Air Force Vet Ron Paul Drops Bombs On Newt Gingrich for War Deferments
Air Force veteran and presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul. R-Texas, has opened up a new line of attack against former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga.
Interviewed by Megyn Kelly on Fox News Channel, Paul was responding to the negative ads he's running against Gingrich when he added, "you know, there was one other issue that I personally found annoying is that he's probably as aggressive with the military as anybody. He supports all the wars in the Middle East a thousand times more than I would. But, you know when, in the 1960's when I was drafted in the military, you know, he got several deferments. He chose not to go. Now. He'll send our kids to war. But, at that time, he said, one person wouldn't make a difference, he didn't know how he could make a difference. So I see that as important information, people should know that, and It reflects on him."
Gingrich sought and received deferments because of his marriage and student status.
In 1985, Gingrich told the Washington Post that "Given everything I believe in, a large part of me thinks I should have gone over."
He has also been quoted saying that his deferments are "one of those things that will hang over me for the rest of my life." That said, he said, "part of the question I have to ask myself was what difference I would have made." The Village Voice has quoted him saying "What difference would I have made? There was a bigger battle in Congress than Vietnam."
UPDATE:
"The trick about running a positive future oriented campaign is you have actually want to talk about solutions," Gingrich for President spokesman R.C. Hammond told ABC News. "That's something that distinguishes Newt from the rest of the pack. We're okay with that."
Hammond notes that during the period he received deferments, Gingrich was in graduate school with two children. Gingrich, you will recall, married his high school geometry teacher in 1962 when he was 19 and she was 26. One year later, Linda Kathleen "Kathy" Gingrich Lubbers was born in 1963, and Jackie Sue Gingrich Cushman was born three years later.
As you may also recall, that marriage ended in divorce.
-Jake Tapper