"It is no surprise that, having spent nearly half a century in government between them, Speaker Gingrich and Governor Perry have resorted to desperate attacks on a subject they don't understand. We expect attacks on free enterprise from President Obama and his allies on the left - not from so-called 'fiscal conservatives.' Speaker Gingrich and Governor Perry seem to think that running against the private sector is the way to revive their floundering campaigns. Governor Romney will continue talking about his experience in the real economy, his vision for getting America back to work, and how important it is that we defeat President Obama in November." -Andrea Saul, Romney Campaign Spokesperson
The Weekly Standard's Fred Barnes: "Newt Gingrich has adopted an anti-free market argument - a favorite of the political left - to criticize Mitt Romney." (Fred Barnes, "Gingrich Hits Romney From The Left," Weekly Standard, 12/12/11)
- Weekly Standard Headline: "Gingrich Hits Romney From The Left" (Weekly Standard, 12/12/11)
American Spectator's Joseph Lawler: "Gingrich has basically adopted the language of the anti-corporate left with this line of attack." (Joseph Lawler, "Gingrich Attacks Romney From The Far Left," American Spectator, 12/12/11)
- American Spectator Headline: "Gingrich Attacks Romney From The Far Left" (American Spectator, 12/12/11)
The Washington Post's Jennifer Rubin: "Gingrich is still his own worst enemy and the best witness to debunk the canard that he's a tea party, pro-free market guy." (Jennifer Rubin, "Gingrich Slips: Shows His Nasty, Anti-Free Market Self," The Washington Post, 12/12/11)
- Washington Post Headline: "Gingrich Slips: Shows His Nasty, Anti-Free Market Self" (The Washington Post, 12/12/11)
National Review's Jim Geraghty: "Didn't take Newt long to adopt an MSM/Dem line of attack against a rival, huh? Almost like 'right-wing social engineering.'" (Charlie Spiering, "Newt Trashes Romney For 'Bankrupting' Companies," Washington Examiner, 12/12/11)
The Atlantic's David Graham: "By choosing to take sides with Democrats and attack Romney from the left, Gingrich is putting himself in a bind. ... With Republican voters, however, he's clearly misstepped." (David A. Graham, "How Gingrich's Attack On Romney And Bain Backfired," The Atlantic, 12/13/11)
- The Atlantic Headline: "How Gingrich's Attack On Romney And Bain Backfired" (The Atlantic, 12/13/11)
American Spectator's Robert Kirchhoefer: "[Gingrich is] setting up a tent on Occupy Wall Street territory: an extreme, anti-capitalist, class-warfare posture that's inherently un-Republican, un-conservative, and unserious. ... Newt Gingrich's attacking the re-capitalization and re-structuring of companies and corporations by market-based means should be called out for what it is: reprehensible." (Robert P. Kirchhoefer, "Newt Wrong On Romney Gains. Very Wrong," American Spectator, 12/13/11)
Boston Globe: "In a surprising twist on the 1994 parallel, Gingrich ... criticized Romney in a manner almost identical to the way that [Ted] Kennedy did during the Senate [race]." (Michael Kranish, "Romney, Gingrich Rift Has Old Roots," The Boston Globe, 12/14/11)
New York Post's John Podhoretz: "Newt's attack on Romney is profoundly disingenuous..." (John Podhoretz, "GOP Cruise Missiles," New York Post, 12/12/11)
Washington Examiner's Conn Carroll: "It was only a matter of time before Gingrich said something that would remind conservative primary voters why he is a terrible choice for the Republican nomination." (Conn Carroll, "George Will Was Wrong: Newt Gingrich IS A Marxist," Washington Examiner, 12/13/11)
TownHall's Guy Benson: "What's distressing to many conservatives is that Newt seems to have a habit of borrowing from Democrats' playbook to attack fellow Republicans from the left. Just ask Paul Ryan. ... This was not one of Newt's finer moments." (Guy Benson, "Conservatives Rip Newt For Attack On Romney's Private Sector Experience," TownHall.com, 12/13/11)
Mitt Romney, Romney Campaign Press Release - Flashback: The Last Round of Attacks on Free Enterprise Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/299483