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WaPoFormer House speaker Newt Gingrich, facing increased scrutiny as he solidifies his standing atop the Republican presidential field, sought to convince conservatives in a forum Saturday night that he would not stray from a limited-government philosophy.
Asked why conservatives should trust that he won’t advance “big government approaches,” given his history of supporting an individual health-care mandate, climate change policies and a larger federal role in education policy, Gingrich said it was his years in Washington that made him best-suited to transform government.
“You cannot get the scale of change we want, and you can’t get the scale of change the tea parties want, by just appointing good people who have no understanding of the fight they’re about to be in,” Gingrich said.
Gingrich was one of six candidates who participated in former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee’s 90-minute candidates’ forum on Fox News. At the insistence of the moderator, there were no clashes between the candidates. They appeared individually on Huckabee’s set in short segments and answered questions from three Republican state attorneys general.
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