WASHINGTON — Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich on Monday urged some 2,000 Republican party loyalists to stand up for GOP principles but to be inclusive as the party tries to retake the majority. He also declared that President Barack Obama's policies had "already failed."
"I am happy that Dick Cheney is a Republican," Gingrich said at the annual Senate-House fundraising dinner. "I am also happy that Colin Powell is a Republican."
Cheney, the former vice president under President George W. Bush, and Powell, who was Bush's secretary of state, have feuded recently over the approach of the party, with Powell calling for more moderation and Cheney arguing against that.
"A majority Republican party will have lots of debates within the party," Gingrich, the former Georgia congressman, said. "That is the nature of majority parties."
On President Obama, Gingrich was less magnanimous.
He said President Barack Obama's plan to save the economy through stimulus spending and government intervention in companies like General Motors has "already failed."
Gingrich also referenced a popular right-wing attack on Obama, saying that "bowing to the Saudi king is not an energy policy."
VIDEO at LINK -
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/09/newt-gingrich-obama-has-a_n_213003.html