April 6, 2010: Gingrich: Tea Party Leaders Understand Their Role Is to Help Defeat Democrats, Not Split GOP

On NBC’s Today show, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA), widely expected to mount a presidential bid in 2012, tells an NBC audience that “tea party” leaders “understand that in the end their job is to help defeat Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi.” Gingrich tells interviewer Matt Lauer that it would be a “disaster” if the “tea party” movement split the base of the Republican party in the November elections, and would “guarantee… the re-election of Nancy Pelosi as speaker.” Pelosi (D-CA) and Reid (D-NV) are the leaders of Democrats in the House and Senate, respectively. [Media Matters, 4/6/2010] Gingrich has not hesitated to vilify Pelosi in the media (see May 15, 2009).