Choosing his words carefully, the former president said he knew Gingrich relatively well. "I'm not his biggest advocate," he said.
"I had a conflict with him at one point," Bush recalled, alluding to the crucial moment in 1990 when a recession drove him to renege on his "no new taxes" pledge. He needed a bipartisan group of party leaders, including then-House Whip Gingrich, to stand with him.
"He was there, right outside the Oval Office. I met with all the Republican leaders, all the Democratic leaders," Bush recalled. "The plan was, we were all going to walk out into the Rose Garden and announce this deal. Newt was right there. Got ready to go out in the Rose Garden, and I said, 'Where’s Gingrich?' Went up to Capitol Hill. He was here a minute ago. Went up there and started lobbying against the thing."
In other words, Bush doesn't like Gingrich because Gingrich tried to save his dumb ass from the decision that cost him re-election in '92.
No comments:
Post a Comment