Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich sounded off on Friday against what he called the “old guard” of the GOP, describing some longstanding Republican members of Congress as “a little too crusty.”
In an interview with CNN, Gingrich expressed his concern that older members of his party may be lagging behind what has been branded “the new GOP” -- which, according to Gingrich, includes Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas).
“I do think the old guard of the party gets a little too crusty and a little too anti-ideas, and I think that’s unfortunate,” Gingrich said.
Gingrich’s statement closely follows remarks made by Paul at the Conservative Political Action Conference Thursday, in which Paul blasted “the GOP of old” for growing “stale and moss covered.”
“The new GOP will need to embrace liberty in both the economic and the personal sphere,” Paul said during his speech. “If we’re going to have a Republican Party that can win, liberty needs to be the backbone of the GOP.”
Moments before Gingrich blasted the GOP on CNN for being too unwilling to adapt, however, the former Republican presidential candidate touted his conservative views on same-sex marriage, reiterating his belief that marriage should be between “a man and a woman.”
When asked for his reaction on the recent decision by Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) to come out in support of gay mariage, Gingrich responded, “Well, my stance hasn’t been evolved. ... I actually think that marriage is between a man and a woman no matter what politicians decide -- I don’t think they have the power to change what is a religiously inspired definition.”
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