Gingrich slaps at Romney, declares race is still wide open

Des Moines, Iowa – Former House speaker Newt Gingrich declared on New Year’s Day that the race for the GOP presidential nomination is “wide open” despite his steep slide in recent polls and then he took a shot at Mitt Romney, saying the former Massachusetts governor “would buy the election if he could.”

“You figure out between 2007 and 2008 and 2011 and 2012 how many dollars per vote Romney has spent and it will rival [New York City Mayor Michael] Bloomberg,” Gingrich told reporters after attending a service at Saint Ambrose Cathedral. Bloomberg, Gingrich added, “did buy an election. Romney would buy the election if he could.”

Standing nearby, Gingrich’s spokesman, R.C. Hammond, sounded a little worried, joking to the reporters gathered around: “Oh boy, one question too many.”

Undaunted, the former Georgia congressman continued about Romney: “The fact is he is going to have a ceiling and from what we have seen so far, his ceiling is actually pretty consistent.”

Gingrich also took aim at U.S. Rep. Ron Paul’s more dovish approach toward Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

“It is very dangerous to pretend that an Iranian nuclear weapon doesn’t matter,” Gingrich said. “I think an Iranian nuclear weapon is very, very dangerous for the world. I would have a general strategy for replacing the regime without military force, much like [President Ronald] Reagan, [British Prime Minister Margaret] Thatcher and Pope John Paul II did in the 1980s.”

Gingrich also brushed off his fourth place finish in a Des Moines Register poll released Saturday, pointing out that 41 percent of the likely caucus-goers surveyed said that while they have a first choice they could still be persuaded to support another candidate.

“The most accurate part of the poll is that 41 percent could change their opinion, and I think that is an understatement,” Gingrich said. “This is wide open. I think the next 2 ½ days are going to be fascinating.”

Gingrich also denied some of his supporters have urged him to punch back at other candidates who have been savaging him with negative television ads.

“We are gradually wearing down the negative ads, when you realize just how dishonest they are,” he said. “That is a big part of this. There is a gradually growing resentment of the negativity.”

“No one is told me to go negative,” he said later. “This is the first three minutes of the Super Bowl. And we are running a wonderful experiment and we will see what happens by the end of Tuesday night.”

Later, during a campaign stop in Ames, Gingrich waded through a crush of supporters at the West Towne, shaking hands and posing for pictures before ending his tour in the “Beer Cave,” a television-choked seating area packed with even more fans. Several college students in the crowd squealed as Gingrich drew near.

Several likely-caucus goers in the crowd said they liked Gingrich but were undecided about who they would pick on Tuesday.

Robert Wisner, a retired university agricultural economics professor from Boone, was among them. He said he wants Gingrich to clarify his positions on abortion and efforts to discourage prayer and do away with Christmas displays in public places.

Wisner said he is torn between Gingrich and Texas Gov. Rick Perry, though he worries if Perry is strong enough to win the primary. He said Gingrich could do a better job of going toe to toe with President Obama in the general election.

“I would love to see him debate the president,” Wisner said.

Joanne Duncalf, a health insurance saleswoman from Clarion, said she is split between Gingrich, Perry and former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania. She said she likes Santorum’s family values and believes he will carry most of the evangelical vote Tuesday.