Gingrich: Republicans Would Do Well to Emulate Sessions

Republicans would do well to study Attorney Jeff Sessions' testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Wednesday morning.

"He was angry; he was direct," Gingrich told Fox News' "Fox & Friends" program. "He took on the left head on, and he raised the right emotional tone."

Republicans need to realize that "this is a real war," the former speaker said, as "the left wants to destroy them, and being passive and being slow doesn't count."

Pointing to Sessions' comments that accusing him of colluding with Russians was a "detestable lie," Republicans would do well to follow his tone and intensity, said Gingrich.

"If every Republican could learn the tone and the intensity and every time a Democrat attacks them on healthcare, [they could] turn and say wait a second, you passed Obamacare, you destroyed the insurance system, you left millions of people without coverage," said Gingrich.

"How can you even talk to us when you haven't got the guts to reform anything?"

Gingrich said he predicts the attacks from Democrats won't end until "Jan. 20, 2020," when President Donald Trump leaves office.

Then, the fight will go against either Vice President Mike Pence, if he seeks the presidency, said Gingrich.

"If we elect a Republican to follow Trump, the left is going to keep going crazy," he continued.

The controversies also are affecting Trump and drawing attention away from important legislation, including the House's passage of a "really important veterans administration bill, one of the most important reform bills ever for the Veterans Administration," said Gingrich.

Meanwhile, one of the "great problems" facing Republicans is that they "come out of a culture where they think we are going to be reasonable," Gingrich continued.

"The other side is in the Super Bowl with full pads coming straight at you to knock you on your butt," he said.

"They are all counting on 'gee, this really isn't very nice.' No, it's not. The Democrats are fighting for power. They think their very ideological way of life is at stake."

• Krauthammer: Sessions Testimony 'All Smoke, No Fire'
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