Newt Gingrich "Profile" from 1984

As we discussed in class, Newt Gingrich has been a notable and controversial figure in American politics for quite some time. A Mother Jones piece from 1984 illustrates this well, taking some liberty with the facts and making a number of serious (and largely uncorroborated) personal allegations, but providing a fascinating characterization of the GOP presidential candidate nonetheless. The intersection of politics and policy is most evident in the way that many of Gingrich's policy positions have shifted since the 1980s to accommodate cultural and ideological shifts in the country and his party. While his support environmentalism and socially conservative policies reflected his "activist conservatism" ideology of the 1980s, he has since downplayed many of these positions.