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In a pair of conservative talk show appearances Wednesday night, Sarah Palin defended presidential contender Newt Gingrich's criticism of fellow Republican Paul Ryan's Medicare plan by reiterating her frustration with the “leftist lame-stream media." On Sean Hannity’s Fox News show, Palin argued that Gingrich had no reason to apologize for calling Ryan’s Medicare plan “right wing social engineering.”

Make way for Nikki Haley. With noted smackdowns of two top GOP 2012 contenders, a high-profile presence at the May 5 Fox News debate and a schedule heavy with cable news show appearances, the first-term Republican governor is signaling her intent to use South Carolina’s key early presidential primary to claim a place on the national stage. Haley’s recent muscle-flexing came at the expense of Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney, both of whom are still licking their wounds after her frank—and non-constructive—criticism of them. Asked by CNN about Gingrich’s controversial critique of Rep.Paul Ryan’s (R-Wis.) Medicare reform plan, Haley piled...

AND NOW . . . amidst billowing clouds of fragrant, aromatic first- and second-hand premium cigar smoke. . . it is time for . . . that harmless, lovable little fuzz ball, the highly-trained broadcast specialist, having more fun than a human being should be allowed to have, from behind the golden EIB microphone, firmly ensconced in the prestigious Attila-the-Hun chair at the Limbaugh Institute of Advanced Conservative Studies, serving humanity simply by showing up, and he’s not retiring until every American agrees with him, do NOT doubt him, with shrieks of joy at the mere mention of his name...

The 2012 election cometh, and as of right now the Republican field of candidates seems unsettled at best. Before it has even formed, the herd has been thinned. Witness former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee's step out of the election pool on Saturday or, to a somewhat less serious extent, Donald Trump's exit on Monday. And beyond the shrinking presidential cast there is the splintered nature of the party. Normally, 18 months before a presidential election, there is look and feel to the Republican pool -- a front-runner, a conservative choice, a libertarian alternative. But a Patchwork Nation analysis of a...

How is your week going? Most likely its going much better than GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich. Why? Just days after officially announcing his candidacy, respected political pundit Charles Krauthammer said of Gingrich’s candidacy “It’s done, it’s over.” Last night during an appearance on On the Record Newt continued to walk back his Sunday critique of Paul Ryan’s health care plan, in a stark manner. To say that Gingrich is in crisis mode is not necessarily hyperbole. The former House Speaker and GOP thought leader has been toying with running for president for what seems like years now, and coming...

Could Newt Gingrich's week get any worse? Just days into his 2012 presidential bid, the former House speaker has been under fire this week from fellow Republicans for trashing Rep. Paul Ryan's proposal on Medicare during his appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday--criticism that forced Gingrich to apologize. On Monday, an Iowa voter was caught on camera griping him out. And Tuesday, it was revealed that Gingrich at one point owed at least $250,000 to Tiffany's—an embarrassing detail that could potentially come back to haunt the self-described fiscal conservative's 2012 bid.

Newt Gingrich's apology on Tuesday to Rep. Paul Ryan, Representative from Wisconsin, for calling his Medicare plan "radical" and "right-wing engineering." Gingrich's so called "gaffes" were a series of comments he made on NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday, in which he said "I don't think right-wing social engineering is any more desirable than left-wing social engineering... I don't think imposing radical change from the right or the left is a very good way for a free society to operate." He also argued that Ryan's 2012 budget proposal - and, namely, its plan for Medicare - was "radical change" and...

In an interview on Meet the Depressed, David Gregory accused Newt Gingrich of using coded racist language in criticizing Barack Obama: DAVID GREGORY, HOST: What, what about jobs? Jobless rate now at 9 percent. You gave a speech on Friday in Georgia, and you said the following about this president: (Videotape) NEWT GINGRICH: You want to be a country that creates food stamps, in which case frankly Obama's is an enormous success. The most successful food stamp president in American history. Or do you want to be a country that creates paychecks? (End videotape) GREGORY: First of all, you gave...

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich and his wife Callista were hit with glittery confetti by a protester Tuesday during the couple's appearance at a book-signing. The man approached the Gingriches during the signing at a downtown Minneapolis hotel, dumped a cracker box full of colorful confetti on the pair and said, "Feel the rainbow, Newt! Stop the hate! Stop anti-gay politics!" Two Associated Press reporters witnessed the event. The man was quickly pushed out of the room by an event organizer as the Gingriches brushed confetti out of their hair and laps. Newt Gingrich smiled as he...

MINNEAPOLIS - Two possible GOP presidential candidates got together in one room in Minneapolis to speak before the Minnesota Family Council and Minnesota Family Institute about reconnecting faith, family and freedom on Tuesday -- but not without a little bedazzling. Gingrich and his wife, Callista, were hit with glittery confetti by a protestor during the couple's appearance at a book-signing in Minneapolis. The man approached the Gingriches during the signing Tuesday afternoon at a downtown hotel before dumping a cracker box full of confetti on the pair while he said, "Feel the rainbow, Newt! Stop the hate! Stop anti-gay politics!"

ATLANTA (AP) -- An official presidential candidate for less than a week, Newt Gingrich already finds himself in hot water with conservatives for suggesting he supports health care mandates while at the same time deriding a Republican budget proposal that would replace Medicare with vouchers. The former House speaker has moved quickly to backtrack, arguing he remains "committed to the complete repeal of Obamacare" and supports state lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of President Barack Obama's signature health care law. But even as Gingrich distances himself from the law he is not backing away from one of its central tenets: that...

Exit Mike Huckabee. Enter Newt Gingrich. Exit Donald Trump. It's been a busy week in the race for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. A few questions remain to be answered. Enter Mitch Daniels? Exit Sarah Palin? But already two of the best-known candidates seem bent on ruling themselves out of contention. One is Newt Gingrich. He's being denounced for his comments on House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan's Medicare plan by the likes of Rush Limbaugh, Bill Bennett, the Wall Street Journal editorial page and Charles Krauthammer on Fox News. Ryan's Medicare plan was part of the budget resolution that...

I would contend Newt Gingrich’s interview with Bill Bennett this morning did not go well for the candidate. I don’t think I’ve ever heard Bennett, one of the most patient and courteous hosts in talk radio, so exasperated with a guest: Bill Bennett: We had some tough comments about you, want to give you a chance to respond. Let me put it this way: Is there anything about this Meet the Press interview that you would like to either take back or clarify today?Newt Gingrich: Yeah, there’s a lot that I would like to clarify, but let me start by...

Former Speaker of the House and 2012 Republican presidential nomination contender Newt Gingrich’s remarks about the Rep. Paul Ryan budget plan had upset a lot of conservatives. Some leading opinion makers on the right have declared his candidacy over as a result. Was it a lapse of judgment on Gingrich’s part, or something else? On his Tuesday program, conservative Rush Limbaugh floated a theory. According to him, it could have been a strategic move if Gingrich is no longer taking himself seriously as the next president of the United States. “I mentioned yesterday that, I talked about the phenomenon known...

Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich apologized in a telephone call to House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) on Tuesday afternoon for his remarks on “Meet the Press,” where the presidential candidate referred to Ryan’s Medicare proposal as “radical change.” “Newt apologized,” said Rick Tyler, his press secretary and longtime aide. “The call went very well.” Gingrich, his nascent campaign in jeopardy, has shifted into fervent damage control following a furious conservative reaction to his comments — and is even expressing a rare bit of contrition. From Iowa, Gingrich held two conference calls with tea party leaders scattered throughout the...

Newt Gingrich reportedly owed up to $500,000 to Tiffany Posted by Brian Montopoli Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who entered the 2012 presidential race just last Wednesday, is having an epically bad week. And it's only Tuesday. On Sunday, Gingrich angered conservatives by criticizing Rep. Paul Ryan's budget plan and semi-supporting an individual mandate for health care. Now he is being stung by a report that he carried up to $500,000 in debt to the Tiffany jewelry company - and may still be carrying it. Politico got the scoop by looking at financial records filed with the Clerk of the...

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) on Monday sought to walk back his controversial remarks on healthcare after coming under friendly fire from the right. Gingrich, who's acknowledged that his discipline and judgment would be a key metric of success in his bid for the Republican presidential nomination, had come under intense criticism from conservatives stunned by his comments on NBC's “Meet the Press." “I am completely opposed to the ObamaCare mandate on individuals," Gingrich said in a video posted to his website on Monday. “I am for the repeal of ObamaCare and I am against any effort to impose...

Newt Gingrich’s ambition to be President of the US did not take a shot in the foot over the past weekend – it was a headshot! You can stick a fork in him ‘cause … he’s DONE! Either Newt, or his campaign folks, grievously misread conservative voters concerning the nation’s financial mess and socialized medicine. Two things the Gingrich campaign apparently missed: One is that Conservatives know drastic cuts in government spending must be made to salvage our country. The other is that conservatives do not like, nor do we want, socialized medicine … in any form or by any...

In an effort to set the world record for self-implosion, Newt Gingrich laid a mine at his feet then promptly stomped on it. The official end of the still-minty-fresh Gingrich candidacy came when an informed Iowa voter shook his hand, and before ol’ Newtie could tear away, gave him a verbal judo toss into a long overdue retirement. The exact quote: “Get out now before you make a bigger fool of yourself.” Newt knew it was over, you could see it on his face as he walked away. Gingrich was instantly transformed into a sad, broken, political huckster.

If Newt thought he was going to get an easy interview on the Mark Levin Show today regarding his comments on Paul Ryan’s plan yesterday, he was very wrong. And the bad thing is that Newt didn’t come off very well at all. Jedediah Bila said that Newt was giving a very weak statement and I must concur. Newt mostly agreed with Levin about Paul Ryan’s Medicare proposal and ended up conceding that he shouldn’t have allowed Gregory to frame the question the way he did. That’s not really a big concession to me and I’m still a bit confused...