Newt Gingrich: 'I Took About Two Months Of The Elite Media Explaining I Was Dead'

After hitting some bumps in the road during the frist months of his presidential campaign, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich says that his political operation isn't going anywhere ahead of 2012.

“I took about two months of the elite media explaining I was dead," explained the Republican contender in an interview that aired on Fox News' "The O'Reilly Factor" on Monday night. "And, I'm still here. The polls have started back up. We got many new donors coming out of Thursday night who went to Newt.org and gave money voluntarily. And, frankly, that's all been very helpful in rebuilding the campaign."

At the end of the second fiscal quarter of this year, campaign finance filings to the Federal Election Commission showed Gingrich's operation to be carrying significant debt.

Former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty abandoned his bid for the White House on Sunday, one day after the Ames Straw Poll in which he came in third place and finished ahead of Gingrich. A senior adviser to Pawlenty told The Huffington Post that the Minnesota Republican "just wasn't willing to risk debt to soldier on -- part of why he would have been a good president."

Gingrich addressed Pawlenty's decision to drop out of the race for the GOP presidential nomination on Monday night.

“[W]e made a decision early on we weren't -- we didn't pay for a single ticket and we got the number of votes we got, which was comparable to McCain -- actually, more than McCain got in 2007," he said, referring to the straw poll. "Our commitment was to compete in January, when there are delegates being picked. We had a great reaction.”

Here's a full breakdown of this year's Ames Straw Poll results:

U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.): 4,823 votes
U.S. Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas): 4,671 votes
Former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty: 2,293 votes
Former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum (R-Pa.): 1,657 votes
Former Godfather's Pizza CEO Herman Cain: 1,456 votes
Texas Governor Rick Perry: 718 votes
Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney: 567 votes
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich: 385 votes
Former Utah governor Jon Huntsman: 69 votes
U.S. Rep Thad McCotter (R-Mich.): 35 votes

 

 

Comments

[csmomo]

05:08 PM on 09/21/2011

Considering what else is out there Gingrich the Newt might be the best Repugnant choice.
Are they singing that old ffavorite Republican hymn titled "O Lord, Balance the Budget" yet??

Strangely enough, Republicans are always heavy on BALANCE THE BUDGET talk, but when they get into office they run up huge deficits (Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush..).

[csmomo]

05:01 PM on 09/21/2011

Bachman is leading in the republican polls???
Obama won't have much to fight if they nominate her (which I'm betting the farm that they won't).

[bigod33]

12:08 PM on 08/22/2011

A Republican blaming the media? There's something you don't see every day.

[Crawfish Festival]

02:11 AM on 08/20/2011

At least Newt Gingrich is willing to share his ideas - and experience - and posts it on his website - for allt he world to view - including Obama.

www.Newt.org

[Intolerantcentrist]

07:39 PM on 08/16/2011

Who's he talking about...?

[JacksonJones]

07:18 PM on 08/16/2011

Will anyone in the media ever ask this fellow, who has occupied one of the most powerful offices in the world and maintains a mid six figure account at Tiffany's where he gets off pretending that he is not part of the "elite".

Puh-leeze.

[Mike Cannone]

06:33 PM on 08/16/2011

Rest in Peace Newt.

[Edward Goodwin]

06:18 PM on 08/16/2011

"We got many new donors coming out of Thursday night who went to Newt.org and gave money voluntarily."

What he didn't mention was that going to "Newt.org" actually entailed walking up to a guy on a street corner who had "Newt.org" written on a piece of cardboard, directly above "Will campaign for food." The donations were dropped into a coffee can on the sidewalk.

[csmomo]

05:10 PM on 09/21/2011

Gave money VOLUNTARILY??? Nobody twisted their arms, blackmailed them, held a gun on them???

[disporting]

05:57 PM on 08/16/2011

I wonder if Herman Cain's speeches and State of the Nation will be less than 2 pages. And it's too bad that John Huntsman, one of the few not crazy republicans running polled so poorly. :/

[TYRANNASAURUS]

05:44 PM on 08/16/2011

Newt: I'm Not Dead, I'm Still Here......

WRONG YOU IDIOT................ you're still dead.

[caseyblab]

05:16 PM on 08/16/2011

I dont think the media decided Gingrich was a goner, it was his own staff who voted with their feet and abandoned his campaign.

[Ramseytwo]

05:10 PM on 08/16/2011

His still being here does not imply that he is not dead.

[kdlaiusa]

04:53 PM on 08/16/2011

You're still here, and you're still dead.

[missmanners]

04:42 PM on 08/16/2011

I am sure I read his eulogy somewhere.

[disporting]

05:56 PM on 08/16/2011

I think I saw his photo in the obituary page too.

[isaacsVT]

04:27 PM on 08/16/2011

How come when Bachmann wins a meaningless vote, or Perry pontificates on a bale of hay, and NBC, CNN, CBS etc cover these stories like they are the Second Coming, you don't hear the words "elite media" coming from them. Only from Repubs who don't like the stories about them.