Newt Gingrich, former House speaker, didn’t mince words when he spoke to Orange County’s auto dealers Tuesday at their annual meeting at the Fairmont in Newport Beach.
“Sacramento is worse than Washington,” he said. “If we don’t change direction in Washington, it will someday resemble Sacramento.”
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has called upon Gingrich to help make political reforms in Sacramento, according to news reports Tuesday.
Gingrich said the best way to accomplish reforms is to set high goals with short deadlines and then don’t let any experts in the room.
Solutions include trimming government and reducing taxes, Gingrich said. He opposes a sales tax increase that was proposed by Schwarzenegger.
Gingrich didn’t much discuss the auto industry or the automaker bailout in speaking before the Costa Mesa-based Orange County Automobile Dealers Association.
Rather, he focused on the big economic picture: “We’re not in a gigantic crisis. We’re not going to cease to exist as a country. What we can be is poorer than we need to be.”
He warned that government spending without transparency and accountability will result in wasteful projects.
Gingrich praised President-elect Barack Obama: “I think he’s a very smart man. I think his campaign was extraordinary. He deserves our support whenever possible.”
Mexico’s escalating drug war could lead to a foreign policy crisis, according to Gingrich.
“We have to rethink our entire strategy for working with Mexico,” he said. “The war that’s under way in Mexico is an enormous national security threat to the U.S. If we allow the drug dealers to win we will have a nightmare on our southern border and no amount of fence and no amount of national security would compensate for the collapse of Mexico.”
U.S. policy should aim to help the people of Mexico achieve safety, prosperity and “the ability to live a life with the hope of a better future,” he said.
