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We know the story of the first Thanksgiving almost 400 years ago, of the pilgrims and the Indians coming together and sharing their food after a bountiful harvest. The first "official" Thanksgiving, however, was celebrated just 210 years ago today. President George Washington's first presidential proclamation designated the 26th day of November to be set aside for thanksgiving. "It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God and to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor," he wrote. Washington did not ask the nation's citizens...

Friday, November 20, 2009 GINGRICH TO HEADLINE HASTERT FUNDRAISER from Ethan Hastert for Congress campaign GENEVA, IL – Ethan Hastert will welcome Newt Gingrich to the 14th Congressional District on Friday, December 11, 2009 for a fundraising event at Pheasant Run in St. Charles, IL, to benefit the Ethan Hastert for Congress Campaign. The breakfast event will begin at 8:00 a.m. “I am proud to welcome Speaker Newt Gingrich to the 14th Congressional District. Newt Gingrich lead the Republican Revolution in 1994, resulting in the first Republican majority in 40 years, said Hastert. “As Speaker, Newt Gingrich insisted on...

An unlikely trio explored several Baltimore schools Friday as part of an effort to highlight education reform and challenges, and called on Maryland to give charter schools more autonomy. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich repeatedly emphasized the need for changes to the state's charter school law, which he called "too restrictive," as he, the Rev. Al Sharpton and U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan toured three city schools and spoke with students, administrators and others about their schools -- and what sets them apart. "I hope that everybody in Maryland will call the governor, will call the legislators, and will let...

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich predicted disaster for his party if the conservative wing of the GOP continues to field independent candidates to the right of the party’s nominee. “If we get into a cycle where there are tea parties and there are conservative third-party candidates, we will make [Nancy] Pelosi speaker for life,” Gingrich told POLITICO in an interview Thursday, calling the practice “totally destructive.” But Gingrich, who broke with many fellow conservatives by getting behind the liberal Republican who was nominated but ultimately dropped out and backed the Democrat in a New York special congressional election, admitted that...

"...[I]t’s equally clear that you can’t be a right-wing party and govern the country." --Newt Gingrich quoted by Jonathan Martin, Politico, November 12, 2009 Dr. Newt Gingrich (Ph.D. History) should know better by now not to use “right-wing” as an adjective to describe the GOP. The GOP is not “right-wing,” but rather a conservative political party. Members of that party responded to Newt Gingrich’s “Contract for America” that was not “right-wing,” but an expression of the conservative philosophy of limited government shared by most Republicans and many Independents. Unfortunately, had Newt Gingrich adhered to political principle he might not have...

  The headline reads "Newt Gingrich warns of 'destructive' GOP primaries". Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich predicted disaster for his party if the conservative wing of the GOP continues to field independent candidates to the right of the party's nominee. "If we get into a cycle where there are tea parties and there are conservative third-party candidates, we will make [Nancy] Pelosi speaker for life," Gingrich told POLITICO in an interview Thursday, calling the practice "totally destructive." There is a telling confusion in this POLITICO.com piece that should be carefully pondered. Gingrich's quoted words discourage conservative third party candidates. But...

Newt Gingrich, the former Republican House speaker and purveyor of the GOP "Contract With America'' that helped his party win control of the House after President Bill Clinton's election, says GOP chairman Michael Steele has started work on a new framework for 2010 that he is calling "First principles.'' "I've been talking with Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele, '' Gingrich said today, speaking with students at C-SPAN's Cable Center Class. "He is developing a first principles model that I think is a very exciting , positive step in the right direction,'' said Gingrich, who has said that he will...

Here is video of Newt Gingrich on Sean Hannity's show "explaining" why he endorsed Scozzafava and saying that he "deeply regrets" she was chosen by the 11 local county chairs. When asked what he would say to Conservatives that are angry at him Newt answered "they have every right to be angry, I don't blame them," he went on to say "I think she was the wrong nominee and I think it was a terrible position." (Video)

Who do you think is the most likely GOP Contender in 2012 of this group?Scroll down a bit... on the right side.

On Fox now livw

And Romney was nowhere to be seen. BY BRENDAN MINITER Amidst the stunning events in New York's 23rd congressional district -- with Republican-turned-independent Doug Hoffman suddenly surging to the front and likely to win today's race -- collateral damage has been suffered by some of the GOP's presidential hopefuls who misread the race and the mood of the Republican electorate. Mitt Romney -- formerly a man who seemed willing to show up and plug for any Republican anywhere to pick up a few chits -- was nowhere to be seen in the district. Mike Huckabee, a favorite for religious conservatives...

Follow those races here. Report turnout, exit polls etc. as they happen..

Much has been made over the special election in New York's 23rd Congressional District. For some, the attention might seem a bit much, given that it is merely one of 435 House seats. In reality, this race is about much more than one House seat. It is a proxy battle in the long-running war between establishment Republicans and grassroots conservatives. Although GOP candidate Dede Scozzafava endorsed the Democrat over Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman, after quitting the race with three days to go, Hoffman looks poised to win

It is being reported today that Dede Scozzafava is endorsing Democrat Bill Owens. In one fell swoop she proved her detractors right. Her actions also speak to the Republicans that made excuses for her such as Newt Gingrich; they were dead wrong. When Dede withdrew from the race on Saturday, many (including me) thought she was doing the right thing for Northern New York, and the Republican Party. Instead we have been presented with the quintessential example of what the label RINO means. "Scozzafava dropped out after Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman experienced a late-in-the-game surge. The move was expected...

Republican Dede Scozzafava endorsed her former Democratic opponent Sunday in the race for an upstate New York congressional seat, one day after Scozzafava dropped out of the contest. Scozzafava dropped out after Conservative Party candidate Dough Hoffman experienced a late-in-the-game surge. But on Sunday, Scozzafava backed Democrat Bill Owens -- the announcement was made in a statement send out by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. "I am supporting Bill Owens for Congress and urge you to do the same," she said. "In Bill Owens, I see a sense of duty and integrity that will guide him beyond political partisanship. He...

The candidate, Dede Scozzafava, said she was suspending her campaign in the face of collapsing support and evidence that she was heading for a loss in a three-way race on Tuesday involving Douglas L. Hoffman, running on the Conservative Party line, and Bill Owens, a Democrat.

Two weeks after Sarah Palin's unique exit from public office, Newt Gingrich offered up some unsolicited counsel for the former governor in an interview with POLITICO.

Return to the Article November 01, 2009Sarah Palin and Newt Gingrich: The Visionary and the HackBy Claude Sandroff Two weeks after Sarah Palin's unique exit from public office, Newt Gingrich offered up some unsolicited counsel for the former governor in an interview with POLITICO. Apparently, Newt was certain that Palin's reputation needed serious burnishing, and he was all too ready to provide it by offering substantial details on the range and style of speeches that would be most appropriate for Palin to deliver to various audiences in order to sustain a public revival.  Exactly why he felt she needed...

"The grass roots of the conservative movement just claimed a scalp before anyone even voted," said Republican strategist Mark McKinnon, a former senior adviser to President George W. Bush and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). "The conservative movement is alive, well, kicking hindquarters and taking names. And if you don't measure up, look out."

The shotgun wedding is officially off. You guys will dump on him as a johnny-come-lately, but (a) his support for Scozzafava was always strategic, driven more by stopping the Democrats next year than stopping Hoffman and (b) as her most prominent Republican supporter, this is the most important endorsement Hoffman could have right now aside from Scozzafava’s (or maybe Snowe’s or Collins’s). Yes, it's kind of Allahpundit's job to dampen any news that puts smiles on the faces of hardcore conservatives. Rabid Hot Air readers (like myself) know that's just sort of what he does. I'm not dumping on Newt...

"Doug Hoffman and NY-23 is an earthquake in American politics, and is the first of many challenges to establishment Republicans that we will see for the 2010 elections and beyond. The stupid decision by Republican leaders to pour $900,000 into the NY-23rd race against a conservative has unleashed a fury that will lead to new GOP leadership.

We're Not Gonna Take It!

And beyond, because he's probably come to his Waterloo. The RNC, which had been hemming and hawing about Doug Hoffman's candidacy in NY-23 as late as yesterday afternoon has seen the writing on the wall. And the blogs. And, most importantly, the checks. Hoffman has enjoyed an influx of endorsements and cash this past week that has resulted in a surge in the polls even the most oblivious GOP operatives can't ignore any longer. Now Michael Steele has given in. “You’ve got two Republicans running in that race. My upside is that one of them will likely win,” Steele said....

CFA Executive Director: "While I admire Newt's intelligence and respect him as a fellow Catholic, his crass, political calculation in endorsing such a pro-abortion candidate sends an unfortunate signal that party loyalty is more important than morality. Newt needs to examine his conscience for so publicly flouting the Church's doctrine on abortion and gay marriage."

When the former Speaker of the House endorsed "Dede" Scozzafava's campaign in New York's special congressional election in New York's 23rd congressional district, he did not only endorse the positions of Scozzafava, who is as radical as them come in Republican clothing, he has endorsed everything Scozzafava has surrounded herself with, whether or not he meant to. When Newt Gingrich endorsed Scozzafava, he endorsed some of the most radical positions one candidate could take in the United States of America, while I do not question Newt's Conservatism, I do question his wisdom and poor choice in judgement, as Mr.Gingrich is...

Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Committee, opens up a can of whoop ass on Newt Gingrich: Right to Work activists will be disturbed to learn Newt is backing an outspoken supporter of forced unionism and the union bosses in a special election for Congress next week in New York 23. Does Mr. Gingrich really think it makes no difference whether the Republican Party is pro-worker freedom or not? Just like the final few years when he was Speaker of the House of Representatives, for Newt, it is appears it is just about power and party over...

Snubbed by Newt Gingrich’s conservative group, the owner of a Dallas topless club has decided to create a shelter for pit bulls in his honor. Dawn Rizos was set to receive an “Entrepreneur of the Year” award on Oct. 7 from the group American Solutions for Winning the Future, led by the former U.S. House speaker. But the group reneged, saying it had mistaken her business for another. Rizos, who owns the topless club The Lodge, was refunded the $5,000 fee required to receive the award. So she donated the money to Animal Guardians of America’s sanctuary for rescued dogs...

National Legal and Policy Center President Peter Flaherty tells Newsmax that his group is calling on corporations to end their support of Al Sharpton's organization in response to his role in the Rush Limbaugh-National Football League controversy. Flaherty is also urging former House Speaker Newt Gingrich to cut his ties with Sharpton, a Baptist minister and civil rights activist whom Flaherty calls a "despicable figure" responsible for racial "antagonism" in the U.S. See Video: National Legal and Policy Center President Peter Flaherty: Gingrich must sever his ties with Al Sharpton - Click Here Now After Limbaugh announced on Oct. 6...

Newt Gingrich can officially be put on the RINO list. Actually, he should be given the crown! In the first true test of the conservative movement, the former Speaker was one of the first to show his true colors by going AGAINST the grassroots movement. Recently, Gingrich formally indorsed Dede Scozzafava, a very liberal Republican candidate in the New York special election. Politico reports that Gingrich told tea party organizer Lisa Miller that “conservatives are inadvertently hindering the cause by backing Conservative Party nominee Doug Hoffman over Dede Scozzafava.” Scozzafava was not nominated by the public in a primary, she...

ALBANY—Former House speaker Newt Gingrich never mentioned Doug Hoffman's name during a radio appearance this morning, but had a clear message for Republicans in the 23rd Congressional District: "The vote you're going to cast for a third-party candidate is going to guarantee the election of a Democrat. If you think that adding another vote to Nancy Pelosi's majority is a good idea, that keeping Nancy Pelosi as speaker is a good idea, then it's fine. But don't kid yourself.""John McHugh is a moderate Republican, he's held the seat for a very long time, I think 20 years," Gingrich, who has...

Don't worry Newt, you can probably have coffee with John Kerry or somebody when this is over. While Gingrich and a few other people on the Right keep trying to make the "A left-wing Republican is better than no Republican at all argument", Fred Thompson lent even more conservative street cred to Doug Hoffman's campaign by making an ad. Thompson gently knocked back Newt's condescension towards the party's real conservatives and further undermined Gingrich's claim that we're the ones who are out of touch. (video)

Fred to Newt: We're not 'deaf, dumb' By: Andy Barr October 27, 2009 07:20 PM EST Former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson brushed back former House Speaker Newt Gingrich on Tuesday over Gingrich’s warning that the Republican Party is wrong to thrown in its lot with the Conservative Party nominee Doug Hoffman over Dede Scozzafava, the GOP’s candidate, in the special election in New York’s 23rd congressional district. Gingrich has called the many prominent national Republicans – including Thompson – who have endorsed Hoffman over Scozzafava in recent days “misguided,” arguing they are making a “mistake” to back a third-party candidate...

"The Republican Party, as constituted, is just as dangerous to the country as the Democrat Party."

(h/t: NewsBusters) Note to Newt Gingrich and the NRCC: This is what a quick fade into irrelevance feels like, enjoy. Showing just how out of touch he is, Gingrich manages to make the case for the other side while trying to shore up his untenable position. Gingrich, for his part, insisted in an e-mail to the Fix that the special election was not -- and should not be interpreted as -- a conservative litmus test, and explained that his endorsement of Scozzafava was entirely about respecting local party leaders. There is no reason for any conservative/libertarian Republican to respect party...

Empire State conservatives defect to vote their principles

Enough of this garbage, already. After two spectacularly dismal national elections, a large part of the old-guard in the GOP remains in "Einstein's Definition Of Insanity" mode and is determined to throw the party on the Whig pile. This past week and a half has played out in a most interesting fashion both locally and nationally for me. After spending a weekend butting heads with the old-school money people at Western CPAC, I had a keener sense of just how clueless they are and how desperately their influence needs to be diminished, if not obliterated.(Hyperbole? You hang out with them...

Gingrich calls GOP support for Hoffman a 'purge' By Jordan Fabian - 10/27/09 09:47 AM ET Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) late Monday had some choice words for Republicans supporting Conservative Party party candidate Doug Hoffman (N.Y.), accusing them of conducting a "purge" of the GOP. Many national Republican figures, such as Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-Minn.) and ex-Gov. Sarah Palin (R-Alaska), have backed Hoffman over GOP candidate Dede Scozzafava in the 23rd district's special election this year. The district has been long-held by Republicans, but many conservatives have shied away from Scozzafava for her socially liberal positions and the...

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is once again making headlines by publicly pondering a 2012 presidential bid. Yesterday, as Politics Daily and Politico report, Gingrich talked about a possible bid on CSPAN's Washington Journal. In the interview, Gingrich said he would make the decision in February of 2011 and that probably would run if he and his wife, Callista, decided that they feel "a requirement as citizens that we run," which would be based on how they asses the other candidates running for the Republican nomination. "We are going to reach out to all of our friends around the country,"...

Gingrich: 'You can't have a purely right-wing majority' Posted: October 26th, 2009 12:03 PM ET From CNN Radio's Bob Constantini WASHINGTON (CNN) – Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has taken considerable heat from conservative activists for endorsing Republican Dede Scozzafava over Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman in next month's special congressional election in New York. But Gingrich is defending his approach to re-building the Republican Party. It begins, he said, by accommodating those who might disagree with you. "Both parties have to recognize, you can create a center-right majority in America, which we did with Reagan in '80 and we...

Newt answering questions about NY23. Defending the Scozzafava. Says that Hoffman is outside the district. Claims that Scozzafava is a solid fiscal conservative but social liberal. Claims all of Hoffman's money is coming outside the district. Make a point that it was the local GOP that nominated Scozzafava and that they know more than outsiders what is right for the district.

Reporting from Washington - Silvan Johnson adores Sarah Palin, belongs to a conservative discussion group and fumes at President Obama's spending policies. But when it comes to picking a new congressional representative for her upstate New York district, she is in no mood to help the Republican Party. In fact, Johnson and many other conservatives want to use a Nov. 3 special election to teach the GOP a lesson about sticking to conservative values -- even though that lesson could mean the party loses a House seat it has held for decades. The conservatives are backing a third-party candidate, splitting...

Newt Gingrich appeared on talk shows this Sunday and flirted with the idea of a 2012 presidential bid. In a glaring example of just how wide the schism between Republican Party moderates and conservatives has become, pundits on the right were quick to shoot Gingrich down. The man who led the GOP to a 1994 revival is now dismissed being by some on the right as a RINO -- Republican In Name Only. Why? In a contentious New York State Congressional race that has split the Republican Party at the national level, Gingrich irked conservatives by endorsing moderate Dede Scozzafava,...

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is warning conservative activists

It is time for former House Speaker Newt Gingrich to end his association with Al Sharpton. The two have been appearing together around the country as part of something called the Education Equality Project. As Dr. Carl Horowitz of our staff has documented in a Special Report released earlier this year, Sharpton has promoted fake hate crimes against blacks, and has inspired racial antagonism against whites and Jews. Indeed, this long-established pattern of behavior continues to the present.Just last week, the purported victim of a 2007 racially-motivated attack in West Virginia recanted her story that she had been kidnapped and...

Fox & Friends Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09bm6pMRXmM

EXCERPT This congressional seat has long been held by a Republican, but if conservatives split their votes between Scozzafava and Hoffman, that could change. That is where Gingrich could make a difference if he were to endorse Hoffman. Instead, his endorsement of Scozzafava puts him, politically speaking, in bed with Markos Moulitsas, purveyor of the vile, left-wing blog known as The Daily Kos. Newt’s logic? He says he wants to win a Republican majority again. With all due respect, Mr. Speaker, for what? Has wandering in the political wilderness since the repudiation of the voters after the big-spending, liberal-light actions...

This is new video of a Tea Party Protester asking Newt Gingrich at a book signing why he is supporting Scozzafava, the so called Republican in NY's 23 district, Newt's reasons are lame, (Video with Transcript)

Sarah Palin's endorsement of Conservative, Doug Hoffman, in the upstate New York Senate Race over Republican Dede Scozzafava who is backed by Newt Gingrich, is a clear example of the present problem facing the Republican Party. Scozzafava is a Republican in name only. She votes like a liberal, stands for big government, abortion rights, and even supports laws to make it easier for unions to organize private business. So why would Newt Gingrich support her? According to Newt, if you want to take back Congress from the Democrats, then you need to accept Republican candidates who may not fully conform...

Two stories are unfolding out in the 23rd Congressional District of New York. In the foreground, we have the three-way contest between hapless Republican Dede Scozzafava, upstart Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman, and some generic Democrat whose name no one can remember. This race is a microcosm of our strange politics, which have become like a speeding car with jammed door locks, cut brake lines, a dead steering wheel, and air vents that pump nitrous oxide. Everyone is dimly aware the country is heading for the edge of a cliff, but no one can muster the energy to search for...

Love the question at the end!