As the battle for presidential ticket gathers momentum in the Republican Party, a  well-funded group backing Mitt Romney accidentally posted a campaign ad that harshly attacks Newt Gingrich.
The Hill reports that the ad said Democrats are hoping for Gingrich as the nominee because all of his “baggage,” including ethics violations while he was Speaker of the House and earlier support of climate change legislation, “amnesty” for undocumented immigrants, and a requirement that everyone buy health insurance.
The group, Restore Our Future, announced a $3.1 million ad buy in Iowa earlier in the day and released an ad praising Romney’s record in the private sector.
The anti-Gingrich ad broadcast live on YouTube last  Thursday night but was quickly taken down. Brittany Gross, a spokeswoman for the group, said that “it’s an unfinished ad” and the group would not comment further on it at this time. The ad, if the ad becomes an official part of the campaign, would be a direct assault on Gingrich.
Meanwhile, the former Massachusetts governor’s campaign went on the attack for the first time Thursday morning, criticizing Gingrich for opposing Rep. Paul Ryan’s (R-Wis.) plan to privatize Medicare and criticizing him for being “irrational” and “self-serving,” in the words of two campaign surrogates.
Romney has slipped behind Gingrich in the polls in Iowa, South Carolina and Florida, three early-voting states. Romney’s campaign is moving quickly to an all-out attack on the former House Speaker.
itt Romney launched a new Web video attacking the conservative credentials of Newt Gingrich, who is emerging as his main rival for the GOP presidential nomination.
The ad, out Friday, hits Gingrich for comments he made about House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan’s (R-Wis.) budget plan.
Earlier last  week, Axelrod launched the first direct Democratic attacks on Gingrich, labeling him the “godfather of gridlock” for his role in the federal government shutdown of 1995 and the partisan battle to impeach President Bill Clinton.
“He really has been the champion of gridlock,” Democratic National Committee chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz repeated Thursday. “He made sure polarization was the name of the game here in Washington.”
The DNC also opened a new chapter in its playbook against Romney with a political memo and Web video – “Mitt Romney Through the Ages” – chronicling the former Massachusetts governor’s shifting policy positions and concluding that he suffers from “multiple political personality disorder.”