Newt Gingrich | December 14, 2011

The opening moments of a December 14, University of Iowa performance by a kinder, gentler, and emphatically more professorial Newt Gingrich - www.newt.org were upended by a spirited, decidedly determined "mic check" by Occupy Wall Street - activists. "Mr. Gingrich, we are here to protest your speech today. We object to your callous and arrogant approach to poverty and poor people." So began their three-minute disruption of Speaker Gingrich's remarks on brain research to a packed auditorium in the Medical Education and Biomedical Research Building. In the intervening weeks, the frontrunner's polling numbers have dropped dramatically as mainstream and alternative media have scrutinized his record and affiliations.

Video shot in conjunction with "Mustering Sheep: The Iowa Caucuses and the Making of American-ness," a feature by Raquel Baker in the January 2012 edition of Little Village, Iowa City's news and culture magazine.

Related Coverage:

The Atlantic
"Occupy Gingrich! Newt Gets Heckled by Protesters at Brains Talk"
by Joe Fassler

The LA Times
"Occupy Newt? Gingrich event in Iowa disrupted by protest"
By Paul West