Newt Gingrich has declared his position on many political issues through his public comments and legislative record, including as Speaker of the House. The political initiative with which he is most widely identified was the Contract With America, which outlined an economic and social agenda designed to improve the efficiency of government while reducing its burden on the American taxpayer. Passage of the Contract helped establish Gingrich's reputation as a public intellectual. His engagement of public issues has continued through to the present, in particular as the founder of American Solutions for Winning the Future.

Gingrich's policy reach covers everything from national security to personal responsibility, but Gingrich has been known to take stances that are different from the traditional Republican line. For instance, on immigration, he favors a strong border policy but also favors a guest worker program. He also supports the idea of electing presidents with the national popular vote instead of the Electoral College.

Gingrich has authored or co-authored 16 non-fiction books since 1982, several of them bestsellers. In recent years, his works have had a more large-scale policy focus, including Winning the Future, and the most recent, To Save America. In recent years, Gingrich has identified education as "the number one factor in our future prosperity", and received national attention for partnering with Al Sharpton and Education Secretary Arne Duncan to promote the issue.

"Replacement of the Left"

On November 18, 2010, Gingrich delivered a speech before the Republican Governors Association Conference in San Diego outlining 12 steps for what he called a "Replacement of the Left" strategy. In his speech, Gingrich said that the Republican election day victories of 2009 and 2010 should be followed by further victories over the next two years that would give the Republican party a large enough majority to replace what he called an increasingly leftist political system that has dominated American politics since 1932, largely through the influence of unelected bureaucracies. According to Gingrich, the strategy would be best pursued at the local level by lawmakers and activists in all 50 states rather than relying on leaders in Washington, D.C.

The 12 steps cover economic issues and entitlement reform, as well as education reform from K-12 through the collegiate level, including a "parents right to know" standards in education notifications. Specific steps address tying unemployment compensation to job training programs, replacing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) with state-based healthcare solutions and implementing ideas from business leaders to reduce the overall cost of government.

In December 2010, Gingrich began hosting the first of five scheduled Internet seminars to educate state lawmakers across the country about how to begin implementing the strategy before the 2012 elections.

Domestic policy

Abortion

Gingrich is generally regarded as an anti-abortion candidate. The policy section of Gingrich's 2012 campaign web site states that he would "end taxpayer subsidies for abortion by repealing Obamacare, defunding Planned Parenthood, and reinstating the 'Mexico City Policy' which banned funding to organizations that promote and/or perform abortions overseas".

In 1995, when he was Speaker of the House, Gingrich advocated taxpayer funding of abortion services in cases of rape, incest, or protecting the life of the mother. In 1998, influential Christian broadcaster James Dobson criticized Gingrich for not working hard enough to eliminate funding for family-planning programs.Christian broadcaster blasts Republicans' failed attempts Houston Chronicle October 25, 1998 Gingrich has since modified his position to oppose federal funding of abortions in all cases.

In an interview with Jake Tapper of ABC News in late 2011, Gingrich stated that he believed life began at "implantation".Tapper, Jake (December 2, 2011). "Gingrich Breaks from Some in Anti-Abortion Community on When Life Begins". ABC News. He has been criticized by socially conservative Republican presidential primary opponents Rick Santorum and Michele Bachmann for not consistently supporting the position that life begins at conception.Morrill, Jim (December 3, 2011). "Bachmann says Gingrich's stance on abortion is 'troubling. The Republic (Columbus, IN). McClatchy-Tribune.

On December 12, 2011, he wrote to the board of The Family Leader that he "believes that life begins at conception". He promised on the first day of work as president to "sign an executive order reinstating President Ronald Reagan's Mexico City policy that prevents taxpayer dollars from being used to fund abortions overseas"; he will "repeal Obamacare, defund Planned Parenthood".

Judiciary In 2011, while campaigning for the Republican nomination for president, Gingrich became the "loudest and fiercest critic" among a Republican field of "judicial-branch haters," frequently criticizing federal judges and judges.Ginger Gibson, Newt Gingrich courting Iowa voters with judicial rants, Politico (December 21, 2011). In December 2011, Gingrich termed the courts "grotesquely dictatorial and far too powerful" and said that as president, he would abolish whole courts whose decisions he disagrees with, asking "Are we forced for a lifetime to keep someone on the bench who is so radically anti-American that they are a threat to the fabric of the country?"Gardner, Amy; DeLong, Matt (December 17, 2011). Newt Gingrich's assault on 'activist judges' draws criticism, even from the right. The Washington Post.David G. Savage, Newt Gingrich says he'd defy Supreme Court rulings he opposed, Los Angeles Times (December 17, 2011). Gingrich has particularly singled out the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals for criticism, saying that it should be abolished because it is too liberal and "radically Anti-American."Amanda Terkel, Newt Gingrich: Abolish Liberal, 'Anti-American' Courts, Huffington Post (December 16, 2011).

Gingrich has said that if elected president, he would defy Supreme Court rulings that he opposed, citing the 2008 decision in Boumediene v. Bush as an example. Gingrich also said that if president, he might ignore a Supreme Court ruling recognizing a constitutional right to same-sex marriage.

Gingrich has frequently criticized what he termed "judicial activism" and in an appearance on Face the Nation in 2011 suggested that Congress should subpoena federal judges and force them to explain themselves before Congress.Andrew Cohen, Gingrich's Dangerous Plan to Subpoena Federal Judges, Part II, The Atlantic (October 11, 2011). When host Bob Schieffer asked how he would force federal judges to comply with congressional subpoenas, Gingrich said he would send the U.S. Capitol Police or U.S. Marshals to arrest the judges and force them to testify. Gingrich's proposal drew criticism across the political spectrum. Harvard Law School professor Laurence Tribe (who described it as "a frontal assault on the independence of the federal judiciary" and "one of the craziest and most obviously unconstitutional things the former Speaker has ever proposed"), prominent conservative lawyer Bruce Fein (who wrote that "Gingrich unwittingly is proposing to overthrow the Constitution that he would be pledged to uphold and defend if elected"), and U.S. District Judge John L. Kane (who wrote that Gingrich's proposal would contravene the rule of law and the notion of judicial independence as set forth in Federalist No. 78). Eventual 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, former Republican Attorneys General Michael Mukasey and Alberto Gonzales, conservative attorney Edward Whelan and the nonpartisan Justice at Stake group all criticized Gingrich's comments for similar reasons.

Gingrich has stated that he believes the Warren Court misinterpreted Marbury v. Madison in its Cooper v. Aaron decision and went too far in asserting that only the Supreme Court has final and binding interpretive authority over the two other branches of the federal government in defining the meaning of the Constitution.Newt Gingrich: 'A dangerous despotism', USA Today, December 19, 2011.Bringing the Courts Back Under the Constitution, Newt 2012, November 7, 2011.

Child labor laws

Gingrich has said that children should be able to work at an earlier age. He said: "You say to somebody, you shouldn't go to work before you're what, 14, 16 years of age, fine," Mr. Gingrich said. "You're totally poor. You're in a school that is failing with a teacher that is failing. I've tried for years to have a very simple model. Most of these schools ought to get rid of the unionized janitors, have one master janitor and pay local students to take care of the school. The kids would actually do work, they would have cash, they would have pride in the schools, they'd begin the process of rising." He later clarified his position, saying he was not proposing major changes in the law or encouraging children to seek jobs instead of attending school, but rather was "talking about working 20 hours a week and being empowered to succeed".

Campaign finance regulation

Gingrich opposes restrictions on campaign contributions, which he says make "it impossible for a candidate of average means to go out and raise the resources" needed for a campaign. In a 2006 article in the National Review, Gingrich stated that current campaign finance rules have moved the U.S. "dangerously closer to a plutocracy where the highest bidder can buy a seat."

Gingrich opposed the McCain–Feingold campaign finance reform bill, which was passed in 2002 and prohibits unrestricted donations to candidates from wealthy individuals, corporations and labor unions. In his book Winning the Future, Gingrich criticized McCain-Feingold for creating a "more irresponsible" system than before its passage, in which 527s and other extra-campaign activities increased, and "rich people ironically had an even greater impact" on elections. Among other unintended consequences, Gingrich writes, the election process has "devolved into an incumbency protection racket", whereby lobbyists and PACs raise large amounts of money for incumbents, discourage potential opponents, which frees incumbents to "spend more time at Washington PAC fundraisers". In addition, McCain–Feingold's "ridiculously low contribution limits" require candidates to spend even more time focused on raising money.

He has called for a system where individuals are allowed to donate unlimited amounts to Congressional candidates within their district, however requiring that all donations be reported online immediately.

Drug policy

In 1982, Gingrich wrote a letter supporting medical marijuana,"Newt Gingrich's Letter Supporting Medical Marijuana". National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. Retrieved January 26, 2012. a position he later abandoned. While serving in Congress, Gingrich introduced H.R. 4170, the Drug Importer Death Penalty Act of 1996. The legislation would have required a court to sentence a first-time drug importer to life in prison or a multiple-time offender to death.http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c104:H.R.4170 :

In a November 2011 interview, Gingrich reaffirmed his support for giving the death penalty to some drug smugglers, such as cartel leaders, and said "we need to think through a strategy that makes it radically less likely that we're going to have drugs in this country". He commented that places with "very draconian" drug policies like Singapore have been the most successful at doing that.

Education

Gingrich favors rigorous mathematics and science instruction in public schools, introducing competition between schools and between teachers, and permitting public school prayer.