Romney Campaign Press Release - Newt and the Facts: It's Complicated

"Mr. Gingrich Has Strayed From The Facts Most Often ... More Wrong Than Right." "By PolitiFact's reckoning, Mr. Gingrich has strayed from the facts most often. PolitiFact found more wrong than right in a majority of Mr. Gingrich's statements that they graded. That is to say, 59 percent of Mr. Gingrich's grades fell on the bottom half of the scale (pants on fire, false and mostly false)." (Micah Cohen, "Another Check On The Campaign's Truthiness," The New York Times' "Five Thirty Eight" Blog, 1/27/12)

ON BALANCED BUDGETS:

Gingrich: "When I Was Speaker, We Had Four Consecutive Balanced Budgets..." GINGRICH: "Well, first of all, the case I make is that, when I was speaker, we had four consecutive balanced budgets, the only time in your lifetime, Brian, that we've had four consecutive balanced budgets. Most people think that's good." (GOP Presidential Candidates Debate, Tampa, FL, 1/23/12)

• Gingrich "Can Plausibly Claim Credit For" Two Balanced Budgets — Not Four. "During fiscal years 1996 and 1997 — the first two that Gingrich helped shape as speaker — there were deficits: $107 billion in 1996 and about $22 billion in 1997. By fiscal year 1998, the federal budget did reach a surplus of $69 billion. And in fiscal year 1999 — which Gingrich can claim some responsibility for, even though he was out as speaker for most of the fiscal year — it was in surplus as well, to the tune of $126 billion. But that's only two balanced budgets he can plausibly claim credit for." (PolitiFact, 1/23/12)

ON CAP-AND-TRADE:

Gingrich: "I Never Favored Cap-And-Trade." "I said publicly, sitting on the couch with Nancy Pelosi is the dumbest single thing I've done in the last few years. But if you notice, I never favored cap-and-trade." (Fox News' "Huckabee," 12/3/11)

• "We Rate His Statement False." "Gingrich, as a presidential candidate in 2011, declared, 'I never favored cap and trade.' But we found solid evidence he did, with the condition that carbon caps be combined with tax incentives to encourage energy companies to innovate. He told Frontline a cap and trade system combined with tax incentives is 'something I would strongly support,' and even [said] the country 'would be much better off' if cap and trade had been instituted. That's favoring it. We rate his statement False." (PolitiFact, 12/7/11)

• The Washington Post's Glenn Kessler: "By All Available Evidence, Gingrich Has Changed His Position On Cap And Trade. That's Fine, But It Is Disingenuous Of Him To Claim That He Has 'Never Favored Cap And Trade.'" (Glenn Kessler, "Gingrich And Cap-And-Trade: A Flip-Flop?" The Washington Post, 12/5/11)

ON GOLDWATER VS. ROCKEFELLER:

Gingrich: "I've Been A Conservative My Entire Life. I Went To A Goldwater Organizing Meeting In Columbia, South Carolina In 1964." GINGRICH: "I've been a conservative my entire life. I went to a Goldwater organizing meeting in Columbia, South Carolina in 1964. I worked with Ronald Reagan starting in 1974. As I said before, I worked with Kemp and others to develop supply-side economics..." (Newt Gingrich, Town Hall Meeting, Dubuque, IA 12/27/11)

• Gingrich: "In The Years Of The Rockefeller-Goldwater Process ... I Was A Rockefeller State Chairman In The South." "But wait — didn't Gingrich say this, in 1988? ... 'And I think this party in that sense is a very different party than it was, say, from the fights in the years of the Rockefeller-Goldwater process — a period in which, by the way, I was a Rockefeller state chairman in the South.'" (Alexander Burns, "Rocky — No, Barry — No, Rocky!" Politico, 12/27/11)

• In 1989, Gingrich Said He Had Spent "Most" Of His Life In The "Classic Moderate Wing Of The Party," Citing His Past Work For Rockefeller. GINGRICH: "There is almost a new synthesis evolving with the classic moderate wing of the party, where, as a former [Nelson] Rockefeller state chairman, I've spent most of my life, and the conservative/activist right wing." ("A Conversation With Newt Gingrich," The Ripon Forum, 5/89)

• Commentary's Peter Wehner: "Ronald Reagan Was A Goldwater Republican; Newt Gingrich Was Not." "People can decide for themselves whether it matters or not, but for the record, Newt Gingrich was (based on his own words in 1988) a Rockefeller Republican. I point that out only because these days Gingrich likes to present himself as a 'Goldwater Republican.' Ronald Reagan was a Goldwater Republican; Newt Gingrich was not." (Peter Wehner, "Newt Gingrich, Rockefeller Republican?" Commentary, 1/25/12)

ON LOBBYING:

Gingrich Insists He Reported To "The Head Of Government Relations, Not The Head Of Lobbying" At Freddie Mac. LAURA INGRAHAM: "Why did you report to the head of lobbying at Freddie Mac if in fact — in essence you weren't a lobbyist? I think you have to answer that." GINGRICH: "First of all, it's the head of government relations, not the head of lobbying." ("The Laura Ingraham Show," 1/24/12)

• "The Freddie Mac Executive Who Hired Gingrich Was ... The Head Of Freddie Mac's Lobbying Operations." "[Gingrich's] Freddie Mac work gives off a whiff of lobbying, according to the contract he just released. Specifically, the Freddie Mac executive who hired Gingrich was not the CEO, nor the VP for operations, or the VP for communications, but Craig Thomas, the VP for Public Policy — that is, the head of Freddie Mac's lobbying operations. Thomas was a registered lobbyist at the time." (Timothy P. Carney, "Gingrich Worked For Freddie Mac's Lobby Shop," The Washington Examiner, 1/23/12)

ON HIS ETHICS REPRIMAND:

Gingrich Said His Unprecedented Ethics Reprimand "Related More To The Politics Of The Democratic Party Than The Ethics." GINGRICH: "I think what it does is it reminds people who probably didn't know this that [Nancy Pelosi] was on the Ethics Committee, that it was a very partisan political committee, and that the way I was dealt with related more to the politics of the Democratic Party than the ethics. And I think in that sense, it actually helps me in getting people to understand — this was a Nancy Pelosi-driven effort." (Fox News' "On The Record," 12/6/11)

• Third-Party Fact Checkers "Found [Newt's] Claim False." "Statements earlier this month by Gingrich that the investigation was partisan were reviewed by both FactCheck.org and PolitiFact, which found the claim false. ... [T]he investigation was not partisan, both organizations concluded." (Jason Clayworth, "Gingrich Says He Wasn't 'Fined' For Ethics Wrongdoing," Des Moines Register, 12/15/11)

PolitiFact: "Pants On Fire!" (PolitiFact, 12/7/11)