Newt Gingrich hypes return of CNN's 'Crossfire'

Yesterday TV Rage brought you the news that CNN was resurrecting its long-running series 'Crossfire,' as part of CNN President Jeff Zucker's efforts to reshape the network and make it a strong contender for the crown of top cable news channel. Word had originally leaked back in April that it was a possibility for the show to climb off the scrap heap and once again feature lively-political debate.

Newt Gingrich and Stephanie Cutter, two of the program's four new co-hosts, appeared on Wolf Blitzer's 'Situation Room' yesterday to talk about the program's revival.

Gingrich is a staunch Republican, while Cutter will represent the liberal side of American politics on the show. During their conversation, Gingrich promised that the show will remain civil, even when tempers get hot.

"I think we can recreate that original 'Crossfire' sense, that this is the place to be if you want to hear people really talk about the facts and the issues, not just about talking points and yelling at each other," said the former Republican presidential candidate. "A long, long time ago I was on 'Crossfire' a lot as a young Congressman. It was exciting, it was fact-oriented, it had very smart people as guests and people tuned in because they learned something. They didn't just learn conservative talking points or liberal talking points, they watched interesting, smart people try to understand what America should be doing." 

Joining Gingrich and Cutter in this new version will be conservative columnist S.E. Cupp and Van Jones, a former advisor to President Barack Obama.

Cutter told Blitzer that she was excited for the revival and looked forward to having intelligent conversations.

"It's not talking points and it's not political jabs, it's differences of opinion and finding areas where maybe we can agree," she said.

Are you excited for 'Crossfire's return?