Gingrich Daughters Take Time To Answer Questions About Their Father

Newt Gingrich on his most recent stop to Oskaloosa, Iowa December 20, 2011

Oskaloosa, Iowa – With the caucus date quickly approaching, the candidates and their supporters are crossing the state at break-neck speed to share their message with the yet undecided voters of Iowa.

Newt Gingrich was last in Oskaloosa on December 20th, talking to a full house at Smokey Row. There, he spoke with local residents about important issues to them, and in turn to the country.

On Thursday morning I spoke with Kathy Gingrich Lubbers and Jackie Gingrich Cushman, both daughters of the former Speaker and his first wife Jackie Battley. They were kind enough to take on a few lingering questions I had from that evening, as they help their father in his bid to become the next president.

I was curious about endorsements, in particular how they have helped his campaign, and how they have also dealt with the disappointments along the way. “Clearly, Linda Upmeyer’s support throughout this process has been invaluable. If you look, former Congressman Greg Ganske has been with dad [Newt Gingrich] for a long time and [has] been very helpful”. They spoke about the supporters that are on the ground in Iowa, “they work with him, so they know him very well”, saying “they understand how he operates as a leader”.

“The real key is not just endorsements but also the experience and particular plans that dad has”, Kathy spoke about Newts plans on creating jobs and for the economy, “he’s the only candidate, including President Obama at the national level; balance the budget, cut taxes, cut spending and reformed a major entitlement program welfare when he was Speaker. He’s the only person with the national leadership that we need at this time in our country’s history.”

Iowans unfamiliar with the speaker are always looking for a way to better understand their candidates, and I asked his daughters how someone might understand Mr. Gingrich better as a person.

A story they shared was sparked from a recent story about a dog that was rescued from an icy river. “And that is exactly a mirror image of a story about my dad. He was, I think, a senior in high school, he was literally in a very similar situation.”

They told the story about the young Gingrich. His dog that was out playing “ran and skidded on the ice and fell in, and then dad of course loving his dog, wanted to save the dog”. They recounted the story of how their father crawled out to the dog on his stomach. The dog had it’s head and paws out of the hole in the ice, and was trying to get out. “All of a sudden the ice cracked and dad went in, and here he is under the ice. His personality was actually impacted quite a bit because in that split second, he was telling us as kids, he realized that if he panicked under the ice he might not survive. He learned very quickly, in a real world experience, not to panic.”

They shared that once he got his head out of the ice that he found the dog had, in the process, been able to free itself from the icy water. Young Gingrich then pulled himself from the water as well.

They point towards that story as one that leads itself to the “importance of staying cool and calm under pressure, which I think you also see in regard to his leadership style”.

Jackie said Gingrich used to tell them that story as an example of how not to panic. “When I think about that story, when Kathy thinks about that story, we think that it provides a window into who he is as a person, that he would risk his life to save his dog.”

I asked them what additional message would they like to present to the voting public that might still be undecided on who to vote for. Speaking about her father’s ability Kathy said, “He is the Republican candidate that can debate and beat President Barack Obama.”

“The last election was about slogans and inexperience, and unfortunately we’ve suffered because of that. This election really needs to be about who has the right experience to get where we need to go, with the focus on jobs and the economy and the answer is Newt Gingrich.”

If you would like to read more about the stop Speaker Gingrich had in Oskaloosa, you can read HERE and HERE for more information on this candidate.

Posted by on Dec 30 2011. Filed under Local News, National News, Politics, State News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.

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