Gingrich: Republicans Will Oppose Any Immigration Plan Backed By Obama Because They Hate Obama

During an appearance on ABC’s This Week on Sunday, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA) admitted that Republicans are likely to oppose any immigration reform proposal introduced by President Obama because they personally dislike the Commander-in-Chief.

“An Obama plan led and driven by Obama in this atmosphere with the level of hostility towards the president and the way he goads the hostility I think is very hard to imagine that bill, that his bill is going to pass the House,” Gingrich said. “I think that negotiated with a Senate immigration bill that has to have bipartisan support could actually get to the president’s desk.”

The Senate-backed framework for immigration reform, which enhances security on the border and includes a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, shares many similarities with Obama’s own proposal, though the president has repeatedly said that if Congress fails to make progress, he will introduce his own reform legislation.

That plan, obtained by USA Today, “mirrors many provisions of the bipartisan 2007 bill” spearheaded by Ted Kennedy and Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and would allow unauthorized immigrants “to become legal permanent residents within eight years.” “The plan also would provide for more security funding and require business owners to check the immigration status of new hires within four years,” the paper reports.

Despite its bipartisan nature, the draft proposal was immediately panned by Republicans. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) — a member of the Senate group working towards producing comprehensive legislation — called it “dead on arrival,” while Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) said it demonstrated that Obama is “looking for a partisan advantage and not a bipartisan solution.”

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Gingrich dismisses call for assault-weapons ban as ‘propaganda’

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) on Sunday dismissed the term “assault weapon” as “propaganda” and said banning more weapons would not stem gun violence.

“The term ‘assault weapon’ is propaganda,” said Gingrich on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “Any true military weapon is illegal, has been illegal since 1934. Somebody’s using an AK-47, they are using an illegal weapon because it is an automatic weapon. We do not allow people to buy automatic weapons unless they have a very strict collector’s license.”

In the wake of last month’s mass shooting at an elementary school in Conn., President Obama is pressing lawmakers to ban the sale of military-style semi-automatic weapons and high capacity clips, as well as institute universal background checks.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) last week introduced a sweeping bill which would ban over 150 different semi-automatic weapons, but the bill faces tough opposition.

Gingrich on Sunday said that proposals to ban such firearms would do little to prevent future shootings.

“The person who killed the most persons – at Virginia Tech – used two pistols. And the fact is that every political attack since John F. Kennedy as president has involved a weapon which would be legal under Sen. Feinstein’s law,” said Gingrich.

“We need to look at facts, not create propaganda,” he added.

Appearing on the same program, Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) said that the focus on a weapons ban distracted lawmakers from addressing the root causes of gun violence. 

“I understand the senator’s passion on this, but I have to tell you an assault ban is not the answer,” she said of the Feinstein proposal.

“When I hear some of this conversation, I think we are looking at symptoms, we are not looking at root causes,” said Blackburn, who encouraged more attention to mental health issues and security at schools.

“The Speaker is right, you look at what’s actually causing the problem,” she added.  “Don’t just go say ‘we’re going to do an assault weapon ban and that is going to solve the problem.’”

Asked if he would support universal background checks, Gingrich instead pointed to the White House and said they had failed to prosecute those with criminal records caught trying to purchase firearms. 

“Well we have background checks now and there are a substantial number of felons who have actually applied to purchase a gun and the Obama administration to the best of my knowledge has prosecuted virtually none of them,” said Gingrich.

“There’s a parental desire to have the innocent have a more complicated life because of a handful of the guilty, instead of focusing on the guilty,” he said.

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Gingrich: Obama 'going out of his way to bully House Republicans'

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich on Tuesday accused President Obama of attempting to "bully" house Republicans with his press conference Monday demanding that Congress raise the debt ceiling.

“This president is deliberately seeking confrontation,” Gingrich told CBS News. “I think he’s going out of his way to bully the House Republicans.”

During the press conference, Obama said the threat of default was "irresponsible" and "absurd," demanding that the House GOP extend the debt ceiling independent of negotiations on a comprehensive debt deal.

“They will not collect a ransom in exchange for not crashing the American economy,” Obama said. “The full faith and credit of the United States of America is not a bargaining chip.” On Tuesday, Gingrich cautioned his former colleagues that they might not have the political ability to win a fight over the debt ceiling.

“I don’t think we should pick fights where we are in a position that we can’t, in fact, in the end, enforce our will, because we have no evidence that Barack Obama’s going to compromise,” Gingrich said. “Nothing he’s done in the last couple of months would imply that he’s going to compromise.”

Rather, Gingrich recommended using continuing resolutions and the threat of the automatic sequester, set to be implemented at the end of February.

"There are dozens of places you can dramatically change spending without having to get involved in a general crisis over the U.S. debt," Gingrich said.

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