Dick Armey: Gingrich campaign turned into 'first-rate vendetta' against Romney

Dick Armey: Gingrich campaign turned into 'first-rate vendetta' against Romney
By Meghashyam Mali- 02-05-12 10:30 AM ET

Freedom Works chairman and former Rep. Dick Armey (R-Texas) blasted Newt Gingrich for his continued tough attacks on Mitt Romney saying Gingrich was carrying out a vendetta against the Republican frontrunner.

Armey said that Gingrich’s criticisms of Romney were not helpful for either the GOP in November or Gingrich’s own campaign during an interview on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday. “I feel bad for him. I think he’s digressed into a state of taking a second-rate campaign and turning it into a first-rate vendetta,” said Armey

“He’s putting himself out of the game, because he can’t get over his obsession over his own hurt feelings over the campaign in Iowa,” Armey added. “He needs to get beyond that and get to the nation’s people’s business if he expects to have any chance whatsoever.”

Gingrich has harshly attacked Romney, claiming his GOP rival is a “Massachusetts moderate” and is running a “dishonest” campaign.

In a speech to his supporters after his second place finish in Nevada’s GOP caucuses Saturday night, Gingrich kept up the assault, saying that he had “never had a person next to me in a civil engagement be as substantially dishonest as he was,” in reference to Romney’s performance in an earlier debate.

“I thought that last night was really said for him,” said Armey about Gingrich’s Saturday speech. “Quite frankly again so much of Newt’s whole life is overstated, he overstates the case in such a hyperbolic fashion, it just looks vindictive.”

When asked by CNN host Candy Crowley to characterize his often rocky relationship with he former House Speaker whom he served with, Armey said they had “worked well together” in Congress. “But I’m sure we both had disappointments in one another.”