As Newt Gingrich finds himself on the opposite side from just about every major Republican figure by characterizing Paul Ryan’s plan as “right-wing social engineering,” it’s worth remembering that the last time Gingrich was in this circumstance, he was proven spectacularly wrong.

In the 2009 special House election in New York’s 23rd Congressional District, many on the Right preferred Conservative Party nominee Doug Hoffman to Republican nominee Dede Scozzafava. After a while, it appeared that Gingrich stood alone in the Scozzafava camp. But he didn’t hesitate to charge that those on the other side were not merely backing an inferior, less competitive candidate, but hypocritical and conditional in their application of conservative principles.

He told Greta Van Sustren, “I find it fascinating that my many friends who claim to be against Washington having too much power, they claim to be in favor of the Tenth Amendment giving states back their rights, they claim to favor local control and local authority, suddenly they get local control and local authority in upstate New York and they don’t like the outcome… So I say to my many conservative friends, who have suddenly decided, whether they’re from Minnesota or Alaska or Texas, they know more than the upstate New York Republicans? I don’t think so. And I don’t think it’s a good precedent.”

Of course, in the face of falling poll numbers, Scozzafava withdrew and endorsed the Democrat, Bill Owens, right before Election Day. Owens won, and continues to represent that district today.

On Election Night 2009, Gingrich was forced to eat crow:

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Gingrich: I think the entire Scozzafava candidacy was a mistake. I regret deeply that she was chosen by the 11 local county chairs… I deeply regret that we got into that kind of a mess. But as a long-term party leader who helped in 1980 with Reagan and in 1994 with the Contract With America, I find it very hard to overrule eleven county chairman who unanimously voted for her. I think the nomination was a mistake. I wish we had gotten involved earlier. If we had, I would have done everything I could that she had not been picked. She clearly proved in the past few days she was in no way a loyal Republican.
Hannity: What do you say to conservatives that have always liked Newt Gingrich that are right now, angry with you about that support?
Gingrich: I would say they have every right to be angry. I don’t blame them. I took a position as someone who had built national majorities and who really wants to find the last marginal vote to make sure Nancy Pelosi doesn’t remain speaker and who really wants to find the last marginal electoral vote to beat Obama. But I don’t blame them for being upset.

Very rarely does a presidential candidate take on almost the entire rest of the party and win, either the argument or the nomination.