"We intend to change Washington, not accommodate it," Newt Gingrich told the Conservative Political Action Conference on Friday in the nation's capital.
Comparing his accomplishments as Speaker of the House to those of Ronald Reagan and Barry Goldwater, Gingrich did not veer far from the stump speech he has delivered almost daily for months in states across the country. He outlined his proposals to repeal President Barack Obama's health care law, as well as the financial regulatory laws known as Dodd-Frank and Sarbanes-Oxley; to eliminate Obama's White House "czars"; to require those receiving unemployment benefits to sign up for a work training program; to replace the Environmental Protection Agency with an "Environmental Solutions Agency"; and to roll back "40 percent" of Obama's policies in his first day in office.
Before Gingrich took the stage, a black and white, action-flickesque picture flashed on the screen, showing the candidate flanked by his surrogates, including Chuck Norris, Herman Cain and Rick Perry. Gingrich later referred to the assembled conservatives--who looked a bit like the cast of Sylvester Stallone's "The Expendables"--as a "conservative Dream Team."
Gingrich also said that if Obama wins in November, "He will wage war on the Catholic church the morning after he is re-elected."
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