CNN

WASHINGTON (CNN) - Newt Gingrich surprised the Conservative Political Action Conference Saturday when he said the conservative movement should declare its independence from the GOP.

There’s one other Declaration of Independence we need - and this will startle some of you.... In a fundamental way, the conservative movement has to declare itself independent from the Republican Party,” The former Republican speaker of the House said, bring gasps from the conservative activists gathered in Washington.

But Gingrich did not endorse the idea of conservatives forming a third party.

I think the third party is a dumb idea. It will not get anywhere and in the end will achieve nothing,” he said.

Despite his comments, Gingrich gave full support to the presumptive Republican nominee, Sen. John McCain, and called for conservatives to unite behind the Republican nominee.

–CNN's Melis Woodham