Gingrich maintains attacks on Mitt Romney

A pro-Mitt Romney super PAC is demanding that Florida television stations keep airing its television ads critical of Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich after Gingrich’s lawyers asked they be removed for inaccuracies.
The spat surrounds how the super PAC, Restore Our Future, characterizes how Gingrich was “fined” $300,000 for ethics violations while serving as speaker of the House.


Spies of Restore Our Future asked any stations considering pulling the super PAC’s ads to talk with him first.
“We trust you will make the right decision by continuing to air ROF’s ad and allowing the people of Florida to hear the facts about their candidates for President,” Spies wrote. “If you have any questions, or believe that this ad is somehow unfit for airing on your station, we ask that you contact us immediately to discuss this matter further.”
Gingrich’s lawyers on Friday wrote to more than 50 television stations in key primary states, according to Gingrich spokesman R.C. Hammond. The letter states that “ANY statement, suggestion, or innuendo that Speaker Gingrich was assessed a congressional fine for violations of House Ethics Rules is fundamentally false and misleading.”
It continues: “Any statement or suggestion of a ‘fine’ is false. Even a cursory review of either the Report itself or the Congressional Record associated with its presentation to the body of the House undeniably establish the falsity of this statement.”


A month ago, Gingrich vowed to run a positive campaign, only to watch his lead in Iowa vaporized by a slew of negative advertisements, mostly from an independent group backing Romney. Now a group supporting Gingrich is about to unleash its own negative ads, this time in South Carolina, blasting Romney’s role at Bain.


And the former House speaker is providing the prologue to that campaign in the town halls and shops of New Hampshire.


In doing so, Gingrich seeks to reverse his declining poll numbers, a slump that extended to South Carolina and Florida. A stronger-than expected showing in New Hampshire, considered Romney’s backyard, could lift the Georgian as he heads toward more favorable territory in the South.


Gingrich yesterday defended his new attacking posture, saying it is better for Republican voters to know the truth now and to force Romney to aggressively back his record.


“If somebody is going to crumble, they better crumble before the nomination,’’ Gingrich said.


Gingrich also pummeled President Obama’s record, calling him a radical who has changed the nation profoundly. Under Obama, whom he called “the most successful food stamp president in history,’’ he told a crowd of 600 in Hudson that the country has become overly reliant on handouts.