Democrats Blast Newt Gingrich in First Video Ad as ‘Original Tea Partier’

Matthew Putney/ABC
For the first time in the presidential primary campaign, Democrats are turning their web video and “rapid response” email attack machine on former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
Just hours after the ABC News presidential debate in Iowa Saturday, the Democratic National Committee blasted the GOP front-runner in a 90-second ad, labeling him the “original Tea Partier.”
You can view the video HERE.
While top Democratic and Obama campaign strategists had made a rhetorical shift in recent days - abandoning their previously exclusive focus on Mitt Romney – the video marks a new phase in their offensive and recognition of Gingrich’s rise in the polls.
DNC chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz underscored the new line of messaging in a statement following the debate, calling the former Speaker “a Tea Party politician even before there was a Tea Party.”
“He supported gutting funding for education and Medicare to fund a tax cut for millionaires and shut down the government over it and those are the same policies he supports today,” she said.
Earlier this week, Obama campaign strategist David Axelrod launched the first direct Democratic attacks on Gingrich, labeling him the “godfather of gridlock” for his role in the federal government shutdown of 1995 and the partisan battle to impeach President Bill Clinton.
R.C. Hammond, a spokesman for the Gingrich campaign said it’s “always a nice gesture of the DNC to recognize Newt’s efforts to advance the conservative agenda.”

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This is not a blast, this is a promo. This is proof that the two parties are run by the same people. Its trying to convince tea party people to vote for him. The truth is he is NOT a tea party person. He is for corporatism and government control. This is the puppet master trying to deceive the people, once again, to choose their puppet. Newt and the government can all go to heII!
Posted by: Timbo | December 11, 2011, 12:45 pm 12:45 pm
So the Newt is a Tea Baggger. LOL
Posted by: Jim Bob jr. | December 11, 2011, 1:25 pm 1:25 pm
Even though that statement is a load of crap I don’t see how that is a bad thing
Posted by: william | December 11, 2011, 1:35 pm 1:35 pm
That’s going to boost Newt……..not hurt him.
Posted by: Rick McDaniel | December 11, 2011, 1:36 pm 1:36 pm
Newt is nothing like the Tea Partiers. For Democrats, they’d prefer Newt or Mitt to be the nominee because either of them up against Obama will crash and burn like the Hindenberg. Ron Paul is clearly intellectually and philosophically a whole level above “NewtMitt”.
Posted by: Jon Ronson | December 11, 2011, 1:51 pm 1:51 pm
How Newt stole Christmas from the GOP. LOL! the Republicans are scratching their heads wondering how the pot belly, self-self-aggarndizing ego maniac got to the front of the parade. Newt is a gift to the Democrats. He can never beat Barrack Obama
Posted by: NoFlyZone2 | December 11, 2011, 2:03 pm 2:03 pm
Ron Paul is credited with starting the Tea Party, or at least his supporters are. It was in December 2007 that Paul supporters raised over $6 million in one day, a Tea Party money bomb, the first of it’s kind. I know because I participated, and have been fighting along with Ron Paul for the last 5 years, advocating the Constitution, sound money, ending Wars, Auditing the Fed, ending the Patriot Act, and restoring peace, prosperity and liberty to the American people. Ron Paul is the only true conservative, whose message hasn’t changed in 30 years, and he’s been right all along.
Posted by: Mike Ikeo | December 11, 2011, 2:06 pm 2:06 pm
The Republican contenders for the presidency is a joke. Any serious candidate to dethrone our Nobel Peace Price winning President has to be from a third party.
Posted by: NoFlyZone2 | December 11, 2011, 2:08 pm 2:08 pm
Smart move Democrats, you’re even dumber than I thought. I’m registered as a Republican and I don’t want to see Gingrich get elected. Now you morons just helped him. I’m not sure if you noticed, but the margin between Gingrich and Obama is very close. Not smart at all! If we want to cleanse the neoconservatives out of Washington we need to drop this partisan nonsense and realize what is really happening here. I urge all Democrats, Republicans, and Independents to read between the lines and do your own research before you take a pitch from the major media networks, or just give another election to the Oligarchy.
Posted by: swlma | December 11, 2011, 2:10 pm 2:10 pm
How would being an original tea party member be bad? I don’t necessarily see him as such, but he is absolutely my choice. I’m an independent voter and Obama has been a nightmare! I can’t believe how bad he has turned out. I want to feel proud again! I spend a lot of time overseas and I think the general feel is that Obama has NOT turned out as expected and the leadership is missing. We need a leader and I see that being Newt at this time. I see all the brainwashed party followers (both parties) are against him, makes me like him even MORE!
Posted by: ArmySF_Vet | December 11, 2011, 2:12 pm 2:12 pm
—-Posted by: Mike Ikeo | December 11, 2011, 2:06 pm 2:06 pm ——
“Nobel peace prize winning President”. LOL!!!! All my European friends now say they messed up big time! LOL! I’m guessing you’re being sarcastic…good one Mike I. We all know Obama has been a disgrace, but America always comes back! Look at how we came back after Carter… everyone have hope, don’t give up! Get rid of Obama and lets get America back!
Posted by: ArmySF_Vet | December 11, 2011, 2:17 pm 2:17 pm
That’s going to boost Newt……..not hurt him.
Posted by: Rick McDaniel | December 11, 2011, 1:36 pm 1:36 pm
Probably, among the Republican base.. but is that a bad thing if he’s the disgraced and thrice-married fat one– i.e. the one you have the fattest oppo file on? The one whom supplies the juiciest red meat to put out there in a GE? And, then there’s this: he’s not polling well among independents, and by the way, the tea party is viewed extremely negatively by moderates, independents, the Republican establishment, the left and a majority of Americans.
Posted by: Chole, Gobama 12!! | December 11, 2011, 2:20 pm 2:20 pm
Ron Paul is credited with starting the Tea Party, or at least his supporters are. Ron Paul is the only true conservative, whose message hasn’t changed in 30 years, and he’s been right all along.
Posted by: Mike Ikeo | December 11, 2011, 2:06 pm 2:06 pm
Exactly…. the DNC ad sure stirs a pot, doesn’t it? Will the true conservatives vote for the true conservative, OR…. will they elect the condescending thrice-married, fat career politician from K street that provides the most juicy red meat to chew on throughout the GE. Hmmmmmmmmm. Such tough decisions.
Posted by: Chloe, Gobama 12!! | December 11, 2011, 2:27 pm 2:27 pm
This is rather diabolical. Are they trying to hurt Newt or help Newt? Or are they really trying to help Ron Paul? …and what about Mitt? Wait, isn’t this really all about how we can all hate Obama by rejecting his health care reform bill? Why are the Democrats distracting us from hating Obama by making us love Newt? Naw, they’re Democrats, they couldn’t be doing that. Hmmm. Why cant’t we go back to the way things were before the meltdown? Wait, the way things were before the meltdown are what CAUSED the meltdown. Maybe the meltdown was good because it made me poorer and wall street richer. How the heck are we supposed to figure this stuff out? Guess we’ll just have to wait for the Donald Trump debate to clear it all up.
Posted by: sameagain | December 11, 2011, 2:27 pm 2:27 pm
This shows how myopic and out of touch Progressives really are — In their elitist hearts they think they know all about Tea Partiers. They truly do not understand our motivations — it is completely opposite to what they want which is big government control – oh and themselves in charge, of course, becasue they are just so much smarter then everyone else. They can’t fathom anyone wanting small government and personal liberty. Progressives/Marxists have exposed themselves again. We need to root them out and boot them out permanently this time before they go to ground again like they did in the 30s, 50s, 60s, and 80s.
Posted by: LibertyGirl | December 11, 2011, 2:28 pm 2:28 pm
Posted by: LibertyGirl | December 11, 2011, 2:28 pm 2:28 pm
The progressives/Marxists/elitists you speak about are an invented people.
Posted by: Lisbeth | December 11, 2011, 2:35 pm 2:35 pm
This is a joke right, this will only help Newt Getrich in polls…and it is also a lie. The Original Tea Partier is Ron Paul, it was his record breaking “money bomb” that started the tea party. Newt might of been a good conservative twenty two years ago, but now he is a sell out rhino.
Posted by: Xcipher | December 11, 2011, 2:42 pm 2:42 pm
The progressives/Marxists/elitists you speak about are an invented people.
Posted by: Lisbeth | December 11, 2011, 2:35 pm 2:35 pm
For that matter, so are the tea party people who allegedly care about big government but worship Reagan and plan to vote for Gingrinch. There are no tea party people who care about big government OR the debt OR corruption. Talk about invented people!
Posted by: Chloe, Gobama 12!! | December 11, 2011, 2:47 pm 2:47 pm
The Original Tea Partier is Ron Paul…
spread the word to the tea partiers flirting with Gingrich;^)
Posted by: Lisbeth | December 11, 2011, 2:49 pm 2:49 pm
35 years old, a naturalized citizen and a pulse. This is what’s needed to defeat Obama in 2012. We know that Obama has the black vote and the union vote, but beyond that who in their right (sane) mind would vote for four more years of Obama?
Posted by: s | December 11, 2011, 2:50 pm 2:50 pm
who in their right (sane) mind would vote for four more years of Obama?
Posted by: s | December 11, 2011, 2:50 pm 2:50 pm
Newt’s sister, and anyone who actually knows Newt… or so it appears. Wanna make a $10,000 wager?
Posted by: Chloe, Gobama 12!! | December 11, 2011, 2:54 pm 2:54 pm
Newt, “Original Tea Partier”??? What a load of baloney!
This is nothing but a ploy by Democrats to boost Newt’s image (by causing conservatives to think Newt is a tea partier so therefore he’s a good republican) because they know Newt will lose in the general elections against Obama.
The democrats are freaking out and scared of the 800lb gorilla in the room – Ron Paul. If Ron Paul wins the nomination, they know Obama is finished!
The truth is Ron Paul is the “Original Tea Partier”, not this loser Newt. The first modern-day Tea Party started during the Ron Paul campaign, dedicated to his presidential run on December 16 2007 in Boston where Ron Paul supporters reenacted the original Tea Party. This is where the whole Tea Party thing started and Newt had nothing, absolutely nothing to do with it!
Anyway, good try, Libs! Losers!
Posted by: Ray | December 11, 2011, 3:18 pm 3:18 pm
“About three-quarters of registered voters (76%) say most members of Congress do not deserve re-election, the highest such percentage Gallup has measured in its 19-year history of asking this question.”
This percentage has risen sharply since Republicans were voted into the majority in the House.
Posted by: Jan | December 11, 2011, 3:29 pm 3:29 pm
The real question right now is will ABC announce that Ron Paul is the winner of the debate poll, in which he won by a huge margin? Or keep it quiet as CBS did.
Posted by: keredte | December 11, 2011, 3:41 pm 3:41 pm
SO What!!!! This is all the Dems can throw out?????????Hey…my father can bet up your father….so there. Pathetic.
Posted by: Joe Koke | December 11, 2011, 3:45 pm 3:45 pm
Thank you Debbie Watshername Schultz. Out of touch as usual.
Posted by: curettage | December 11, 2011, 3:48 pm 3:48 pm
Are you kidding me?? Is this all they got? They truly are desperate.
Posted by: Kevin | December 11, 2011, 3:53 pm 3:53 pm
You have to admit Newt has a lot of ideas. If you identify a problem he will come up with several solutions. Compare this to President Obama repeating the same old “failed” ideas over and over. Newt’s open mind is willing to work with anyone to come up with a solution!
Posted by: Common _ Sense | December 11, 2011, 4:47 pm 4:47 pm
From a comment above: “Any serious candidate to dethrone our Nobel Peace Price winning President has to be from a third party.”
That Nobel Peace Prize was considered a joke by many, and Obama’s winning of it diminished the meaning of the award for many. 61% of Americans felt Obama did not deserve it. Mainstreet Media across the board also called it:
“staggeringly premature honor–the equivalent of a lifetime-achievement Oscar for a child star–makes yesterday’s satire into today’s news” – Washington Post
LA Times: [the committee] “didn’t just embarrass Obama, it diminished the credibility of the prize itself”
The New York Times: “”It dismays me that the most important prize in the world has been devalued in this way”
Noam Chomsky: “”In defense of the committee, we might say that the achievement of doing nothing to advance peace places Obama on a considerably higher moral plane than some of the earlier recipients.”
The Nobel Peace prize was tarnished because of this award. Obama wasn’t raised up high because he received it.
Posted by: ConservativeMama | December 11, 2011, 4:49 pm 4:49 pm
This is an email campaign to the democratic base, who are mostly disgusted by tea party rhetoric – so the hyperbole makes sense. As far as the “real” problems with this candidate – that will come out soon enough. So has Newt changed his religion again? Or is he waiting for the next poll results …
Posted by: yeah.i.said.it | December 11, 2011, 4:56 pm 4:56 pm
yeah.i.said.it…that would be from the polling place that told Obama he should go to church with the whole family. Now he’s a church-guy.
Posted by: s | December 11, 2011, 5:00 pm 5:00 pm
HA@Republicans, both TBaggers and moderates, freaking out over this…
a few reasons why this works –
1) Gingrich may win the primary, but he will never win a general election. so if you’re a TeaBagger, this will p!ss you off… if you’re not and you’re on the right, this will push you towards Gingrich or in the direction of Mitt. Either way, win… (altho especially, as it turns out, if this HELPS Gingrich.. but win regardless)
2) Ron Paul can’t win a general election either.. while maybe 30% of what he says is acceptable, the rest is crazy as crazy gets. He can’t get the primary, and he DEFINITELY won’t win a general election, trust that.
Good times!
Posted by: Spiraling Agony | December 11, 2011, 5:26 pm 5:26 pm
Anyone lacking Family Values, like Newt, should not represent our country.
Ron Paul grew up on a farm and also served in the military. Ron is kind, smart, and honest. Those are core American Values. And we do not have to worry about him flip flopping on the issues.
Ron understands how the HUGE DEBT threatens us all. He has a serious plan to reduce it.
Posted by: Roy | December 11, 2011, 5:52 pm 5:52 pm
Gingrich the “original teabagger”?? ROFLMBO !!!!!!! Come on repubs. You and your ridiculous candidates are true jokes and everybody is laughing at you.
Posted by: TonyV | December 11, 2011, 6:04 pm 6:04 pm
For anyone who doesn’t remember, Newt was kicked out of his speakership by his own party back in the 90′s. Find out about this rat before you vote for him
Posted by: carlos | December 11, 2011, 6:30 pm 6:30 pm
Quite obvious attempt by ABC to stir the pot in favor of the Dems. Ask yourself how often does a Republican web Video (that costs the campaign literally nothing to create and send out) becomes the Headline, “above the fold” story on a major network? And I hate Gingrich and think he will lead to an easy victory for Obama. God help us. DRAFT CHRISTIE! The only guy with a shot….
Posted by: Craig | December 11, 2011, 6:43 pm 6:43 pm
No coverage of Ron Paul in this debate yet again. Ridiculous.
Posted by: ChadM | December 11, 2011, 6:48 pm 6:48 pm
I sure hope Ron Paul doesn’t win the nomination because he’ll draw too many traitor Democrats to vote Republican.
Posted by: blind spot | December 11, 2011, 6:58 pm 6:58 pm
Once again they have shut Ron Paul out….do any of you know what the truth is? if these people are doing this to Ron Paul…what else have they done? They are supposed to tell us what the real world is about….if they are deceiving us about Ron Paul….they must have colluded to deceive us about a lot more over the years! They are the ones charged with telling us the state of our government…do you know what the state of the government is? Do we even know who is running this nation?
Posted by: Howdy Doody | December 11, 2011, 7:15 pm 7:15 pm
This is a pure hit piece by the Democrats and their counterparts in the media. There is no way to compare what the tea party has stood for and what the bunch of democratic supported OWS has pretended to stand for. All the average man and woman want in this country is a fair chance and to have their taxes handled in a responsible manner. Most people I know don’t want handouts, don’t feel envious when someone has more than they do and certainly don’t crap places up when they do protest.
ABC should quit carrying the water for the DNC with garbage such as this.
Posted by: david | December 11, 2011, 7:18 pm 7:18 pm
and the partisan battle to impeach President Bill Clinton.——for getting the blow job WHILE he was running out to get blow jobs from HIS intern!!!!!! AT least Clinton did not leave his wife, NEWT!!!! YOU left your wife WHILE SHE WAS BATTLING CANCER !! Sleaze ball.
Posted by: marsha marsha | December 11, 2011, 7:41 pm 7:41 pm
84 ethics violations. Why not a commercial of someone just reading off his ethics violations.
Posted by: Not UR Average Joe | December 11, 2011, 7:42 pm 7:42 pm
They’re calling him the original tea bagger because the approval rating of the tea baggers is in the single digits right now. The teabaggers imploded somewhere between getting our government ratings reduced and trying to take Elmo off the air.
Posted by: marsha marsha | December 11, 2011, 7:44 pm 7:44 pm
You have to admit Newt has a lot of ideas.–_REPUBLICANS while he was speaker of the house, had a cartoon that showed a file cabinet that said “Newt’s Ideas” and next to it was a flat manila envelope, that looked empty, and on it was written “Newts Good Ideas”. Hoover had the same ideas. Hoover had 9% unemployed said “God bless the children for they will inherit the debt”, cut everything in sight with his grand ideas an dbrought 9% unemployment up to 25% unemployment. Huge encampments of homeless people were called “Hoovertowns”. Look it up. Bad ideas are very very dangerous. Obama’s ideas have had POSITIVE slow growth, hoever, it’s been positive growth, every single quarter for three years. Maybe 2% – 5% GDP GROWTH isn’t ENOUGH for you, but do remember, there is NO guarrentee we’d be growing at all right now!!! Put in another Hoover and that growth will go BACK to contraction, job LOSSES. We lost OVER 700,000 JObs the last month of Bush’s term, and the mnths preceding we lost that many as well. Now we CRY 200,000 job GROWTH is ‘terrible’. really??? So what was 700,000 job LOSS????????????
Posted by: GrannyNosBest | December 11, 2011, 7:49 pm 7:49 pm
There is no way to compare what the tea party has stood for and what the bunch of democratic supported OWS has pretended to stand for—— why not. It’s easy. Baggers fought tooth and nail to give 2 billion in tax cuts, 2 billion MORE in debt, handing out money to oil companies who just made 200 billion in profit. Yeah. OWS wouldn’t go for that. Baggers shut down the government to try to stop poor women for receiving healthcare. Yeah. it cost us 0.00001% of our budget, so yeah, of course, let’s put 100% of our effort toward something that costs us a fraction ofa fraction of 1% of our spending. AND the same percentage goes to educational public television! At a time when parents are cutting back on cable is the PERFECT time to cut off the only educational children programming on tv! So much better to have their heads with disney and sugar cereal commercials. Yeah, my daughter was especially appreciative of that jewel. Why have her kid watch SUper WHy, which helps him with his reading, huh? Yeah, that’ costs us nearly .00001% of our spending but the tax cuts for the rich put us another 300 BILLION in debt every year, haven’t created one job, so by all means, let’s stop unemployment insurance for the long term unemployed whlie we got another trillion in debt handing out trillions to multimillionaires. Yeah, you DEFINITELY cannot compare that to the reasonable, “Stop coroprate personhood” slogans of the OWS movement.
Posted by: GrannyNosBest | December 11, 2011, 7:58 pm 7:58 pm
It’s funny. One of Newt’s very conservative cohorts called him the ultimate rental politician. So in that respect, he IS an original Tea Bagger, bought and paid for by the fathers of the Tea Bag movement – the Koch brothers……..
Posted by: searambler | December 11, 2011, 8:24 pm 8:24 pm
If the GOP nominates Newt, we all can look forward to the current idiot leaders giving us four more years of disaster. Newt is light years better than Obama, but Romney has a better chance in the general elections.
Posted by: Manitu | December 11, 2011, 8:25 pm 8:25 pm
that video was just…..ugh. I’m a democrat, but this video to me is just pointless. Of all the things the DNC could target Gingrich on, they choose the Tea Party? THAT JUST HELPS HIS CONSERVATIVE TEA PARTY BASE. If you want to meet the real newt gingrich, look at Ron Pauls “serial hypocrisy” video….or research his lobbying for Freddie Mac. or all the other 84 ethics violations. Sure, redemption and all. But HOW MANY MISTAKES CAN GINGRICH MAKE? People need to look at his track record & get facts straight. I believe that Huntsman, Paul, or even OBAMA would be better than these clowns. Get real or go home
Posted by: JON-HUNTSMAN | December 11, 2011, 8:26 pm 8:26 pm
Can’t wait for the DNC to put out the Obama Accomplishments video…..
Posted by: Lojicsgood5 | December 11, 2011, 8:38 pm 8:38 pm
Original neocon, not the original tea partier. I’m no fan of the tea party, but Gingrich is not them, he’s a neocon, which is worse.
Posted by: nKef | December 12, 2011, 3:00 am 3:00 am
I can’t wait until a candidate goes against Obama. Then, we’ll see how records compare. ALL records. Did you get that Obama? Even yours will go under the microscope. You can not hide Obama. You wanted the controls, you got them, and you drove us off the cliff. For two years you had the House and the Senate. You made things worse. I don’t even think that a fool would want to continue business as usual with you.
Posted by: trish | December 12, 2011, 8:55 am 8:55 am
The tea party loves Newt! I’m a tea partier and I love Newt! . For those that just don’t get it, there’s a good article by Matt Taylor at National Memo that explains exactly why the Tea Party loves, loves, loves Newt: First off,most tea partiers are of a certain advanced age. And aging Tea Partiers remember fondly Newt’s glory days, regardless of his ethics problems, cheating and multiple marriages. He remains unparalled at the sort of racial dog whistling and politics of resentment that resonates most deeply with us.
Newt IS the perfect tea party candidate. It doesn’t matter how popular the tea party isn’t.
Posted by: Newt's toad | December 12, 2011, 9:32 am 9:32 am