On Face the Nation this morning, Newt Gingrich had dismissive words for those trying to pare down the GOP to its most conservative parts.
In particular, Newt welcomed both Colin Powell and Dick Cheney to the party, saying he was "proud" they were part of the Republican tent.
SMITH: You also have a voice of ideological out there purity that unless people kow-tow to...
GINGRICH: [interrupting] Shrug 'em off. Reagan shrugged them off.... Reagan had done all sorts of things that were deviances from the conservative purity, but people knew, in general, he was a conservative.... and he built a very broad coalition.
SMITH: So your advice to other Republicans is shrug off Rush Limbaugh?
GINGRICH: My advice is that Colin Powell is a great American, and I'm proud that he's Republican, and Dick Cheney's a great American and I'm proud he's Republican, and I'm glad both of them are republicans.
On Sonia Sotaymor, Newt said he didn't "rescind" his allegations of racism, but "reframed" them. Since he doesn't know her personally, he can't determine whether she's actually a racist, but Newt said her language certainly was racist.
Smith asked whether that should disqualify her, and Newt said that, while it didn't disqualify her from being a lower court judge, he's "not.... very comfortable" having her on the Supreme Court.
Newt also talked about North Korea, saying China held the cards and that "The morning China decides to do something about North Korea, they'll change over night."
Finally, Harry Smith asked what considerations would factor into a Gingrich 2012 candidacy.
Newt said family concerns would come first, then whether a run would be practical, and finally whether he had a message that could unify the country.
Transcript and vid when available.
