Tampa, Fla. • Republican presidential contenders Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich clashed repeatedly in heated, personal terms Monday night in a crackling campaign debate, the former Massachusetts governor tagging his rival as a Washington "influence peddler," only to be accused in turn of spreading falsehoods over many years in politics.
"You’ve been walking around the state saying things that are untrue," Gingrich told his rival in a two-hour debate marked by occasional interruptions and finger-pointing.
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More from the front-runners
Romney defends investments, readies tax returns » Mitt Romney’s campaign is defending his investments in government-backed housing lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac even as it gets ready to release the GOP presidential candidate’s recent income tax returns. The two lenders have drawn GOP fire for their role in the nation’s housing crisis. Romney’s investments in the companies became a touch point on Monday after he questioned rival Newt Gingrich’s lucrative consulting work with Freddie Mac. Romney’s campaign, meanwhile, was preparing for Tuesday’s promised release of his 2010 income tax return and an estimate of his 2011 tax bill. Romney had refused to release his personal tax information but he gave in under mounting pressure.
Gingrich’s Freddie Mac records released » GOP candidate Newt Gingrich, who has said he never lobbied on behalf of his consulting clients, reported to a top lobbyist with Freddie Mac as part of a $25,000-a-month contract, according to records released late Monday. The one-year contract overseen by Freddie Mac executive Craig Thomas represents only a portion of the former House speaker’s long relationship with the mortgage giant, which spanned eight years and resulted in at least $1.6 million in fees for Gingrich’s empire.
The Associated Press and The Washington Post
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The event marked the first encounter among the four remaining GOP contenders — former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and Texas Rep. Ron Paul shared the stage — since Gingrich won the South Carolina primary in an upset last weekend.
His double-digit victory reset the race to pick a rival to challenge Democratic President Barack Obama this fall, and the next contest is the Jan. 31 Florida primary.
It is a state Romney can ill afford to lose, and he was the aggressor from the opening moments Monday night, saying Gingrich had "resigned in disgrace" from Congress after four years as speaker and then had spent the next 15 years "working as an influence peddler."
In particular, he referred to the contract Gingrich’s consulting firm had with Freddie Mac, a government-backed mortgage giant that he said "did a lot of bad for a lot of people and you were working there."
Romney also said Gingrich had lobbied lawmakers to approve legislation creating a new prescription drug benefit under Medicare.
"I have never, ever gone and done any lobbying," Gingrich retorted emphatically, adding that his firm had hired an expert to explain to employees "the bright line between what you can do as a citizen and what you do as a lobbyist."
Romney counterpunched, referring to the $300,000 that Gingrich’s consulting firm received in 2006 from Freddie Mac, the government-backed mortgage giant.
And when Gingrich sought to turn the tables by inquiring about the private equity firm that Romney founded, the former Massachusetts governor replied: "We didn’t do any work with the government. ...I wasn’t a lobbyist."
As for the Medicare prescription drug benefit, Gingrich expressed pride in having supported it. "It has saved lives. It’s run on a free enterprise model," he said in a state that is home to millions of seniors.
At times, the other two contenders on stage were reduced to supporting roles.
Asked if he could envision a path to the nomination for himself, Santorum said the race has so far been defined by its unpredictability.
He jumped at the chance to criticize both Romney and Gingrich for having supported the big federal bailouts of Wall Street in 2008.
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