Newt Gingrich Throws His Hat In The Presidential Ring

He says the extension of the Bush-era tax cut is the reason for the recent drop in unemployment figures – He calls on Congress to make it permanent

ATLANTA — Tax cuts are the key to economic growth, said former Speaker of the House of Representatives Newt Gingrich in an announcement that he is seeking the office of President.
He credited the extension of deep tax cuts passed in the Bush era for the recent drop in unemployment figures. Mr. Gingrich said these cuts should be made permanent, including permanent tax cuts for those who have very high income.

The Gingrich campaign has launched a website to collect donations and filed IRS paperwork to set up his campaign organization, he told Fox News commentator Sean Hannity.

Mr. Gingrich said he expects it will take 6 to 7 weeks to make the exploratory process turn into the reality of a bid for the Republican presidential nomination. He will visit early caucus state Iowa on Monday to further his exploratory talks with Republican officials.

I think it's going to take a fair amount of time, at least a number of weeks, at least six or seven," Gingrich, 67, said of the decision to look at a presidential run. "This is such a big decision if you're serious about it...I think President Obama wants to change America into a different country."

The key difference between his ideas and the President's is that where Mr. Obama wishes to redistribute wealth, he wants to create more of it.

Mr. Gingrich said he would back "very dramatic tax cuts to create economic growth," which in turn would get people off of government social programs and paying more in taxes.”

The candidate advocates an aggressive campaign to develop domestic energy resources. "If something goes bad in the Middle East, we will understand the cost of left-wingers who oppose using American energy," Mr. Gingrich said.

In critical remarks about the Obama Administration's foreign policy, Mr. Gingrich said, "This was an administration which was very aggressive about an American ally, Mubarak in Egypt, and very confused about an American opponent, Gadhafi in Libya. This is an administration which doesn't notice the demonstrations and the brutality in Tehran, and it confuses Israelis building apartments with Iranians building nuclear weapons. And I think it's very, very dangerous."

The President's budget proposal is “a joke,” according to the former Speaker.

Mr. Gingrich co-authored a controversial conservative agenda called “Contract With America” with current House Speaker John Boehner and followed it during his tenure as Speaker. It led to dramatic federal government shutdowns during budgetary disputes with Democrats in the House of Representatives.