Newt Filling Void of GOP Leadership

Newt Gingrich is back, and he seems to want everyone to know it. The former Republican House speaker is bashing President Obama on everything from his stimulus plan—a “European socialist model"—to his "fantasy foreign policy," Politico reports. "Gingrich is the classic political counterinsurgent," a GOP consultant says. "He thrives in periods of time when he is able to post up against an agenda."

And right now, he's the only Republican stepping up to fill the party's void. "If anybody doubts that he is the de facto leader of the Republican Party right now, they’re crazy," says a polling firm CEO. He's definitely taking full advantage. Gingrich is a go-to cable news commentator, and he doesn't hesitate to promote his own agenda—including pushing the website of his advocacy group, American Solutions for Winning the Future. (More Newt Gingrich stories.)