Newt Gingrich wants to save the White House visitor tours by convincing private citizens to fund them.
"Just say to [President] Obama, 'We want to prove to the country just how childish you are,' " the former House speaker said. Gingrich argued the administration could react to the sequester by charging at the cafeteria or for staff parking rather than "inconvenience the public."
Tuesday night's lavish Champagne reception hosted by Eagle Publishing Inc. betrayed no sign of last week's shuttering the print edition of Human Events, a conservative newspaper published since 1944, although remaining news staff mostly ducked the party. Gingrich, a syndicated columnist and author at the Regnery imprint, expressed faith in the endurance of HumanEvents.com.
"It's sad to see the print side disappear, but we live in an era where Newsweek and the Nation magazine and a whole range of print publications find it hard to survive," he told Yeas & Nays. "Eagle had to confront the reality of the world we're in."
Gingrich's presence, along with wife Callista and a slew of conservative lawmakers, could be considered a show of faith. Also at the party, RedState's Erick Erickson, who was rushing to catch a flight ahead of the snowstorm, joked that he hoped fighting "liberals" put Georgia Rep. Phil Gingrey's arm in a sling. But Gingrey's office said he had rotator cuff surgery last week.
Other guests included Sens. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., and Ron Johnson, R-Wis., and Reps. Tim Huelskamp, R-Kan., Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., and Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn.
