Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich has taken a lot of flak about policy positions and behavior in his past. So the former House speaker says that, from now on, he won’t feel obligated to answer every question about his history,
Politico reports.
“All of you who want to play ‘gotcha,’ I’ll go to the next question,” Gingrich told a group of journalists Monday.
But he also confirmed that he personally is on Medicare, defended his involvement in a 2009 special congressional election, mentioned a national security documentary he produced with his wife, released some parts of his financial history, and cited his leadership of the Alzheimer’s Study Group with former Nebraska Sen. Bob Kerrey.
Asked what distinguishes relevant information from “gotcha” questions, Gingrich said “everything is fair” for presidential candidates.
Gingrich also sought to portray himself as a candidate from outside the Beltway,
The Hill reports. "I'm not a Washington figure, despite the years I've been here," he said. "I'm essentially an American whose ties are across the country and is interested in how you change Washington, not how you make Washington happy."
Gingrich has located his campaign headquarters in Georgia, the state he represented in Congress.
"Everywhere I go across Iowa . . . they figure out I'm the guy who wants to change Washington, and they can tell it because the people they see on TV from Washington are unhappy with me," he said.
"If you look at my platform, I'll clearly be the most change-oriented, the most fundamental reform candidate in this race."
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