veterans for Truth" that bloodied Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry. This year, Gingrich has faced an onslaught of negative TV advertisements by a group aligned with Romney.
Asked Sunday whether he felt that he had been "swiftboated," Gingrich replied, "I feel Romney-boated."
It was his second swipe of the day at the Republican frontrunner.
Speaking to reporters after attending morning Mass at the St. Ambrose Cathedral in Des Moines, Gingrich said the amount Romney will eventually spend on his various campaigns will rival the spending of billionaire New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
"Romney would buy the election if he could," Gingrich said.
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He's right at taking Kerry's side and saying the veterans were liars?
By the way, this reveals something additionally disturbing. In 2004, Newt was following the presidential race from the Kerry perspective. These verbal slips indicate a lot about what someone is thinking. Gingrich has in the left's echochamber.
Any sensible candidate would reject debating for an Obama-puppet megalomaniac.
Being anti-veteran and ant-soldier is not American in my opinion.
He said no such thing and you know it.
Happy, healthy, prosperous New Year, nickcarryaway!!!
I don’t think you intended to say that, but I was trying to say that would be the implication of your statement. Happy New Years to you, too!
I think this is another example of Gingrich showing his true colors. By suggesting that these people (the swift boat veterans who worked and served with Kerry in Vietnam) did not have the right to tell their story, he also seems to want to suggest that the people who have worked with him in the past should not be listened to. It looks to me like this is an attempt by Gingrich to appeal to the media that largely sided against the authors of the "swift boat" story to also side against those that would tell their personal experiences with the Gingrich's story, but for some reason I doubt that the media will be as protective of Gingrich's history.
Just consider the incredible agility of the Gingrich mind. The MSM tried to sucker him- by asking “were you Swift boated?”. They assumed a yes- and thus, Newt would have wittingly/unwittingly affirmed the criticism of the Veterans.
But instead; snap, instantaneously, Newt draws the distinction and turns it on the media - “no, I was Romney boated.”
The Newt distinction - “swift boating” is legitimately telling the truth, whereas “Romney-boating” is a smear campaign.
Newt is simply brilliant on his feet-- no one else comes close. .
-:)
Sorry, I just can’ buy the Newt-is-conservative myth. Go back to the beginning, when he was a Nelson Rockefeller-for-president staffer. And I think he new what he was telling the media this morning. Classic Gingrich suck up to the left. Gingrich’s record is full a red flags. Santorum isn’t perfect, but at least he’s a conservative.
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