Gingrich Agrees With Kristol: "Yeah," Republicans Should "Go for the Kill" on Health Reform

Posted by Lee Fang, Think Progress at 11:39 AM on July 22, 2009.

Earlier this week, the Weekly Standard’s Bill Kristol urged conservative activists and Republicans to “resist the temptation” to work with Democrats in crafting health reform and instead “go for the kill.” Kristol famously wrote a memo before the Clinton health care debate similarly urging Republicans, and then Rep. Newt Gingrich (R-GA), “to defeat any Democratic health reform bill” as a political strategy to “send them to voters empty-handed.” At a press conference this morning, ThinkProgress asked Gingrich if he agrees with the “go for the kill” strategy Kristol is advocating:

Q: Bill Kristol said that conservatives should ‘move for the kill’ on what is being proposed in the House and the Senate. How do you feel about that?

GINGRICH: Well I’m not quite sure what he means by that. I mean, If you’re asking me if it would be a good idea to beat a bill that I think will ration care, increase government control over your life, strengthen the power of politicians, run up the deficit, raise taxes and kill jobs, yeah I think we ought to stop that proposal.

Watch it:

On Monday, Gingrich also accepted Sen. Jim DeMint’s (R-SC) view that blocking health care reform “could be” Obama’s “Waterloo.”

Tagged as: kristol, newt gingrich, health reform