Dole Releases Stinging Critique of Gingrich

By GERRY MULLANY and RICHARD A. OPPEL JR.
NYT

3:59 p.m. | Updated The Romney campaign on Thursday released a scathing critique of Newt Gingrich by Bob Dole, the former Republican presidential candidate and senator from Kansas. The statement comes as some establishment Republicans have been stepping up their attacks of Mr. Gingrich.

The Gingrich campaign’s response follows the statement.

The statement reads:

I have not been critical of Newt Gingrich, but it is now time to take a stand before it is too late. If Gingrich is the nominee it will have an adverse impact on Republican candidates running for county, state and federal offices. Hardly anyone who served with Newt in Congress has endorsed him and that fact speaks for itself. He was a one-man-band who rarely took advice. It was his way or the highway.

Gingrich served as speaker from 1995 to 1999 and had trouble within his own party. Already in 1997 a number of House members wanted to throw him out as speaker. But he hung on until after the 1998 elections when the writing was on the wall. His mounting ethics problems caused him to resign in early 1999. I know whereof I speak as I helped establish a line of credit of $150,000 to help Newt pay off the fine for his ethics violations. In the end, he paid the fine with money from other sources.

(More here.)