Down in the polls and without a primary or caucus win since last month’s election in South Carolina, Newt Gingrich on Friday attacked the Republican establishment but barely mentioned his political opponents in a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference.
Gingrich told a crowd teeming with supporters that his bold solutions and “people based” campaign were the ticket to winning the White House, regardless of what the the rest of the Republican establishment had to say about it.
“We don’t have the scale of money that some of our competitors have but we do have a plan,” Gingrich said, referencing the well-financed campaign of Mitt Romney and an influx of new donations to Rick Santorum in the wake of this Tuesday primary sweep.
Despite Gingrich’s slippage in the polls, throngs turned out to hear him. Supporters carrying “Newt 2012” signs and sporting his name on campaign buttons and t-shirts swarmed the lobby of the conference hotel hours before Gingrich appeared.
Earlier in the day, Romney and Santorum addressed the crowd and took a few swipes at each other.
Gingrich used the speech to conservative activists to promote an ideas-based candidacy. He proposed an optional flat tax on income and a job training course requirement for people who accept unemployment benefits.
In an appeal to the backers of candidate Ron Paul, Gingrich called for an audit of the Federal Reserve.
Vicki Sciolaro, a Gingrich volunteer from Leawood, Kan., said Gingrich’s bold ideas will resuscitate his campaign by the March 6 multi-state Super Tuesday contest.
“There are a whole bunch of us here, a lot of us, who are behind him,” Sciolaro said. “I still think Gingrich is going to move back up as the others fall down because of their negative advertising and if people get Gingrich’s message out.”
