At a press conference in Atlanta today, Newt Gingrich delivered the following remarks on recent violent threats against Democratic leaders:
Just as there was no place for the kind of viciousness against Bush and Cheney, there’s no place for viciousness against Democrats.
I would condemn any kind of activity that involves that kind of personal threat.
But look, I think there’s something very disingenuous about the Democratic leaders who attacked the tea party movement, who refused to hold town hall meetings, who refused to go back home, who kept the Congress locked up in Washington, and are now shocked that people are angry.
I think the Democratic leadership has to take some moral responsibility for having behaved with such arrogance, in such a hostile way, that the American people are deeply upset. So let’s be honest with this. This is a game that they’re playing.
People should not engage in personal threats. I’m happy to condemn any effort to engage in personal threats. But I think the Democratic leadership has to take some real responsibility for having run a machine that used corrupt tactics, that bought votes, that bullied people, and as a result has enraged much of the American people.