Newt Gingrich Defends Call For Poor Kids To Work As Janitors During 2012 South Carolina GOP Debate (VIDEO)

During Monday night's Republican debate in South Carolina, moderator Juan Williams asked former House Speaker Newt Gingrich to respond to criticism he's received regarding his proposal to have poor children work as janitors in their schools and his characterization of Obama as the "food stamp" president. An amped-up crowd very quickly turned on Williams, and treated Gingrich to the most sustained applause of the night.

"Do you see how these remarks might offend people?" Williams asked.

Newt replied, "No, I don't see that." He then defended his position, citing anecdotal accounts of young people who prospered as janitors, or as doughnut deliverers. Gingrich went on to say that he got the idea from a Joe Klein article about New York City schools, which is true.

"Only the elites despise earning money," Gingrich said. But as Benjy Sarlin points out, if you hired 30 kids for one janitor contract, those kids wouldn't be able to form an emotional attachment to earning money, because they wouldn't earn very much.

Median salary for janitor in US is $24,529. Newt says you can hire 30 kids for that. So 817 bucks a year each? #scdebate

— Benjy Sarlin (@BenjySarlin) January 17, 2012

Williams went on, citing a reaction Gingrich received at the Jones Memorial A.M.E. Zion Church in Columbia (background here). Gingrich immediately swung back, insisting that "more people have been put on food stamps by Obama than any other president in American History."

"I'm going to continue to help poor people learn to get a job, learn to get a better job, and eventually learn to own the job."

Newt received a standing ovation.

Comments

[cricketnotcroquet]

01:11 AM on 04/27/2013

OMG I was just made aware of this, how nucking futs is this!? What is wrong with these people and how are they in positions of power? Talk about complete lack of perspective and basic human decency.

[TheMzLVD]

12:27 PM on 01/27/2013

The republicans want to put minorites back on plantations. As minority I'm watching these clowns very closley as all people of color should be.

[emptier]

06:09 PM on 01/29/2012

why are these clowns the best of the best. i mean thats the idea right,? push the brightest to the front so they can implement change in this case institute the republican ideal, apart from only one person they all want war and expansionism and they want our sons and daughters, wives husbands everyone to suffer and die for their ideals, one day I hope one day we all will see that we have more in common with the poor people we kill overseas than with the very rich that demand us to kill for them... to defend and support the constitution from enemies domestic and abroad, these people are the destroyers of the constitution therefore our common enemy, don't forget to "vote" this november..

[pfer]

06:45 AM on 01/25/2012

That is job creation? fire the guy who makes $24,000 a year and pay 30 people $850 a year?
i suppose that would "create jobs"......
What if we fire the guy who makes 30 million and pay 30 people one million?

[stopnlisten]

03:44 PM on 01/21/2012

Clueless. Those custodians are supporting families, working hard, lacking the respect they deserve, and are vital people in the schools. This comment was a slap in the face. Newt just doesn't get it at all and CANNOT lead this country.

[Katrina L Garnett]

09:51 PM on 01/20/2012

So let's see Gringrich; we solve the economic woes of only poor African-Americans who drop out of school and have a poor work ethic by offering cheap sweat shop labor performed by children....all because they'd rather collect food stamps than work a real job? WOOOOOOOOW

[Pete2069]

10:38 PM on 01/19/2012

I would not believe until I seen it for myself.
Most republicans today are nuts.

Today I have seen where republicans are carrying signs in protest , are starting to fight back against these right wing republican nuts.

[MikeWebster]

08:03 PM on 01/19/2012

Well I guess it's ok. to put people out of work, so that kid's can do the jobs for free. Or is he saying the kids should get the same pay as the adults who previously did the job?

What possible benefit can there be in putting existing janitors out of work, so that kids can do it. It would do a lot more good if we got those kids to be Republican presidential candidates. At least they wouldn't be as silly and immature, and the actual candidates might get to find out what doing a real job is like.

[tjeastrich]

07:58 PM on 01/19/2012

Somewhere Strom Thurmond, Ross Barnett, and Bull O'Connor are smiling. Newt, playing the race card, has resurrected hate speech and Jim Crow Yes, they're back in vogue. Can't you hear singing Dixie in SC and waving the confederate flag. It's the 1960s once again.

[viking1969]

07:56 PM on 01/19/2012

Newt will do very well in the Southern primaries. He's a Southerner (Georgia). He knows all the racist codes and he hits home runs with them every time. He's Christian. Romney in contrast is an outsider. Romney is a Morman (Southern Christians don't believe Mormanism is Christianity). He doesn't know the Southern conservative culture (racist codes) like Newt does.

As evidenced in the S.C. primary,Newt is better situated to win because he only cares about himself and is expert in pandering to the Sourthern, anti bellum, still fighting the Civil War culture. The conservative extremists are in charge here. They are homophobic. Thay are racist. Thay are willfully ignorant and happy in their ignorance. Newt works them like a master puppeteer.

[Jose Soberanes]

07:56 PM on 01/19/2012

You libs don't get it, just simpy do not get it. Your react with feelings and instinct. You don't think about what was said and analyze by thinking. You only react to feelings, that is why the majority of the time libs are wrong. What are you feeling now?

[michael westman]

07:57 PM on 01/19/2012

Like you have not a clue

[Fred Lane]

08:01 PM on 01/19/2012

Analogy....The Right is wrong.....period!

[historyfog]

07:54 PM on 01/19/2012

How in the name of God did they gather that many stupid bigots together in one room? What those things did should make sane people in south carolina ashamed.

[john fierro]

07:53 PM on 01/19/2012

We live in a rich part of town could you send some poor kids over to our school. I will pay them with my allowance so I don't have to clean the toilets. Our maid does it at home and I'll be dammed if I'm going to do it at school.

[mikeykeat]

07:53 PM on 01/19/2012

This just simply says it all.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrAmpXNNJLQ

Before comment, did you see it to the end or are you "programmed" in your opinion making?

[michael westman]

07:53 PM on 01/19/2012

Both Newt and Mittster are phonies......they are the last men (sic) standing after a long slugfest that decimated the ranks of the less than able repubs.

Now the repbubs are faced with a pseudo-intellectual who is not much more than a wagoneer from the south and a cold calculating corporatster who thinks he can fake the rest of us out. I feel sorry for the actual thinking republicans and their choices.
Real sorry