(Image Source: CNN)
BY VICTORIA CRAIG
You're watching multisource political video news analysis from Newsy.
Newt Gingrich hasn’t held back his criticisms of GOP front runner MItt Romney -- or his insistence that he is one of the most conservative candidates in the race for president.
“I have a lifetime record of being a consistent conservative working with Ronald Reagan for years... And my record as Speaker is pretty consistently conservative.”
“I’m not just conservative. I’m different. I talk about things most people don’t talk about.”
But despite his conservative mantra, a Politico reader uncovered a Ripon (Pronouncer) Society interview from 1989 that analysts at the blog suggest could squash the former House speaker’s conservative appeal.
“One of the criticisms Newt Gingrich has faced over the years is a lack of consistency ... this 1989 interview … underscores that fact ... The highlights include Gingrich describing himself as a member of the Rockefeller/moderate wing of the GOP ... But it's ironic, since Gingrich recently twisted the knife a bit into Romney as someone in the mold of the Rockefeller wing of the party.”
And when it comes to airing dirty laundry, Hot Air doesn’t hold back, listing several instances when Gingrich appeared less than a staunch conservative.
“In the not-so-distant past, he expressed approval for an individual health care mandate, posed with Nancy Pelosi to oppose global warming and said he would have reluctantly voted for TARP if he had been in office at the time.”
Not to mention -- it was just last week that Gingrich caught flack for an immigration stance conservative critics couldn’t get behind. Here he is at CNN’s National Security debate.
“I’m prepared to take the heat for saying let's be humane about enforcing the law without giving them citizenship but by finding a way to create legality...”
A contributor for Mother Jones tells MSNBC’s Chris Matthews this is just the beginning for Gingrich- the scrutiny will only get worse from here.
“He’s shown a little more humility than is characteristic of Newt Gingrich, which I think is helpful. But I think he’s going to undergo some really, really intensive political poking and probing. I mean, it’s going to be worse than going through a TSA gauntlet at the airport, I think, when he’s finished in the next couple of weeks. I’m not sure he stands up to that scrutinty.”
But as Houston’s KTRK reports, Gingrich insists he’s still the most conservative candidate in the race.
“I don’t claim to be the perfect candidate, I just claim to be a lot more conservative than Mitt Romney, and a lot more electable than anybody else.”
According to a recent CNN/ORC International poll -- 40 percent of those polled said Mitt Romney had the best chance of winning in a general election against President Obama. 21 percent chose Gingrich.
