FactCheck.org: Newt vs. Newt

http://factcheck.org/2011/05/newt-vs-newt/

Newt Gingrich is engaging in some revisionist history by claiming he was not referring to Rep. Paul Ryan during his now infamous "Meet the Press" interview. That’s absurd. "Meet the Press" host David Gregory asked him point blank whether Republicans should go ahead with Ryan’s plan to revamp Medicare, and Gingrich responded by criticizing "right-wing social engineering" and calling for a "national conversation" on Medicare. He called Ryan’s plan "too big a jump."

Implausibly, Gingrich told conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh in a May 19 interview that there was "no reference to Paul Ryan" in his answer and claimed his words were misinterpreted.

No reference? True, Gingrich didn’t use the words "Paul Ryan" in his answer. But Gregory referenced Ryan’s name. And there is only one Republican plan that would change Medicare and give seniors premium support payments to buy private insurance, as Gregory described it. And that plan is part of Ryan’s budget proposal, "Path to Prosperity."

Gingrich’s public praise for Ryan’s budget had its limits even before the "Meet the Press" interview — as the Wall Street Journal reported in an April 21 article headlined "Gingrich Steps Away from Ryan’s Budget." The Journal said Gingrich wrote on his Facebook site that he would prefer giving seniors the option to use subsidies to buy private insurance rather than make it a requirement, as Ryan’s Medicare plan would do for future beneficiaries.