Newt Gingrich , a former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, is running for the Republican nomination with promises to create jobs, repeal health care reform, and remove obstacles to oil and gas development in the United States.
Analysts say Gingrich, 68, is an intelligent and experienced politician whose image has suffered from changes in his positions on over the years, including on climate change.
In 2008, Gingrich appeared in a television ad with then-Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, calling for activism to reduce the effects of climate change. In 2011, he said on the conservative Fox News channel that the ad was “one of the dumbest things I've done in recent years” and added that he was trying to make the point that conservatives are concerned about the environment.
His statements sparked criticism from both the left and the right, particularly among his rivals for the Republican nomination.
Faiz Shakir, a vice president at the Center for American Progress , says flatly, “He's completely flip-flopped on that. He's flip-flopped on health care, which is a major issue in this next campaign.”
Brian Darling, a government studies expert at the conservative Heritage Foundation, defends Gingrich, saying his intelligence is a “two-edged sword” that spurs him to consider issues from a variety of angles. He explains Gingrich's contrasting statements as “debating out loud.”
A U.S. representative from the southeastern U.S. state of Georgia, from 1979 to 1999, Gingrich rose to a leadership position among Republicans while the party was still in the minority in the House.
During the 1994 campaign season, Gingrich and several other Republicans introduced what they called the “Contract With America,” which outlined 10 legislative goals including a balanced budget. The plan galvanized support for Republicans and led to the election of a majority-Republican House of Representatives for the first time in four decades. The Republicans then elected him Speaker of the House.
Gingrich's popularity began to wane in 1995 when he refused to compromise with then-President Bill Clinton on budget talks, as Republicans and Democrats clashed over government spending on education, the environment, and public health. The deadlock between the two sides resulted in two federal government shutdowns. For one week in November and then from mid-December to early January, national parks were closed, visa processing halted, and many other federal services were suspended.
An eventual compromise, aided by a thriving economy, led to a balanced budget three years later.
In 1998, Gingrich led the charge for Mr. Clinton's impeachment and removal from office, after the president was accused of lying to a federal grand jury about an extramarital affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
Gingrich is the only Speaker of the House to have been disciplined for ethics violations, a controversy that contributed to his abrupt resignation from the House in January 1999. As the subject of a House investigation, Gingrich agreed to pay $300,000 in penalties for ethics violations including misuse of tax-exempt funds and providing untrue information to a House committee.
Gingrich, a native of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, who holds a Ph.D. in modern European history, has been criticized for his personal life. He has been married three times. He has two daughters from his first marriage, which ended in 1980. His second and third marriages both stemmed from extramarital affairs, the second of which took place during the impeachment proceedings against President Clinton.
Since leaving Congress, Gingrich has continued his work in politics in roles such as political consultant, television commentator, and author of books on topics ranging from energy to religion to self-help.
