Read my lips: Bad move, Mitt.
Along with Missouri Sen. Jim Talent, former George H. W. Bush Chief of Staff John Sununu has
emerged as the Romney campaign's top surrogate for going after Newt Gingrich ... but something tells me Mitt Romney is going to be flip-flopping on
this line of attack pretty damn quick:
Prominent among those taking aim at Gingrich is former Gov. John H. Sununu, who told us this week that Gingrich’s “significant flaws” compared to other candidates have only bolstered his support for Romney. [...]
“I’ve just had a history of difficulty dealing with Mr. Gingrich,” Sununu said, “and it really underscores to me all the things that former members of Congress are saying.” [...]
Sununu charged that 21 years ago, Gingrich “reneged” on his approval of the now-infamous (to Republicans) 1990 budget agreement with Democrats that included tax increases. Many believe Bush’s reversal of his famous “Read my lips. No new taxes” pledge of 1988 cost him a second term.
Sununu said that as an agreement with the Democratic majority was being reached, “I specifically asked Newt Gingrich if he would support it, and he said, ‘yes.’ [...]
But, Sununu said, “The next day, for whatever reason, and nobody has ever been able to explain it to us, Gingrich decided that he was going to oppose it.
To most Americans, Sununu's complaint sounds more like a bitter personal grudge than anything of substance—after all, Democrats had a nearly 70-seat majority, so Gingrich's position was irrelevant. But to the Republican base, Bush's 1990 tax hike package represents a betrayal of everything they hold dear. By reminding Republicans that Newt Gingrich opposed the tax hike, Sununu is helping the guy he's supposed to be attacking. And the worst thing for Mitt Romney is that nobody in his campaign seems to realize it.
