10/27/09 8:29 PM EDT

Fred to Newt: We’re not ‘deaf, dumb’

By ANDY BARR |

Former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson brushed back former House Speaker Newt Gingrich on Tuesday over Gingrich’s warning that the Republican Party is wrong to thrown in its lot with the Conservative Party nominee Doug Hoffman over Dede Scozzafava, the GOP’s candidate, in the special election in New York’s 23rd congressional district.

Gingrich has called the many prominent national Republicans – including Thompson – who have endorsed Hoffman over Scozzafava in recent days “misguided,” arguing they are making a “mistake” to back a third-party candidate over the party’s nominee.

The conservatives who back Hoffman point to Scozzafava’s support for abortion right and ties to local union leaders.

via Fred to Newt: We’re not ‘deaf, dumb’ – Andy Barr – POLITICO.com.