Gingrich Archives Show His Public Praise, Private Criticism of Reagan By Jerry Markon February 19 CARROLLTON, Ga. — In an unnoticed 1992 speech, Newt Gingrich in a single utterance took aim not only at a beloved conservative icon but also at a core tenet of the conservative movement: that government must be limited. Ronald Reagan’s “weakness,” Gingrich told the National Academy of Public Administration in Atlanta, was that “he didn’t think government mattered. The Reagan failure was to grossly undervalue the centrality of government as the organizing mechanism for reinforcing societal behavior.” A review of thousands of documents detailing Gingrich’s...