Newt Gingrich on the issues

On December 20, 1994 , less than a year after NAFTA took effect, the Mexican peso, which had been trading in a narrow range around 3.11 to the dollar for months, began plunging, losing over 30% of its value against the dollar in the following week. The Finance Ministry at first announced that it had decided to allow the peso to "trade in an expanded 15% range", then announced that it would let the peso "float", then finally admitted that Mexico's reserves of hard currency had been depleted to a level that it could no longer support the peso. On December 26, President Zedillo, who was scheduled to deliver a major economic address, spoke for only 15 minutes in generalities about the need to "control this grave threat". On December 28, the U.S. disclosed that it was discussing a bailout plan that involved new forms of debt in order to keep investor money in Mexico. A few days later the Mexican government announced the replacement of Jaime Serra Puce with Guillermo Ortiz as Finance Minister.

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The bailout package, which was signed on February 21, 1995 after approval by Clinton and letters signed by Dole, Gingrich, Daschle, and Gephardt, provided a $52 Billion credit to Mexico which consisted of $17.8 Billion from the International Monetary Fund, $20 Billion from the U.S. Treasury exchange stabilization fund, $10 Billion from the Bank of International Settlements and the remainder from various U.S. banks.

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Newt Gingrich was born on June 17, 1943, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

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KG1 said:

Newt Gingrich was born.

Newt Gingrich Biography - Facts, Birthday, Life Story - Biography.com

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rambone said:

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Taking a hard line on a U.S. foe in the Middle East, Republican presidential front-runner Newt Gingrich indicated Wednesday that he would unilaterally "replace" Syrian President Bashar al-Assad because he is running a "bad dictatorship."

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GINGRICH: I would use whatever methods were necessary for the missile never to be launched. And I think you could do it probably with unconventional methods. VAN SUSTEREN: So that's military. Are you saying military?
GINGRICH: If necessary. If I can't find a way to bribe somebody to blow it up, I'd find a way to have either a small team go in, or a way to deliver either a laser or another kind of device.
This is a missile that is sitting there on that launch pad, and I think you could take it out with very, very minimal risk to anybody.
But I think the idea of allowing the North Koreans to launch missiles is an enormously dangerous threat in the long run. And it will never be true, until the morning it is, and then it will be just like 9/11, and people will say "Gosh, why didn't we think of this?"

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At the same time, a new Foreign Service officer (FSO) education program must dramatically expand the requirements for learning new doctrines and new capabilities. The Foreign Service of the future must have a clear vision of understanding the world and of how to best report back to the United States, while effectively and aggressively representing American values to the world. An appropriate training program would highlight the strategies the U.S. government is following both to make the United States safer and to increase security, health, prosperity, and freedom worldwide. This emphasis would help FSOs strengthen U.S. ties with populations around the globe.

Such an effort will require a Foreign Service that is at least 40 percent larger so that its personnel can take on career-enriching assignments outside of their traditional duties. It also requires the development of continuing education so FSOs can absorb new lessons about diplomacy and communication, learn new strategies and new skills, and continue to develop throughout their careers.

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"Geo-engineering holds forth the promise of addressing global warming concerns for just a few billion dollars a year," said Newt Gingrich, former speaker of the US House of Representatives, in 2008. "We would have an option to address global warming by rewarding scientific innovation. Bring on American ingenuity. Stop the green pig."

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Newt Gingrich promised he would ask former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton "to be his secretary of state if he's elected president next year," the Washington Times reports.

Unfortunately, naming individuals you would appoint to office before the election is apparently illegal. Here's Title 18, Part I, Chapter 29, Section 599 of the U.S. Code:

"Whoever, being a candidate, directly or indirectly promises or pledges the appointment, or the use of his influence or support for the appointment of any person to any public or private position or employment, for the purpose of procuring support in his candidacy shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both; and if the violation was willful, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both."

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Newt Gingrich declared in an interview that Palestinians are an "invented" people, a statement that drew outrage Saturday from top Palestinian officials.

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