In his continuing quest to become the worst campaign surrogate ever, Newt Gingrich defended Mitt Romney’s attack against firefighters, police officers, and teachers by admitting that Romney meant what he said.

“We have to come to grips with how big the challenge is, and does that mean there will be fewer teachers? The honest answer is yes,” Gingrich told CNN’s John King.

“Does it mean that you’re not going to get quite the same pension plan people have been getting? The honest answer is yes,” he continued. “President Obama may say, well, we can borrow our way out of that decision. I don’t think the American people agree with him.”

Of course, Gingrich’s supposed concern over the debt is undercut by the fact that his economic plan would add so much to the deficit that it makes the American Jobs Act look like Greek austerity. Furthermore, although Gingrich claims that the American people disagree with President Obama, polling data suggests that voters overwhelmingly support using federal money to hire teachers and avoid layoffs.

Maybe if Romney is elected, Gingrich can convince him to replace some of the fired teachers with impoverished students.