Newt Gingrich tells Rush Limbaugh he wasn’t talking about Ryan when he coined the phrase ‘Right-Wing Social Engineering’
After Paul Ryan whined about Newt calling his Medicare plan ‘social engineering’ on Meet The Press, I told you it would be just a matter of time before Gingrich would have to bow down before the altar of the Grand Wizard of Conservatives and beg for forgiveness. I’ve heard many different types of apologies from politicians over the years — and Newt had already apologized to Ryan for his words — but Gingrich doesn’t apologize at all to Rush; he just lies about what he said to David Gregory. Appearing Monday night on Fox News, Gingrich said explicitly that his comments Meet the Press were “ inaccurate ” and “ unfortunate ,” adding “ that was a mistake .” He even called Paul Ryan personally to apologize. But this afternoon on Rush Limbaugh’s radio show, Gingrich dramatically changed course and claimed that, in fact, the phrase “right-wing social engineering” was not a reference to the Ryan plan at all: GINGRICH: By the way, it was not a reference to Paul Ryan. There was no reference to Paul Ryan in that answer. LIMBAUGH: Well then what did you apologize to him about? GINGRICH: Because it was interpreted in a way which was causing trouble, which he doesn’t need or deserve. And it was causing the House Republicans trouble. One of my closest friends, someone I truly and deeply respect, emailed me and said your answer hits every Republican who voted for the Budget. Well, my answer wasn’t about the budget. OMFG. I actually didn’t see that one coming. I really didn’t expect to hear an outright lie. How do I know he’s lying, you ask? (Besides the fact that his lips are moving, I mean.) If he wasn’t talking about Paul Ryan, then why did he backtrack on Monday? Gingrich on Monday acknowledged that he “may have been too dramatic” in describing Ryan’s plan as social engineering, but renewed his warnings to Republicans to tread lightly on Medicare, which polls suggest voters do not want to change. He’s dramatically taking the “blame the media” conservative spin to a new level never before reached. Newt should tread lightly with his excuses. They are piling up.
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on May 20, 2011. Filed under