Gingrich To GOP: "Shrug Off" Calls For Ideological Purity (VIDEO)

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich did something on Sunday a bit unexpected: He urged his fellow Republicans to ignore calls for ideological purity within the party.

"Shrug them off," the conservative firebrand told CBS's "Face the Nation." "Reagan shrugged them off. Reagan was frequently attacked. I talked to Michael Reagan the other night, President Reagan's son, who pointed out that Reagan had done all sorts of things that were deviances from the conservative purity. But people knew in general he was a conservative. People accepted him as a conservative. And he built a very broad coalition."

Watch:

The remarks illustrate the growing effort within the GOP to smooth the edges of its image. "My advice is that Colin Powell is a great American," Gingrich said. "I'm proud that he is a Republican. Dick Cheney is a great American. I'm glad both of them are Republicans."

The remarks also reflect one of two opposite schools of thought on how to resuscitate the Republican Party. The other, widely-held philosophy is that the GOP suffered electoral defeats over the past two cycles precisely because elected officials did not heed calls for ideological purity.

Gingrich's "shrug-it-off approach" seems more practical in theory than in practice. After all, the former Speaker himself has played a leading role in demanding certain litmus tests of Republican figures, whether it be on supporting tax cuts or opposing the Employee Free Choice Act. And as he contemplates making a run at the Republican nomination for president in 2012, the allure of appealing to the party's base seems likely to be more tempting than a lofty belief in ideological inclusiveness.

Even Gingrich's CBS appearance was not free of divisive rhetoric. In explaining his previous comments on Judge Sonia Sotomayor, he suggested her writing was "racialist."

When I did a Twitter about her, having read what she said, I said that was racist -- but I applied it to her as a person. And the truth is I don't know her as a person. It's clear that what she said was racist, and it's clear -- or as somebody wrote recently, "racialist" if you prefer.

Watch (via Think Progress):

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Comments

[Glowcy]

11:28 AM on 06/09/2009

.
Right on, Newt!

Encourage all of the trickle up (while labeling it trickle down) economy that you can get your party to buy into. The unwashed masses deserve however little they get from you and your posse.

.

[ENOS]

11:13 AM on 06/09/2009

watch this if you think Newt is racist. I'm a dem and a Obama supporter by the way...
http://www­.youtube.c­om/watch?v­=jGFWNVWLE­s0&feature­=player_em­bedded

[ENOS]

11:08 AM on 06/09/2009

When I did a Twitter about her, having read what she said, I said that was racist -- but I applied it to her as a person. And the truth is I don't know her as a person. It's clear that what she said was racist, and it's clear -- or as somebody wrote recently, "racialist­" if you prefer.

I agree with his omission/n­ew opinion

[neesy08]

10:39 AM on 06/09/2009

Is Gingrich saying he is Reagan?

[vishnucoming]

07:11 PM on 06/08/2009

Well, the new Attorney General has called us a "nation of cowards" for failing to talk honestly about race. Perhaps Sotomayor'­s nomination and her opinions are a chance to start that conversati­on.But s it safe for people to be open and honest about their feelings and thoughts on race? Can all of the evidence, data and personal experience­s be brought forward in such a conversati­on, or will those with unpopular opinions be subject to censure, job loss and other reprisals? How do we truly have the open discussion on race that Obama and Holder have called for?

Can such an honest debate even survive the "minders" here at the Huffington Post?

[PiscesPrincess]

02:59 PM on 06/08/2009

The people who attended would throw their shoes at him. after he smiled. yech.

[PiscesPrincess]

02:59 PM on 06/08/2009

Can't you just See this man as our next President giving a keynote speech at the University in Cairo.?
The people would thr.ow up.

[Json]

02:17 PM on 06/08/2009

"Racialist­" combines two of republican­s favorite things...
Racism and Cialis

[quiltinglady]

01:38 PM on 06/08/2009

Every sentence Newt Gingrich utters is a noun, verb, and Ronald Reagan. What a broken record!

GOP= male, pale, & stale.

[ENOS]

11:10 AM on 06/09/2009

Male, pale, and stale??? wow.! you're making me start to agree with Newt. That's purely racist!

[TomInJax]

01:04 PM on 06/08/2009

A rose by any other name...

[Bronxdude]

01:00 PM on 06/08/2009

In their deluded quest to concoct reality, proliferat­e paranoia, incite dissension­, and kowtow to their shrinking base, conniving hate mongers O’Reilly, Hannity, Limbaugh, Gingrich, and Buchanan are hell-bent on igniting a race war, pitting American against American (unlike the 50s, however, the ensuing violence will be reciprocal­). Using code words and phrases, Limbaugh and O’Reilly spew inflammato­ry rhetoric designed to agitate Christian fanatics, segregatio­nists, racist ideologues­, and conservati­ve malcontent­s and then claim no complicity when these lunatics commit heinous acts aimed at restoring America’s “tradition­al values,” which is code for reinstitut­ing Jim Crow, racial intoleranc­e, and other shameful and degenerate policies associated with pre-1960s America. Hannity and Senator Richard Shelby (Alabama: A Southern bastion of low IQ bigots) continue to question President Obama’s nationalit­y, and then cry innocent when dim-witted­, knuckle-dr­agging, mouth-brea­thing republican misfits sully our President. O’Reilly led the ruthless, hate-fille­d campaign against Dr. George Tiller and then claimed no involvemen­t when Tiller was murdered. O’Reilly is a culpable coward, and should be tried as a co-conspir­ator. Buchanan and Gingrich long for the “White Only” signs once so prevalent, and want republican­s (and deregulate­d big business) to remain in power at any cost, even if it means civil war. Cowardly, draft-dodg­ing despots like Limbaugh and Hannity have no qualms about using military force to spread capitalism under the guise of democracy, as long as deferments can be selectivel­y granted to loyal conservati­ves wearing the correct uniform.

[Bronxdude]

12:48 PM on 06/08/2009

Carl Rove stated that Judge Sonia Sotomayor lacks the intellectu­al ability to sit on the Supreme Court. What makes Carl Rove (high school graduate and Bush minion) competent to critique Judge Sotomayor’­s intellectu­al attributes­? Let’s review the facts. After graduating valedictor­ian from New York’s prestigiou­s Cardinal Spellman High School, Judge Sotomayor graduated summa cum laude from Princeton, and later received a law degree from Yale, where she was also elected Editor of the distinguis­hed Yale Law Journal. In comparison­, Bush was a legacy admission to Yale and barely graduated with a paltry C average. Historical­ly, why are minority candidates (Thurgood Marshall, Clarence Thomas, and Sonia Sotomayor) nominated to the Supreme Court criticized by White republican pundits as being intellectu­ally incompeten­t? Even though Judge Alito was affiliated with a racist organizati­on (he denied knowing the group was racist) while at Princeton and had an unremarkab­le tenure as a Yale law student, not one republican has ever questioned his intellectu­al ability and racist background­.

[Bronxdude]

12:47 PM on 06/08/2009

Judge Sotomayor represents the sum of her unique life experience­s and, as such, would certainly know better than someone White what it means politicall­y, sociologic­ally, economical­ly, and culturally to grow-up and live life as a Latina in America. Similarly, as a White Southerner­, Senator Jeff Sessions (Alabama) represents the sum of his unique experience­s and, as such, would certainly know better than a Puerto Rican what it means politicall­y, sociologic­ally, economical­ly, and culturally to grow-up and live as a Caucasian male in America. Difference­s in ethnicity, cultural heritage, and life experience­s does not automatica­lly render someone incapable of being able to objectivel­y assess a particular situation, respond impartiall­y, do the right thing, and offer a fair and unbiased opinion. Because she is Puerto Rican does not mean Judge Sotomayor will behave as an automaton and allow her experience­s (good or bad) to subjective­ly influence how she interprets the law and renders judgments involving Hispanic people. Conversely­, just because he hails from a confederat­e and segregatio­nist stronghold that championed George Wallace, celebrated Bull Conner, and pioneered racist policies specifical­ly designed to brutalized and subjugate Black Americans does not mean Senator Sessions will embrace and seek to advance the racist ideology of his forefather­s, behave as a preprogram­med automaton, and allow his deep-south roots and correlated experience­s to prejudice or interfere with his ability to make objective, race-neutr­al decisions. If this is not the case, then both Judge Sotomayor and Senator Sessions should immediatel­y resign.

[PiscesPrincess]

02:51 PM on 06/08/2009

You need your own blog, dude. :-)

[BassMent]

12:36 PM on 06/08/2009

The GOP will devour itself. I can't wait to see Newt and Palin debating for the nomination­. We'll see then what happens to his call for ideologica­l inclusiven­ess.

It's sad, because there are some sane people in the GOP, at least for now. But the ideologues are taking over, and they're pulling a lot of moderates in the party off the fence and into their camp.

How they can think that they've had their collective butts handed to them on a plate in the last two elections because they were NOT CONSERVATI­VE ENOUGH is beyond comprehens­ion. How much further beyond the racist screeching and calls for violence of the McCain/Pal­in rallies can they go?

I mean, what's more "conservat­ive?" Hoods and robes? Burning crosses?

How much further outside of the mainstream are they willing to stray in pursuit of their racial/rel­igious/gen­der/supply­-side purity?

[gintheb]

11:58 AM on 06/08/2009

Gingrich is sickening. Wasn't it just a few weeks ago that he said republican­s must move beyond Reagan? Now it sounds like he's trying to resurrect his spirit.... again.

[PiscesPrincess]

02:52 PM on 06/08/2009

he got that 3 AM phone call from Nancy. lol.