"Gingrich's Presidential Bid Clouded by His Belief in Climate Change"

"A long time ago, in a galaxy far away, there were some Republicans who cared about climate change and were not ashamed to have the world know it. OK, so it was a blip in time at the nadir of the George Bush presidency when conservatives were desperate to do anything to disassociate themselves from an unpopular leader.

But that moment is coming back to haunt a number of the 2012 Republican presidential candidates who are now trying to appeal to a new generation of Tea Party conservative activists which thinks climate change is a hoax.

Newt Gingrich, the former Republican Speaker, Tim Pawlenty, the former governor of Minnesota, and Mitt Romney, have all been put on the defensive for past assertions that climate change was real. Each candidate is handling it differently, at least so far."

Suzanne Goldenberg reports for The Guardian May 12, 2011.