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Gingrich: ‘Yes,’ Romney’s Policies Will Lead To ‘Fewer Teachers’

The Romney campaign is now tripling down on its claim that the nation needs fewer public employees — like teachers, firefighters, and police officers — to help rebound the economy.

During an interview with CNN’s John King on Monday evening, Romney campaign surrogate Newt Gingrich defended Mitt Romney’s resistance to hiring “more firemen, more policemen, more teachers” and admitted that the former Massachusetts governor’s policy would lead to less teachers in the classroom:

KING: The president says use federal dollars to help. Governor Romney says no. […]

GINGRICH: We have to come to grips with how big the challenge is, and does that mean there will be fewer teachers? The honest answer is yes. Does it mean that you’re not going to get quite the same pension plan people have been getting? The honest answer is yes. President Obama may say well, we can borrow our way out of that decision. I don’t think the American people agree with him.

Watch it:

Gingrich’s comments came in response to Romney’s critique of President Obama’s claim on Friday that the public sector is lagging behind in job growth. President Obama “says we need more firemen, more policemen, more teachers,” Romney said. “Did he not get the message of Wisconsin? The American people did. It’s time for us to cut back on government and help the American people.” Former New Hampshire governor and top Romney surrogate John Sununu defended the remarks earlier on Monday, saying, “the taxpayers really do want to hear there will be fewer teachers,” ignoring the fact that Obama’s job’s plan is fully paid for and would not increase deficit spending.

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Federal, state, and local governments have laid off more than 700,000 workers since Obama took office. Had that not happened, the unemployment rate would be a full point lower and the economic recovery would be stronger.