Is a U.S. Debt Default Imminent? A Discussion with Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich - Newt.client

"You can't trust anybody with power."

-Newt Gingrich

On Thursday, October 3rd at 11:00am EDT, please join Hedgeye CEO Keith McCullough and Director of Research Daryl Jones for a discussion with former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, a key player in the last Federal Government shutdown, to discuss the current dysfunction in Washington, D.C. and implications for the markets.

Details for the call will be distributed on the morning of October 3rd.

TOPICS WILL INCLUDE:

  • What is the next strategic move for both the Democrats and Republicans?
  • How does this compare to the 1995 / 1996 government shutdowns?
  • Is Obama serious enough that he would risk a technical default? Will the Democrats in Congress support him?
  • Is the Tea Party influence on the Republican Party sustainable and, if so, what are the long term ramifications?
  • What are the implications of the current debate on the future of healthcare and the Affordable Care Act? 

ABOUT NEWT GINGRICH

Newt Gingrich is well-known as the architect of the "Contract with America" that led the Republican Party to victory in 1994 by capturing the majority in the U.S. House of Representatives for the first time in forty years. After he was elected Speaker, he disrupted the status quo by moving power out of Washington and back to the American people. Under his leadership, Congress passed welfare reform, the first balanced budget in a generation, and the first tax cut in sixteen years. In addition, the Congress restored funding to strengthen defense and intelligence capabilities, an action later lauded by the bipartisan 9/11 Commission.

Along with then President Bill Clinton, former Speaker of the House Gingrich was a key player in the United States federal government shutdowns of 1995 and 1996.  The conflicts between Democratic President Bill Clinton and the Republican Congress were over funding for Medicare, education, the environment, and public health in the 1996 federal budget. The government shut down after Clinton vetoed the spending bill the Republican Party-controlled Congress sent him. The federal government of the United States put non-essential government workers on furlough and suspended non-essential services from November 14 through November 19, 1995 and from December 16, 1995 to January 6, 1996, for a total of 28 days.

From May 2011 to May 2012, Newt Gingrich was a candidate for the Republican nomination for President of the United States, winning the South Carolina and the Georgia primaries. The campaign was especially notable for its innovative policy agenda, its effort to bring new coalitions into the Republican fold, and for Newt's debate performances. His $2.50 a gallon energy plan set off a nationwide discussion about the use of America's energy resources.

Newt Gingrich is also the host of CNN's political show Crossfire, which was restarted in the fall of 2013 after an eight-year hiatus. He hosts the show alongside conservative commentator S.E. Cupp, former Obama campaign spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter, and green advocate Van Jones. As an author, Newt has published twenty-four books including 14 fiction and nonfiction New York Times best-sellers.

Newt was first elected to Congress in 1978 where he served the Sixth District of Georgia for twenty years. In 1995, he was elected Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives where he served until 1999. The Washington Times has called him "the indispensable leader" and Time magazine, in naming him Man of the Year for 1995, said, "Leaders make things possible. Exceptional leaders make them inevitable. Newt Gingrich belongs in the category of the exceptional."