Gingrich, Newt

Gingrich, Newt
▪ 1996

      On Jan. 4, 1995, Newt Gingrich became speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, the first Republican in 40 years to hold the powerful position. A blunt, outspoken partisan, he advocated policies that seemed outrageous to some but resonated deeply with others. Gingrich was seen as the architect of the stunning Republican victory in the 1994 congressional elections. As speaker he tried to reduce the size and influence of the federal government and to redirect the U.S. away from what he called a "welfare state" to an "opportunity society."

      Newton Leroy Gingrich was born in Harrisburg, Pa., on June 17, 1943. After graduating from Emory University, Atlanta, Ga., in 1965, he went to Tulane University, New Orleans, La., where he received M.A. (1968) and Ph.D. (1971) degrees in modern European history. He began teaching at West Georgia College in 1970.

      After unsuccessful runs for Congress in 1974 and 1976, Gingrich in 1978 won a seat from a district outside Atlanta. From the beginning he was confrontational. In the 1980s he led a group of conservatives who used the "special orders" period following House sessions to read highly charged material into the Congressional Record, all televised on C-SPAN. In 1987 Gingrich began an assault on Speaker of the House Jim Wright for questionable financial dealings. The charges forced Wright to resign in 1989.

      That same year, Gingrich was elected House minority whip by a vote of 87-85. In 1994 he helped draft the "Contract with America," a document outlining legislation to be enacted by the House within the first 100 days of the 104th Congress. (See Special Report (Special Report ).) In December 1994 he was chosen by the majority Republicans as House speaker. With one exception, all parts of the "Contract with America" were passed by the House within 100 days, as promised.

      During the course of his career, Gingrich had at times come under attack for his own behaviour. Perhaps the most publicized controversy involved a $4.5 million advance from the publisher HarperCollins, owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., Ltd., for two books. Because Murdoch, who had met with Gingrich, was under investigation by the Federal Communications Commission, the deal appeared to many to be a clear conflict of interest, and Gingrich was forced to give up the advance. The first of the books, To Renew America (1995), was briefly a best-seller.

      Potentially more damaging to the speaker was the decision of the House ethics committee in December to appoint a special counsel to investigate charges that the political organization GOPAC, which the speaker long headed, had violated tax laws. Nonetheless, Gingrich continued to take tough stands on ideological questions and policy issues, including the matter of a balanced budget, which resulted in partial government shutdowns in November and December. For his influence on the government, Time magazine named Gingrich its Man of the Year. (ROBERT RAUCH)

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▪ American politician
in full  Newton Leroy Gingrich 
born June 17, 1943, Harrisburg, Pa., U.S.
 
 American politician, who served as speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives (Representatives, House of) (1995–98). He was the first Republican (Republican Party) to hold the office in 40 years.

      After graduating from Emory University (1965), Gingrich studied modern European history at Tulane University (M.A., 1968; Ph.D., 1971) and taught at West Georgia College (1970–78). After unsuccessful runs for the U.S. Congress in 1974 and 1976, he won a seat from a district outside Atlanta in 1978. Gingrich quickly became known for his confrontational manner and conservative policies. In 1987 he attacked Speaker of the House Jim Wright (Wright, James C, Jr.) for questionable financial dealings; the charges forced Wright to resign in 1989. That same year, Gingrich was narrowly elected House minority whip by his Republican colleagues with a vote of 87–85.

      Aided by President Bill Clinton (Clinton, Bill)'s unpopularity, the Republican Party gained control of Congress following the 1994 midterm elections. Gingrich was seen as the architect of the victory, especially noted for helping draft the “Contract with America,” a document outlining legislation to be enacted by the House within the first 100 days of the 104th Congress. Among the proposals were tax cuts, a permanent line-item veto, and a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced budget. In December 1994 Gingrich was chosen by the majority Republicans as House speaker, and he assumed the office the following month. With one exception, all parts of the “Contract with America” were passed by the House.

      Shortly after becoming speaker, however, Gingrich's popularity began to wane. In late 1995 he was widely blamed for partial government shutdowns after refusing to compromise with President Clinton on the federal budget. He also faced a series of ethics investigations. In 1995 he returned a $4.5-million book advance after the House ethics committee questioned its appropriateness. The following year the committee concluded that he had violated House rules concerning a college course he taught from 1993 to 1995; it found he had wrongly used tax-exempt donations to fund the class and that he had inaccurately denied the involvement of GOPAC, a political action committee that he once headed, in the course's development. In January 1997 the House of Representatives ordered Gingrich to pay a fine of $300,000. The House also reprimanded him for providing false information to the committee investigating his case. Amid the controversies, Gingrich was narrowly reelected speaker in early 1997.

      In January 1998, reports surfaced alleging that Clinton had lied before a federal grand jury concerning his involvement in an extramarital affair with a former White House intern. Gingrich backed a bid to impeach and remove the president from office. Many voters concluded that the House had overreached in its attack on Clinton, and the Republicans lost five seats to Democrats in the 1998 midterm elections. Following the election, there was a backlash against Gingrich within the Republican Party, with numerous Republicans blaming him for failing to present a clear and innovative agenda to the country and instead choosing to focus party strategy upon the impeachment proceedings against a highly popular president. Faced with dwindling support, Gingrich stepped down as speaker of the House in November 1998, and in January 1999 he resigned his seat in Congress.

      Gingrich remained involved in politics, serving as a consultant and television commentator. He wrote a number of books, including Lessons Learned the Hard Way (1998), Winning the Future: A 21st Century Contract with America (2005), and Rediscovering God in America (2006).

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Universalium. 2010.

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