Tony Blankley, a conservative author and commentator who served as press secretary to Newt Gingrich during the 1990s, when Republicans took control of Congress, died Sunday January 8, 2012. He was 63. Blankley, who had been suffering from stomach cancer, died Saturday night at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, his wife, Lynda Davis, said Sunday. In his long career as a political operative and pundit, his most visible role was as a spokesman for and adviser to Gingrich from 1990 to 1997. Gingrich became House Speaker when Republicans took control of the U.S. House of Representatives following the 1994 midterm elections. Earlier, Blankley spent six years in the Reagan administration in a variety of positions, including speechwriter and senior policy analyst. From 2002 to 2007, he served as editorial page editor of The Washington Times. In recent years, he also wrote a syndicated newspaper column and provided political commentary for CNN, NBC and NPR. He was also a regular panelist on "The McLaughlin Group." He was the author of two books and a visiting senior fellow in national security communications at the Heritage Foundation. Born in London, Blankley moved to California with his parents as a child and became a naturalized American citizen. He worked as a child actor in the 1950s, appearing in such TV shows as "Lassie" and "Highway Patrol" and playing Rod Steiger's son in the movie "The Harder They Fall." Before entering politics, he spent 10 years as a prosecutor with the California attorney general's office. Blankley and Davis lived in Great Falls, Va. In addition to Davis, he is survived by three children. For seven years, Tony Blankley served as press secretary to then Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Newt Gingrich. In that role, Tony Blankley not only helped create messages which shook the country, Tony Blankley also helped create policy. Tony Blankley's knack for appetizing soundbites (which Tony Blankley calls his "poor-man's poetry") and sound political strategy made Tony Blankley one of Washington's premiere sources of ideas and insights. Working for the most renowned Speaker in decades, Blankley became one of the leading spokesmen for the Contract with America. Prior to Tony Blankley's career on Capitol Hill, Blankley served President Reagan as a speechwriter and senior policy analyst. After leaving Gingrich's office in February 1997, Blankley joined the staff of John F. Kennedy Jr.'s George magazine. As a contributing editor, Blankley's monthly column "Between the Lines" featured his inside-the-beltway insights. Blankley also appears regularly on CNN's Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer, as well as CNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews, Rivera Live, The News with Brian Williams and MSNBC. In June 1999, Blankley joined The Washington Times as a weekly political columnist. In June 2002, Tony Blankley was named editorial page editor. The same depth of knowledge and sharp wit that kept reporters turning to Tony Blankley during his time on Capitol Hill have made Blankley one of today's leading media commentators. Tony Blankley's opinions and analysis of political events have been featured on the front pages of The New York Times, USA Today, and other major publications, and Tony Blankley was a syndicated columnist for the Los Angeles Times Syndicate. Blankley has quickly become a favorite speaker of corporate and association audiences around the country. Tony Blankley uses his background in both the executive and congressional branches to design speeches which provide insight into today's headlines, and the issues that will fill tomorrow's. In addition to being a popular speaker, Blankley is an accomplished debater. Clients have paired him with the likes of Bill Press and Bob Beckel, among other noted Democratic pundits, to create a uniquely informative and provocative program. Whether delivering a keynote or debating, Blankley gives his audience more than just analysis. Focusing on the personalities and stories which make politics interesting, Tony Blankley helps audiences remember the information long after they leave the event. http://www.townhall.com/columnists/TonyBlankley http://media.townhall.com/TownHall/icons/TH-feed-icon-128x128.gif http://www.townhall.com/columnists/TonyBlankley TownHall.com, Where your opinion counts. 128 Copyright (c) 2012 Townhall.com, A Salem Communications Web. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED jim.dearras@townhall.com (Jim De Arras) Wed, 14 Dec 2011 05:01:00 GMT Wed, 14 Dec 2011 05:01:00 GMT http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss RSS.NET: http://www.rssdotnet.com/ Almost all political commentators agree on one thing. The Republican presidential campaign is unlike any we have experienced. It is not a campaign of steady trends and continuities, but rather of emotional reversals and... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/TonyBlankley/2011/12/14/newts_past_and_future_leadership bba6172b-7c5c-46a0-bbc5-7088e3c09f41 Wed, 14 Dec 2011 05:01:00 GMT One of the nice things about human history is that no matter how much people or their leaders misjudge events and make a hash of things, within a few centuries, the debris is cleared away, and we can have another go at... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/TonyBlankley/2011/12/07/secular_liberal_egypt_we_hardly_knew_ya 15496333-167b-48d8-a5a0-2b8f58b4da6a Wed, 07 Dec 2011 05:01:00 GMT Sunday on "Meet the Press" Colin Powell blamed divisive, poisonous Washington politics on the media and the Tea Party. The essence of Powell's argument was: "Republicans and Democrats are focusing more and more on their... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/TonyBlankley/2011/11/30/how_to_break_the_partisan_fever 5cc9286c-4e01-4065-8b33-0692bc75b329 Wed, 30 Nov 2011 05:01:00 GMT As we approach the festive season -- the elongated, enchanting month from Thanksgiving through Christmas to New Years -- my mind has been drifting through various memorable past holidays. Some have been personal -- the... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/TonyBlankley/2011/11/23/thanksgiving_2011 4396fbbf-12a7-4172-8031-6286e043fb6f Wed, 23 Nov 2011 05:01:00 GMT A just released book, "Bowing to Beijing" by Brett M. Decker and William C. Triplett II, will change forever the way you think about China -- even if, like me, you already have the deepest worries about the Chinese... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/TonyBlankley/2011/11/16/an_important_new_book d8ebf655-44c4-4a97-85c3-23428235b0a7 Wed, 16 Nov 2011 05:01:00 GMT Here's a thought: The GOP presidential primaries may well prove to be inconclusive, with the nominee actually being chosen at the convention in Tampa, Fla., in the fourth week of August next year. True, it has been... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/TonyBlankley/2011/11/09/gop_primary_deadlock 9fa35d6e-4533-46a3-a3d7-47716b4ec940 Wed, 09 Nov 2011 05:01:00 GMT Now is a particularly dangerous moment for American national security interests. Not just because threats are growing. Not just because the current administration is making a historic bungle from China to Iraq to Iran... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/TonyBlankley/2011/11/02/a_time_for_statesmen dbcc078e-c0c2-4136-a626-30057717c54f Wed, 02 Nov 2011 04:01:00 GMT "No one should miscalculate America's resolve and commitment to helping support the Iraqi democracy.-- Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, October 23, 2011"Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/TonyBlankley/2011/10/26/the_administration_slithers_away_from_reality 800f0995-3e8e-4242-996f-fe424883ed28 Wed, 26 Oct 2011 04:01:00 GMT For the past few years, fear of China's predatory mercantilism has been steadily growing in America, both amongst the public and in elite business and political circles. But last week, for the first time, one could... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/TonyBlankley/2011/10/19/washington_considers_china_trade_war 2268ff6d-8565-4c0d-9f41-9cedee1f7e80 Wed, 19 Oct 2011 04:01:00 GMT How dangerous is the European financial condition? On Monday, while stock markets from the DAX and FTSE to the New York Stock Exchange were up sharply on report of French and German cooperative murmurs regarding... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/TonyBlankley/2011/10/12/euro-debt_danger b458ba8d-6a7e-4b99-a348-e03b738cacf4 Wed, 12 Oct 2011 04:01:00 GMT William F. Buckley, Jr., founding father of the modern conservative movement, famously asserted his doctrine of voting for the most conservative candidate who is electable.Let me presume to add an analytic codicil: The... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/TonyBlankley/2011/10/05/good_gop_flip-flops ee28db19-e51f-4b49-aab5-b3b7efc4e4c9 Wed, 05 Oct 2011 04:01:00 GMT President Obama, like most American presidents, is lucky that the public pays little attention to foreign policy and rarely casts its votes on the basis of presidential foreign-policy performance. It required something... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/TonyBlankley/2011/09/28/presidents_foreign_policy_failures_increase 45a7abf1-3fae-4199-bd71-dad88821ee63 Wed, 28 Sep 2011 04:01:00 GMT In one of the least needed reassurances in modern political history, President Obama's top political man David Plouffe, "told Democrats late last week that the White House would not suffer from overconfidence. 'What I... http://www.townhall.com/columnists/TonyBlankley/2011/09/21/double-dip_learning_curve 1d681a53-e223-4421-b1c6-8a5019106195 Wed, 21 Sep 2011 04:01:00 GMT