Newt Gingrich tells conservatives he has the right ideas

Republican presidential candidate, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich

/ AP Photo/John Raoux

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, known among Republicans as an idea machine, pitched himself as the man with the answers to a major gathering of conservative activists on Friday in Florida.

The author of the GOP's 1990s-era Contract With America, Gingrich said he plans next week to unfurl a next-generation contract that he said is "going to be bigger, it's going to be deeper and more profound. We are in greater trouble than we were in 1994 when we unveiled the first Contract with America."

Speaking to about 500 people gathered for the Conservative Political Action Conference, he also jabbed at his Republican primary, saying that he doesn't have to worry about defending things he wrote in books.

"I just want all of you to know that I actually believe all the words that I wrote in my book," he said, drawing a distinction with rivals Rick Perry, the Texas governor, and Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, who traded barbs about their respective books at Thursday night's candidate debate. Gingrich recently published, A Nation Like No Other.

Indirectly addressing critics who call him a candidate stuck in the past, Gingrich invoked a letter that President Abraham Lincoln once wrote to Congress saying, "If we can disenthrall ourselves from the past, we'll save our nation."

He revisited some familiar territory, including the "European socialist" agenda of President Obama. Gingrich got his biggest applause line when he said he wanted to "re-balance the Constitution" to curb what he describes as judicial activism on the bench. He also repeated earlier criticism of Obama as the "food-stamp president" for giving a free pass to the unemployed, rather than creating jobs. "The best social program is a job," Gingrich said.

Watch highlights from CPAC in Orlando below:

[masorrell]

NEWT 2012! He is the only GOP candidate that HAS balanced the budget at the Federal Level, and understands working in Washington is quite different from being a Governor. He has creative ideas that can turn into REAL solutions for America. I SAY GIVE HIM A CHANCE OVER ROMNEY AND PERRY _GORE'S Texas Campaign Manager in 1988. No Thanks.

NEWT/CAIN 2012 - COULD NOT BE STOPPED. LANDSLIDE VICTORY FOR GOP.

[Palrak]

I thought Gingrich was terrific last night. He has good ideas and knows how to implement them. He's also a no-nonsense, no B.S. statesman, and I'd be proud to have him as my president. Looking forward to his second Contract With America.

[amerilatino]

Gingrich-another Southern Foghorn-Leghorn idiot with a handful of dollars in his pocket who knows it all, thinks everyone else is stupid and has a big, fat head. Lord, how I know them well...