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89-662: Representatives of the CIA, FBI, Department of Defense, Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, Defense Intelligence Agency, Department of Justice, and the United States Information Agency were among the government agencies that served in the group. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Dennis Kux , was the group's first chairman and served until January, 1984. Three individuals succeeded Kux for brief stints: William Knepper, Tom Thorne, and Lucian Heichler. In 1985, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Kathleen C. Bailey

178-600: A breach in social norms and exacerbation of partisan prejudice. Gingrich is a key figure in the 2017 book The Polarizers by Colgate University political scientist Sam Rosenfeld about the American political system's shift to polarization and gridlock. Rosenfeld describes Gingrich as follows, "For Gingrich, responsible party principles were paramount... From the outset, he viewed the congressional minority party's role in terms akin to those found in parliamentary systems, prioritizing drawing stark programmatic contrasts over engaging

267-473: A compromise with Democrats and President Clinton on the federal budget. The agreement called for a federal spending plan designed to reduce the federal deficit and achieve a balanced budget by 2002. The plan included a total of $ 152 billion in bipartisan tax cuts over five years. Other major parts of the spending plan called for $ 115 billion to be saved through a restructuring of Medicare, $ 24 billion set aside to extend health insurance to children of

356-625: A credible presentation, not an ideological show lent a certain amount of professionalism to the whole effort." In an attempt to seek revenge for Carter's boycott of the Moscow Summer Olympics in 1980, the KGB manufactured a public relations crisis by forging letters from the Ku Klux Klan that threatened athletes from African countries and mailed them from Washington, DC, to these countries' Olympic committees. Grammatical errors in

445-776: A diplomat and former United States Ambassador to Côte d'Ivoire (1986–89). He is the author of India and the United States: Estranged Democracies 1941-1991 (the book has an introduction by Daniel Moynihan ) and The United States and Pakistan, 1947-2000: Disenchanted Allies . He is a member of the American Academy of Diplomacy and Council on Foreign Relations . Kux served in the US embassy in Karachi in Pakistan from 1957 to 1959, followed by

534-563: A group product, one of her first decisions was to change the group's focus from single-author, short publications to multi-agency drafted compendiums of more in-depth analyses, of which the "Gingrich Report" was the first. This report, "A Report on the Substance and Process of the anti-US Disinformation and Propaganda Campaigns," was published in August 1986. The second major report, entitled "A Report on Active Measures and Propaganda, 1986–1987"

623-466: A key role in undermining democratic norms in the United States, and hastening political polarization and partisan prejudice. According to Harvard University political scientists Daniel Ziblatt and Steven Levitsky , Gingrich's speakership had a profound and lasting impact on American politics and health of American democracy. They argue that Gingrich instilled a "combative" approach in

712-651: A maximum of 12 pages in length. INR analyst David Hertzberg authored all of the Foreign Affairs Notes; when he moved on in his career and left the Soviet account, no further Foreign Affairs Notes were published by the State Department. The complete collection of Foreign Affairs Notes can be viewed and downloaded online. This category also included some speeches and articles drafted for presentation by U.S. officials. The second category of reports

801-549: A methodology named Report-Analyze-Publicize (or RAP). The group's first counter-disinformation effort against the Soviet Union took the form of a report, "State Department Special Report 88, Soviet Active Measures: Forgery, Disinformation, Political Operations" in October 1981. The document was a four-page overview of soviet active measures techniques and included Soviet disinformation themes and past examples. 14,000 copies of

890-535: A need for the United States Information Agency to systematically monitor, analyze, and counter them." In June 2020, Michael McCaul announced that he would introduce legislation to recreate a modern version of the Active Measure Working Group to combat Chinese Communist Party propaganda and disinformation. Dennis Kux Dennis H. Kux (born August 11, 1931, in London, England ) is

979-459: A part of his career to wiping me out." Charles S. Bullock III , a political science professor at the University of Georgia , said "Speaker Murphy didn't like having a Republican represent him." At the onset of the decade, Gingrich proved to be the only Republican representative of Georgia's 10 congressional districts until 1992 , with the creation of Georgia's 4th congressional district and

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1068-621: A press conference (a video of which is here ) to release the Report, which had a copy on its cover of the Pravda cartoon that accused the U.S. of creating the virus. The impact of this 1987 Report has continued to reverberate and was recently a key component of a New York Times documentary on Operation Infektion . The Interagency Active Measures Working Group had two primary categories of written products. The first comprised short special reports and Foreign Affairs Notes, which ranged from 1 page to

1157-553: A primary race against Republican Herman Clark and won a narrow 974 vote victory over Democrat David Worley in the general. Although the district was trending Republican at the national level, conservative Democrats continued to hold most local offices, as well as most of the area's seats in the General Assembly , well into the 1980s. In 1981, Gingrich co-founded the Military Reform Caucus (MRC) and

1246-532: A reprimand from the House for Gingrich's ethics violation , and pressure from Republican colleagues resulted in Gingrich's announcing that he would not run for the speakership in the upcoming congress, resigning from the House on January 3, 1999, the same day his term as speaker ended. Academics have credited Gingrich with playing a key role in hastening political polarization and partisanship. Since leaving

1335-509: A result, no African country withdrew their athletes from the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. In 1985, Newt Gingrich , a congressional representative from the state of Georgia , sponsored an amendment promoting a permanent office in the Department of State on "Soviet and communist disinformation and press manipulation" to better inform the American public on these issues. Gingrich also added an amendment to unrelated legislation stipulating that

1424-584: A stolen election, and claims of voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election . [REDACTED] Gingrich was born as Newton Leroy McPherson at the Harrisburg Hospital in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania , on June 17, 1943. His mother, Kathleen "Kit" (née Daugherty; 1925–2003), and biological father, Newton Searles McPherson (1923–1970), married in September 1942, when she was 16 and McPherson

1513-610: A televised event in the White House Rose Garden . House Minority Leader Robert H. Michel characterized Gingrich's revolt as " a thousand points of spite ". Due to population increases recorded in the 1990 United States census , Georgia picked up an additional seat for the 1992 U.S. House elections . However, the Democratic-controlled Georgia General Assembly , under the leadership of fiercely partisan Speaker of

1602-562: A tour in India. He again served in Pakistan from 1969 to 1971. This American diplomat–related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Newt Gingrich Newton Leroy Gingrich ( / ˈ ɡ ɪ ŋ ɡ r ɪ tʃ / ; né McPherson ; born June 17, 1943) is an American politician and author who served as the 50th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999. A member of

1691-745: A two-party system achieve increasing electoral success as they move closer to the ideological center... Gingrich and his allies believed that an organized effort to intensify the ideological contrast between the congressional parties would allow the Republicans to make electoral inroads in the South. They worked energetically to tie individual Democratic incumbents to the party's more liberal national leadership while simultaneously raising highly charged cultural issues in Congress, such as proposed constitutional amendments to allow prayer in public schools and to ban

1780-597: Is that policy makers did not want to let what they saw as "unnecessary confrontation" to sidetrack progress on more important issues such as strategic arms control. The second reason was the disgrace of the CIA. During the Vietnam War, Johnson had ordered the CIA to monitor certain American citizens, notably the Black power and antiwar movements, which he feared were supported and infiltrated by foreign communists. Eventually this and similar monitoring programs were revealed to

1869-578: The 1968 Republican primaries . In 1974 , Gingrich made his first bid for political office as the Republican candidate in Georgia's 6th congressional district in north-central Georgia . He lost to 20-year incumbent Democrat Jack Flynt by 2,770 votes. Gingrich's relative success surprised political analysts. Flynt had never faced a serious challenger; Gingrich was the second Republican to ever run against him. He did well against Flynt although 1974

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1958-641: The House banking scandal , and also criticized Gingrich for moving into the district. After a recount, Gingrich prevailed by 980 votes, with a 51 to 49 percent result. His winning the primary all but assured him of election in November. He was re-elected three times from this district against nominal Democratic opposition. In 1995, Gingrich's 1993 college course, entitled Renewing American Civilization , taught on Saturdays at Reinhardt College in Waleska, Georgia ,

2047-571: The Journal of Politics found that "almost the entire growth in Senate party polarization since the early 1970s can be accounted for by Republican senators who previously served in the House after 1978" when Gingrich was first elected to the House. Gingrich consolidated power in the Speaker's office. Gingrich elevated junior and more ideologically extreme House members to powerful committees, such as

2136-606: The Panama Canal , which was scheduled to occur in 1989 subject to U.S. government approval. Gingrich was outspoken in his opposition to giving control over the canal to an administrator appointed by the dictatorship in Panama . Gingrich and others in the House, including the newly minted Gang of Seven , railed against what they saw as ethical lapses during the nearly 40 years of Democratic control. The House banking scandal and Congressional Post Office scandal were emblems of

2225-532: The Republican Party , he was the U.S. representative for Georgia's 6th congressional district serving north Atlanta and nearby areas from 1979 until his resignation in 1999. In 2012 , Gingrich unsuccessfully ran for the Republican nomination for president of the United States. In the 1970s, Gingrich was a professor of history and geography at the University of West Georgia . He won election to

2314-536: The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, which placed time limits on welfare assistance and replaced the longstanding Aid to Families with Dependent Children program. Other changes to the welfare system included stricter conditions for food stamp eligibility, reductions in immigrant welfare assistance, and work requirements for recipients. The bill was signed into law by President Clinton on August 22, 1996. In his 1998 book Lessons Learned

2403-417: The working poor , tax credits for college tuition, and a $ 2 billion welfare-to-work jobs initiative. President Clinton signed the budget legislation in August 1997. At the signing, Gingrich gave credit to ordinary Americans stating, "It was their political will that brought the two parties together." In early 1998, with the economy performing better than expected, increased tax revenues helped reduce

2492-746: The "opportunity society" ideas for his 1984 re-election campaign, supporting the group's conservative goals on economic growth, education, crime, and social issues. He had not emphasized these during his first term. Reagan also referred to an "opportunity" society in the first State of the Union address of his second term. In March 1988, Gingrich voted against the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987 (as well as to uphold President Reagan's veto). In May 1988, Gingrich (along with 77 other House members and Common Cause ) brought ethics charges against Democratic Speaker Jim Wright , who

2581-426: The "squads" visited over 20 countries. The group averaged presentations in two countries per week and visited NATO headquarters annually for meetings on Soviet active measures. These visits were also geared toward gathering information from foreign governments about Soviet active measures campaigns conducted in their respective countries. Dennis Kux commented on the success of these presentations: "the fact that we made

2670-501: The 1994 Contract with America was the promise of a balanced federal budget . After the end of the government shutdown, Gingrich and other Republican leaders acknowledged that Congress would not be able to draft a balanced budget in 1996. Instead, they opted to approve some small reductions that were already approved by the White House and to wait until the next election season. By May 1997, Republican congressional leaders reached

2759-587: The Appropriations Committee, which over time led to the obliteration of internal norms in the committees. Term limits were also imposed on committee chairs, which prevented Republican chairs from developing a power base separate from the Republican Party. As a result, the power of Gingrich was strengthened and there was an increase in conformity among Republican congresspeople. A central pledge of President Bill Clinton 's campaign

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2848-487: The CIA, had unfettered access to KGB defectors involved in active measures. The group instructed USIA overseas offices to report all disinformation that they encountered. The group also used the USIA and State Department to distribute its publications both domestically and abroad to journalists, government employees, U.S. embassy staff abroad, and foreign government representatives and staff. The Active Measures Working Group

2937-544: The Congo 1945–1960. Gingrich received deferments from the military during the years of the Vietnam War for being a student and a father. In 1985, he stated, "Given everything I believe in, a large part of me thinks I should have gone over." In 1970, Gingrich joined the history department at West Georgia College , where he spent "little time teaching history." He coordinated a new environmental studies program and

3026-635: The Congressional Aviation and Space Caucus. During the 1983 congressional page sex scandal , Gingrich was among those calling for the expulsion of representatives Dan Crane and Gerry Studds . Gingrich supported a proposal to ban loans from the International Monetary Fund to Communist countries and he endorsed a bill to make Martin Luther King Jr. Day a new federal holiday. In 1983, Gingrich founded

3115-525: The Conservative Opportunity Society (COS), a group that included young conservative House Republicans. Early COS members included Robert Smith Walker , Judd Gregg , Dan Coats and Connie Mack III . The group gradually expanded to include several dozen representatives, who met each week to exchange and develop ideas. Gingrich's analysis of polls and public opinion identified the group's initial focus. Ronald Reagan adopted

3204-610: The Democrats who held majorities in the House and Senate, President George H. W. Bush reached a deficit reduction package which contained tax increases despite his campaign promise of " read my lips: no new taxes ". Gingrich led a revolt that defeated the initial appropriations package and led to the 1990 United States federal government shutdown . The deal was supported by the President and Congressional leaders from both parties after long negotiations, but Gingrich walked out during

3293-561: The Era of Glasnost . March 1988 U.S. Department of State, Soviet Influence Activities: A Report on Active Measures and Propaganda, 1987–1988 August, 1989. Support for the group began to deteriorate in the late 1980s because Soviet disinformation seemed less of a threat in light of Gorbachev's Glasnost and the Soviets' promise to cease all disinformation operations. The group's mission to counter Soviet disinformation lost its pertinence upon

3382-457: The Hard Way , Gingrich encouraged volunteerism and spiritual renewal, placing more importance on families, creating tax incentives and reducing regulations for businesses in poor neighborhoods, and increasing property ownership by low-income families. He also praised Habitat for Humanity for sparking the movement to improve people's lives by helping them build their own homes. A key aspect of

3471-650: The House Tom Murphy , specifically targeted Gingrich, eliminating the district Gingrich represented. Gerrymandering split Gingrich's territory among three neighboring districts. Much of the southern portion of Gingrich's district, including his home in Carrollton , was drawn into the Columbus -based 3rd district , represented by five-term Democrat Richard Ray . Gingrich remarked that "The Speaker, by raising money and gerrymandering, has sincerely dedicated

3560-421: The House for the first time since 1954. Long-time House Minority Leader Bob Michel of Illinois had not run for re-election, giving Gingrich, the highest-ranking Republican returning to Congress, the inside track at becoming Speaker. The midterm election that turned congressional power over to Republicans "changed the center of gravity" in the nation's capital. Time magazine named Gingrich its 1995 " Man of

3649-516: The House, Gingrich has remained active in public policy debates and worked as a political consultant. He founded and chaired several policy think tanks , including American Solutions for Winning the Future and the Center for Health Transformation . Gingrich ran for the Republican nomination for president in the 2012 presidential election, and was considered a potential frontrunner at several points in

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3738-509: The President to approve their welfare legislation. In 1996, after constructing two welfare reform bills that Clinton vetoed, Gingrich and his supporters pushed for passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act , which was intended to reconstruct the welfare system. The act gave state governments more autonomy over welfare delivery, while also reducing the federal government's responsibilities. It instituted

3827-466: The Republican caucus . In March 1989, Gingrich became House Minority Whip in a close election against Edward Rell Madigan . This was Gingrich's first formal position of power within the Republican party. He said his intention was to "build a much more aggressive, activist party". Early in his role as Whip, in May 1989, Gingrich was involved in talks about the appointment of a Panamanian administrator of

3916-649: The Republican Party, where hateful language and hyper-partisanship became commonplace, and where democratic norms were abandoned. Gingrich frequently questioned the patriotism of Democrats, called them corrupt, compared them to fascists , and accused them of wanting to destroy the United States. Gingrich furthermore oversaw several major government shutdowns. University of Maryland political scientist Lilliana Mason identified Gingrich's instructions to Republicans to use words such as "betray, bizarre, decay, destroy, devour, greed, lie, pathetic, radical, selfish, shame, sick, steal, and traitors" about Democrats as an example of

4005-536: The Republican Party. According to a 2018 study, Christian conservatism had become firmly ingrained in the Republican Party's policy platforms by 2000. Yale University congressional scholar David Mayhew describes Gingrich as profoundly influential, saying "In Gingrich, we have as good a case as we are likely to see of a member of Congress operating in the public sphere with consequence." In 1997 Speaker Gingrich visited Taiwan as well as Beijing in mainland China. A number of scholars have credited Gingrich with playing

4094-600: The Republican gains of Jack Kingston and Mac Collins . The Assembly created a new, heavily Republican 6th district in Fulton and Cobb counties in the wealthy northern suburbs of Atlanta—an area that Gingrich had never represented. Gingrich sold his home in Carrollton and moved to Marietta in the new district. His primary opponent, State Representative Herman Clark, who had challenged Gingrich two years earlier, made an issue out of Gingrich's 22 overdraft checks in

4183-550: The State Department must produce a public report on Soviet active measures. Responsibility for the report was assigned within the State Department to the Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR), which was headed by Ambassador Morton Abramowitz . Abramowitz charged Kathleen C. Bailey with responsibility for the report and named her Chair of the Working Group. Although Bailey supported continuation of Foreign Affairs Notes as

4272-512: The U.S. Government's monitoring of Soviet disinformation from an activity conducted exclusively by the CIA into an interagency counter-disinformation effort. In the early days of the Cold War , the CIA tracked Soviet disinformation and forgeries, but only periodically attempted to expose them. During the 1970s the U.S. chose not to fight back against Soviet active measures for two reasons. The first

4361-525: The U.S. House of Representatives in November 1978 , the first Republican in the history of Georgia's 6th congressional district to do so. He served as House Minority Whip from 1989 to 1995. A co-author and architect of the " Contract with America ", Gingrich was a major leader in the Republican victory in the 1994 congressional election . In 1995, Time named him " Man of the Year " for "his role in ending

4450-573: The United States. This information was also reported to policy makers and Congress. Under the Reagan Administration, the United States began openly challenging Soviet disinformation and active measures. The formation of the Interagency Active Measures Working Group was encouraged by William Casey , Director of the CIA, had high level State Department support from Lawrence Eagleburger , and

4539-505: The Year " for his role in the election. The House fulfilled Gingrich's promise to bring all ten of the Contract's issues to a vote within the first 100 days of the session. President Clinton called it the "Contract on America". Legislation proposed by the 104th United States Congress included term limits for Congressional Representatives, tax cuts , welfare reform, and a balanced budget amendment , as well as independent auditing of

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4628-526: The aftermath of the Iran-Contra scandal. The counter disinformation effort shifted to USIA's Office to Counter Soviet Disinformation headed by Charles Wick and included Herbert Romerstein and Todd Leventhal. The Active Measures Working Group's final report, "Soviet Active Measures in the 'Post-Cold War' Era 1988–1991," came out in June 1992 and was written by Todd Leventhal under the auspices of USIA. By

4717-474: The agenda for the reduction in capital gains tax, especially in the "Contract with America", which set out to balance the budget and implement decreases in estate and capital gains tax. Some Republicans felt that the compromise reached with Clinton on the budget and tax act was inadequate, however Gingrich has stated that the tax cuts were a significant accomplishment for the Republican Congress in

4806-443: The burning of the American flag, on which conservative positions were widely popular – especially among southern voters. Gingrich's view was however vindicated with the Republican Party's success in the 1994 U.S. midterm elections, sometimes referred to as the "Gingrich Revolution." Hopkins writes, "More than any speaker before or since, Gingrich had become both the strategic architect and public face of his party." One consequence of

4895-501: The disintegration of the Soviet Union, and along with it bureaucratic interest in the group's efforts. The quality of the group's membership declined as both the CIA's and FBI's longest serving group members distanced themselves and began sending younger, less experienced participants in their place. Furthermore, many of the Reagan appointees who supported the working group had left the NSC in

4984-879: The exposed corruption. Gingrich himself was among members of the House who had written NSF checks on the House bank. He had overdrafts on twenty-two checks, including a $ 9,463 check to the Internal Revenue Service in 1990. In 1990, after consulting focus groups with the help of pollster Frank Luntz , GOPAC distributed a memo with a cover letter signed by Gingrich titled "Language, a Key Mechanism of Control", that encouraged Republicans to "speak like Newt". It contained lists of "contrasting words"—words with negative connotations such as "radical", "sick," and "traitors"—and "optimistic positive governing words" such as "opportunity", "courage", and "principled", that Gingrich recommended for use in describing Democrats and Republicans, respectively. During negotiations with

5073-539: The face of opposition from the Clinton administration. Gingrich along with Bob Dole had earlier set-up the Kemp Commission , headed by former US Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Jack Kemp , a tax reform commission that made several recommendations including that dividends, interest, and capital gains should be untaxed. Among the first pieces of legislation passed by the new Congress under Gingrich

5162-476: The federal budget deficit to below $ 25 billion. Clinton submitted a balanced budget for 1999, three years ahead of schedule originally proposed, making it the first time the federal budget had been balanced since 1969. In 1997, President Clinton signed into effect the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 , which included the largest capital gains tax cut in U.S. history. Under the act, the profits on

5251-507: The finances of the House of Representatives and elimination of non-essential services such as the House barbershop and shoe-shine concessions. Following Gingrich's first two years as House Speaker, the Republican majority was re-elected in the 1996 election, the first time Republicans had done so in 68 years and the first time in 80 years that they won a House election simultaneous to a Democratic president being re-elected. As Speaker, Gingrich sought to increasingly tie Christian conservatism to

5340-400: The four-decades-long Democratic majority in the House". As House Speaker, Gingrich oversaw passage by the House of welfare reform in 1996 and a capital gains tax cut in 1997. Gingrich played a key role in several government shutdowns , and impeached President Bill Clinton on a party-line vote in the House. A disappointing showing by Republicans in the 1998 congressional elections ,

5429-469: The increasing nationalization of politics was that moderate Republican incumbents in blue states were left more vulnerable to electoral defeat. According to University of Texas political scientist Sean M. Theriault, Gingrich had a profound influence on other Republican lawmakers, in particular those who served with him in the House, as they adopted his obstructionist tactics. A 2011 study by Theriault and Duke University political scientist David W. Rohde in

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5518-486: The input of John Lenczowski of the National Security Council . The Interagency Active Measures Working Group combined the information gathered at USIA international posts, CIA reporting, and FBI investigations. When this information arrived, it was analyzed by both working group analysts and CIA disinformation experts. The group made use of the CIA's computerized database of forgeries, and, through

5607-531: The letters suggested they were originally drafted in Russian, but could not provide a certain conclusion. Then, a source of the FBI in the KGB that had participated in the production of the letters confirmed their origin was the KGB. The Active Measures Working Group then reported conclusively that the letters were Soviet forgeries, which allowed USIA and the State Department to reassure the targeted African countries. As

5696-431: The majority party as junior participants in governance." Boston College political scientist David Hopkins writes that Gingrich helped to nationalize American politics in a way where Democratic politicians on the state and local level were increasingly tied to the national Democratic party and President Clinton. Hopkins notes that Gingrich's view directly contradicted the conventional wisdom of politics... that parties in

5785-485: The new Congress, if they won the election. The contract was signed by Gingrich and other Republican candidates for the House of Representatives. The contract ranged from issues such as welfare reform , term limits , crime, and a balanced budget /tax limitation amendment, to more specialized legislation such as restrictions on American military participation in United Nations missions. In the November 1994 midterm elections , Republicans gained 54 seats and took control of

5874-401: The public, prompting major public contention and major reforms of the CIA. The CIA was particularly damaged by the Senate ( Church Committee ) and House ( Pike Committee ) Intelligence Committees, and then did little to respond to anti-American disinformation. In October 1979 Stanislav Levchenko , head of the Active Measures Line of the KGB Rezidentura in Tokyo, contacted American officials and

5963-467: The race. Despite a late victory in the South Carolina primary , Gingrich was ultimately unable to win enough primaries to sustain a viable candidacy. He withdrew from the race in May 2012, and endorsed eventual nominee Mitt Romney . Gingrich later emerged as a key ally of President Donald Trump , and was reportedly among the finalists on Trump's short list for running mate in the 2016 election . Since 2020, Gingrich has supported Donald Trump's claims of

6052-410: The report contained "shocking revelations" and that it amounted to "nourishing hatred" for the Soviet Union. The Active Measures Working Group's policy of exposing Soviet disinformation helped to discredit the Soviet disinformation campaign, Operation Infektion , which accused the United States of deliberately creating the AIDS virus in a government laboratory and spreading it. The State Department held

6141-429: The report were distributed to news organizations, federal agencies, etc. In addition to special reports, the group published a series of State Department Foreign Affairs Notes that USIA distributed to journalists, academics, and other interested persons abroad. One important publication distributed by the group was the House Intelligence Committee hearing on Soviet Active Measures which showed foreign audiences that there

6230-497: The sale of a personal residence ($ 500,000 for married couples, $ 250,000 for singles) were exempted if lived in for at least two of the previous five years. (This had previously been limited to a $ 125,000 once-in-a-lifetime exemption for those over the age of 55.) There were also reductions in a number of other taxes on investment gains. Additionally, the act raised the value of inherited estates and gifts that could be sheltered from taxation. Gingrich has been credited with creating

6319-450: The site of the Battle of Verdun and learned about the sacrifices made there and the importance of political leadership. Gingrich received a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Emory University in Atlanta in 1965. He went on to graduate study at Tulane University , earning an M.A. (1968) and a PhD in European history (1971). He spent six months in Brussels in 1969–1970 working on his dissertation, Belgian Education Policy in

6408-502: The time of publication, the Soviet Union no longer existed, the report warned that even though the Soviet Union had collapsed, active measures were still a threat to U.S. interests because a number of anti-American groups and countries were adopting and expanding the use of active measures: "As long as states and groups interested in manipulating world opinion, limiting U.S. Government actions, or generating opposition to U.S. policies and interests continue to use these techniques, there will be

6497-447: The vote in his native Georgia. Gingrich lost his race by 5,100 votes. As Gingrich primed for another run in the 1978 elections , Flynt decided to retire. Gingrich defeated Democratic State Senator Virginia Shapard by 7,500 votes. Gingrich was re-elected five times from this district, before it was modified by redistricting. He faced a close general election race once—in the House elections of 1990 —when he won by 978 votes in

6586-410: Was televised on the cable channel, Mind Extension University . In the 1994 campaign season , in an effort to offer an alternative to Democratic policies and to unite distant wings of the Republican Party, Gingrich and several other Republicans came up with a Contract with America , which laid out 10 policies that Republicans promised to bring to a vote on the House floor during the first 100 days of

6675-605: Was 19. The marriage fell apart within days. He is of English , German , Scottish and Scots-Irish descent. In 1946, his mother married Robert Gingrich (1925–1996), who adopted him. Robert Gingrich was a career Army officer who served tours in Korea and Vietnam. In 1956, the family moved to Europe, living for a period in Orléans , France and Stuttgart , Germany. Gingrich has three younger half-siblings from his mother, Candace and Susan Gingrich, and Roberta Brown. Gingrich

6764-590: Was a disastrous year for Republican candidates nationally due to fallout from the Watergate scandal of the Nixon administration. Gingrich sought a rematch against Flynt in 1976. While the Republicans did slightly better in the 1976 House elections than in 1974 nationally, the Democratic candidate in the 1976 presidential election was former Governor of Georgia Jimmy Carter . Carter won more than two-thirds of

6853-465: Was alleged to have used a book deal to circumvent campaign-finance laws and House ethics rules. During the investigation, it was reported that Gingrich had his own unusual book deal, for Window of Opportunity, in which publicity expenses were covered by a limited partnership . It raised $ 105,000 from Republican political supporters to promote sales of Gingrich's book. Gingrich's success in forcing Wright's resignation contributed to his rising influence in

6942-501: Was appointed chair of the group and served until her departure in late 1987. An in-depth report by the National Defense University analyzed the history and effectiveness of the working group. Although the primary focus of group's activities was countering Soviet disinformation, it also reported on front groups and other Soviet active measures. The Active Measures Working Group developed an approach that expanded

7031-522: Was congressional support for exposing Soviet disinformation. The group also held press conferences to expose Soviet forgeries and distributed copies of the fake documents to attending journalists. Members of the Active Measures Working Group gave presentations describing Soviet disinformation activities, pointing out the falsehoods or common themes and tell-tale signs of forgery. These presentations were often held internationally;

7120-412: Was eventually converted into a Foreign Affairs Note entitled, "Expulsion of Soviet Representatives from Foreign Countries, 1970–81." (The complete collection of Foreign Affairs Notes can be viewed and downloaded here . The document generated news coverage and commentary on the expansion of Soviet spying and was directly cited by at least two major publications. The Active Measures Working Group developed

7209-585: Was granted political asylum in the United States. Levchenko explained the workings of the Soviet apparatus and how it was carried out, under his direction, in Japan. Levchenko's information, combined with that of Ladislav Bittman, who had been the deputy head of the Czechoslovakian Intelligence Service's Disinformation Department, was instrumental in helping the CIA understand many of the operations that were being carried out against

7298-517: Was lengthy (many tens of pages), in-depth, interagency-drafted documents. U.S. Department of State, Active Measures: A Report on the Substance and Process of Anti-U.S. Disinformation and Propaganda Campaigns . August 1986. U.S. Department of State, Soviet Influence Activities: A Report on Active Measures and Propaganda, 1986–1987 August 1987. U.S. Department of State, "Disinformation, The Media, and Foreign Policy." Conference Report. May 1987. U.S. Information Agency, Soviet Active Measures in

7387-446: Was moved from the history to the geography department by 1976. During his time in the college, he took unpaid leave three times to run for the U.S. House of Representatives , losing twice before leaving the college. Serving professors were not allowed under the rules of the university system to run for office. He left the college in 1977 after being denied tenure. Gingrich was the southern regional director for Nelson Rockefeller in

7476-485: Was published in August 1987. This report, as well as a Foreign Affairs Note published the month before, focused on the Soviet disinformation campaign seeking to attribute the AIDS virus to the U.S. Government. In October 1987, Mikhail Gorbachev waved a copy of this report at U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz , complaining that publishing such information undermined relations between their countries. Gorbachev insisted that

7565-644: Was raised in Hummelstown (near Harrisburg) and on military bases where his adoptive father was stationed. The family's religion was Lutheran . He also has a half-sister and half-brother, Randy McPherson, from his biological father's side. In 1960 during his junior year in high school, the family moved to Georgia at Fort Moore . In 1961, Gingrich graduated from Baker High School in Columbus, Georgia , where he met, and later married, his math teacher. He had been interested in politics since his teen years. While living with his family in Orléans , France, he visited

7654-660: Was the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 , which subjected members of Congress to the same laws that apply to businesses and their employees, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 . As a provision of the Contract with America, the law was symbolic of the new Republican majority's goal to remove some of the entitlements enjoyed by Congress. The bill received near universal acceptance from

7743-490: Was to reform the welfare system, adding changes such as work requirements for recipients. However, by 1994, the Clinton administration appeared to be more concerned with pursuing a universal health care program. Gingrich accused Clinton of stalling on welfare, and proclaimed that Congress could pass a welfare reform bill in as little as 90 days. He insisted that the Republican Party would continue to apply political pressure on

7832-508: Was trying to project: the Soviets were expanding their espionage activities, particularly attempts to steal military technology and defense industry proprietary information, and this corresponded with an increase in the number of Soviet agents expelled from countries for espionage. Hertzberg's report was sanitized, then published in February 1982 under the State Department's imprimatur as an "informal research study for background information" and

7921-412: Was used as an outlet for expert knowledge within the government bureaucracy. For example, the group initially published a report by David Hertzberg , a young INR analyst who had started his career with State just two years earlier while he was still an undergraduate at George Washington University. Hertzberg noticed a trend of increased illegal activity that was at odds with the image that the Soviet Union

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