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| Newt Gingrich: GOP establishment must 'enter the age of the lightbulb' | Newt Gingrich: GOP establishment must 'enter the age of the lightbulb' |
| (4 months later) | |
| The former House speaker Newt Gingrich brandished a candle and a lightbulb as he denounced the Republican establishment on Saturday, urging the party to embrace new ideas to win back the White House. | The former House speaker Newt Gingrich brandished a candle and a lightbulb as he denounced the Republican establishment on Saturday, urging the party to embrace new ideas to win back the White House. |
| Gingrich echoed other senior Republicans who have used the Conservative Political Action Conference to urge the party to change, and said the Republican top brass was "just plain wrong about how it approaches politics". | Gingrich echoed other senior Republicans who have used the Conservative Political Action Conference to urge the party to change, and said the Republican top brass was "just plain wrong about how it approaches politics". |
| He said the GOP needed to "enter the age of the lightbulb" and praised Jeb Bush, seen as a potential 2016 candidate, who warned on Friday that that it needed to stop being seen as the "anti-everything party". | He said the GOP needed to "enter the age of the lightbulb" and praised Jeb Bush, seen as a potential 2016 candidate, who warned on Friday that that it needed to stop being seen as the "anti-everything party". |
| On the final day of CPAC just outside Washington DC, Gingrich, who failed in his bid to win the Republican nomination for president last year, urged the party to adopt a positive message. He said: "We are not the anti-Obama movement. We are for a better American future." | On the final day of CPAC just outside Washington DC, Gingrich, who failed in his bid to win the Republican nomination for president last year, urged the party to adopt a positive message. He said: "We are not the anti-Obama movement. We are for a better American future." |
| Gingrich insisted the party should better define itself as "for empowering individuals" and claimed that the GOP leadership had "learned nothing" since he first ran for Congress in 1976. | Gingrich insisted the party should better define itself as "for empowering individuals" and claimed that the GOP leadership had "learned nothing" since he first ran for Congress in 1976. |
| "We have to disenthrall ourselves from the establishment's anti-idea approach. We must disenthrall ourselves from an accountant green eye shades approach to thinking about budgets. We must disenthrall ourselves from a consultant culture which believes politics can be reduced to raising money to run ads to attack somebody," Gingrich said. | "We have to disenthrall ourselves from the establishment's anti-idea approach. We must disenthrall ourselves from an accountant green eye shades approach to thinking about budgets. We must disenthrall ourselves from a consultant culture which believes politics can be reduced to raising money to run ads to attack somebody," Gingrich said. |
| "It is sobering to me to be standing here as a senior member of this party telling you from 1976 from 2013 we have the dominant wing in this party which has learnt nothing, and is as mired in the quags and as mired in the stupidity as it was in 1976," he said. | "It is sobering to me to be standing here as a senior member of this party telling you from 1976 from 2013 we have the dominant wing in this party which has learnt nothing, and is as mired in the quags and as mired in the stupidity as it was in 1976," he said. |
| Criticism of the Republican party establishment has been a familiar theme at CPAC, which has refused to invite some of the party's most prominent but more centrist members such as New Jersey governor Chris Christie. | Criticism of the Republican party establishment has been a familiar theme at CPAC, which has refused to invite some of the party's most prominent but more centrist members such as New Jersey governor Chris Christie. |
| On Thursday the Kentucky senator, Rand Paul, said that "the GOP of old has grown stale and moss-covered" in his speech on Thursday. | On Thursday the Kentucky senator, Rand Paul, said that "the GOP of old has grown stale and moss-covered" in his speech on Thursday. |
| Mitt Romney, the Republican nominee in 2012, said on Friday that Republicans had to listen to the ideas of governors in Democratic-leaning and swing states, such as Christie, who is distrusted by many conservatives after he praised Barack Obama in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. | Mitt Romney, the Republican nominee in 2012, said on Friday that Republicans had to listen to the ideas of governors in Democratic-leaning and swing states, such as Christie, who is distrusted by many conservatives after he praised Barack Obama in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. |
| In his speech on Saturday, Gingrich held up his props and embarked upon an extended metaphor about the Democrats being "trapped in the age of candles". He called on Republicans to "enter the age of the lightbulb". | In his speech on Saturday, Gingrich held up his props and embarked upon an extended metaphor about the Democrats being "trapped in the age of candles". He called on Republicans to "enter the age of the lightbulb". |
| Gingrich said Republicans in Congress could be "having a hearing every week on the future … They could be contrasting the various and sundry bureaucratic candles that are trapped in the world of luminative light with all the breakthroughs in new science and technology". | Gingrich said Republicans in Congress could be "having a hearing every week on the future … They could be contrasting the various and sundry bureaucratic candles that are trapped in the world of luminative light with all the breakthroughs in new science and technology". |
| Gingrich made it clear he was not calling for an entire overhaul: he said the party should remain true to its principles but harvest new ideas about how to apply them. He stressed that the GOP "should unflinchingly stand on the right to life". | Gingrich made it clear he was not calling for an entire overhaul: he said the party should remain true to its principles but harvest new ideas about how to apply them. He stressed that the GOP "should unflinchingly stand on the right to life". |
| His remarks were an echo of Bush's speech to CPAC on Friday. Speaking at the CPAC annual dinner, the former Florida governor said: "All too often we're associated with being 'anti' everything. | His remarks were an echo of Bush's speech to CPAC on Friday. Speaking at the CPAC annual dinner, the former Florida governor said: "All too often we're associated with being 'anti' everything. |
| "Way too many people believe Republicans are anti-immigrant, anti-woman, anti-science, anti-gay, anti-worker, and the list goes on and on and on. Many voters are simply unwilling to choose our candidates even though they share our core beliefs, because those voters feel unloved, unwanted and unwelcome in our party." | "Way too many people believe Republicans are anti-immigrant, anti-woman, anti-science, anti-gay, anti-worker, and the list goes on and on and on. Many voters are simply unwilling to choose our candidates even though they share our core beliefs, because those voters feel unloved, unwanted and unwelcome in our party." |
| The extent to which Republicans are ready to accept the message from Bush, Gingrich and Romney is unclear. In particular, Bush's speech received only a lukewarm response. | The extent to which Republicans are ready to accept the message from Bush, Gingrich and Romney is unclear. In particular, Bush's speech received only a lukewarm response. |
| Delivering CPAC's top-billing address, Bush risked the wrath of his party in appearing to urge a departure from Republicans' traditional message of individual success. "It is not a validation of our conservative principles if we can only point to the increasingly rare individual who overcomes adversity and succeeds in America," Bush said. "Here's reality: if you're fortunate enough to count yourself among the privileged, much of the rest of the nation is drowning. | Delivering CPAC's top-billing address, Bush risked the wrath of his party in appearing to urge a departure from Republicans' traditional message of individual success. "It is not a validation of our conservative principles if we can only point to the increasingly rare individual who overcomes adversity and succeeds in America," Bush said. "Here's reality: if you're fortunate enough to count yourself among the privileged, much of the rest of the nation is drowning. |
| "In our country today, if you're born poor, if your parents didn't go to college, if you don't know your father, if English isn't spoken at home, then the odds are stacked against you. You are more likely to stay poor today than at any other time since the second world war," he said. | "In our country today, if you're born poor, if your parents didn't go to college, if you don't know your father, if English isn't spoken at home, then the odds are stacked against you. You are more likely to stay poor today than at any other time since the second world war," he said. |
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