The Hill News

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich's nascent presidential campaign was only guilty of violating the GOP's "new litmus test," Democrats charged Thursday.

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) used Gingrich's backtrack and apology to House Republicans for criticizing their 2012 budget -- specifically, its plan to transform Medicare -- as evidence of a new party standard for Republicans.

"If there’s one lesson we learned from the ferocity with which Republicans attacked their supposed ‘ideas man’ and the speed with which he caved, it’s that dismantling Medicare is the new litmus test for any would-be Republican presidential nominee," said DNC spokesman Hari Sevugan.

The DNC underscored the point with a web video tracking Gingrich's evolution since his Sunday appearance on "Meet the Press," when he called Rep. Paul Ryan's (R-Wis.) 2012 budget an example of "social engineering." By Tuesday night, the former Speaker had called Ryan ! to apologize, and called his previous statement a "mistake."

Gingrich had sought to move past the controversy by late Wednesday, but Democrats appear likely to try to keep the issue alive as long as possible, not just to use it as a cudgel against Gingrich, but against other Republicans, too.

A number of conservatives and GOP leaders criticized Gingrich for his rhetoric toward Ryan's plan, which would transform Medicare into a voucher-based system for Americans under the age of 55. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, herself a potential Republican presidential candidate, said Gingrich made a "terrible mistake" in his words on the Ryan plan.