Gingrich Asks Iowans To Punish Negative Politicians at Waterloo Stop

Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich attacked negative advertising - and those who use it - at a campaign stop in Waterloo Sunday.

"I said from the very beginning we would run a positive campaign," he said. "We would talk about positive ideas, and we would offer positive solutions. Some of my opponents have taken a very different tack, partly because they couldn't defend their record."

While not immediately naming any names, Gingrich later mentioned rival Mitt Romney in connection to an ad that says he teamed with Al Gore and Nancy Pelosi on global warming.

"It is a blatant falsehood, and Romney's people know it's false," he said.

The ad was paid for by the Political Action Committee (PAC) Restore Our Future, which supports Romney but is not technically affiliated with him. Unlike candidates, PACs are not limited in how much money they raise from individuals and often spend much more than the actual campaigns they support.

Addressing the issue in the ad, he said he does care about the enviroment, which is why he made a commercial the ad refers to, in which he sits next to Nancy Pelosi on a couch as they discuss the need to address climate change. He said that was not the same as teaming with her, as the attack ad suggests.

"The question I was trying to answer was can conservatives be in the middle of the enviromental debate and representing a conservative solution to the environment," he said. "I taught environmental studies. I think the environment does matter. I don't think we should walk off and let liberals think they're the only ones who care about the environment."

He went on to say, "it was stupid to do it (the commercial) because Nancy Pelosi became very radioactive," and stressed that he had testified against cap-and-trade laws favored by former vice president Al Gore.

Gingrich has been blasted by such ads for the last few weeks in Iowa, and has since slipped from front-runner status to fourth place in a recent Des Moines Register , behind Mitt Romney, Ron Paul and Rick Santorum.

"Iowans have a chance Tuesday night to really change American politics," Gingrich said. "Business as usual would be for the negative ads to work. But if Iowans decide not to vote for the people who ran the negative ads, you would literally change the whole nature of American politics by punishing people who rely on negative attacks."

He continued the theme after his speech, when he took questions from the audience.

"What is your biggest weakness?" someone called from the crowd, drawing laughter at the question typical of job interviews.

"Probably that I'm too reasonable, and I should have responded to the negative ads two weeks earlier," Gingrich replied.

About 300 crowded into LJ's Neighborhood Grill and Bar in Waterloo to hear the candidate speak.

"Our schedule said there would be 50 people here. You have really disrupted the schedule," he joked to laughter and applause.

Besides addressing the attack ads, Gingrich talked about a range of issues and answered questions, discussing his experience as former Speaker of the House, energy policy and the state of the armed forces, among other things.

Many in the crowd said they were still undecided who to caucus for Tuesday night, while others were fervent Gingrich supporters.

"I appreciate his experience and most of all his optimism for what could lie ahead in the next four years in these challenging times," Kristin Schaefer, 31, of Waterloo, said. "He's a proven leader."

Kathleen Franck, 70, of Waverly, said she has seen all of the candidates in person and hoped to get a picture with Gingrich, but she still hadn't decided if she would support him.

"All the candidates have certain good points," she said. "It's just a matter of weighing each one."

For Steven Hasenour, 57, of Waterloo, the dilemma was whether he would caucus for the candidate he though had the best chance to beat President Obama or for the one who most closely matched his values. In the first case he would pick Gingrich, he said, and in the second, either Michele Bachmann or Rick Santorum.

Asked what he thought of the throngs of national and international media crowded into the eatery, he said he was enjoying the atmosphere.

"This isn't a circus, this is the way democracy works," he said. "This is a great place to start. The candidates have to come talk to actual people."