Newt Gingrich: I Side With Rand Paul and Ted Cruz

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Thursday that he sides with Sens. Rand Paul and Ted Cruz because they are not afraid to ask important questions, and it is disheartening to watch establishment Republicans like Gov. Chris Christie "grow hysterical."

"I consistently have been on the side of having the courage that Rand Paul and Ted Cruz have and I think it's sad to watch the establishment grow hysterical, but frankly they're hysterical because they have no answers," Gingrich said while appearing on "The Laura Ingraham Show," Politico reports.

Gingrich was on Ingraham's show to offer his opinion on the current debate going on between Paul and the New Jersey governor, which began when Christie said the libertarian ideas promoted by the Kentucky Republican were "dangerous" because of his isolationist views on national security and his opposition to the NSA's surveillance program.

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Gingrich said that even though he did support the wars in Afghanistan and in Iraq, Republicans need to admit that "the way they were executed failed, and maybe we should have known better, those of us that supported them. … Republicans have a real obligation to ask themselves the question: Aren't there some pretty painful lessons to learn from the last 10 or 12 years? Don't we have to confront the reality that this didn't work as a strategy?"

The GOP infighting is a sign of the discomfort the establishment has with the power that Paul and Cruz, of Texas, have gained in recent months, Gingrich argued. "Trust me, Chris Christie is only the first sign," he said.

Gingrich said established Republicans will grow "more hysterical" as Paul and Cruz become "more powerful."

"They will gain strength as it's obvious that they are among the few people willing to raise the right questions," he said.

Gingrich also questioned Christie's knowledge of the issues.

"I think Christie is a very good governor of New Jersey, and I think that he is a very strong personality, and apparently in New Jersey tradition, he thinks bluster and strong language without facts can carry you a long way," Gingrich added.

The New Jersey governor took shots at Gingrich during the 2012 Republican primary, calling the former speaker an "embarrassment to the party" for failing to register his organization as a lobbyist.