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August 12, 2010 11:54 am ET
Gingrich: Dems Teach The Unemployed To Prefer Government-Funded Poverty Over Honest Work
In an email to supporters yesterday, Newt Gingrich blamed Democrats for high unemployment and argued that "the extension of unemployment benefits has given people a perverse incentive to stay on unemployment rather than accept a job." Gingrich cynically warns that Democrats are making jobless Americans "get so used to being unproductive that they are willing to accept welfare indefinitely instead of taking a job." Gingrich is just the latest in a long line of Republicans to attack the unemployed for political gain. In reality, unemployment checks average about $300 per week, and cherry-picked anecdotes about "indefinite welfare" ignore the real source of high unemployment: a severe economic crisis brought about by Republican mismanagement.
July 26, 2010 10:16 am ET
Fact Checking The Sunday Shows - July 25, 2010
On Fox News Sunday, former Republican Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich defended his year-old "Latina woman racist" attack against Justice Sonia Sotomayor by insisting that a white man would have been pilloried had he made similar remarks. Read in their full context, Sotomayor's remarks do not assert any inherent superiority of judgment for Hispanics — or any other race for that matter. It's worth remembering that Sotomayor was praising the way greater diversity of experience leads to more fully-informed decisions. Later, Gingrich misled viewers to believe that Democrats can extend the Bush tax cuts without changing the law (Republicans wrote the bill to sunset after 2010). Elsewhere, Civil Rights Commissioner Abigail Thomas claimed that polling shows Tea Partiers are reflective of America at large. In fact, polling shows that's just not true.
May 17, 2010 10:07 am ET
Fact Checking The Sunday Shows - May 16, 2010
On Sunday's political talk shows, Republicans echoed the fierce, false criticisms of Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan that we heard throughout last week. Newt Gingrich claimed that Kagan is "anti-military." Sens. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) and Jon Kyl (R-AZ) parroted Gingrich's lie that the military's prohibition on homosexuals began under President Clinton. And Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) claimed that Kagan wants the government to ban books. Meanwhile, Gingrich advanced false narratives about health care reform and President Obama's attitude toward free enterprise, and Sen. McConnell attacked the Recovery Act.
March 17, 2010 3:34 pm ET
Gingrich Group Attacks Gingrich Tactic
On March 17, 2010, Newt Gingrich's American Solutions for Winning the Future sent an email to supporters blasting self-executing rules as "blatantly unconstitutional." Yet as Speaker of the House, Gingrich "set new records" for the amount of self-executing rules, using them up 35% of the time in the 105th Congress.
March 15, 2010 11:31 am ET
American Solutions Repeats Tired Clean Energy Myths
In a "Solutions Insider" published on March 15, 2010, Newt Gingrich's American Solutions for Winning the Future repeated the rightwing myth that clean energy legislation would "kill millions of jobs and raise costs for American families by thousands of dollars per year." In reality, investing in clean energy would boost America's economy by $111 billion and create up to 1.9 million jobs.
February 10, 2010 8:52 am ET
Gingrich Falsely Claims The Shoe Bomber Was An American Citizen
During a Daily Show appearance on January 9, 2010, former Speaker Newt Gingrich criticized the Obama administration for reading Miranda rights to Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the underwear bomber. Rejecting comparisons to the Bush administration's handling of the shoe bomber, Gingrich falsely claimed Richard Reid was an American citizen. In reality, he was a British citizen.
December 03, 2009 4:50 pm ET
Gingrich Lies About White House Jobs Summit
During a December 2, 2009 appearance on Fox News' Hannity, former Speaker Newt Gingrich falsely claimed the White House Jobs Forum didn't include "a single small business," and the stimulus created "virtually no jobs." Both claims are blatant untruths.
August 19, 2009 2:05 pm ET
Gingrich's Sudden Shift On End-Of-Life Care
On August 19, 2009, Newt Gingrich wrote a column on HumanEvents.com in which he argued against the government taking a role in end-of-life issues. However, just last month he argued that all Americans should receive end of life counseling.
August 13, 2009 10:38 am ET
Newt Gingrich Repeats Old Falsehoods About The American Clean Energy And Security Act
In an August 13, 2009 speech to the American Enterprise Institute, Newt Gingrich repeated previously-debunked conservative talking points on the American Clean Energy and Security Act. In reality, the bill would create jobs in every state and help America become more energy independent, all for less than a quarter per day.
August 06, 2009 2:00 pm ET
Oil and Gas Industries Fuel Unruly Townhall Meetings
During the congressional recess, Democratic lawmakers have been facing unruly mobs at town hall meetings in their districts. However, the protestors' outrage has been largely manufactured by front groups tied to the oil and energy industries.
July 29, 2009 6:00 pm ET
Gingrich Proposes A "Take Home Pay Raise" That Would Only Benefit The Wealthy
Today, former Speaker Newt Gingrich wrote a column titled "America Needs A Take-Home Pay Raise." Unfortunately, his plan would only help those who are already wealthy, without offering any solace to families and business hurting in today's economy.
July 17, 2009 11:03 am ET
Gingrich Grossly Distorts Health Care Study
During a July 16, 2009 appearance on Fox News' Hannity, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich misrepresented the results of a health care study conducted by the insurance company-funded Lewin Group (and got their name wrong, too).
June 25, 2009 12:21 pm ET
American Solutions Gets The Facts (And Our Name) Wrong
Attempting to rebut a Media Matters Action Network fact check, Newt Gingrich's coal-funded American Solutions for Winning the Future gets its facts - and our name - wrong.
June 22, 2009 4:51 pm ET
American Solutions Can't Solve Cap-And-Trade Math
On June 22, 2009, Newt Gingrich's organization, American Solutions for Winning the Future, launched a new ad attacking the American Clean Energy and Security Act. Featuring shaky black-and-white footage of a bridge collapsing, the ad clearly intends to frighten the public about the costs of the Democrats' cap-and-trade plan. But, predictably, Gingrich's group has its facts all wrong.
June 09, 2009 4:29 pm ET
Newt vs. Reagan
Does Newt Gingrich believe Ronald Reagan's worldview was "intellectual nonsense and stunningly dangerous"? Apparently so.
June 01, 2009 10:49 am ET
Newt Gingrich's Cap-And-Trade Video Spreads Falsehoods
On May 28, 2009, Newt Gingrich's organization, American Solutions for Winning the Future, posted a video asking its members to "Stop the Energy Tax." What the group should really do is stop spreading misinformation about the American Clean Energy and Security Act.
May 15, 2009 4:06 pm ET
FLASHBACK: Newt Gingrich Loved That Pork
Former Speaker Newt Gingrich's organization, American Solutions for Winning the Future, has put forth an economic recovery plan. They suggest "eliminating Congressional earmarks and wasteful pork-barrel spending." Yet as Speaker of the House, Gingrich openly used well-placed pet projects to boost the GOP's electoral prospects.
April 24, 2009 3:30 pm ET
Gingrich vs. Gingrich: Battle Of The Philosophies
During Newt Gingrich's testimony in front of the House Subcommittee on Energy and the Environment, Rep. Jay Inslee (D-WA 01) brought up a 2007 interview Newt Gingrich gave to PBS. Rep. Inslee pointed out the drastic change two years has wrought in Mr. Gingrich.
April 22, 2009 12:52 pm ET
Newt Gingrich: Wrong On The Employee Free Choice Act
On April 22, 2009, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich wrote an op-ed in Politico arguing against the Employee Free Choice Act, which earlier this year he called "a mortal threat to American freedom." However, Gingrich's fear mongering ignores the facts: The Employee Free Choice Act will protect the rights of American workers and give the economy a much-needed boost.
