Newton Leroy “Newt” Gingrich (pronounced /ˈnjuːt ˈɡɪŋɡrɪtʃ/; born Newton Leroy McPherson; June 17, 1943) is an American politician who served as the 58th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999. He was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, but raised in Hummelstown, a small nearby borough. In 1995, Time magazine selected him as the Person of the Year for his role in leading the Republican Revolution in the House, ending 40 years of the Democratic Party being in the majority. During his tenure as Speaker, he represented the public face of the Republican opposition to President Bill Clinton. A college professor, historian, and author, Gingrich twice ran unsuccessfully for the House before winning a seat in the election of November 1978. He was re-elected ten times, and his activism as a member of the House’s Republican minority eventually enabled him to succeed Dick Cheney as House Minority Whip in 1989. As a co-author of the 1994 Contract with America, Gingrich was in the forefront of the Republican Party’s dramatic success in that year’s Congressional elections and subsequently was elected Speaker of the House . During Gingrich’s term as Speaker, Congress passed and President Bill Clinton signed the 1996 reform of welfare, a capital gains tax cut and the first balanced budget since 1969.[1] His term also saw the monthly unemployment rate fall from 5.6% in 1995 to 4.2% in 1999,[2] the creation of as many as 8.4 million new jobs[3] and the lowest rate of growth in government spending (2.9%) in several decades.[4] The 1996 budget deal represented the largest drop in discretionary spending since 1969.[5] Following Republican losses in the 1998 mid-term elections, Gingrich resigned both his Speakership and his congressional seat. Since resigning his seat, Gingrich has maintained a career as a political analyst and consultant. He continues to write works related to government and other subjects, such as historical fiction, and is the author of twenty-three books.[6] He is the founder and/or chair of several organizations and companies, including American Solutions for Winning the Future,[7] Center for Health Transformation, Gingrich Productions and Renewing American Leadership. On March 3, 2011, at an Atlanta press conference, Gingrich announced the creation of a fundraising committee, Newt Explore 2012, to consider running for president in 2012.[8] Contents 1 Early life 2 Early political career 2.1 Congressional campaigns 2.2 Pre-speakership congressional activities 2.3 Minority Whip 2.4 Election of 1992 2.5 Election of 1994 2.5.1 Contract with America 3 Speaker of the House 3.1 Legislative accomplishments 3.1.1 Welfare reform 3.1.2 Balancing the federal budget 3.1.3 Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 3.1.4 Other legislation 3.2 Government shutdown 3.3 Ethics sanctions 3.4 Leadership challenge 3.5 Resignation 4 Post-speakership 4.1 Healthcare 4.2 National security 4.3 Organizations and public appearances 4.4 Documentary films and books 4.5 Declined 2008 presidential run 4.6 2009 election involvement 4.7 2012 presidential candidacy 5 Personal life 5.1 Marriages 5.2 Conversion to Catholicism 5.3 Book reviews 5.4 Personal interests 6 Political positions 7 Books written 7.1 Nonfiction 7.2 Alternative history 8 References 9 External links [edit] Early life Gingrich was born Newton Leroy McPherson, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania at the Harrisburg Hospital, to twenty-year-old Newton Searles McPherson and seventeen-year-old Kathleen Daugherty, who were married in September 1942.[9][10] His mother raised him by herself until she married Robert Gingrich, who then adopted Newt, where they raised him in Hummelstown, Pennsylvania, a small borough outside of Harrisburg (located between Harrisburg and Hershey. They lived on Main Street in an apartment above what is now a computer store, MainFrame. In front of the building there is a plaque in honor of Newt’s step-father, as well as a near-by tree dedicated to his step-father. Gingrich has a younger half-sister, Candace Gingrich. Gingrich was the child of a career military family, moving a number of times while growing up and attending school at various military installations. He ultimately graduated from Baker High School in Columbus, Georgia, in 1961. Gingrich has credited the beginning of his interest in seeking public life to his time living in Orléans, France, as a teenager, where he visited and learned about extreme sacrifices in the Battle of Verdun, and the importance of political leadership necessary to see it through.[11] He received a B.A. in history from Emory University in Atlanta in 1965. He received an M.A. in 1968, and then a Ph.D. in modern European history from Tulane University in New Orleans in 1971.[12] His dissertation was entitled “Belgian Education Policy in the Congo: 1945–1960″. While at Tulane, Gingrich, who at the time belonged to no religious group, began attending the St. Charles Avenue Baptist Church to pursue an interest in the effect of religion on political theory; he was soon baptized by Rev. G. Avery Lee.[13] Gingrich taught history at the University of West Georgia (then called West Georgia College) in Carrollton, Georgia, from 1970 to 1978. He also taught a class, Renewing American Civilization, at Kennesaw State University (then called Kennesaw State College) in 1993.[14] [edit] Early political career [edit] Congressional campaigns In 1974 and 1976, Gingrich made two unsuccessful runs for Congress in Georgia’s sixth congressional district, which stretched from the southern Atlanta suburbs to the Alabama state line. Prior to running for office, Gingrich had been Southern regional director for Nelson Rockefeller in 1968.[15] In both campaigns, Gingrich lost to incumbent Democrat Jack Flynt. Flynt, a Democrat, had served in Congress since 1955 and never faced a serious challenge prior to Gingrich’s two runs against him. Gingrich nearly defeated Flynt in 1974, a year that was otherwise very bad for Republicans due to Watergate. A 1976 rematch was similarly close, despite the presence of Jimmy Carter, the governor of Georgia until 1975, on the presidential ballot. Flynt chose not to run for re-election in 1978. Gingrich ran for the seat a third time, and defeated Democratic State Senator Virginia Shapard by almost 9 points.[16][17] Gingrich was re-elected six times from this district, facing only one close race. In the House elections of 1990, he defeated Democrat David Worley by 978 votes. [edit] Pre-speakership congressional activities Congressman Gingrich meets with President Ronald Reagan, 1985 A 1980 memo from then-freshman House member Gingrich may be the original inspiration for Ronald Reagan’s “are you better off than you were four years ago?” line from a presidential debate the same year.[18] In 1981, Gingrich co-founded the Congressional Military Reform Caucus (MRC) as well as the Congressional Aviation and Space Caucus. During the 1983 congressional page sex scandal, Gingrich was among those calling for the expulsion of representatives Dan Crane and Gerry Studds.[19] Other notable early House activities by Gingrich include supporting a proposal to ban loans from the International Monetary Fund to Communist countries and endorsing a bill to make Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday a national holiday.[20] in 1983, he founded the Conservative Opportunity Society (COS), a group that included young conservative House Republicans. Early COS members were handpicked by Gingrich and included Robert Smith Walker, Judd Gregg, Dan Coats and Connie Mack III. The group expanded over time to comprise several dozen representatives[21] who met each week to exchange and develop ideas.[20] Gingrich’s analysis of polls and public opinion identified the original issues that the group focused on.[21] Ronald Reagan adopted the “opportunity society” ideas for his 1984 re-election campaign, supporting the group’s conservative goals on economic growth, education, crime, space exploration and social issues, which he had not emphasized during his first term.[22] Reagan also referenced an “opportunity” society in the first State of the Union address of his second term.[21] In May 1988, Gingrich (along with 77 other House members and Common Cause) brought ethics charges against Democratic Speaker Jim Wright, who was alleged to have used a book deal to circumvent campaign-finance laws and House ethics rules. During the investigation, it was noted Gingrich had his own unusual book deal, for Window of Opportunity, part of whose publicity expenses were covered by a limited partnership, which raised $105,000 from Republican political supporters around the country to promote sales of the book.[23] Wright eventually resigned as a result of the inquiry. Gingrich’s success in forcing the resignation was in part responsible for his rising influence in the Republican caucus.[24] [edit] Minority Whip In March 1989, after House Minority Whip Dick Cheney was appointed Secretary of Defense, Gingrich was elected to succeed him. He faced the chief deputy whip, Edward Rell Madigan, in the election and won by 87 to 85.[25] This was Gingrich’s first formal position of power within the Republican party[26] and following the election he stated his intention to “build a much more aggressive, activist party.”[25] Early in his role as Whip, in May 1989 Gingrich was involved in talks about the appointment of a Panamanian administrator of the Panama Canal, which was scheduled to occur in 1989 subject to United States government approval of the candidate. Gingrich was outspoken in his opposition to giving control over the canal to an administrator appointed by the dictatorship in Panama.[27] Gingrich and others in the house, including the newly minted Gang of Seven, railed against what they saw as ethical lapses in the House, an institution that had been under Democratic control for almost 40 years. The House banking scandal and
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Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum would be dropped on May 1 unless they notified the network that they were not running for president. Read the rest
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Newton Leroy ” Newt” Gingrich (born Newton Leroy McPherson; June 17, 1943) is an American politician who served as the 58th Speaker of the United States House of Read the rest
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Let us hear from you. We want to know your thoughts and ideas. Fill out the form below to be heard and to stay in touch. Read the rest
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Born: 17 June 1943 Birthplace: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Best Known As: Republican Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, 1995-1999 Name at birth: Newton Leroy Read the rest
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Big News on Newt Gingrich. Includes blogs, news, and community conversations about Newt Gingrich Read the rest
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Gingrich Productions is a performance and production company featuring the work of Newt and Callista Gingrich. Read the rest
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Fox News has terminated its contracts with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Sen. Rick Santorum after the deadline for them to decide on presidential bids Read the rest
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ATLANTA – Republican Newt Gingrich has opened an Atlanta campaign headquarters in advance of his expected entry next week into the race for president Read the rest
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Fox News has terminated the contracts of Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich, Politico reported Thursday. The two were suspended as contributors to the network Read the rest
