Gingrich: Detroit a Disaster

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich spoke some harsh truth about Detroit, and boy, does the truth ever hurt.

Gingrich calls Detroit a disaster, draws ire

Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich drew strong criticism from Detroit city leaders and school officials Monday after calling the city a "disaster" in a national network TV interview on Sunday.

Gingrich blasted the city of Detroit, Detroit Public Schools, the United Auto Workers and Michigan's unemployment rate during an interview on Fox News Sunday in which he talked about how he would transform Washington.

A spokesman for Gingrich, an undeclared Republican presidential candidate who has been ramping up his public appearances, singled out Detroit and its schools because they're the "best worst-case example" of bureaucracy and "a union structure that doesn't work."

"We should basically, fundamentally replace the Detroit school system with a series of experiments to see if they'll work," Gingrich said in the interview.

So rather than admitting their city is a disaster, and honestly, there's no denying it is, what do officials in Detroit do?

Well, they're not exactly rushing to defend their hellhole.

A UAW spokesman would not comment, and Gov. Jennifer Granholm's office did not immediately return calls. Detroit Federation of Teachers President Virginia Cantrell said Gingrich should focus on his own city and state and "leave Detroit alone."