Gingrey made perhaps the biggest media splash of his career in early 2009, when he took conservative commentators to task for their harsh criticism of Republican leadership, telling them to back off.

"It's easy if you're Sean Hannity or Rush Limbaugh or even sometimes Newt Gingrich to stand back and throw bricks," Gingrey said. "You don't have to try to do what's best for your people and your party. You know you're just on these talk shows and you're living well and plus you stir up a bit of controversy and gin the base and that sort of thing. But when it comes to true leadership, not that these people couldn't be or wouldn't be good leaders, they're not in that position of John Boehner or Mitch McConnell."

After an uproar, Gingrey apologized, calling the Hannity, Limbaugh and Gingrich "voices of the conservative movement's conscience," which was used to illustrate the extent to which the party had fallen within Limbaugh's thrall.

Gingrey has sterling conservative credentials: National Journal rated him Most Conservative in the House in 2007, which he notes with pride on his Senate web site.He is also a devout Catholic, and not afraid to bring faith into his lawmaking. "I think God has spoken very clearly on this issue," Gingrey said of his work on behalf of a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage; the congressman has also stated that he believes being gay is a choice.

Technology

Through his position as ranking member of the House Science Technology and Innovation subcommittee in the 110th Congress, Gingrey took leadership on some technological issues of note.

While he could not be called an environmentalist (he has scored either zero or three percent on the League of Conservation Voter's environmental scorecard(, Gingrey introduced and helped shepherd through the House a bill that would create and fund an interagency working group on green chemistry research and development (it has yet to pass the Senate). As co-chair of the Congressional Robotics Caucus, he has advocated for funding research and development in the robotics industry, which he said is falling behind its foreign competitors.

Immigration

Though Georgia does not share a border with Mexico, Gingrey has been an outspoken voice for tougher immigration laws.

Generally supportive of President Bush, Gingrey nonetheless joined an overwhelming majority of House Republicans in opposition to the president's 2007 immigration reform package, which would have created a temporary worker program and path to legalization for illegal immigrants. In 2005,Gingrey voted for a 700-mile border fence, arguing that "we need to stop the bleeding before we can stitch the wound."

And for the last three congresses, Gingrey has introduced the Nuclear Family Priority Act - never reported out of committee - aimed at the practice of "chain migration," or immigrants bringing members of their extended family with them over the border.

Health Care

As a anti-abortion rights obstetrician and gynecologist for 26 years, and now as co-founder of the House Republican Doctors Caucus, Gingrey takes health care personally.

He is heavily backed by health professionals, and is a proponent of medical malpractice reform, helping to pass a 2005 bill through the House that would cap "pain and suffering" damages at $250,000.

Gingrey's has a staunchly anti-abortion record. He co-sponsored a bill that would have required abortion providers to inform women of the pain they would cause to their unborn fetuses, and spoke on behalf of a measure to pull RU-486 (the "abortion pill") off the market.Also to the chagrin of women's health advocates, he sponsored legislation that would bar the use of federal funds by states to mandate that all girls get the HPV vaccine before going to school.

The Economy

Gingrey is a strong fiscal conservative, joining the Georgia delegation to vote against the $700 billion Wall Street rescue plan in fall 2008, - despite last-minute pleading from Republican leaders. He also opposed President Obama's $787 billion economic stimulus package in early 2009, which passed the House without a single Republican vote.

Early in his term, Gingrey voiced frustration with the Bush administration's focus on Iraq with a shaky economy at home. "This is a patriotic district, and people support the president on what he is doing in Iraq," Gingrey said. "But they are upset by the loss of jobswe are in an economic war with China and if we lose that war, winning in Iraq is not going to mean that much."

Gingrey also supports eliminating the Internal Revenue Service and instituting a national consumption tax.

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