Political Hotsheet
By

Rebecca Kaplan /

CBS News/ February 6, 2012, 10:15 PM

Gingrich interrupted by gay rights protestors

Gingrich campaigning for Colo. comeback

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. - Newt Gingrich's final event of the day on Monday was interrupted by two protestors who stood up and accused the former House speaker of discriminating against gays and lesbians.

"Hey Newt, why do you support discrimination against gays and lesbians all the time? Serial hypocrisy!" a young man yelled at Gingrich, interrupting his 40-minute speech. After he was pushed out of the room by what appeared to be a supporter, a second young man took up the charge in the back of the room, chanting, "No hate in our state, why do you discriminate?"

As the crowd began chanting Gingrich's name, a woman approached the second protestor and grabbed his wrists. Before a fight could break out, police escorted him from the room.

Gingrich was unruffled by the disruptions, saying he presumed most of the crowd supported him. "My guess is it's 407 to three," he said.

Special Section: Campaign 2012

The rest of his speech battered around President Obama's policies though Gingrich also spent a few minutes defending his proposals to put a colony on the moon, an idea that prompted a mocking skit from Saturday Night Live over the weekend.

He also expanded on comments from earlier in the day that compared Egypt's planned trial of 19 Americans to the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis and likened Obama to Jimmy Carter, whose candidacy for reelection was derailed by the crisis.

Gingrich likened himself to Ronald Reagan and suggested that the Egyptians would fear him as the Iranians feared Reagan, prompting them to release the Americans.

"If I were president, the message to the Egyptian government this evening would be quiet, firm, unequivocal and I suspect by sometime tomorrow morning all the hostages would be on an airplane coming back home," he said, referring to the Americans who are being banned from leaving the country but not yet arrested by the government, according to recent reports.

© 2012 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.
15 Comments Add a Comment
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PourpaixPourpaix says:
Heeeeee-heeee-heeeeeee! Heeeeee-heeee-heeeeeee!
Newt thinks he's Ronald Reagan, and I think I'm Napolean! Who's more wrong?
Heeeeee-heeee-heeeeeee! Heeeeee-heeee-heeeeeee!
"I think Newt's more wrong, Pa!"
Heeeeee-heeee-heeeeeee! Heeeeee-heeee-heeeeeee!
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hillbillyvol says:
Any interruption of Gingrich by any group is welcome in my honest opinion. Mothers for a return to Romper Room would be OK.
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Molly-Pchr says:
Oh, "homophobic" is such a manipulative word. I'm not afraid of a single gay or lesbian person I know. Look, many people believe homosexuality to be a sin, same as divorce, remarriage, pre-marital sex, etc., ad nauseam. It is THEIR religious RIGHT. So to the gay and lesbian community, look, some people aren't going to think it's right, so be it. Get over it. To the "religious" objectors, you also need to get over it...not everyone shares your religious beliefs. Share your faith, move on, get over it. Not everyone is going to share your beliefs. Jesus told you that 2,000 years ago...not even in a lot of Protestant churches, my Christian friends. So, believers, "render to Caesar", and get on with what you should "render to God". Let us look after the specks in our eyes...
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PourpaixPourpaix replies:
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Nice to see someone who also feels everyone might be right. For all we know, and assuming God exists, maybe He needs some to strictly adhere to His laws, and He needs some who don't, for whatever reason. If people don't hurt anyone but themselves in doing so, it ain't up to us to judge.
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shockerpsl says:
I think you generally have a very poor judge of character if you like this low-life windbag....duh!!!!
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akwriter says:
The protest proves that a lot of der Newter's supporters are homophobic.
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IATSH says:
It was that the Iranians wanted to embarrass Carter not that they were scared of Regan. For a man so smart he sure makes a lot of dumb mistakes with history.
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sweetcakesmaria says:
Newt seems to have had a real love affair with Ronald Reagan. The man can't complete a sentence without injecting Reagan's name in some manner. As much as i dislike Romney and all of his blatant lies, he's at least running for President on his own accomplishments.
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nancy_naive replies:
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He is?? You mean like Romney-Care? And the fact that in MA Romney sig
nancy_naive replies:
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He is?? You mean like Romney-Care? And the fact that in MA Romney signed a law that made Catholic hospitals provide birth control as part of their medical coverage for employees?

Are those the accomplishments on which, or from which, he is running?
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baileyccc says:
Newt, Newt, Newt, no need to make any controversy on your own, it just kinda finds you wherever you go.
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venusvegasvada says:
Newt Gingrich on the "campaign" trail...Let's listen in!


Newt speaks to his true believers...

"Now repeat after me"...says Newt; "Ronald Reagan"...

Ahhh..."Ronald...Reagan"...replies the crowd in ecstasy.

"Balanced the Budget"...says Newt.

"Ahhh...Balanced...the...Budget..." drones the crowd.

"Who is the light?...asks Newt?

"Ahhh....Newt is the light..." whispers the crowd.

"Newt is the outsider sent to remake Washington in his image"...states Newt.

"Ahhh....Newt is the outsider sent to remake Washington in his image"....moans the crowd.
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OnTheCrown replies:
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+1
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karlejohn says:
Mr Gingrich, Sir. Where where you when America's men had to serve in Viet Nam? I just google your name with military service and what did I get? "Gingrich received a draft deferment during the Vietnam War!" Sir war is hell! War is lonely. War is tuff. If you had ever served a day and night in a war zone, you wouldn't talk like that. We have lost to many men in wars, too many. May God bless America. Peace!
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