Romney Campaign Press Release - Welcome to Newt World

Where All Is Not As It Seems ... And "Government Relations" Is Not Lobbying

In Newt World, "Government Relations" and "Lobbying" are Not the Same:

This Morning, Gingrich Insisted 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)

• Listen To Gingrich Make The Distinction: http://mi.tt/zZPH9A

"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)

• The University of Virginia's Larry Sabato: "[T]he Explanation: 'I Was A Historian, I Wasn't A Lobbyist'? There's No One Who Buys That." (Katrina Trinko, "Crony Newt," National Review, 12/13/11)

In Newt World, a Resignation in Disgrace is Simply Walking Away:

Gingrich Says He "Left The Speakership" Because "Our Results Weren't As Good As They Should Be." "'I left the speakership after the 1998 election because I took responsibility for the fact that our results weren't as good as they should be. I think that's what a leader should do,' Gingrich said." ("Romney, Gingrich Spar Over Records, Sling Mud At One Another," FoxNews.com, 1/23/12)

"As Mr. Romney Pointed Out A Moment Later, Mr. Gingrich Had To Resign In Disgrace. Mr. Romney Was Right." "Mr. Gingrich made it sound as if he left the speakership out of a simple desire to do something else. As Mr. Romney pointed out a moment later, Mr. Gingrich had to resign in disgrace. Mr. Romney was right. ... [H]is own conservative troops had turned against him a couple of years earlier, saying that he had been too lax in going along with President Clinton in spending too much money and not reigning in taxes. Mr. Gingrich's ouster created chaos in the House and the party." (Katharine Q. Seelye, "Fact Check: Gingrich On Leaving The House," The New York Times, 1/23/12)

In Newt World, a Washington Insider is a Washington Outsider:

Gingrich Boasts A "Long History As A Washington Insider." "Gingrich ... has a long history as a Washington insider. ... 'It reminds people that I know a great deal about Washington and if you want to change Washington, we just tried four years of amateur ignorance and it didn't work very well, so having somebody who knows Washington might be a really good thing,' he said." (Reuters, 11/16/11)

• Gingrich: "Look, I Have A Long Level Of Experience At Something Called The Government Of The United States." (CBS' "Face The Nation," 1/22/12)

• Gingrich: "I'm Not Trying To Portray Myself As An Outsider..." "'I'm not trying to portray myself as an outsider, but look at the reaction of the establishment from both parties,' Gingrich said in an editorial board meeting with The Des Moines Register. 'They think I'm an outsider because I am.'" (Jason Clayworth, "Gingrich Says He Wasn't 'Fined' For Ethics Wrongdoing," Des Moines Register, 12/15/11)

Gingrich: "I'm An Outsider." "After a career of more than 30 years in Washington, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich on Thursday decried the political culture that he once presided over and described himself as an agent of change and an 'outsider.' ...  In what could be a tough sell in a general-election campaign, given his years in Washington and the millions of dollars he earned trading on his government experience after he left Congress, Gingrich said, 'I'm an outsider, even though I've served in Washington.'" (Sophie Quinton, "Gingrich Touts Washington Years, But Calls Himself 'Outsider,'" National Journal, 12/15/11)

In Newt World, Your Nemesis is Your Ally:

Gingrich Said His Unprecedented Ethics Reprimand Was "A Nancy Pelosi-Driven Effort." 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)

• NOTE: Third-Party Fact Checkers "Found The 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)

Gingrich Later Sat On A Loveseat With Pelosi To Film An Ad On Behalf Of Al Gore's Climate Change Agenda. PELOSI: "Hi! I'm Nancy Pelosi, life-long Democrat and Speaker of the House." GINGRICH: "And I'm Newt Gingrich, life-long Republican, and I used to be Speaker." PELOSI: "We don't always see eye to eye, do we Newt?" GINGRICH: "No, but we do agree: our country must take action to address climate change." PELOSI: "We need cleaner forms of energy, and we need them fast." GINGRICH: "If enough of us demand action from our leaders, we can spark the innovation we need." PELOSI: "Go to WeCanSolveIt.org. Together, we can do this." (The We Campaign, YouTube.com, 4/24/08)

In Newt World, a Rockefeller State Chairman was also a Goldwater Supporter:

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 Was "A Rockefeller State Chairman ... In The Years Of The Rockefeller-Goldwater Process." GINGRICH: "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..." (Rep. Newt Gingrich, Interview, 4/11/88)

In 1989, Gingrich Said He Had Spent "Most" Of His Life In The "Classic Moderate Wing Of The Party," Citing His Work For Nelson 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)