Newt Gingrich Comes Under Attack at GOP Debate

Fresh off his upset victory at the South Carolina primary on Saturday (January 21), Newt Gingrich took some unfriendly fire from his GOP opponents in monday night’s Florida debate.

Mitt Romney attacked Gingrich’s shabby political record, and knocking him for becoming a lobbyist after leaving Congress.

"Members of his own congressional team after four years of his leadership, they voted to replace him," Romney said of Gingrich's time as House speaker from 1995 - 1999.

"You were hired by the chief lobbyist of Freddie Mac, not the CEO, not the head of public Affairs — by the chief lobbyist at Freddie Mac," Romney said. "You also spoke publicly in favor of these GSEs, these government-sponsored entities, at a very time when Freddie Mac was getting America in a position where we would have had a massive housing collapse. You could have spoken out aggressively. You could have spoken out in a way to say these guys are wrong, this needs to end. But instead, you were being paid by them."

Gingrich denied the allegation that he lobbied to get Freddie Mac on the right side of government legislation. "I have never, ever gone and done any lobbying." He then accused Romney of "walking around this state saying things that aren't true."

Romney was not alone in the attacks against Gingrich. Rick Santorum and Ron Paul also took a few shots at him.

Paul called out Gingrich for continually implying that he stepped down as House speaker following a poor Republican showing in the 1998 elections.

"He didn't have the votes" to continue as speaker, said Paul, who has been a member of the House since 1997. "That was what the problem was. So this idea that he voluntarily reneged and he was going to punish himself because we didn't do well in the election, that's just not the way it was."

As has been the case during the Republican presidential race, the candidates at times have used a strategy during debates to gang up on the one nominee who is drawing most of the media spotlight at the moment. With Gingrich coming off his win in South Carolina he became the latest target.

But the heat may soon be centered on Romney who according to reports has released his tax records from the past two years. Divulging that information has been a big issue for the millionaire businessman, who has been criticized for being out of touch with the millions of Americans struggling due to the economy.

With the first three primaries going to three different candidates (Santorum won Iowa after it was first reported Romney won, New Hampshire went to Romney, Gingrich took South Carolina) Florida now becomes a key spot to break up the tight race. Once the Florida primary is done, the candidates will head to caucuses in Nevada, Colorado and Minnesota.