Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich tells Newsmax in an exclusive interview that Republicans have a “2 out of 3” chance of winning not only the White House in November, but the Senate and House as well.
The reason, he says: President Obama “doesn’t have a clue about what he’s doing,” and Americans can’t afford four more years of this “disaster.”
Gingrich suspended his presidential campaign on May 2 and has endorsed GOP front-runner and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. The veteran Georgia lawmaker was first elected to the House in 1978 and served as speaker from 1995 to 1999 before announcing his retirement.
In his interview with Newsmax TV, Gingrich discusses the role he intends to play in the Romney campaign.
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“I’ve told Gov. Romney and his team I’ll do anything I can to be helpful. I’m a citizen. [Wife] Callista and I both believe in citizenship. We’re both prepared to be surrogates and go out and make speeches. We’re both prepared to do other things.
“In addition, I want to campaign for House candidates and for Senate candidates. One of the lessons of the gridlock of the last two years is you need under our Constitution the House, the Senate, and the presidency, so I want to help elect all three.”
Asked what the chances are for the GOP to win all three, Gingrich declares confidently: “Probably 2 out of 3. When you have the weakest economy since the Great Depression, you have high gasoline prices, you have people losing their homes to foreclosure, you have more Americans on food stamps than ever before in history, and you have the biggest deficit in history, all that is Barack Obama’s legacy.
“I think in September and October the American people are going to say, I can’t afford four more years of this. So I think there’s a very real chance that we can have a big sweep.”
He adds that Republicans “absolutely” can win back the Senate, “and I think we could win it by a surprising margin.”
Gingrich refers to James Carville’s recent warning to Democrats not to be overconfident about Obama’s re-election, and discloses what Romney needs to do to assure victory in November.
“I think it’s very important that James Carville is warning Democrats, because he’s the guy who in 1992 had a sign on the wall that said ‘It’s the economy, stupid.’ And I think the Romney people have been brilliant in coming up with ‘It’s still the economy, and we’re not stupid’ as their phrase.
“Mitt Romney needs to answer virtually every question by going back to jobs. If a reporter says, Forty-eight years ago, did you do something really stupid in high school? he should say, I’m really glad you asked me about jobs, because jobs are what matter to the American people.
“And I think every time president Obama does something to try to get our attention away from jobs, Romney should ask, So how many jobs did that create?
“Nothing is more important to this economy than getting people back to work, and that’s why I’ve advocated that we really build the key part of the Republican platform in August around how are we going to get this economy moving again.”
Discussing that platform, Gingrich says: “It’s going to be a very conservative platform in the best sense of the word.
“It’s going to be a problem-solving platform. It’s going to address getting to a balanced budget, getting the economy growing, developing American energy independence, fundamentally overhauling the government in Washington, implementing the 10th Amendment — a whole series of things that I think Romney is going to be able to go to the country and say, This is how big the difference is. Here’s where Barack Obama would take us; here’s where I would take us. You choose where you want America to go.”
Gingrich predicts that Romney will win in key swing states North Carolina, Virginia, Indiana, Ohio, and Florida.
“Because you have the worst economy since the Great Depression, you have a president who doesn’t have a clue about what he’s doing — he’s the most radical president in American history, and we don’t hire somebody to be an entertainer,” he tells Newsmax. “Obama’s a very charismatic, entertaining, pleasant guy. He’s just a disaster."
Gingrich was optimistic on the GOP's chances for winning swing states: “In every one of the states mentioned, there’s a very great likelihood that we can put together a majority not just for Romney, but keeping the seat in Indiana, picking up the Senate seat in Virginia, picking up the governorship in North Carolina, picking up the Senate seat in Florida. I see tremendous opportunities for us this year.”
Asked if he would accept a position in the Romney Cabinet if asked, Gingrich responds: “I’m not seeking one. I’m not particularly interested in one.
“I spent six years advising the Bush administration, 2001 through 2006, on both health policy and national security. I’d be very glad to try to be helpful to President Romney. If the president asks for my advice I’d be glad to help him pro bono, just as a good citizen. But I’m more of a visionary strategist, and I’d rather focus at that level.”
He also says he “doubts” that he will run for elected office again.
“I’ll be 69 this summer. I’m probably going to teach some courses, write some books, focus very heavily on innovation and the things that are happening in science and technology. We’re in a period where our institutions are decaying and we need to innovate our way out of that decay. To me that’s the exciting potential of the next 10 years.”
Gingrich has updated his book “Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less: A Handbook for Slashing Gas Prices and Solving Our Energy Crisis,” and the new work is being issued as an electronic book.
“I was fascinated to watch once again exactly where we were in 2008 when gasoline prices rose,” he says.
“We led a petition drive called 'Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less,' and also had a book of that title. We basically argued that an American energy policy would dramatically bring down the price of gasoline. When I was campaigning for president I made that case, and we had a very strong response from the public.
“The American people know that they want American energy independence so that no future president will ever again bow to a Saudi king. They also know that they want to keep $500 billion a year here at home buying American energy, creating American jobs, paying royalties to American governments.
“It will be our first electronic book. It comes out May 22. It’s called, I think, ‘$2.50 a Gallon Gasoline: Why Obama’s Wrong About the Ability to Get to Cheaper Gasoline.’ It’s been updated and substantially rewritten.”
In his interview with Newsmax TV, Gingrich also says:
- Republicans have a wealth of talent to choose from in selecting Romney’s running mate, including Sen. Marco Rubio who would “make a good president someday.”
- Obama changed his position on same-sex marriage because he wanted to placate “his most powerful constituents,” and as a result can’t attack Romney for flip-flopping on issues.
- JPMorgan’s recent $2 billion trading loss doesn’t reinforce the need for more bureaucratic oversight, which will only “guarantee you’ll never win” in a free-market system.
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