ATLANTA (AP) — Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich blasted a budget address by President Barack Obama as "a sadly political speech of remarkable demagoguery."
The former U.S. House speaker was in Atlanta Wednesday scooping up money for his likely Republican White House bid.
He told The Associated Press that Obama's new proposal to couple spending cuts with tax hikes on the wealthy is "a job-killing big-government defending avoidance of responsibility."
Gingrich said to suggest such large tax increases in a still-struggling economy "is to claim the Herbert Hoover award." Hoover was president when the Great Depression began.
Wednesday night's fundraiser was hosted by Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal, as well as two former governors — Republican Sonny Perdue and Democrat Zell Miller.
Supporters paid $2,500 to attend a cocktail reception including a photo with Gingrich.
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