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Romney’s new attack on Gingrich brings in Pelosi
Mitt Romney upped the ante against Newt Gingrich, his main rival for the GOP presidential nomination, by tying the former Speaker to Nancy Pelosi and Al Gore.
The former Massachusetts governor released a Web video Wednesday that highlights the 2008 ad Gingrich cut with Pelosi calling for action to fight global warming.
Romney has released a series of Web ads attacking Gingrich as the former Speaker has taken the lead in national polls and in several state polls. All contain the tagline: “With friends like Newt, who needs the left?”
Wednesday’s ad ties Gingrich to Pelosi, the Democratic leader in the House who was an effective boogeyman for the GOP in the 2010 elections. Running against her helped Republicans win control of the lower chamber.
“When Al Gore needed support for his liberal global warming agenda, he turned to his friend Nancy Pelosi to push job-killing climate-change legislation. When Pelosi wasn’t enough, Newt Gingrich gave his support,” Romney’s new video states.
It adds: “Pelosi and Gingrich promoted Al Gore’s liberal global warming agenda. With friends like Newt, who needs the left?”
It featured Pelosi and Gingrich on a sofa together in front of the Capitol calling for action on climate.
The 2008 spot doesn’t call for any specific policies.
The following year, Pelosi shepherded a major cap-and-trade and energy bill through the House, only to see climate legislation collapse in the Senate in 2010.
Gingrich in 2007 endorsed the idea of emissions caps combined with a trading system, but later testified against the sweeping plan that House Democrats pushed through in 2009.
Gingrich has also repeatedly repudiated the ad with Pelosi while on the stump this year. “That is probably the dumbest single thing I’ve done in recent years,” he said in November.
Romney’s new video seeks to tap into the opposition among many conservatives to greenhouse gas limits.
It also comes at a time when many Republicans question the view of the vast majority of scientists that the planet is warming and human activities are a key reason why.
The video is part of Romney’s wider effort to cast Gingrich as an “unreliable” conservative.
But Romney is vulnerable to the same allegations on climate and other issues.
As Massachusetts governor, he initially backed creation of a regional
cap-and-trade system for power plants among Northeast and mid-Atlantic
states, but backed away before the program launched.
His successor, Gov. Deval Patrick (D), signed Massachusetts up for the ongoing Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.
Both Romney and Gingrich have also softened their agreement with the dominant scientific views on human-induced climate change. More on that here and here.
Gingrich’s campaign could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday morning.
— This story was updated at 9:58 a.m.
