A must read for 2011: Mother Jones' epic 1984 profile of Newt Gingrich.

[kpete]

Newt Gingrich: Shining Knight of the Post-Reagan Right

A must read for 2011: Mother Jones' epic 1984 profile of Newt Gingrich.

........................


At the time, remembers Lee Howell, then editor of the student newspaper, Gingrich had "moddish" long hair and the tolerant cultural views of a young professor. He would come down to the newspaper office to talk and have a beer (though liquor was not allowed there), or have students over to his house for long philosophical discussions. He didn't mind if people drank, others remember, or even smoked a little dope. One of his friends lived with a girlfriend, and Gingrich provided emotional support for another couple going though an abortion.

To people on campus, Gingrich was a young liberal. There were so few Republicans in Georgia, and the Democrats were so conservative, that his Republicanism didn't typecast him. When he ran against Representative John Flynt in 1974 and 1976, Gingrich postured as the young reformer against Flynt, the aging, corrupt conservative. Gingrich's big issues were ethics—thanks to Watergate and Flynt's problems—and the environment. In 1976 he sought endorsements from both the liberal National Committee for an Effective Congress and the conservative Committee for the Survival of a Free Congress. He didn't talk much about the ERA or abortion.

"In 1974 I wrote this speech for his opening night kick-off," remembers Howell. "I come from a Southern Protestant background, and Southern Protestants quote the Bible. Newt had me take out all the references to God, because he was not very religious—and isn't very religious. He went to church in order to get a nap on Sunday morning. He became a deacon because of who he was, not what he believed. He did not like us to use God in his speeches; he didn't want people to think he was using God, because he said that would be hypocritical. He said, 'I'm not a very strong believer."' In his speeches today, Howell adds, "he uses God quite regularly."

Gingrich did, however, talk a great deal about ethics, traditional values, and the family. "America needs a return to moral values," his literature announced, showing photos of the young candidate and his family and describing his church activities as a deacon and as a Sunday school teacher. His wife, Jackie, campaigned hard for him, covering hundreds of miles, visiting country stores, handing out leaflets at high school football games. "Everyone saw Jackie and Newt as a unit," says Mary Kahn, who covered Gingrich as a reporter before marrying Chip. "He was always talking about the family being a team, about family values. It was a constant, and a big part of his campaign."

Way More---THE REST!!!:
http://motherjones.com/politics/1984/11/newt-gingrich-shining-knight-post-reagan-right?page=2

[somone]

1. A must read indeed

[cali]

2. wow. can't wait to dig into this. thanks for posting it kpete!

[SpiralHawk]

3. Teh Newtie as a paragon of Republicon Family Values

...A hypocrite to the core.

[ellenfl]

4. kick for later. eom