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Newt Gingrich
58th Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives
In office January 4, 1995 – January 3, 1999
Preceded by	Tom Foley
Succeeded by	Dennis Hastert
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia's 6th district
In office 1979–1999
Preceded by	Jack Flynt
Succeeded by	Johnny Isakson
Born	June 17, 1943 (age 63) Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Jackie Battley (divorced) Marianne Ginther (divorced) Callista Bisek
Religion	Southern Baptist
Signature

Newton Leroy Gingrich (born June 17, 1943) served as the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999. In 1995, Time Magazine selected him as the Man of the Year for his role in leading the Republican Revolution in the House, ending 40 years of Democratic Party majorities in that body. During his tenure as Speaker he represented the public face of the Republican opposition to Bill Clinton.

A college history professor and prolific author, Gingrich twice ran unsuccessfully for the House before first winning a seat in November 1978. He was re-elected 10 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 the 1994 Congressional elections and subsequently was elected Speaker. Gingrich's leadership in Congress was marked by opposition to many of the policies of the Clinton Administration, culminating in the impeachment of President Clinton shortly after Gingrich resigned as Speaker. Shortly after the 1998 elections, where Republicans lost 5 seats in the House, Gingrich announced his resignation as Speaker.

After resigning his seat under pressure, Gingrich has maintained a career as a political analyst and consultant and continues to write works related to government and other subjects, such as historical fiction. He has expressed interest in being a candidate for the 2008 Republican nomination for the Presidency.^[1] He will be at the University of Mary Washington giving the commencement address on May 12th, 2007.

Contents 1 Early life and education 2 Personal life 3 Beliefs 3.1 Illegal immigration 4 United States Representative 4.1 Pre-speakership congressional activities 4.2 Early elections 4.3 Election of 1992 5 Speaker of the House 5.1 The Contract with America and rise to Speaker 5.2 Government shutdown and the "snub" 5.3 Ethics charges 5.4 Fall from speakership, resignation from the House 6 Post-congressional life 6.1 Alternate history collaboration with William R. Forstchen 6.2 Possible 2008 presidential run 7 Books authored 7.1 Nonfiction 8 References 8.1 Books 8.2 Journals 8.3 Web 9 External links

He was born Newton Leroy McPherson in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the result of a three-day marriage between nineteen-year-old Newton Searles McPherson and sixteen-year-old Kathleen Daugherty.^[2][3] His mother raised him by herself until she married Robert Gingrich, who adopted Newt. Gingrich has a younger half-sister, Candace Gingrich, a gay rights activist, who was born when he was already a young adult.

Gingrich's adopted surname is generally pronounced "Ging-ritch" since his entry into public life, although his family uses the Pennsylvania Dutch "Gin-grick" pronunciation.

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. degree from Emory University in Atlanta in 1965. He received an MA in 1968 and was finally awarded the PhD in 1971 in Modern European History from Tulane University in New Orleans.

Gingrich taught history at West Georgia College in Carrollton, Georgia from 1970 to 1978, although he was denied tenure.^[4]

In 1962, Gingrich married Jackie Battley, his former high school geometry teacher, when he was 19 years old; she was seven years his senior at 26 years old.^{[5] [6]} Jackie raised their two daughters, worked to put Newt through graduate school and was a loyal political wife.^[7] Gingrich and Battley divorced in 1980. Battley has charged that Gingrich discussed the terms of their divorce settlement while she was in the hospital recovering from cancer surgery.^[8] According to L.H. Carter, his campaign treasurer, Newt said of Battley: "She's not young enough or pretty enough to be the wife of the President. And besides, she has cancer."^[9] Newt has vigorously denied saying anything like this and his staff has stated that L. H. Carter was a disgruntled employee left behind in Georgia. ^[10] He refused to pay alimony or child support.^[11] His hometown First Baptist Church had to take up a collection to support the family.^[12] Newt's younger daughter, Jackie Gingrich Zyla, refuted much of the above by saying, "My dad has always stood behind and supported me and my sister in everything we have done," she said. "We care about our father, and he cares about us." ^[13]

Gingrich married Marianne Ginther in late 1981.^[14] Marianne was quoted in a 1995 article in Vanity Fair as saying: "I don't want him to be president and I don't think he should be." Marianne added, "Right now, the presidency is not a single person. It's not so much what he'd be doing. It's what I'd be doing." by which she meant not that Newt would not be a good President but that she did not particularly look forward to being first lady.^[15] They divorced in 1999, the same year Gingrich had an affair with a then 33-year old member Congressional staffer, Callista Bisek, whom he married the next year.^[16] Gingrich's affair was taking place at the same time that he was condemning President Bill Clinton for lying (under oath) about his own affair with staffer Monica Lewinsky. Newt Gingrich did not discuss his own affair until March, 2007. While Gingrich admits his behavior was not to his moral standards, he differentiates his experiences from Clinton's by noting that Clinton was being impeached not for his sexual behavior, but for lying under oath. According to several newspaper editorials, the electability of Gingrich for president is questionable on a Republican party ticket — with a party that emphasizes family values and Christianity as some of their strongest assets. ^[17] However, recently Newt Gingrich has been quoted saying "There are times that I have fallen short of my own standards. There's certainly times when I've fallen short of God's standards."^[18] He also said the following:

"There were times when I was praying and when I felt I was doing things that were wrong. But I was still doing them... I look back on those as periods of weakness and periods that I'm... not proud of."

Reverend Jerry Falwell, a leader among Christian Conservatives, believes that Gingrich has "genuinely [sought] forgiveness"

In August 2000, Gingrich married Bisek. Gingrich resides in Virginia with Bisek, who appears with him on the back cover of his book "Winning the Future".^[19]

The Gingrich family includes two daughters, two sons-in-law, and two grandchildren.

From Gingrich's five challenges: "No serious nation in the age of terror can afford to have wide-open borders with millions of illegal aliens crossing at will."

Although a source of friction in the conservative wing of the GOP (and some pro-union "blue dog" democrats), Gingrich supports a "guest workers program" for Mexican citizens, meaning that an undetermined number of Mexican citizens would be allowed to come to the United States and work for a period of time, then return to Mexico. Gingrich also supports the idea of allowing some of these guest workers to become citizens. In his book Winning the Future, he says:

"Along with total border control, we must make it easier for people who enter the United States legally, to work for a set period of time, obey the law, and return home. The requirements for participation in a worker visa program should be tough and uncompromising. The first is essential: Everyone currently working in the United States illegal must return to their home country to apply for the worker visa program. Anything less than requiring those who are here illegally to return home to apply for legal status is amnesty, plain and simple."

Gingrich was reelected ten times, facing only one truly difficult race, in the House elections of 1990 when he barely defeated Democrat David Worley.^{[citation needed]}

In 1981, Gingrich co-founded the Congressional Military Reform Caucus as well as the Congressional 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 and eventually resigned as a result of the inquiry. Gingrich's success in forcing Wright's resignation was in part responsible for his rising influence in the Republican caucus.^{[citation needed]} 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, especially 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 this alleged corruption.^{[citation needed]}

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 border. Gingrich lost both times to incumbent Democrat Jack Flynt. Flynt was a conservative Democrat who had served in Congress since 1955 and never faced a serious challenge prior to Gingrich's two runs against him. Even though the Watergate scandal had put a negative light on the Republican party, Flynt won by only a small percentage in 1974 and 1976.

Flynt chose not to run for re-election in 1978, and the Democrats fielded state senator Virginia Shapard in his place. Shapard's support of the Equal Rights Amendment [1] backfired against her in the socially conservative district, and Gingrich defeated her by eight percentage points.

See also: U.S. House election, 1992

During the 1990s round of redistricting, Georgia picked up an additional seat as a result of the 1990 United States Census. However, the Democratic-controlled General Assembly tried to draw Gingrich's district from under him.^{[citation needed]} They split Gingrich's old territory among three other districts. Gingrich's home in Carrollton was drawn into the Columbus-based 3rd District, represented by five-term Democrat Richard Ray.

At the same time, they created a new 6th District in Fulton and Cobb counties in the wealthy northern suburbs of Atlanta — an area Gingrich had never represented. However, the plan backfired^{[citation needed]} when 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. Also, Ray narrowly lost to Republican state senator Mac Collins.

Main article: 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, Gingrich presented Richard Armey's and his Contract with America. The contract was signed by himself and other Republican candidates for the House of Representatives. The contract ranged from issues with broad popular support, including 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. In the November 1994 elections, Republicans gained 54 seats and took control of the House for the first time since 1954.

Longtime House Minority Leader Bob Michel of Illinois had not run for re-election in 1994, giving Gingrich, as the highest-ranking Republican returning to Congress, the inside track to becoming Speaker. 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. 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. However, most parts of the Contract eventually became law in some fashion and represented a dramatic departure from the legislative goals and priorities of previous Congresses. See Implementation of the Contract for a detailed discussion of what was and was not enacted.

The Contract was criticized by the Sierra Club and by Mother Jones magazine as a Trojan horse tactic that, while deploying the rhetoric of reform, would have the real effect of allowing corporate polluters to profit at the expense of the environment;^[20] It was referred to by opponents, including President Clinton, as the "Contract on America".^{[citation needed]}

The momentum of the Republican Revolution stalled in late 1995 and early 1996 as a result of a budget fight between Congressional Republicans and President Bill Clinton. Speaker Gingrich and the new Republican majority wanted deep cuts to government spending, which Clinton flatly rejected. Without enough votes to override President Clinton's veto, Gingrich led the Republicans not to submit a revised budget, allowing the previously approved appropriations to expire on schedule, and causing parts of the Federal government to shut down for lack of funds.

Newt inflicted a temporary blow to his public image by seeming to suggest that the Republican hard-line stance over the budget was in part due to his feeling "snubbed" by the President the day before following his return from Yitzhak Rabin's funeral in Israel. Gingrich was lampooned in the media as a petulant figure with an inflated self-image, and editorial cartoons depicted him as having thrown a temper tantrum. Democratic leaders took the opportunity to attack Gingrich's motives for the budget standoff, and some say the shutdown might have contributed to Clinton's re-election in November 1996.^[21][22]

Gingrich was accused of unethical behavior in the media when he accepted an advance as part of a book deal. Following the accusations, Gingrich returned the advance.^{[citation needed]}

Including charges related to the book deal, Democrats filed 84 ethics charges against Speaker Gingrich during his term, including claiming tax-exempt status for a college course run for political purposes and using the GOPAC political action committee as a slush fund; see Joseph Gaylord. All charges were eventually dropped following an investigation by the House Ethics Committee.^[23] He made up for the cost of the investigation by reimbursing the Committee $300,000.^[24]

By 1998, Gingrich had become a highly visible and polarizing figure in the public's eye, making him an easy target for Democratic congressional candidates across the nation.^{[citation needed]} In 1997 a strong majority of Americans believed Gingrich should have been replaced as Speaker of the House, and he held an all-time low job approval rating of 28%.^[25] During this period, Gingrich was at the forefront of Republican calls for the investigation and impeachment of President Clinton for committing perjury by lying under oath during the Lewinsky scandal,^{[citation needed]} and he focused on the perjury charges as a unifying campaign theme in national Republican advertising. Republicans did not focus on the tryst itself but rather the perjurious statements made by the President in connection with the incident. Democratic candidates in races across the country targeted Gingrich specifically during the campaign season.^{[citation needed]}

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 on health care (he has founded the Center for Health Transformation], information technology, the military, and politics. He sometimes serves as a commentator, guest or panel member on television news shows, mostly on the Fox News Channel. He is listed as a contributor by Fox News Channel, and frequently appears as a guest on the channel; he has also hosted occasional specials for the Fox News Channel.

In June 2006, Gingrich publicly called for Congressman Jack Murtha to be censured by the United States Congress for what Gingrich claims was Murtha's statement that America was a greater threat to world stability than Iran or North Korea. The paper which originally printed the statement has recently backed away and admitted that Murtha had been misquoted and was merely citing a poll that showed the world believed the United States was a greater threat than either of those nations. Gingrich, however, has refused to apologize or retract his call for Murtha to be censured.

Besides politics Gingrich has written a book, "Rediscovering God in America". Since Gingrich has, "dedicated much of his time to calling America back to our Christian heritage", Jerry Falwell has invited him to be the speaker, for the second time, at Liberty University's graduation, May 19, 2007. ^[26]

It was announced that Newt Gingrich will be the commencement speaker at the University of Mary Washington's 2007 Undergraduate Graduation Ceremony. The ceremony will be held on May 12, 2007 beginning at 9 o'clock in the morning ^[27]

In 1995, Gingrich collaborated with William R. Forstchen on the alternate history novel 1945, describing a World War II in which the US fought against (and defeated) Japan only, while Nazi Germany defeated the Soviet Union, and the two confront each other in a cold war which swiftly turns hot.

Among other things it was described as being "a disguised tract against gun control",^{[citation needed]} as the key scene depicts an armed Tennessee civilian militia, led by Alvin York, defeating Otto Skorzeny's commandos, who raid Oak Ridge. It ended with a cliffhanger — Rommel invading Scotland and the British facing a desperate fight — but a promised sequel, provisionally called "Fortress Europa", has yet to be written.

Some years later, Gingrich and Forstchen turned to co-authoring an alternate history trilogy of the American Civil War, in which the Confederacy wins the battle of Gettysburg. The trilogy consists of Gettysburg (2003), Grant Comes East (2004), and Never Call Retreat (2005).

In 2007 they are publishing the first of a new series, Pearl Harbor: A Novel of December 8th.

Since the release of Winning the Future: A 21st Century Contract with America in January 2005, Gingrich has been mentioned as a potential Presidential candidate for the 2008 U.S. presidential election. He has made several trips to Iowa and New Hampshire to discuss his book and on April 1, 2005, David Yepsen wrote in the Des Moines Register that Gingrich was "setting a high standard for what other GOP candidates need to be talking about — and doing — if they want to win here."^{[citation needed]} Gingrich has voiced criticism against the Republican Party, and has argued that the party must adapt if it is to remain a dominant force in U.S. politics.^{[citation needed]}

In 2005, Newt Gingrich and his wife Callista established the Newt L. and Callista L. Gingrich Scholarship for instrumental music majors at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. (Gingrich's wife is a Luther alumna.)^[28]

On 13 October 2005, Gingrich suggested he is actually 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 advocated by Gingrich.[2].

In March 2006, Gingrich began a regular series of daily radio commentaries, titled "Winning the Future", the same as his recent book. These commentaries are modeled after Ronald Reagan's radio addresses in the mid-1970s.^{[citation needed]}

On 29 April 2006, supporters of Gingrich launched http://www.draftnewt.org to form a grassroots movement to support a possible Gingrich run for the Presidency.

He has consistently said that he will not announce his decision on candidacy until September 30^th, because on September 27^th (the anniversary of the Contract With America), American Solutions will be holding nation-wide workshops. ^[29]

The website ConservativesBetrayed.com polled 525 people who attended CPAC 2007, and 87.9% believed that Gingrich would govern as a conservative. He was beat only by Tom Tancredo, who polled at 88.1%.^[30]

• 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

• Fenno Jr., Richard F. (2000). Congress at the Grassroots: Representational Change in the South, 1970-1998. UNC Press. ISBN 0-8078-4855-7. 

• 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. 

• GINGRICH, Newton Leroy — Biographical Information. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved on February 4, 2003.
• Titles List. Library of Congress Online Catalog. Retrieved on December 5, 2005.

16 - A recent speech 17 - Another recent speech

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• The official home page of Newt Gingrich
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Senior Fellow at AEI, The American Enterprise Institute
• Winning the Future, a weekly column by Gingrich at Human Events
• VoteNewt.net - campaign for people to vote Newt in 2008
• FEC — Newton L Gingrich campaign financial reports and data
• The New York Times — Newt Gingrich News news stories and commentary
• Profile: Newt Gingrich, Notable Names Database
• On the Issues — Newt Gingrich issue positions and quotes
• Open Secrets — Newt Gingrich campaign contributions 1998 cycle
• Project Vote Smart — Newton Leroy 'Newt' Gingrich (GA) profile
• SourceWatch — Newt Gingrich profile
• Washington Post — The Presidential Field: Newt Gingrich profile and collected Post coverage

• Mother Jones expose detailing the earliest days of Gingrich's political career, November 1, 1984
• Gingrich comment on shutdown labeled 'bizarre' by White House CNN, November 16, 1995
• Newt Gingrich's 1996 GOPAC memo - A Key Mechanism of Control http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=1276
• The Long March of Newt Gingrich PBS Frontline, Peter Boyer and Stephen Talbot, January 16, 1996. transcript chronology interviews work and writings
• Salon contemporary comments on Gingrich's resignation as Speaker, November, 1998
• Salon on Gingrich's resignation, November, 1998
• PBS Gingrich interview on the Tavis Smiley show, January 30, 2006
• The Gingrich RX ScribeMedia.org, December 15, 2006
• The Genuine Danger of Terrorism — Gingrich Speech in New Hampshire
• Gingrich wants to restrict freedom of speech? ... Pastor Martin Noemuller, "First they came for the Fourth Amendment, then they came for habeas corpus, then came for free speech, and there was no one allowed to speak up." http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15951435/

Preceded by Jack Flynt	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia's 6th congressional district 1979 – 1999	Succeeded by Johnny Isakson
Preceded by Dick Cheney	House Republican Whip 1989 – 1995	Succeeded by Tom DeLay
	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, 1997; January 7, 1997 – January 3, 1999	Succeeded by Dennis Hastert

Speakers of the United States House of Representatives

Muhlenberg • Trumbull • Muhlenberg • Dayton • Sedgwick • Macon • Varnum • Clay • Cheves • Clay • Taylor • Barbour • Clay • Taylor • Stevenson • Bell • Polk • Hunter • White • Jones • Davis • Winthrop • Cobb • Boyd • Banks • Orr • Pennington • Grow • Colfax • Pomeroy • Blaine • Kerr • Randall • Keifer • Carlisle • Reed • Crisp • Reed • Henderson • Cannon • Clark • Gillett • Longworth • Garner • Rainey • Byrns • Bankhead • Rayburn • Martin • Rayburn • Martin • Rayburn • McCormack • Albert • O'Neill • Wright • Foley • Gingrich • Hastert • Pelosi

Minority Whips of the United States House of Representatives
Underwood • Lloyd • Dwight • Burke • Hamilton • Oldfield • McDuffie • Bachmann • Englebright • Arends • McCormack • Arends • McCormack • Arends • Michel • Lott • Cheney • Gingrich • Bonior • Pelosi • Hoyer • Blunt

v • d • e  United States presidential election, 2008
Democratic primaries • Democratic primary polls • Democratic Convention	Republican primaries • Republican primary polls • Republican Convention Republican Candidates' Beliefs
Candidates: Biden • Dodd • Edwards (views) • Gravel (campaign, views) • Clinton (campaign, views) • Kucinich • Obama (campaign, views) Candidates with exploratory committees: Richardson Potential candidates: Clark • Gore • Sharpton	Candidates: Brownback • Cox • Giuliani (campaign, views) • Hunter • McCain (campaign, views) • Paul (campaign, views) • Romney (campaign, views) Candidates with exploratory committees: Gilmore • Huckabee • Tancredo • T. Thompson Potential candidates: Gingrich • Hagel • Savage • F. Thompson
Announced Third party candidates: Amondson (Prb.) • E. Brown (Grn.) • Burns (Lib.) • Hollist (Lib.) • Imperato (Ref.) • Kubby (Lib.) • Milnes (Lib.) • Parker (IGVA) • Phillies (Lib.) • C Smith (Lib.) • Stanhope (Lib.) • Swift (Grn.) • D. Thompson (Cst.)
Notable independent candidates: Moriarty • Schriner • Weltman • Bloomberg (unofficial)
General articles: Opinion polling (D • R) • Election timeline
Other 2008 elections: House • Senate • Gubernatorial