Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich on Sunday continued to blast rival Mitt Romney over his campaign's assertion that their candidate could change positions "like an Etch A Sketch" during the general election. "We're not an Etch a
April 8, 2012

Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich on Sunday continued to blast rival Mitt Romney over his campaign's assertion that their candidate could change positions "like an Etch A Sketch" during the general election.

"We're not an Etch a Sketch party," Gingrich told Fox News host Brit Hume. "It was an unfortunate comment by Romney's communication director. We are a broadly conservative party. We don't have to be severely conservative as Romney said at CPAC."

The former House Speaker added that he suspected Romney would "accept a solid conservative platform" if he becomes the nominee, "but he does have consultants who are in the Etch A Sketch tradition."

"In fairness, Mr. Speaker, that Etch A Sketch comment was made in reference to the fact that you do kind of an emphasis reset, not a -- you don't change your convictions going into the general," Hume replied in defense of Romney. "Isn't it unfair to describe him as a man who is going to rewrite his whole platform?"

"First of all, Romney didn't say it," Gingrich noted. "So, Romney is in a pretty good place to say to the party, 'Let's have a very solid, aggressive platform.'"

During a March interview on CNN, John Fugelsang asked Romney Communications Director Eric Fehrnstrom if an extended primary against Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum would “force the governor to tack so far to the right it would hurt him with moderate voters in the general election?”

“I think you hit a reset button for the fall campaign,” Fehrnstrom explained. “Everything changes.”

“It’s almost like an Etch A Sketch,” he added. “You can kind of shake it up and restart all over again.”

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