Every political campaign needs some sparkle to attract followers, and Newt Gingrich’s freshly announced 2012 presidential campaign is apparently no exception.
Gingrich was treated to a glitter shower Tuesday evening while taking part in a book signing in Minneapolis. Far from celebrating his candidacy, however, the shimmering deluge was launched instead as a protest against Gingrich’s anti-gay political views.
Gingrich and his wife Callista were preparing to attend the Minnesota Family Council’s annual dinner when they were ambushed by protestor Nick Espinosa, who up-ended a box of glitter over Gingrich’s head and urged the socially conservative candidate to “feel the rainbow.”
“Stop the hate,” Espinosa said. “Stop anti-gay politics. It’s dividing our country and it’s not fixing our economy.”
Espinosa has something of a reputation as a prankster when it comes to mounting political protests. A 24-year-old unemployed social activist and Minneapolis native, Espinosa’s glitter attack on Newt Gingrich was inspired by the candidate’s stance against gay marriage and marked the latest in a series of pranks that include dumping 2,000 pennies on former Republican Minnesota gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer and creating an alias in order to speak at the Tea Party rally against immigration back in 2009.
In response to Tuesday’s unconventional protest, Espinosa told ABC News that he “invited Newt to feel the rainbow because he decided to bring his anti-gay politics to my state.”
Espinosa argued that Gingrich’s anti-gay political history compromises the country’s ability to unite and mend the troubled economy, saying that the candidate “has chosen to focus on divisive social issues” rather than critical economic solutions.
And the glitter?
“I think glitter’s fun,” Espinosa said, adding that it was “a nice makeover” for Gingrich’s campaign.
On the off chance that Gingrich decides to go in that direction moving forward, Espinosa noted that he’s got some glitter left over and would happily donate it to a more gay-friendly Gingrich 2012 campaign.
