WASHINGTON — Newt Gingrich, former speaker of the House and once again a leading Republican voice, passionately told students at the National Conservative Student Conference that during the midterm elections they could choose between the Left — “the job killers” — or the Right — “the job creators.” It was classic Gingrich.
“Obama, Speaker (Nancy) Pelosi and Sen. (Harry) Reid represent a philosophy that kills jobs. They believe in trial lawyers, rules and regulations and unions,” he said during a speech Tuesday at the conference at George Washington University in D.C., organized by Young America’s Foundation.
Gingrich’s speech was a job evaluation for President Barack Obama. The president, by Gingrich’s measure, has come up lacking. Gingrich connected health care reform, energy reform, the lack of jobs, the rise of radical Islamists and recent national security threats to the future of young Americans, pointing to Republicans as the choice for change.
The former speaker implored students to participate in the fall elections.
“Do we want an America that relies on independent freedoms, local entrepreneurs and local communities? I would urge every one of you to get actively involved. Who wins this fall makes a bigger difference than in any American election than I can remember,” Gingrich said.
To bolster his job-killer argument, Gingrich talked about the Obama administration’s moratorium on off-shore drilling that he said “led to a loss of 80,000 jobs in Louisiana.”
To argue that the administration has been weak tackling national security issues, he spoke of the “underwear bomber” on the flight to Detroit last Christmas and the attempted bombing in Times Square earlier this year. “The first time when they knew there was a bomb on that airplane was when it failed to go off,” he added.
Gingrich told the students about his recent trip to New York to protest the proposed building of the mosque near Ground Zero. Gingrich said he believed that America must not tolerate radical Islamists. “It (the Obama administration) won’t use the word ‘jihad’ and thinks it’s going to win this war,” he said.
After the speech, Gingrich chatted with students and signed copies of his recent book, “To Save America – Stopping Obama’s Secular-Socialist Machine.”
Standing among the first few in line was Sarah Richard from Clark University in Massachusetts. “He made a lot of great points on national security. Although you may not take such a strong stance as him, he made relevant points.”
Timothy Duff, a sophomore at University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, said Gingrich’s speech had inspired him to go back to his campus and talk to his friends about being more involved in the elections. “Intrusion by the government has gotten too much. We need conservative leaders in Congress, “Duff said.
During the question session, Gingrich was asked repeatedly if he would run in the upcoming 2012 presidential race.
Gingrich told students he wouldn’t rule out the Republican Party’s attempt to come up with a second Contract with America. About running for president he said, “I can’t jump that far ahead.”
Jordan Richardson, a senior at Marshall University, said he thinks Gingrich has a chance at the presidency in 2012. “He has good ideas. But I like Mitt Romney better,” he said.