Newt’s Rationale for Supporting a Liberal

In the statement and audio clips below, Speaker Gingrich explains his decision to endorse Dede Scozzafava in the NY 23 special election:

Through my experience as Speaker of the House and building a Republican majority in 1994, I have learned that if America wants a conservative majority in Washington, parts of that majority are going to disagree. I was elected Speaker because a number of moderates voted for me. They gave us control of the House for the first time in forty years, allowing us to balance the federal budget, cut taxes and reform welfare for America.

My endorsement of Dede Scozzafava in the special election for New York’s 23rd Congressional District is a means of regaining a conservative majority in America.

Although some of her values do not match my own, Scozzafava will help us in our efforts to win back Congress. She has signed the no-tax-increase pledge from the Americans from Tax Reform, she has been endorsed by the National Rifle Association, she opposes cap-and-trade and energy tax increases, she is against Obama Care, and she has said she will vote against Nancy Pelosi and in favor of John Boehner as Speaker of the House.

When I became Speaker of the House it was in part because we swept the 1993 elections. Three of the four Republican winners that year were moderates – significantly to the left of the conservative Republican base: Riordan was elected mayor of Los Angeles, Whitman as governor of New Jersey, and Giuliani as mayor of New York. George Allen, a conservative, was elected as governor of Virginia.

The cumulative weight of those four victories set the stage for recruiting that enabled us to have our candidates pick up 53 seats the next year and create the first Republican majority in 40 years.

The choice in New York is a practical one: We can split the conservative vote and guarantee the election of a Democrat in a Republican seat in a substantial loss of opportunity. Or we can find a way to elect someone who has committed to vote for the Republican leader, has committed to vote against all tax increases, has committed to vote against cap-and-trade, and is a strong ally of the NRA.

In order to stop President Obama and the Democrats in Congress, I would rather see Christie win in New Jersey, Bob McDonnell win in Virginia, and have the Republican, Dede Scozzafava, win the special election in NY-23 so that election night in 2009 is a devastating defeat for the Democrats.

My number one interest is to build a Republican majority. If your interest is taking power back from the Left, and your interest is winning the necessary elections, then there are times when you have to put together a coalition that has disagreement within it.

We have to decide which business we are in. If we are in the business about feeling good about ourselves while our country gets crushed then I probably made the wrong decision.

If we win all three seats on election night this year, we have taken a big step in replacing Nancy Pelosi in the Speakership. We should be willing to tolerate a fair amount of disagreement among Republicans if we can find the energy to elect a Republican as Speaker of the House. It is a cause worth unifying around.