Newt Gingrich: 'Really Poor Children' Have No Work Habits 'Unless It's Illegal'

Speaking to Nationwide Insurance employees in Des Moines, Iowa yesterday, Republican Presidential candidate Newt Gingrich said "Really poor children, in really poor neighborhoods have no habits of working, and have nobody around them who works. So they literally have no habit of showing up on Monday. They have no habit of staying all day. They have no habit of 'I do this and you give me cash' -- unless it's illegal."

According to ABC News, "Gingrich was asked by an audience member to clarify the comments he made last month in which he called the current child labor laws 'stupid' and would replace janitors with schoolchildren to work in the community school."

The Hill writes: "A former House colleague of Gingrich, noting his penchant for controversial statements, told The Hill this week that Gingrich's hand is always 'six inches from the self-destruct button.'"

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