Excerpts:
"There's no question when you serve 20 years in the House and as speaker of the House for four years, you know a fair amount about Washington," Gingrich told CBS News radio correspondent Dan Raviv.
The former speaker came under new scrutiny today for the experience he gained after leaving Congress, when he served as a consultant for Freddie Mac -- a company that Gingrich and most other Republicans regularly criticize for contributing to the mortgage crisis of 2008. Its former public-private status is also held up as a symbol of poor government management.
"Government sponsored enterprises can have a positive role to play," Gingrich said, using the Washington jargon applied to Freddie Mac and sister firm Fannie Mae, which were chartered by Congress but ran as private sector firms before being put under total government control in 2008. That public-private status is at the heart of much of the criticism of the two firms.
Gingrich added that he doesn't condemn government-sponsored entities as a business model. "I am the only candidate running on the Republican side who's actually had real responsibility in Washington."
Source:
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-57326186-503544/gingrich-welcomes-insider-label-as-he-deflects-freddie-mac-questions/
