Let’s step into the Way Back Machine and go all the way back to 1990.

That year, George H. W. Bush decided to break his “no new taxes” pledge. You remember, “Read my lips,” don’t you?

Well, at the time Newt Gingrich was the Minority Whip of the United States House of Representatives. He was not the leader of the Republicans. He was the number two guy. And he initially said he’d support the deal, but twelve hours later, no doubt after consulting his colleagues, he decided to oppose the deal.

The deal, by the way, was made between George H. W. Bush and the Democrats. Newt was not exactly a consequential figure in the dealings largely because he was the number two man in a small minority, all of whom could have voted against the deal and it still would have passed.

Oh — and I dare you Romney guys to say anything about Gingrich changing his mind twelve hours later considering how Romney tends to change his mind twelve hours before entering a new election when a new position is to his advantage.

Here’s Sununu still upset Gingrich fought raising taxes:

Sununu charged that 21 years ago, Gingrich “reneged” on his approval of the now-infamous (to Republicans) 1990 budget agreement with Democrats that included tax increases. Many believe Bush’s reversal of his famous “Read my lips. No new taxes” pledge of 1988 cost him a second term.

Sununu said that as an agreement with the Democratic majority was being reached, “I specifically asked Newt Gingrich if he would support it, and he said, ‘yes.’

“We then went to the President and told him we had” the support of both Gingrich and the chief Senate GOP negotiator Phil Gramm, “and then the White House put out a statement saying that there was an agreement.”

But, Sununu said, “The next day, for whatever reason, and nobody has ever been able to explain it to us, Gingrich decided that he was going to oppose it.

“Twelve hours later, he decided it was to his own benefit to oppose the agreement.”

It says something rather pitiful about the state of the Romney campaign that they have decided to attack Newt Gingrich for opposing a tax increase that wiped out the presidency of George H. W. Bush. Oh, by the way, it would have also taken out a lot of House Republicans except Ed Rollins was in charge of the NRCC and insisted they all run against George H. W. Bush and squishy Republicans. That move saved a lot of them.