Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich echoed earlier GOP criticism of the Occupy Wall Street movement on Wednesday, saying some of the protesters had an anti-Semitic message.
"My question for the Occupy Wall Street group is: 'What's their message?' Frankly, if you look at some of the signs, if you listen to some of the interviews, there's a frightening level of anti-Semitism in some of these gatherings," the former House Speaker said on CBS's "The Early Show" Wednesday.
Last week, the Republican National Committee called out Democratic leaders for ignoring episodes of anti-Semitism in the anti-Wall Street protests.
The GOP argued that Democrats are holding a double standard by ripping the Tea Party movement for incidents of racism while letting slide anti-Semitic comments by demonstrators who say they are protesting corporate greed.
Gingrich called Occupy Wall Street movement "fundamentally different" from the Tea Party.
"The Tea Party people are studying the Constitution, studying the Declaration of Independence, studying the Federalist Papers, trying to find what made America great," he added.
Gingrich said he believes the Wall Street protesters are using their anger as an excuse for vandalism and vulgarity that is not advancing their cause.
While Gingrich said he doesn't agree with the methods used in the Wall Street protests, he does understand why Americans are angry. He told CBS that people should be upset over the Federal Reserve’s secrecy and some of the bailouts given to large corporations.
