Newt Gingrich

Newt Gingrich
Official congressional photo.
58th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
In office January 4, 1995 – January 3, 1999
President	Bill Clinton
Preceded by	Tom Foley
Succeeded by	Dennis Hastert
16th United States House of Representatives Minority Whip
In office March 20, 1989 – January 3, 1995
Leader	Robert Michel
Preceded by	Dick Cheney
Succeeded by	David Bonior
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia's 6th district
In office January 3, 1979 – January 3, 1999
Preceded by	Jack Flynt
Succeeded by	Johnny Isakson
Born	June 17, 1943 (age 67) Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Birth name	Newton Leroy McPherson
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Jackie Battley (1962–1981) Marianne Ginther (1981–2000) Callista Gingrich (2000–current)
Residence	Carrollton, Georgia (1979–1993, while in office) Marietta, Georgia (1993–1999, while in office) McLean, Virginia (current)
Alma mater	Emory University (B.A.) Tulane University (M.A./Ph.D.)
Occupation	College Professor Author Politician
Religion	Roman Catholic (formerly Baptist)
Signature

Newton Leroy "Newt" Gingrich (pronounced /ˈnjuːt ˈɡɪŋɡrɪtʃ/; June 17, 1943) is an American politician who served as the 58th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999. 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. Gingrich's leadership in Congress was marked by opposition to many of the policies of the Clinton Administration.

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.^[1] In 2007, he founded the 527 group American Solutions for Winning the Future,^[2] and has been a critic of Barack Obama's presidency.^[3]

Early life

Gingrich was born Newton Leroy McPherson, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to nineteen-year-old Newton Searles McPherson and sixteen-year-old Kathleen Daugherty, who were married in September 1942.^[4][5] His mother raised him by herself until she married Robert Gingrich, who then adopted Newt. 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. 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.^[6] 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.^[7]

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.^[8]

Early political career

Campaign for Congress

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. Gingrich lost both times 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 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.^[9][10]

Gingrich was reelected six times from this district, facing only one close race. In the House elections of 1990, he defeated Democrat David Worley by 978 votes.

Pre-speakership congressional activities

In 1981, Gingrich co-founded the Congressional Military Reform Caucus (MRC) as well as the Congressional Aviation and Space Caucus. In 1983 he founded the Conservative Opportunity Society, a group that included young conservative House Republicans. In 1983, Gingrich demanded the expulsion of fellow representatives Dan Crane and Gerry Studds for their roles in the Congressional Page sex scandal.

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.^[11] 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.^[12] In 1989, after House Minority Whip Dick Cheney was appointed Secretary of Defense, Gingrich was elected to succeed him. 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 Congressional Post Office scandal were emblems of the exposed corruption. Gingrich himself was among the 450 members of the House who had engaged in check kiting; he had overdrafts on twenty-two checks, including a $9,463 check to the Internal Revenue Service in 1990.^[13]

Election of 1992

As a result of the 1990 United States Census, Georgia picked up an additional seat for the 1992 elections. However, the Democratic-controlled Georgia General Assembly eliminated Gingrich's old district, which stretched from the southern suburbs of Atlanta to the Alabama border. Gingrich's home in Carrollton was drawn into the Columbus-based 3rd District, represented by five-term Democrat Richard Ray.

At the same time, the Assembly created a new 6th District in Fulton and Cobb counties in the wealthy northern suburbs of Atlanta—an area Gingrich had never represented. However, Gingrich sold his home in Carrollton, moved to Marietta in the new 6th and won a very close Republican primary. The primary victory was tantamount to election in the new, heavily Republican district. Meanwhile, Ray narrowly lost to Republican state senator Mac Collins.

Election of 1994

Long-time House Minority Leader Bob Michel of Illinois had not run for re-election in 1994, giving Gingrich, the highest-ranking Republican returning to Congress, the inside track to becoming Speaker. In the November 1994 elections, Republicans gained 54 seats and took control of the House for the first time since 1954, whereupon Gingrich became the first Republican Speaker since Joseph William Martin, Jr..

Contract with America

In the 1994 campaign season, in an effort to offer a concrete alternative to shifting Democratic policies and to unite distant wings of the Republican Party, Newt Gingrich (with the help of other Republicans) came up with a Contract with America, which laid out ten policies that Republicans promised to bring to a vote on the House Floor during the first hundred days of the new Congress, if they won the election—which they did.^[14] The contract was signed by Gingrich and other Republican candidates for the House of Representatives. The contract ranged from issues such as welfare reform, term limits, tougher crime laws, and a balanced budget law, to more specialized legislation such as restrictions on American military participation in U.N. missions.

Speaker of the House

Congress fulfilled Gingrich's Contract promise to bring all ten of the Contract's issues to a vote within the first 100 days of the session, even though most legislation was held up in the Senate, vetoed by President Bill Clinton, or substantially altered in negotiations with Clinton. Over the objection of liberal/progressive interest groups^[15] and President Clinton,^[16] who called it the "Contract on America", many aspects of the proposal were implemented in subsequent legislation.

Legislation proposed by the 104th United States Congress included term limits for Congressional Representatives, tax cuts, welfare reform, and a balanced budget amendment, as well as independent auditing of the finances of the House of Representatives and elimination of non-essential services such as the House barbershop and shoe-shine concessions. Following Gingrich's first two years as House Speaker, the Republican majority was re-elected in the 1996 election, the first time Republicans had done so in 68 years, and the first simultaneous with a Democratic president winning re-election.^[17]

Legislative accomplishments

Welfare reform

A central pledge of President Clinton’s campaign was to reform the welfare system, adding changes such as work requirements for recipients. However, by 1994, the Clinton Administration appeared to be more concerned with universal health care and no details or a plan had emerged on welfare reform. Gingrich accused the President of stalling on welfare, and proclaimed that Congress could pass a welfare reform bill in as little as ninety days. Gingrich insisted that the Republican Party would continue to apply political pressure to the President to approve welfare legislation.^[18]

In 1996, after constructing two welfare reform bills that were vetoed by President Clinton,^[19] Gingrich and his supporters pushed for the passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA), a bill aimed at substantially reconstructing the welfare system. Introduced by Rep. E. Clay Shaw, Jr., the act gave state governments more autonomy over welfare delivery, while also reducing the federal government's responsibilities. It instituted the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program, which placed time limits on welfare assistance and replaced the longstanding Aid to Families with Dependent Children program. Other changes to the welfare system included stricter conditions for food stamps eligibility, reductions in immigrant welfare assistance, and recipient work requirements.^[20]

Gingrich personally negotiated with President Clinton over the legislation in private meetings. Previously, Clinton had quietly spoken with Senate Majority Whip Trent Lott for months about the bill, but a compromise on a more acceptable bill for the President could not be reached. Gingrich, on the other hand, gave accurate information about his party’s vote counts and persuaded more conservative members of the Republican Party to vote in favor of PRWORA.^[19]

President Clinton found the legislation more conservative than he would have preferred; however, having vetoed two earlier welfare proposals from the Republican-majority Congress, it was considered a political risk to veto a third bill during a campaign season with welfare reform as a central theme.^[19] As he signed the bill on August 22, 1996, Clinton stated that the act "gives us a chance we haven't had before to break the cycle of dependency that has existed for millions and millions of our fellow citizens, exiling them from the world of work. It gives structure, meaning and dignity to most of our lives."^[21]

After the passage of the bill, Gingrich continued to press for welfare reform and increasing employment opportunities for welfare recipients. In his 1998 book Lessons Learned the Hard Way, Gingrich outlined a multi-step plan to improve economic opportunities for the poor. The plan called for encouraging volunteerism and spiritual renewal, placing more importance on families, creating tax incentives and reducing regulations for businesses in poor neighborhoods, and increasing property ownership for low-income families. Gingrich cited his volunteer work with Habitat for Humanity as an example of where he observed that it was more rewarding for people to be actively involved in improving their lives—by building their own homes—than by receiving welfare payments from the government.^[22]

Balancing the federal budget

As key aspect of the Contract with America was the promise of a balanced federal budget. After the end of the government shutdown, Gingrich and other Republican leaders acknowledged that Congress would not be able to draft a balanced budget in 1996. Instead, they opted to approve some small reductions that were already approved by the White House and to wait until the election season.^[23]

By May 1997, Republican congressional leaders reached a compromise with the Democrats and President Clinton on the federal budget. The agreement called for a federal spending plan designed to reduce the federal deficit and achieve a balanced budget by 2002. The plan included a total of $152 billion in Republican sponsored tax cuts over five years. Other major parts of the spending plan called for $115 billion to be saved through a restructuring of Medicare, $24 billion set aside to extend health insurance to children of the working poor, tax credits for college tuition, and a $2 billion welfare-to-work jobs initiative.^[24][25]

President Clinton signed the budget legislation in August 1997. At the signing, Gingrich gave credit to ordinary Americans stating, "It was their political will that brought the two parties together.”^[26]

In early 1998, with the economy performing better than expected, increased tax revenues helped reduce the federal budget deficit to below $25 billion. Gingrich then called upon President Clinton to submit a balanced budget for 1999—three years ahead of schedule—which Clinton did, making it the first time the federal budget had been balanced since 1969.^[27]

Other legislation

Shortly after the Republicans won the House majority, Gingrich promised that the House would be on the Internet by the opening day of the 104th United States Congress. In January 1995, Gingrich and the Library of Congress unveiled THOMAS, an Internet-accessible database of congressional information. THOMAS initially included text versions of bills of the 103rd United States Congress, directory information, and other legislative materials. Commenting on the new system, Gingrich said, "This will change the balance of power in America toward the citizens out of the Beltway. There will be a shift to talking about ideas, not personalities."^[28]

Among the first pieces of legislation passed by the new Congress under Gingrich was the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995, which subjected members of Congress to the same laws that apply to U.S. businesses and their employees, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. As a provision of the Contract with America, the law was symbolic of the new Republican majority's goal to remove some of the entitlements enjoyed by Congress. The bill received near universal acceptance from the House and Senate and was signed into law on January 23, 1995.^[29]

Government shutdown

The momentum of the Republican Revolution stalled in late 1995 and early 1996 during a budget standoff between Congressional Republicans and Democratic President Bill Clinton. Speaker Gingrich and the new Republican majority wanted to slow the rate of government spending. Gingrich allowed previously approved appropriations to expire on schedule, thus allowing parts of the federal government to shut down for lack of funds. Prior to the government shutdown, Congress passed several continuing resolutions for funding, although both were vetoed by President Clinton.^[30]

However, Gingrich inflicted a blow to his public image by seeming to suggest that the Republican hardline stance over the budget was in part due to his feeling "snubbed" by the President during a flight to and from Yitzhak Rabin's funeral in Israel.^[31] The subsequent event caused Gingrich to get lampooned by some in the media, with one editorial cartoon depicting him as having thrown a temper tantrum.^[32] Democratic leaders took the opportunity to attack Gingrich's motives for the budget standoff, which may have contributed to Clinton's re-election in November 1996.^[33][34] Gingrich later commented on the incident, "Everybody in Washington thinks that was a big mistake. They're exactly wrong. There had been no reelected Republican majority since 1928. Part of the reason we got reelected ... is our base thought we were serious. And they thought we were serious because when it came to a show-down, we didn't flinch."^[35]

In her autobiography Living History, former First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton shows a picture of Bill Clinton, Dole, and Gingrich laughing on the plane. Gingrich commented on this event in his book Lessons Learned the Hard Way, claiming that the picture was taken on the plane going to Yitzhak Rabin's funeral in Israel rather than on the return trip from Israel.

Ethics sanctions

During Gingrich's term as Speaker, eighty-four ethics charges were filed against him, most of which were leveled by House Democratic Whip David Bonior. Eighty-three of the eighty-four allegations were dropped.^[36]

The remaining charge consisted of two counts “of failure to seek legal advice” and one count of “providing the committee with information which he knew or should have known was inaccurate” concerning the use of a tax exempt college course for political purposes.^[37] On January 21, 1997, the House voted 395 to 28 to reprimand Gingrich, including a $300,000 “cost assessment” to recoup money spent on the investigation.^[38][39] This was the first time in the House's history that the Speaker had been disciplined for ethics violations.^[40]

The full committee panel did not reach a conclusion about whether the “Renewing American Civilization” college course had violated federal tax law and instead opted to leave it up to the IRS.^[41] In 1999, the IRS cleared the organizations connected with the courses under investigation for possible tax violations.^[42]

Leadership challenge

In the summer of 1997 several House Republican backbenchers, who saw Gingrich's public image as a liability, attempted to replace him as Speaker. The attempted "coup" began July 9 with a meeting between Republican conference chairman John Boehner of Ohio and Republican leadership chairman Bill Paxon of New York. According to their plan, House Majority Leader Dick Armey, House Majority Whip Tom DeLay, Boehner and Paxon were to present Gingrich with an ultimatum: resign, or be voted out. However, Armey balked at the proposal to make Paxon the new Speaker, and told his chief of staff to warn Gingrich about the coup.^[43]

On July 11, Gingrich met with senior Republican leadership to assess the situation. He explained that under no circumstance would he step down. If he was voted out, there would be a new election for Speaker, which would allow for the possibility that Democrats—along with dissenting Republicans—would vote in Dick Gephardt as Speaker. On July 16, Paxon offered to resign his post, feeling that he had not handled the situation correctly, as the only member of the leadership who had been appointed to his position—by Gingrich—instead of elected.^[44]

Resignation

By 1998, Gingrich had become a highly visible and polarizing figure in the public's eye, making him a target for Democratic congressional candidates across the nation. His approval rating was 45% in April 1998.^[45]

Republicans lost five seats in the House in the 1998 midterm elections—the worst performance in 64 years for a party that didn't hold the presidency. Polls showed that Gingrich and the Republican Party's attempt to remove President Clinton from office was widely unpopular among Americans.^[46]

Gingrich suffered much of the blame for the election loss. Facing another rebellion in the Republican caucus, he announced on November 6, 1998 that he would not only stand down as Speaker, but would leave the House as well. He had been handily reelected to an 11th term in that election, but declined to take his seat. Commenting on his departure, Gingrich said, "I'm willing to lead but I'm not willing to preside over people who are cannibals. My only fear would be that if I tried to stay, it would just overshadow whoever my successor is."^[47]

Post-Speakership

Gingrich has since remained involved in national politics and public policy debate. He is a senior fellow at the conservative think tank American Enterprise Institute, focusing upon health care, information technology, the military and politics. In 2003, he founded the Center for Health Transformation to develop a 21st Century System of Health and Healthcare that is centered on the individual, prevention focused, knowledge intense, and innovation rich.^[48]

In September 2007, Gingrich founded American Solutions for Winning the Future. The stated mission of the group is to become the "leading grassroots movement to recruit, educate, and empower citizen activists and elected officials to develop solutions to transform all levels of government." Gingrich spoke of the group and its objectives at the CPAC conference of 2008 and currently serves as its General Chairman.^[49]

Gingrich is also a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the conservative Hoover Institution, focusing on U.S. politics, world history, national security policy, and environmental policy issues. He sometimes serves as a commentator, guest or panel member on cable news shows, such as the Fox News Channel. He is listed as a contributor by Fox News Channel, and frequently appears as a guest on various segments; he has also hosted occasional specials for the Fox News Channel. Gingrich is also a guiding coalition member of the Project on National Security Reform.

Newt and his wife, Callista Gingrich, host and produce historical and public policy documentaries. Recent films include, America at Risk, Nine Days that Changed the World, Ronald Reagan: Rendezvous with Destiny, Rediscovering God in America, Rediscovering God in America II: Our Heritage, and We Have the Power.^[50]

Besides politics, Gingrich has authored a book, Rediscovering God in America, attempting to demonstrate that the Founding Fathers actively intended the new republic to not only allow, but encourage, religious expression in the public square. Since Gingrich has, "dedicated much of his time to calling America back to our Christian heritage," Jerry Falwell invited him to be the speaker, for the second time, at Liberty University's graduation, on May 19, 2007.^[51] Speaker Gingrich has also collaborated with David Bossie and Citizens United to produce and co-host with his wife, Callista Gingrich, two documentaries which share their names with the book.

Declined 2008 presidential run

Between 2005 and 2007, Gingrich expressed interest in being a candidate for the 2008 Republican nomination for the Presidency.^[52] On October 13, 2005, Gingrich suggested he was considering a run for president, saying, "There are circumstances where I will run", elaborating that those circumstances would be if no other candidate champions some of the platform ideas he advocates. On September 28, 2007, Gingrich announced that if his supporters pledged $30 million to his campaign (until October 21), he would seek the nomination.

However, insisting that he had “pretty strongly” considered running,^[53] on September 29 spokesman Rick Tyler said that Gingrich would not seek the presidency in 2008 because he could not continue to serve as chairman of American Solutions if he did so.^[54] Citing campaign finance law restrictions (the McCain-Feingold campaign law would have forced him to leave his American Solutions political organization if he declared his candidacy), Gingrich said, "I wasn't prepared to abandon American Solutions, even to explore whether a campaign was realistic."^[55]

2009 Election Involvement

During the 2009 special election in New York's 23rd congressional district, Gingrich endorsed candidate Dede Scozzafava, who had been chosen by the eleven Republican Party county chairs,^[56] in spite of criticism from the conservative base to which Gingrich has traditionally appealed. For this, he was heavily criticised for this endorsment, with Conservatives questioning his candidacy for President in 2012^[57][58] and even comparing him to Benedict Arnold, a traitor during America's War of Independence.^[59] Gingrich has since regretted his decision.^[60]

2012 presidential speculation

Several political commentators, including Marc Ambinder in The Atlantic^[61] and Robert Novak in the Washington Post,^[62] have identified Gingrich as a top contender for a presidential run in the 2012 election, with Ambinder stating that he "is already planting some seeds in Iowa, New Hampshire". A poll conducted by Public Policy Polling indicated that Gingrich was the leading GOP Contender for the Republican nomination with 23% of likely Republican voters saying they would vote for him.^[63]

Gingrich warned, "If the Republicans can’t break out of being the right wing party of big government, then I think you would see a third party movement in 2012." Gingrich thrashed Republicans for allowing increased spending during the Bush administration and for not doing enough to block President Barack Obama's early initiatives.^[64] In an interview from On the Record with Greta Van Susteren, Gingrich said, "I am very sad that a number of Republicans do not understand that this country is sick of earmarks. They are sick of politicians taking care of themselves. They are sick of their money being spent in a way that is absolutely indefensible ... I think you're going to see a steady increase in the number of incumbents who have opponents because the American taxpayers are increasingly fed up."^[65] Gingrich noted how, at American Solutions, the organization is "working to help people with the April 15 taxpayers parties," because it was good for those Americans who are fed up to communicate how ready they are to fire some of their incumbents next year. When asked if he is thinking of running in 2012, Gingrich replied, "I want to spend all of 2009 trying to develop good policies at American Solutions ... trying to defeat bad policies, like the effort to take away your right to a secret ballot before being forced to join a union. We need to focus everybody on 2009 and finding solutions this year because we are on the edge of being in big trouble." In a January 2011 interview with IowaPolitics.com, Gingrich said of his immediate political future, "we'll make a decision probably by the end of February on whether or not to launch an exploratory committee, and when we do we'll probably announce it by March 1st or so."^[66]

Personal life

Gingrich has been married three times. In 1962, he married Jackie Battley, his former high school geometry teacher, when he was 19 years old and she was 26.^[67][68] They had two daughters. In the spring of 1980, Gingrich left Battley after having an affair with Marianne Ginther.^[69][70] According to Battley, Gingrich visited her while she was in the hospital recovering from cancer surgery to discuss the details of their divorce. Six months after it was final, Gingrich wed Ginther in 1981.^[71][72]

In the mid-1990s, Gingrich began an affair with House of Representatives staffer Callista Bisek, who is 23 years his junior; they continued their affair during the Lewinsky scandal.^[73] In 2000, Gingrich married Bisek shortly after his divorce from second wife Ginther. He and Callista currently live in McLean, Virginia.^[74]

Conversion to Catholicism

A Baptist since graduate school, Gingrich converted to Catholicism, his wife's faith, on March 29, 2009.^[75]

Book reviews

Gingrich has been a prolific amateur reviewer of books, especially of military histories and spy novels, for Amazon.com. As of 2004, Gingrich held the #488 spot among Amazon's top reviewers. Although a prolific author himself, Gingrich does not review his own works. According to The Weekly Standard, it is "clear that Newt is fascinated by tipping points—moments where new technology or new ideas cause revolutionary change in the way the world works." ^[76]

Personal interests

Newt Gingrich is known for, and has written on several occasions about, his love of animals.^[77][78] According to USA Today, Gingrich's first engagement in civic affairs was speaking to the city council in his hometown, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, about why the city should establish its own zoological park. He also played an important role in the creation of the Atlanta zoo. Gingrich wrote the introduction for the 2008 book America's Best Zoos.^[79] Gingrich is also known as a dinosaur enthusiast. A New Yorker comment on his 1995 book To Renew America noted: "Charmingly, he has retained his enthusiasm for the extinct giants into middle age. In addition to including breakthroughs in dinosaur research on his list of futuristic wonders, he specified 'people interested in dinosaurs' as a prime example of who might benefit from his education proposals."^[80]

Political positions

Newt Gingrich has declared his position on many political issues through his public comments and legislative record, including as Speaker of the House. The political initiative with which he is most widely identified was the Contract With America, which was promoted as an economic and social agenda designed to improve the efficiency of government while reducing its burden on the American taxpayer.^[81] Passage of the Contract helped establish Gingrich's reputation a public intellectual.^[82] His engagement of public issues has continued through to the present, in particular as the founder of American Solutions for Winning the Future. More recently, Gingrich has advocated replacing the Environmental Protection Agency with a proposed "Environmental Solutions Agency".^[83]

Gingrich’s policy reach covers everything from national security to personal responsibility, but Gingrich has been known to take stances that are different from the traditional Republican line. For instance, on immigration, he favors a strong border policy but also favors a guest worker program^[84] and a flex-fuel mandate for cars sold in the U.S.^[85]

Gingrich has authored or co-authored 16 non-fiction books since 1982, several of them bestsellers. In recent years, his works have had a more large scale policy focus, including Winning the Future, and the most recent, To Save America.^[86] In recent years, Gingrich has identified education as "the number one factor in our future prosperity," and received national attention for partnering with the Al Sharpton and Education Secretary Arne Duncan to promote the issue.^[87]

Books written

Nonfiction

• The Government's Role in Solving Societal Problems. Associated Faculty Press, Incorporated. January 1982 ISBN 0-86733-026-0
• Window of Opportunity. Tom Doherty Associates, December 1985. ISBN 0-312-93923-X
• Contract with America (co-editor). Times Books, December 1994. ISBN 0-8129-2586-6
• Restoring the Dream. Times Books, May 1995. ISBN 0-8129-2666-8
• Quotations from Speaker Newt. Workman Publishing Company, Inc., July 1995. ISBN 0-7611-0092-X
• To Renew America. Farrar Straus & Giroux, July 1996. ISBN 0-06-109539-7
• Lessons Learned The Hard Way. HarperCollins Publishers, May 1998 ISBN 0-06-019106-6
• Presidential Determination Regarding Certification of the Thirty-Two Major Illicit Narcotics Producing and Transit Countries. DIANE Publishing Company, September 1999. ISBN 0-7881-3186-9
• Saving Lives and Saving Money. Alexis de Tocqueville Institution, April 2003. ISBN 0-9705485-4-0
• Winning the Future. Regnery Publishing, January 2005. ISBN 0-89526-042-5
• Rediscovering God in America: Reflections on the Role of Faith in Our Nation's History and Future. Integrity Publishers, October 2006. ISBN 1-59145-482-4
• A Contract with the Earth, Johns Hopkins University Press, October 1, 2007. ISBN 0-8018-8780-2
• Real Change: From the World That Fails to the World That Works. Regnery Publishing, January 2008. ISBN 978-1596980532
• Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less: A Handbook for Slashing Gas Prices and Solving Our Energy Crisis. With Vince Haley. Regnery Publishing, September 2008 ISBN 1596985763
• 5 Principles for a Successful Life: From Our Family to Yours. With Jackie Gingrich Cushman. Crown Publishing Group, May 2009 ISBN 978-0-307-46232-9
• To Save America: Stopping Obama's Secular-Socialist Machine. With Joe DeSantis. Regnery Publishing, May 2010 ISBN 978-1-59698-596-4

Alternative history

Gingrich co-wrote the following alternate history novels and series of novels with William R. Forstchen.

• 1945 Baen Books, August 1995 ISBN 978-0671877392

Civil War Series

• Gettysburg: A Novel of the Civil War Thomas Dunne Books, June 2003 ISBN 978-0312309350
• Grant Comes East Thomas Dunne Books, June 2004 ISBN 0-312-30937-6
• Never Call Retreat: Lee and Grant: The Final Victory Thomas Dunne Books, June 2005 ISBN 0-312-34298-5

Pacific War Series

• Pearl Harbor: A Novel of December 8th Thomas Dunne Books, May 2007 ISBN 0-312-36350-8
• Days of Infamy Thomas Dunne Books, April 2008 ISBN 0-312-36351-6

Revolutionary War Series

• To Try Men's Souls: A Novel of George Washington and the Fight for American Freedom Oct 2009, ISBN 9780312591069

References

Books

• Fenno Jr., Richard F. (2000). Congress at the Grassroots: Representational Change in the South, 1970–1998. UNC Press. ISBN 0-8078-4855-7.
• Strahan, Randall (2007). Leading Representatives: The Agency of Leaders in the Politics of the U.S. House. Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-8108-8691-0.

Journals

• Little, Thomas H. (1998). "On the Coattails of a Contract: RNC Activities and Republicans Gains in the 1994 State Legislative Elections". Political Research Quarterly 51 (1): 173–190.

Web

• "GINGRICH, Newton Leroy—Biographical Information". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=G000225. Retrieved February 4, 2003.
• "Titles List". Library of Congress Online Catalog. http://catalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?Search%5FArg=gingrich%20newt&Search%5FCode=NAME%5F&CNT=25&PID=9415&BROWSE=1&HC=15&SID=1. Retrieved December 5, 2005.

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• Newt Gingrich official site
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Biography at WhoRunsGov.com at The Washington Post
• Congressional profile at GovTrack.us
• Appearances on C-SPAN programs
• Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
• Financial information at OpenSecrets.org
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Collected news and commentary at The New York Times
• Senior Fellow at The American Enterprise Institute
• Distinguished Visiting Fellow at The Hoover Institute
• Newt Gingrich at YouTube
• Winning the Future column archives at Human Events
• Works by or about Newt Gingrich in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
• Newt Gingrich at the Notable Names Database
• The Long March of Newt Gingrich PBS Frontline, Peter Boyer and Stephen Talbot, January 16, 1996. transcript chronology interviews work and writings
• American Solutions, founded by Newt Gingrich
• The Gingrich RX ScribeMedia.org, December 15, 2006
• Newt Gingrich at the Open Directory Project
• VoteNewt.net^{[dead link]}—grassroots campaign for people to vote Newt in 2008

Political offices
Preceded by Dick Cheney	House Minority Whip 1989–1995	Succeeded by David E. Bonior
Preceded by Tom Foley	Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives January 4, 1995 – January 3, 1999	Succeeded by Dennis Hastert
United States House of Representatives
Preceded by Jack Flynt	Member from Georgia's 6th congressional district 1979–1999	Succeeded by Johnny Isakson
Party political offices
Preceded by Dick Cheney	House Republican Whip 1989–1995	Succeeded by Tom DeLay