Romney Campaign Press Release - Former Rep. Jeb Bradley: Gingrich Saying He's Not a Lobbyist is the Real "Pious Baloney"

"The average person looks to a leader to say what they're going to do and do what they say, not to dance on the pinhead in technicalities of the law. They want honest and forthright answers. And Newt, quite frankly, is not being honest and when he, you know, jumped all over Mitt Romney in the debate, in New Hampshire, that I saw, and said he was full of pious baloney. I'm sorry but Newt is full of pious baloney on the fact he's not a lobbyist. Every American wants a leader and we're not getting that out of Newt." — Former Rep. Jeb Bradley

Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack And Former Congressman Jeb Bradley

"Washington Works For Newt" Press Conference Call

January 26, 2012

Click HERE to Listen to the Full Audio

Highlights of the "Washington Works for Newt" Press Conference Call:

FORMER REP. JEB BRADLEY: Yeah, good morning. Thank you very much, Ryan. I was a freshman member of Congress in 2003, when Medicare Part D was up, debated, and finally enacted. I remember very distinctly meeting with Speaker Gingrich with about half-a-dozen to about ten other members of Congress at the National Congressional Committee offices. Newt said exactly the same things he's been saying in debates. That, you know, we should modernize Medicare, that it made no sense to pay for expensive heart surgery but not drugs that would prevent heart surgery. And, you know, I didn't know at the time that he had a stable full of health care clients—not that that would have mattered. There's nothing wrong with lobbying. But when you're running for President of the United States you're supposed to be honest and forthright about what you are and what your career is. And he was clearly lobbying us to vote for the Part D drug benefit. And I see him in the debates, and more and more of the facts are coming out—the long lists of clients that he had, that he was the chief or hired by the chief lobbyist of Freddie Mac, all the money that he was paid. I mean these denials ring hollow when you're running for president. Because I'll tell you that day that I met with Newt, he was lobbying me. It wasn't a history lesson, I can tell you that."

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REP. MARY BONO MACK: "Well, good morning everybody. I'm delighted to be on the call and a very proud supporter of Mitt's and I think to echo what Jeb has said. First a little bit of background about myself: I was elected to the House in 1998 and served for two years under Newt's leadership. And I believed that he was saying was accurate. And I would like to add probably some other examples of erratic behavior and, you know, I'd like to also say that, first of all, I believe Newt is a brilliant thinker. And I've seen his thinking in action. There's no doubt about it. But the implementation of his thinking is what always left people sort of feeling—questioning his leadership skills and his leadership ability. There was an erratic sense about his thinking. Although that one could listen to his thinking and sometimes be inspired by it, the idea would change the next day and if you were somebody trying to serve with him, you were always sort of left standing with your hands empty in terms of moving forward with an actual plan or putting a plan to paper. So, for me, it's an example that he's just not an effective leader. I think Mitt has the temperament and the ability to lead. He has proven it. He has proven it in his personal life and his political life and his business life. And certainly I was a fan of his way back when he saved the Olympics. I'd also like to add that I was very involved and had a phone call from Newt just before he resigned, not only as Speaker of the House but resigned his seat altogether. Newt called me the day that he resigned and asked me if I still had any confidence in him and I expressed that I did not. I believed that under his leadership he abandoned conservative principles. I believed he no longer listened to people he was serving with. That it was all about Newt's ideas. When he called me the day that he resigned, I let him know that I could not support him that I would not work against him at that point in time — I was a pretty brand new member. But at that point in time, I too had lost confidence in him. And by the end of the day, he had resigned not only speaker, but  resigned his seat in Congress. Which actually, amazed me. I thought if he really wanted to stay and fight for the country that he would have stayed in the Congress as a rank-and-file member, but he decided since the conference had lost entire confidence in him that it would be best for him to resign. So I think that's good for me and I look forward to your questions—anything you might have to ask."

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SHIRISH DATE, NPR: "Good morning. I'm wondering whether either of you can speak to Freddie Mac. Whether there was ever any incident or discussion on that matter?"

BONO MACK: "Sure, I'll take a crack at that. And good morning. First of all, I cannot speak to direct to Newt specifically speaking to me on that but it's very disingenuous to say he is not an influence peddler. There's no doubt that he is. You cannot leave the speakership and not have influence—not only with your former colleagues but future colleagues and the country as well. You leave the speakership with a gravitas that is very valuable. Very important. And you certainly have a major influence over the Congress. The fact, if in Washington D.C., you're truly trying to hire a historian, there are plenty of think-tanks, there are plenty of universities, even the Library of Congress. There are plenty of places to hire historians. There's no doubt that the folks at Freddie Mac needed to understand political influence and have somebody who could exert that influence over the Congress."

BRADLEY: "Yeah, and I would add—Jeb Bradley—I was never on a committee with jurisdiction over Freddie or Fannie, so I wasn't lobbied by, in particular, by Speaker Gingrich on this issue. As more of the facts come to light, especially contrasting his, you know, rather pious denials of his lobbying that how much he was paid, that he was hired by the chief lobbyist of Freddie, that he was getting an awful lot of money to talk to members of Congress about Freddie and Fannie. The average person looks to a leader to say what they're going to do and do what they say, not to dance on the pinhead in technicalities of the law. They want honest and forthright answers. And Newt, quite frankly, is not being honest and when he, you know, jumped all over Mitt Romney in the debate, in New Hampshire, that I saw, and said he was full of pious baloney. I'm sorry but Newt is full of pious baloney on the fact he's not a lobbyist. Every American wants a leader and we're not getting that out of Newt. And the Obama billion-dollar war chest is going to caricature on one hand as grandiose and full of all these big ideas, then on the other hand as an influence peddler in Washington who lobbies for money. I mean it's going to really hurt conservative causes around the country."

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BRADLEY: "Yeah, well I would just add this. In New Hampshire, Speaker Gingrich got 9 percent of the vote. His unfavorables were higher than his favorable ratings with people despite the fact that the only newspaper with statewide circulation, the Manchester Union Leader, endorsed Speaker Gingrich. I mean, people saw Speaker Gingrich in action. He was talking about his life in Washington after he left the speakership. And that's why his unfavorable were so high, I think he reminded people, you know, why folks like Mary, who's a great member of Congress, lost faith in him in 1998. There comes a time when people expect their leaders to man-up or woman-up about who they are and what they've done. You know, it's not wrong to have been a lobbyist. There's nothing wrong with that. But when you try to deny that and try to dance around the technicalities in the law, people see right through you. And I think that's increasingly a problem for Speaker Gingrich. And why in New Hampshire, I think one reason, why he got 9 percent of the vote. And quite frankly, if he's at the top of the ticket, and that is the question, I think it's going to hurt Republicans up and down the ticket. And no one knows that better than me. What it was like to have a wave against me in 2006, when I lost my reelection efforts in New Hampshire's first Congressional district."

BONO MACK: "John, if I can just a personal anecdote about—I know you asked about how Connie would feel—I'd like to speak about—I've been a member of Congress for quite some time and I'd like to speak about how would feel if Newt were at the top of the ticket. And I just remember back to the days when Newt was the speaker and beginning to lose the confidence of not only the conference, but also the American people. I remember being out in my district and having conservatives come up to me and saying that they displeased, that they were so concerned with the erratic behavior coming out of Newt Gingrich that they were not—that they were going to leave the Republican Party. They were so frustrated and so angry. So I heard from constituents on a firsthand basis, during those days, how concerned they were about the stances and the erratic behavior from Newt."