Romney has spoken about his time as governor on the campaign trail, but mostly to show that he knows how to compromise, after leading a Democratic-leaning state.
Gingrich also implied that Romney himself was liberal, noting that the Des Moines Register in Iowa endorsed Romney, while the Union Leader in New Hampshire chose Gingrich. “The grand irony last week was the Des Moines Register, which is a liberal newspaper, endorsed the right person for the liberal newspaper, and the Union Leader, which is a conservative newspaper, endorsed the right person for the conservatives,” Gingrich said.
As Gingrich and Romney are locked in a battle for the nomination, the two front-runners have established an ongoing attack-and-respond pattern. Romney today accused Gingrich of changing his story on consulting fees he accepted from Freddie Mac. Gingrich told MSNBC that he pocketed about $35,000 a year for his work for the federal mortgage company. The rest of his company’s $1.6 million went to staff salaries and overhead. “With Speaker Gingrich’s latest claim – that he only got one-eighth of the money he earned from Freddie Mac – he has added another chapter to an ever-changing story,” Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul e-mailed reporters.
The pro-Romney Restore our Future PAC released an ad yesterday in Iowa hitting Gingrich for his “baggage,” including the Freddie Mac fees, his changing stance on climate change, and his reprimand for violating House ethics rules. The Associated Press reports that the super PAC supporting Romney will spend $2.8 million on attack ads this month.
Gingrich, speaking to reporters, called on Romney to “disown” the PAC, though by law the group is independent from the campaign. “For him to stand to one side and say ‘Oh gosh, I don’t have any influence over my former staff and I don’t have any influence over my millionaire friends who wrote the big checks,’ it’s just not honest,” Gingrich said.
“These are his ads,” Gingrich added. “They’re dishonest, they’re destructive, and the only person they’re helping is (Democratic President) Barack Obama.”
