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Glenn's revealing interview with Newt Gingrich - Story and Video

December 06, 2011
 Wilson

Writer

Glenn is back on TV! Watch Glenn’s new two-hour show available live and on-demand Monday through Friday on GBTV.com! Start your two week free trial HERE!

Part 1 of the interview:

Part 2 of the interview:

You can read a FULL transcript of this interview HERE

Glenn welcomed the current front-runner for the GOP nomination to the program this morning on radio, and the usually unflappable Newt Gingrich was met with some serious questions about his record on healthcare, global warming, and more.

Glenn started the interview by making it clear that this was not a “gotcha” interview, but that Glenn had “serious concerns” about Newt Gingrich as President. Glenn’s producers had made it clear to Newt that tough questions were going to be asked, but he did think that Gingrich is a decent guy.

“I'm asking questions because I truly, deeply care about the country just as much as Newt Gingrich does but we differ on the answers, I believe. I'd like to have him convince me that I'm wrong. I would love to have him convince me that I'm wrong,” Glenn said.

On Regulation

Glenn started by playing a piece of audio where Gingrich claimed to be a “Theodore Roosevelt Republican”, a political figure in history that Glenn believes is strongly tied to the Progressive movement in history on both sides of the aisle.

The archived clip had Gingrich saying:

And for government to not leave guarantees that you don't have the ability to change, no private corporation has the purchasing power or the ability to reshape the health system, and in this sense I guess I'm a Theodore Roosevelt Republican. In fact, if I were going to characterize my - on health where I come from, I'm a Theodore Roosevelt Republican and I believe government can lean in the regulatory leaning is okay.

“Regulation and the government scares the crap out of me and I think most Tea Party kind of leaning conservatives, and Theodore Roosevelt was the guy who started the Progressive Party. How would you characterize your relationship with the progressive ideals of Theodore Roosevelt?” Glenn asked Gingrich.

Gingrich said he was a fan of Roosevelt for reasons like his advocacy of the FDA.

“I was a child who lived in Europe and I always marveled at the fact that American water is drinkable virtually anywhere,” Gingrich said. “So there are minimum regulatory standards of public health and safety that are I think really important.”

“What I'm against is the government trying to implement things because bureaucracy's such a bad implementer, and I'm against government trying to pick winners and losers,” Gingrich added.

On subsidies, bailouts, and energy

The talk then turned to bailouts and subsidies for businesses. Gingrich was clear that he would not have bailed out GM and the company would have been much better off going through a reorganization bankruptcy. On subsidies, however, Gingrich admitted that he was in favor of subsidies for ethanol because they drive out dependence on foreign oil.

“I want American energy to drive out Saudi Arabia and Iranian and Iraqi energy and Venezuelan energy. And so I am for all sources of American energy in order to make us not just independent but to create a reservoir so that if something does happen in the Persian Gulf in the Straits of Hormuz, the world's industrial system doesn't crash into a deep depression,” Gingrich told Glenn.

“Aren't subsidies really some of the biggest problems that we have with our spending and out of control picking of winners and losers?” Glenn asked.

“The idea of having economic incentives for manufacturing goes back to Alexander Hamilton's first report of manufacturing which I believe was 1791. We have always had a bias in favor of investing in the future. We built the transcontinental railroads that way. The Erie Canal was built that way. We've always believed that having a strong infrastructure and having a strong energy system are net advantages because they've made us richer and more powerful than any country in the world. But what I object to is subsidizing things that don't work and things that aren't creating a better future. And the problem with the modern welfare state is it actually encourages people to the wrong behaviors, encourages them not to work, encourages them not to study,” Gingrich responded.

On the individual mandate and healthcare

Continuing with the theme of big spending, Glenn asked Gingrich how a fiscal conservative could call the Medicare Prescription Drug Program the “most important bill to vote on in your career”.

Gingrich said that the bill included the Medicare Advantage and the right to have a high deductible medical savings account, “the first steps towards moving control over your health dollars back to you.”

“You're trying to transition into smaller government by also supporting a bill that has in it a gigantic giveaway?” Glenn asked with incredulity.

“I think this is where we fundamentally differ is it seems to me and let me just play the audio here that you are for the individual mandate for healthcare and you have been for quite some time,” Glenn said.

Glenn played audio from 1993 and 2011, both of which have Newt advocating for the controversial individual mandate for health insurance.

In 1993, Gingrich said, “I am for people, individuals, exactly like automobile insurance, individuals having health insurance and being required to have health insurance, and I am prepared to vote for a voucher system which will give individuals on a sliding scale a government subsidy so it will ensure that everyone as individuals have health insurance.”

In 2011, he said, “I think that there are ways to do it that make most libertarians relatively happy. I've said consistently we ought to have some requirement to either have health insurance or you post a bond or in some way you indicate you are going to be held accountable.”

“You seem to be very interested in the government finding the solution,” Glenn said.

“We can go back and we can listen to exactly what I was asked on that show and what I said I stand by, which is in a free society, you don't elect officials to impose on you things that you disagree with,” Gingrich fired back.

“Now, I also, ironically, I would implement the Medicare reforms that Paul Ryan wants, I would implement them next year as an optional choice and I would allow people to have the option to choose premium support and then have freedom to negotiate with their doctor or their hospital in a way that would increase their ability to manage costs without being involved, you know but I wouldn't impose it on everybody across the board. I think that's a very large scale experiment. But I think you could migrate people toward it,” Gingrich said.

On Climate Change

Glenn also asked about his record on climate change.

“ On global warming, with sitting down on the couch with Nancy Pelosi, and I would agree with you that was the dumbest moment you know, it would have been the dumbest moment of my life. And I agree with that. But when you look at, it's not a moment of your life. In speech after speech, in your book Contract with the Earth, even with John Kerry in a debate,” Glenn said.

“ Help me out. This is a multiyear stance. It's not a moment in your life,” Glenn added.

“I think that there is evidence on both sides of the climate change argument, and the point I was making was in a situation where, for example, having a larger nuclear program reduces carbon in the atmosphere, it's a prudent thing to look at nuclear as one of the actions,” Gingrich said.

While many of Newt’s arguments contained progressive rhetoric – the idea of having to lead the American people to policy one baby step at a time – Glenn appreciated the candidate taking the time to appear on the show.

“I appreciate the willingness to come on and answer the tough questions, and I wish you the best,” Glenn said.

“Well, sir, you and I have always had a great relationship and I admire your courage and I admire the way in which you've always stood up and told the truth and I think you've had a huge impact as I go around the country with Tea Party folks in maximizing interest in American history and interest in the Founding Fathers and I think much of what you've done, you know, you and I don't have to agree on some things to have a great deal of mutual respect and I think you've been a very powerful force for good and I wish you well in your new ventures,” Newt told Glenn.

On Israel

Coming back from the break, Glenn did want to emphasize that Gingrich is a big supporter of Israel, an issue that is very important to Glenn.

“I do want to point out a positive. First of all, Newt Gingrich signed a letter of support for Restoring Courage. He is a big supporter of Israel, and he is issuing a press release this morning demanding that President Obama renounce the recent statements by Leon Panetta and his ambassador to Belgium which were hostile over the weekend to Israel, I mean in ways I've never seen before. That press release is coming up from Newt Gingrich today. We didn't have time to cover that, but I wanted you to know. He is a big supporter of Israel,” Glenn said.

Glenn will have more on this interview tonight on GBTV!

Marxist Methods: Debunking the Left's LIES About Critical Race Theory

We've heard a lot about critical race theory lately, and for good reason: It's a racist ideology designed to corrupt our children and undermine our American values. But most of what we see are the results of a process that has been underway for decades. And that's not something the mainstream media, the Democrat Party, and even teachers unions want you to know. They're doing everything in their power to try and convince you that it's no big deal. They want to sweep everything under the rug and keep you in the dark. To fight it, we need to understand what fuels it.

On his Wednesday night special this week, Glenn Beck exposes the deep-seated Marxist origins of CRT and debunks the claims that it's just a harmless term for a school of legal scholarship. Newsweek opinion editor Josh Hammer joins to argue why we must ban critical race theory from our schools if we want to save a very divided nation.

Watch the full "Glenn TV" episode below:

Want more from Glenn Beck?

To enjoy more of Glenn's masterful storytelling, thought-provoking analysis and uncanny ability to make sense of the chaos, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

Glenn Beck: I'd give up my American citizenship ‘in a heartbeat’ if THIS happens

On the radio program Monday, Glenn Beck blasted the Democrats — and anyone else on the left — who have been so eager to open our southern U.S. border for the past several months, but also willing to turn a blind eye to the Cuban people in need of help today.

"While we are welcoming people from any country, all over the world, without any kind of information, and setting them into our country, putting them on American planes paid for by American taxpayers," Glenn began. "And our Coast Guard Cutters are turning these [Cuban] people away. Shame on you! Shame on you!"

Glenn said that he's "sick and tired" of hearing about "brave" leftist activists like Colin Kaepernick, who protest the America flag while wearing Che Guevara and Fidel Castro t-shirts. Meanwhile, the Cuban people are risking their lives by taking to the sea to escape their oppressive regime and come to America.

"Anybody who glorifies Che doesn't know their ass from their elbow. You can't call them a human rights activist. You're protesting the American flag, because you so deeply believe in the right to be free? And yet, you wear a Che T-shirt?" Glenn said.

Glenn went on to argue that, even though the left has "bastardized" the meaning of our country, he still believes America is the best nation on Earth. In fact, he'd give up his citizenship "in a heartbeat" if another country could prove to be better, more noble, and more free. But no other nation exists like ours, he said, which is why it's so imperative we fight for freedom here, in Cuba, and around the world.

Watch the video clip below to hear Glenn explain:

Want more from Glenn Beck?

To enjoy more of Glenn's masterful storytelling, thought-provoking analysis and uncanny ability to make sense of the chaos, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution and live the American dream.

'They believe their job is to REMAKE your child': WSJ writer warns public schools may be LOST to woke trans activism

There's a new "reality" spreading, and the mere act of questioning it has become incredibly dangerous, Wall Street Journal investigative journalist Abigail Shrier told Glenn on the most recent episode of "The Glenn Beck Podcast."

Shrier's book, "Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters," exposes the radical gender activism that — like critical race theory — has overtaken our children's schools and culture. But even worse, she warned, it could end your parental rights for good.

Shrier made it clear she is by no means "anti-trans," but simply speaking up against the extremes of this new "reality" has made her enemy No. 1 to many activists. Her book has been bashed so hard by the Left that Target has stopped selling it twice, Amazon once banned ads for it, and the American Booksellers Association even called sending it to others "a serious, violent incident."

In the clip below, Shrier explained why she believes "there may be no hope for the public school system."

"You have teachers behaving like activists across the country who have no interest in actually teaching. They believe their job is to remake your child," she asserted. "We're seeing so much evidence of that, I think it's fair to say that it may be too deeply rooted in the ideology being taught in public school. I'm not sure that the public school system is redeemable at this point."

Watch the video clip below for more or find the full podcast with Abigail Shrier here:

Want more from Glenn Beck?

To enjoy more of Glenn's masterful storytelling, thought-provoking analysis and uncanny ability to make sense of the chaos, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution and live the American dream.

Gov. Abbott: Yes, Texas really can ARREST House Democrats when they return. Here's how.

What is actually in Texas' new GOP-led voting bill? Nearly every Texas House Democrat fled the state to block its passage, calling it racist and oppressive, and President Joe Biden backed them as well.

But Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) joined Glenn Beck on the radio program Friday to set the record straight and call out the lies: All of these claims are "completely false." He also explained his promise to "arrest" the Texas House Democrats when they return to the Lone Star State.

"What is in the bill is completely different than what they're saying, what Kamala Harris is saying, what President Biden is saying. What's in the bill actually increases the number of hours that people have to vote in the state of Texas. In the state of Texas, we have at least 12 days of early voting, and we are adding hours to those days. And on top of that, we are giving people time off from work to be able to vote. Bottom line, we're making it easier to vote in the state of Texas," Gov Abbott explained.

"In comparison, Delaware — the state that President Biden votes in — has exactly zero hours of early voting," he added. "That said, there is one thing that we're doing in the state of Texas, and that is we're making sure we tighten the reins on mail-in ballots that can lead to voter fraud. And it's not me saying that. It's a federal judge, appointed by Barack Obama, in Corpus Christi, Texas, who wrote in a legal opinion that voter fraud occurs, quote, in abundance as it concerns mail-in ballots. We know. Texans know. There is fraud in mail-in ballots in the state of Texas. It must be fixed. That's one thing we're trying to do. That being said, all these claims that we're denying people the right to vote and yada, yada, yada, are completely false."

Abbott went on to discuss the much-debated voter ID laws in Texas and to explain why Democrats insist on calling basic voter ID requirements "racist."

"When Democrats do not have truth on their side, they resort to one single word and that is 'racism' ... Texas implemented voter ID almost a decade ago, and when we went through that fight, what word did they use? Racism," he said. "Guess what? After Texas imposed voter ID requirements in the state of Texas, there have been more people voting and more people of color who went to vote. Voting didn't get harder. It got easier and more abundant in the state of Texas. And so, once again, Democrats have absolutely no legal standing, other than to say, 'racism.'"

Glenn asked Gov. Abbott to explain his pledge to "arrest" the Democratic lawmakers that fled once they return to Texas.

"Let me explain how this works. So, whenever there is a break of quorum, which is what is happening now — meaning there is not a sufficient number of people who are showing up to the Texas House of Representatives for the Texas House to engage in business. Whenever there's a quorum break like that, the House issues what's called a 'call on the House.' And when that happens, the sergeant-at-arms is authorized to work with the Texas Department of Public Safety, to — you can call it arrest, apprehend, whatever you want to call it — any of the members who are not in the Texas House of Representatives and bring them to the Texas House where they will be 'cabined' with no ability to leave the Texas House chamber, without a permission slip from the speaker."

Watch the video clip below for more details:

Want more from Glenn Beck?

To enjoy more of Glenn's masterful storytelling, thought-provoking analysis and uncanny ability to make sense of the chaos, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.