A town hall event with Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich on Monday attracted more than 3,500 attendees to Oral Roberts University’s Mabee Center.
The program included Kara Evans, president of the ORU College Republicans, Matt Pinnell, chairman of the Oklahoma Republican Party, and ORU President Mark Rutland.
Rutland introduced Gingrich, who offered a speech and then answered questions from a diverse group of ORU students. The questions ranged from health care to foreign policy to student aid.
“We can change things,” Gingrich said. “We don’t have to stay trapped in a decaying culture and economic decline.”
Gingrich told a cheering crowd he wants every young adult to have a Social Security savings account that will ensure a future with financial security.
“My goal is to shrink Obama’s government to fit the revenue, not to raise your taxes to make it work,” Gingrich said. “Basing my whole campaign on a system similar to the UPS box tracking program. Hold government accountable for every dollar.”
After the 1994 mid-term elections, Gingrich became the first Republican Speaker of the House in 40 years. He initially launched his first campaign for Congress in 1974. He lost that year, and again in 1976, to Democratic incumbent Nelson Rockefeller. In 1978, Gingrich won a seat in the House. He would be re-elected to Congress 10 times.
The Gingrich visit was the second Town Hall Event sponsored by the ORU College of Republicans. The first Town Hall event on Feb. 9 featured GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum.
ORU does not support or oppose candidates for public office, and the opinions expressed in this event are not those of ORU. All recognized candidates for the office of the President of the United States in the November 2012 election have been invited to appear at ORU.
