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Some Other Gingrich Flip-Flops: Libya, Dede Scozzafava, and Cap-and-Trade Newt the Erratic. John McCormack May 16, 2011 9:24 AM On April 20, Newt Gingrich said he would have voted for Paul Ryan's Medicare reform and praised it as just a "first step" toward fixing our health care system. In a Facebook post hours later, he edged away from his full embrace of Ryan's plan. On May 15, Gingrich ripped Ryan's plan as "radical change," "right-wing social engineering," and just “too big a jump.” Hours later, his spokesman acknowledged there's "not much daylight between Ryan and Gingrich" in the substance of...

Tim Pawlenty, after being asked yesterday about his support for ethanol subsidies, which is a key issue in Iowa. "We can't just pull the rug out from under the industry," he said. "There are going to have to be some changes, but we have to be fair-minded about it." Earlier this year, the National Review's Katrina Trinko detailed the ethanol records of Mitch Daniels and T-Paw, among others. She found that both were good friends to the industry -- an uncomfortable, ideological brotherhood, but politically-helpful in both Iowa and their own states. When Mitch Daniels was sworn in as governor...

Gingrich warns against secularism By: Kendra Marr April 27, 2011 09:26 AM EDT Speaking at the National Catholic Prayer breakfast, Newt Gingrich on Wednesday warned Catholics that Europe’s “crisis of secularism” — spawning a “government-favored culture to replace Christianity” — has seized the United States.“The American elites are guided by their desire to emulate the European elites and, as a result, anti-religious values and principles are coming to dominate the academic, news media and judicial class in America,” he said in Washington.Gingrich lashed out against the “secular pressures” that have led scientific publications to replace Anno Domini (A.D.) with the Common...

Obesity is a national health crisis ... If current trends continue, it will soon surpass smoking in the U.S. as the biggest single factor in early death, reduced quality of life and added health care costs ... Obesity is responsible for more than 160,000 excess deaths a year ... The average obese person costs society more than $7,000 a year in lost productivity and added medical treatment." — Scientific American, January 2011. Considering those troubling statistics, Advertising Age's headline this week is welcome news: "Weight Watchers Picks a New Target: Men." The story details how the nation's biggest diet company...

Fox News Radio just reported that Newt Gingrich will tweet on Wednesday that he is officially throwing his hat in the ring for the 2012 election.

Mike Barnicle has greeted Newt Gingrich's announcement of his presidential candidacy with a sneer, calling the former Speaker of the House "a delusional loser." The former Kennedy-clan retainer and Boston Globe columnist seasoned his attack with some snobbery, disparaging Gingrich's educational background. Barnicle spewed his bile on today's Morning Joe. View video here.

Everyone knows Newt Gingrich’s liabilities. The question as he embarks on his presidential run is whether he can overcome them with his undeniable talent for formulating and communicating a compelling policy message. “The secret to winning the Republican nomination is going to be talking about the future and ideas and solutions. That’s something Newt’s been doing for 15 years, so as long as he can be future-oriented, I think he has a very good chance of winning the nomination,” says GOP strategist Scott Reed. “This race is wide open,” says Greg Mueller, a Republican strategist and president of CRC Public...

I think Newt Gingrich is the spitting image of the Keebler Elf and would lke to see this photoshoped. I don't have these skills and would love to see it done. My thanks up front and my the best picture win! We can all use it over and over again in the comming months.

Newt Gingrich has thrown his hat into the ring. The former House speaker has formally declared he will seek the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. Mr. Gingrich has toyed for years with running for the White House. Now he finally is all in. Mr. Gingrich has many positive attributes. He is articulate, smart and possesses instant name recognition. Moreover, he has a political machine and a network of advisers that will help him establish a formidable ground game. Mr. Gingrich’s candidacy, however, is a dollar short and a day late.

Former House speaker Newt Gingrich threw his hat into the presidential ring on Wednesday. Republicans should toss it back onto Gingrich’s head and ask him to kindly go away. He is the wrong man to lead the GOP to victory in November 2012. Gingrich’s intellect, tenacity, and perseverance helped the Republicans secure the House of Representatives in 1994, ending the Democrats’ 40-year majority. That achievement notwithstanding, Gingrich’s flaws glowed beneath the glare of national leadership. And there they remain. Gingrich is no happy warrior. He snarls more than he smiles. Rather than speak, he hectors. Gingrich lectures rather than inspires...

WILL MAKE ATTACKS ON PALIN LOOK LIKE CHILD’S PLAY And so it begins. Now that Newt Gingrich has made it official, we’re about to see a campaign of personal destruction that will make the attacks on Sarah Palin look like child’s play. This cartoon had the caption, “Newt Gingrich is Scum.” Catch the drift? Disclaimer: I am not condoning or excusing Newt’s past transgressions, which include extramarital affairs and the insensitivity of serving divorce papers to one of his wives while she was in the hospital. I am posing the question as to whether or not his past personal life...

VIDEO: Newt Gingrich and Nancy Pelosi don't agree on much, but they do agree on the government's involvement in "climate change", as you can see from this 2008 joint ad.

MACON, Ga. — It had all the trappings of a homecoming. Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker who helped Republicans rise to power in this once-solid Democratic state, returned Friday deliver his first speech as a presidential candidate before thousands of state GOP delegates. But ahead of Gingrich’s scheduled address Friday evening, party activists were buzzing about another favorite son — Herman Cain. “He doesn’t talk political,” said Jeanette Bean, a Gwinnett County delegate who was passing out Draft Cain stickers. “He talks straight. He doesn’t mince his words and says it how it is. It’s so refreshing,” Plenty of...

What better way for ABC to kick off its weekend news coverage than by mocking the physical appearance of a Republican presidential candidate? That's apparently what someone at Good Morning America was thinking today. As co-host Dan Harris opened the show by teasing an upcoming story about a study suggesting that allowing one's spouse to gawk at others they find attractive is good for the relationship, footage of . . . Newt Gingrich suddenly appeared on screen. Harris made as if it were a mistake: "and no, not Newt Gingrich." View video here.

Newt Gingrich’s appearance on “Meet the Press” today could leave some wondering which party’s nomination he is running for. The former speaker had some harsh words for Paul Ryan’s (and by extension, nearly every House Republican’s) plan to reform Medicare, calling it “radical.” “I don’t think right-wing social engineering is any more desirable than left-wing social engineering,” he said when asked about Ryan’s plan to transition to a “premium support” model for Medicare. “I don’t think imposing radical change from the right or the left is a very good way for a free society to operate.” As far as an...

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Sunday that he strongly supports a federal mandate requiring citizens to buy health insurance – a position that has been rejected by many Republicans, including several who likely will be running against him for the Republican presidential nomination. Appearing on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Gingrich told host David Gregory that he continues to advocate for a plan he first called for in the early 1990s as a Congressman, which requires every uninsured citizen to purchase or acquire health insurance. (snip) Gregory asked Gingrich if he would criticize GOP presidential rival Mitt Romney, whose "Romneycare"...

Newt Gingrich came in for some serious criticism on today's Morning Joe for his attack on Paul Ryan's health care proposal. Reacting to footage of Newt on Meet the Press alluding to Paul Ryan's health care proposal as "radical," Joe Scarborough accused Gingrich of being in "the mushy middle." Pat Buchanan came with the unkindest cut of all, saying Gingrich is "out on the left wing of the Republican party." View video here.

Newt Gingrich had plenty of people on the Right scratching their heads after his attack on Paul Ryan’s budget plan as conservative “social engineering,” but Republicans weren’t the only ones mystified. The attack also puzzled Jay Newton-Small at Time. Two weeks ago, Gingrich told her that he would have voted for the plan offered by the “brave” Republican Representative: The former speaker sang Ryan’s praises for being a “brave” “man of ideas,” like Gingrich himself.“But would you have voted for Ryan’s plan?” I pressed.“Sure,” Gingrich replied.“Do you think it would actually save the health care system?”“No, I think it’s the...

Newt Gingrich was on Meet the Press this morning in his first Sunday show appearance since announcing his intention to… challenge President Obama for the Democrat nomination, apparently. Andrew Stiles at NRO has the details: Newt Gingrich’s appearance on “Meet the Press” today could leave some wondering which party’s nomination he is running for. The former speaker had some harsh words for Paul Ryan’s (and by extension, nearly every House Republican’s) plan to reform Medicare, calling it “radical.”

White House hopeful Newt Gingrich called the House Republican plan for Medicare "right-wing social engineering," injecting a discordant GOP voice into the party's efforts to reshape both entitlements and the broader budget debate. In the same interview Sunday, on NBC's "Meet the Press," Mr. Gingrich backed a requirement that all Americans buy health insurance, complicating a Republican line of attack on President Barack Obama's health law. The former House speaker's decision to stick with his previous support for an individual mandate comes days after former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney defended the health revamp he championed as governor, which includes a...