Newt Gingrich, the former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, says his fellow Republicans will have a tough election in November, and he’s worried the GOP leadership in Congress isn’t “getting it” yet.”The last two weeks have been very frustrating to me because they had every opportunity to come back from the Easter recess and say ‘We really do get it,'” Gingrich says. “I sense that they have not yet realized how out of step they really are with the country at large.” From high gas prices to the prospect of an Iran armed with nuclear weapons, Gingrich says America is in a period of enormous challenge. “I think the gap between what we need and where we are has widened not narrowed,” Gingrich says. “I think the challenges we face are larger, not smaller.” Gingrich is in Iowa this weekend to keynote a Republican Party of Iowa fundraiser Saturday night. During an appearance Friday on Iowa Public Television, Gingrich suggested he’ll return often to the state as he mulls the idea of running for president. “I want to come back again and again, and you’ll get tired of me but I’m going to come back to talk about ideas and talk about solutions and then, you know, maybe sometime in the fall of 2007 we’ll see where we’re at,” Gingrich said. “But I think it’s important not to focus on ambition and maneuvering for 2008. I think my party needs to get its act together for 2006.”
