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Subscribe to RSSBLUFFTON, S.C. -- Newt Gingrich said that the “Occupy Wall Street” demonstrations that are appearing around the country are a reaction to President Obama’s failed leadership.
“These are the Obama demonstrations,” Gingrich said during a town hall meeting with at least 500 members of the Sun City retirement community here.
While he said the protests were being “organized by the left” and the “Michael Moore types,” he said Republican candidates should try to channel demonstrators’ anger to their advantage.
“The challenge to Republicans is simple,” Gingrich said. “We have to remind them that in America, you get to create a revolution every two years. It’s called an election,” he said as the audience, packed to overflow capacity, cheered.
Gingrich touched on some of the groups’ frustrations, with bank bailouts and the Federal Reserve, that dovetail with those of Tea Party groups – which typically don’t claim a party but are generally associated with conservative ideas.
“If you're a 22 or 23 year old kid, and you're sitting out there with no job you're looking at these things and you're saying ‘let me get this straight.’
How much did Goldman Sachs get? How much did the Paris bank get? How much did the bank of Libya get? And I'm supposed to pay off my student loan?”
“Look at [Fed chairman Ben] Bernanke, who has dealt with hundreds of billions of dollars in secret,” Gingrich said.
Gingrich urged the Occupy Wall Street groups to stay peaceful. “You didn't see tea parties trashing anything,” he said.
When asked whether he would reach out to the Occupy Wall Street groups in support, Gingrich said "absolutely."
"I think they have a lot of good reasons to be unhappy and I think we ought to indicate that their unhappiness should be aimed at the government. Because its the government's that's failed them."
Gingrich also voiced his own gripes with Washington, D.C. as he explained how he would change the health care system. He told the audience that Medicare fraud is so high because of “crooks like a dentist who filed 982 procedures a day,” and that those cases are too much for a “9 to 5 bureaucrat” to deal with.
“Is the current system in Washington too obtuse to understand anything I just said? Yes,” he said.
Gingrich was also asked how, as president, he would respond to recent reports that Iran plans to send ships near the Atlantic coast of the United States.
“As long as they stay legally outside our legal limits it wouldn’t bother me,” he said. “What I would do is I would assign a much bigger ship.”
“And I would make sure that our ships were always contact capable, always armed, and that the Iranians knew that the very big ship towering over them. Occasionally I’d get just in front of them to create a wave to remind them just how small they were,” he said, laughing along with the audience.
Gingrich and his wife Callista host a screening later tonight of their documentary “A City Upon a Hill” on Hilton Head Island.
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They just can't keep their talking points straight... can they? lol
Obama is now President of Australia & Canada?
Will the lovely Mrs. Newt #3 be wearing her Tiffany's tiara?
Newt is scrambling to pay the bills, it looks like.
The Oscar from his Indie hit should help.
But, seriously, the guy is a foregone joke, msn!!!
Newt, Bachmann, Palin - Who the fk cares!!!!!
Fiesty why are you not at the family reunion in NYC redheaded step-children not invided this year.
Whats truly sad is these demonstrators don't care about anything but themselves and have absolutely no clue. They are trashing the streets of NY, the whole place smells like urine. After a Tea Party event you would be lucky to find a candy wrapper.
tell me, what clues you have jfk? ... clueless no doubt?
Dear Mark and Domenico: Is there a reason that FR seems to be crashing these days?
Yes, the corrupt Democrat politicians keep checking in on what the liberal lemmings here are buying into, so they know what their "talking points" should be..
You know........."Bush's fault:, "tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires", "corporate jets", "level the playing field, "on the backs of the poor", "pay their fair share", "green energy of the future", "infrastructure" , "BUT there are NO boots on the ground", etc.,etc.
Leona: You forgot some: "too big to fail", "trickle down", "class warfare", "jobs, jobs, jobs","drill baby drill",
Yes, Newt we all know:
Occupy wall street = Bad
Tea People packing heat = Good
hey chilled, I have another version.
Occupy wall street =jobless pot heads
Tea People packing heat = hard working tax payers
@Leona
Really?...Those 'pot heads' as you say, are very orderly and non-threatening. Can't say the same for the heat packing Tea People.
You post indicates a certain vitriol......chill out!
chilled -- vitriol? come on! this entire site is nothing but vitriol aimed at anyone with a view that is not in lockstep with the left.
jimmy, if you look closer you'll see that most of the anger and ad hominem comes from the rightwing tories.
King of Pay to Play politics and "I'm always faithful to my current lover" telling us what to think about these protests?
Newt my friend, keep spending that good Republican campaign cash!
Newt won't get as much from "fat cats" on Wall street as Obama gets and got !
Leona,
Thank God for that!
If either of you could ever get past your liberal rose colored class warfare inspried glasses that cloud everyday events and take a real look at what Gingrich says and proposes instead of focusing on ihs relationships with past wives, you may find that most of what he says makes a whole lot of sense. But I doubt that you will ever open your minds to let any sensible ideas into it! I doubt that Gingrich will be nominated , but he has a lot of solutions to offer without a bunch of fluff sound bites to capture the media focus!
I experienced many of the same protests in the60s when all a lot of people wanted was to go get arrested so they could show their asses and get attention. They had no real idea what they were doing or why , but the rush of being singled out on camera or to their friends was a strong magnet for many who otherwise would go unnoticed. Then there were the truly invested protesters. I would imagine there is a mix of all types in New York, but what do they want? Protests are fine, but to what end? The sad thing is many of these young people getting arrested will have that arrest on their legal records for years and that will have a major impact on their getting jobs in the future or keep them from being taken seriously when they enter the real business world! I hope they are not doing this just for show!
Fed up this is as open minded as it gets for the Banana lady, she was trained by Fiesty to standby to be the first to post on FR in case she Fiesty is tied up in the bathroom. Of course Fiesty provides Banana lady with super secret talking points, shh.
fed up and bj you r out of touch, fed up, you must be a really old senior to have been against the viet nam protests, and to think that an arrest record for legally gathering to object to the goverments failure to take care of the economy etc. will make any difference in the no more cheap energy future...... and bj you must have a very flrtle imagination. i was a gunner on a B-29 during the korean WAR!
The most ridiculous comment -- Gingrich saying the Occupy Wall Street movement is a result of the president failing to lead. Hope and real change has been derailed by Teapublicans and the majority knows it.
Romney says class warfare is dangerous -- Yes for corporate raiders like you. Though I do wonder about all the conservatives flocking to the NRA and hope it's because they think gun laws will become tougher and not thoughts of second amendment remedies.
The privileged in Greece did not pay their fair share of taxes, and then austerity measures (starve the beast) were enacted, and it's been a dismal failure. Teapublican policies of corporate welfare and protecting the rich from paying the same effective tax rates as the rest of Americans is why people are taking to the streets. If Teapublicans would join the president and Dems to improve the economy, civil unrest will remain peaceful.
Where are these GOP/TP candidates on voter suppression via Teapublicans trying to make voting harder for Americans? What is it, 22% that vote as it is? Democracy in our Republic under attack by Teapublicans is another reason people should take to the streets.
You think a lot of these knuckleheads would be there if they could get jobs? If you do, you think a lot less of these kids than do I.
See, I DON'T think most of them are anti-Semites. If you'd been down there, to see the signs and tattoos, or seen the lic a
News coverage, you'd know what I'm talking about.
This nonsense bodes ill for Obama.
If Humphrey were alive, he'd tell him.
TruePatriot: your comment:
I am concerned by the recent activity undertaken across the US by Governors, Secretaries of State, etc. to put into law....barriers to this nations eligible voters ability to simply "vote".
Hence...my call to my Congressional representatives to sponsor legislation in Congress to make it a "Federal" crime to suggest, prohibit, or cause to inhibit the opportunity for any current active member of the US Military or any Veteran of the United States of America to vote in any election of elected officials that may represent them. (Call to attention - Colorado as an example).
Plain and simple. That doesn't include everyone that "certain interests" are trying to prevent from casting their ballots.....but it would deliver a pure, plain and simple message to the powers that be...that they either back the individuals that have given, and currently give them the right to govern under this constitution or kick them in the A**. No question about it.
If this doesn't get the backing of every Veterans organization across this country....I guess they can explain why not.
Dear Collapse: I just read about that in an email I got. I figured it had to be wrong, so went looking on the internet. Darned if it isn't happening in Colorado. From what I am reading, the Sec of State may be in violation of Federal law.
True Patriot there are no Teapublicans on Wall Street. I think what Newt knows is the samething I know all those protesting should be celebrating. They have their President, they had the Congressional majority for Obama's first two years, they still have the Senate and all you can tell those young liberals is the Teapublicans are derailing your Presidents plans. Well tell them this get a better leader, the Tea Party is not backing down, it will continue to work for smaller government, less taxes. Now that you obviously see that the Tea Party is kicking Obama's butt, wait til next year True Patriot. Here I will say it for you We the Tea Party take full responsibility for removing Barack Hussien Obama from the oval office of the United States of America. True Patroit STFU you whimp.
no joe, no bo, nj
You think a lot of these knuckleheads would be there if they could get jobs? If you do, you think a lot less of these kids than do I.
See, I DON'T think most of them are anti-Semites. If you'd been down there, to see the signs and tattoos, or seen the lic a
News coverage, you'd know what I'm talking about.
This nonsense bodes ill for Obama.
If Humphrey were alive, he'd tell him.
Here you go again forgetting that this is america and we have free speech and the right to assemble. i remember the 68 riots in chicago this has nothing to do with that, you know darn well that was about the democrats and vietman. this is about the greed and profit takers on wall street and the non regulations that caused a near collapse of our financial system. this has nothing to do with the president(you wish it did) what this has to do with is the greed that has caused a further divide between Americans rich and poor. these kids are for the most part college students whos jobs are to go to school and be a pain in the ass when they see things that are wrong, i wish i were 30 years younger i would be with them, but i have to work.
he No Jo, i love it here in new york.
Bull@!$%#. Were pissed off because of the economic collapse that started under Bush's failed leadership and continued under Obama. Gingrich your a POS!
it is for these type of rants that i visit, chuckle, feel sorry for the writer, and then move on
Gingrich you and your stupid tea party Republicans have gotten us into this 10 year mess. When you all had republican Bush he made this country in to a disaster and all of you tea party republicans help him get us in this mess to. What have you idiot people done but cause severe debt and disaster for the middle class and the poor. You are all horrible human beings. You all have sent our jobs along with wall street over seas for big money and cheap labor. The American dream is no more and never will be if you ignorant sobs get hold of the White House and it will never ever happen.
All of you tea part republicans have disrespected our wonderful president and why is that ????? Because he won't go down you path of stupidity. Like you fellow black candidate CAIN says.................if we are poor it's not the tea party's fault it's our fault. So how can that be our fault when you idiots took our jobs over seas.
Chaos has began and we the people want our country back..................
I am reminded of the Saturday Night Live news commentary skit that began with "Jane, you ignorant ....!"
Fed up Senior, I'm a senior to & you take ass to a whole new level. :)
Gingrich you sit in front of your fire place with all your tea party idiots, sip you tea together, while children and families are starving and losing their homes because of your tea party cult. you will never fool the American people because we all know what you up to..........and it's not good.
Again,
I am reminded of the Saturday Night Live news commentary skit that began with "Jane, you ignorant ....!"
Fed up Senior, I'm a senior to & you take ass to a whole new level:)
Our current financial malaise is the direct result of the implementation of a radical form of capitalism conceived during the 1930s-1960s by Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman and his University of Chicago School of Economics, which brought us "trickle down," now called "kiss the job creators' asses," deregulation (AIG became too big to fail, credit default swaps and toxic mortgages), privatization of governmental functions (McDonald's serving soldiers in the Green Zone, privately run prisons, Blackhawk/Exe enjoying multi-million dollar governmental contracts to provide security to military officials in the Green Zone), and (2) investors refusing to invest in America, preferring instead to take their bailout funds and invest in factories in Third World countries to reduce labor costs and maximize profits at least until they finish their campaign against that Muslim Nazi, Obama.
Even though worker productivity has increased during the last 25 years, causing corporate profits to skyrocket and allowing the top 20% of income earners to keep an ever-increasing share of the country's annual income, which a UC Santa Barbara sociology professor found to be 85%, more than any other country in the world. On the other hand, worker compensation has remained stagnant or has actually decreased, unions have been reduced to a shell of their former selves, and workers have to pay more of the cost of their families' health insurance while receiving smaller and smaller retirement benefits.
In short, wealth is being transferred from the middle class to the wealthy class, causing the biggest increase in poverty that this country has experienced since 1960. The wealthy investor class has enlisted the anti-intellectual idiot class (yeah, death panels, yeah, he's a Nazi, yeah, he was born in Kenya, yeah his healthcare plan, which is timid when compared with universal health care enjoyed by the other 24 of the top 25 industrial powers, is socialististic) who are resentful about income redistribution to engage in an orgy of government dismantlement to impel this nation toward becoming a Third World country, where there's a small wealthy class, a small middle class, and a large lower class, with rolling power blackouts, shutting down public parks, allowing streets to remain in disrepair, failing to address national calamities like hurricanes, tornadoes and floods, waiting in line for hours to speak to any governmental worker, where there aren't enough policemen and firemen to catch the crooks and put out the fires.
That's where the Teapublicans are driving us. Unfortunately, the only way to offset the idiot class is a massive outpouring by students and the disenfranchised, like those energized by Obama in 2008. Alas, Obama made a choice to be a wimp who won't offend Independents instead of the crusader he said he'd be, so he won't be able to generate the kind of enthusiasm with which he was greeted in 2007-08. The investor class has bought the Republican Party lock, stock and barrel, and they have charted a course of undoing almost every significant social advancement made during the 20th Century, including Medicare, Social Security, and collective bargaining.
If and when the Democratic Party gets its act together to argue the big issues outlined in this comment, we may have a new ballgame, but until it does, I'm afraid America is headed for a steep decline unless you're wealthy.
Unfortunately, the only way to offset the idiot class is a massive outpouring by students and the disenfranchised, like those energized by Obama in 2008.
Sure, because students have so much life experience and so much to offer those of us who have been a in the workforce a long time dealing with decades of cyclic ups and downs. Tell me this, who is paying for these noble crusaders to sit on the street and camp in the park for weeks at a time? If these people are so smart and concerned why don't they put their efforts into, say, starting a business....working for a charity or non-profit......join the Army........join the Peace Corps......anything, anything that is actually productive. Oh wait a tick, all these require a lot of effort.
It is just so much easier to avoid responsible adult life, sit on the street, and howl about the evil wealthy overlords.
Talk about the idiot class.
Newt..another case of the GOP taking facts....People demostrating on Wall Street...
and twisting them until they fit the GOP propaganda....................
Newt: Take you and your "all the tea in China" fans to the back of the bus.
Don't taint or twist the reasons that cause these demonstrations.
Better yet....go watch what was probably considered a "B" movie from years ago...."Billy Jack". Listen to the Ballad also. Hokey? Probably without a doubt. But it puts into simple terms, and we understand we have to get to simple terms....for some of those we deal with.
Until the greedy completely understand there is a limit to their greed they will see increased protest. Not for the fact that anyone has any problem with what the wealthy currently possess....but with what appears to be a never ending quest to have it all. lol
lol.
Duhhh?
people are tired of the big companies getting bailed out and we as tax payers are doing without food, clothes , and this is not against obama this is against the gop not working with him to pass the bill to support more jobs also we are marching because we are tired the governemnt said we the people ,for the people i guess that got lost in the election
Jean, and how do you propose to pay for this bill? Maybe we can get the 1/2 Billion back from Solyndra to pay for it...oh never mind the taxpayers are paying for that too.