Newt Gingrich accuses Mitt Romney, President Obama of favoring ‘safety net’ over ‘trampoline’
LAS VEGAS – Newt Gingrich today accused both his primary rival, Mitt Romney, and his hoped-for general election opponent, President Obama, of favoring maintaining a social safety net to help the poor rather than helping them get jobs to lift themselves from poverty.
“I really believe that we should care about the very poor, unlike Governor Romney. But I believe we should care very differently from Barack Obama,’’ he said against a backdrop of neon orange and green cherrypickers at Xtreme Manufacturing, a maker of heavy-duty forklifts and other industrial equipment.
The remark pivoted off a comment Romney made yesterday about focusing his attention on the middle class rather than the very rich, who care take care of themselves, and the poor, who are supported by a government social safety net.
“What the poor need is a trampoline so they can spring up, so I am for replacing the safety net with a trampoline,’’ the former House speaker told a crowd of several hundred dotted with Carhartt-clad laborers.
Vowing to link unemployment benefits to job-retraining, Gingrich said: “Nothing is better for somebody who is poor than getting a job and getting a paycheck.’’
He added: “So, unlike Governor Romney, I really care about making sure that, in fact, every person has the right to pursue happiness. …Obama believes he is so smart, he can come here and take from the overly happy to redistribute to the underly happy.’’
The Romney campaign accused Gingrich of trying to distract attention from recent criticism of his past work for mortgage giant Freddie Mac.
“It’s no surprise that Newt Gingrich would join the Democrats in distorting Mitt Romney’s comments,’’ said spokeswoman Amanda Henneberg. “When Nevada families were struggling in the housing crisis, Newt Gingrich was being paid $1.6 million by Freddie Mac. He was not sticking up for Nevada families – he was cashing in.’’
During a later meeting with Hispanic leaders, Gingrich also criticized Romney for proposing to index the minimum wage to the inflate rate. He said likely wage increases would prompt employers to cut workers, especially low-paid teenagers.
He also said it would create inflation reminiscent of the Jimmy Carter era.
“If you arbitrarily raise prices without raising productivity, you eliminate jobs. And so, Governor Romney has a major job-killing proposal. And I think the reason is because he’s never lived through that period,’’ said Gingrich.
“One of the differences between Governor Romney and me is that I actually studied history, and I’m now old enough to have lived through it,’’ he added.
During the same event, Gingrich was asked how he could pass the programs he favors in a partisan Washington. The former speaker suggested breaking bills into more digestible portions, and said he would meet one-on-one with every congressional Democrat to hear ther needs firsthand and develop a working relationship.
He also offered a uniqu qualification.
“My wife, Callista, was the chief clerk in the House Agriculture Committee, which is a very bipartisan committee,’’ he said.
Both of Gingrich’s events events were overshadowed by questions about whether he had, lost, or ever was promised an endorsement today by real estate mogul Donald Trump.
Various news organizations reported last night that Trump would announce his backing of Gingrich today in Las Vegas.
But this morning, Trump announced he was backing Romney.
Both Gingrich and his spokesman refused to comment on what impact, if any, the endorsement would have on the race.
At Xtreme Manufacturing, he cast himself the underdog, saying, “We are really running with people power versus money power.’’
Gingrich, Romney, and Rick Santorum were also taping interviews with Fox News Channel’s Sean Hannity to air at 9 p.m. EST.
The fourth remaining candidate, Ron Paul, was not on the program schedule. He has afternoon and evening events scheduled upstate in Elko and Reno, respectively.
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