Gingrich plans to start by lobbying for some sturdy planks in the party’s platform — a document that is usually ignored by all but the most stalwart of Republicans, but one that he insists “can shape how the campaign unfolds.”

He wants to build in a strong commitment to the 10th Amendment, which assures power for the states, rather than Washington; a balanced-budget provision that would include a fund for debt repayment financed by royalties from oil and gas; a plan for energy independence; and a science research project to map the brain. Maximizing understanding of how the brain works is an idea he believes voters will find relevant in their own lives, given the aging of the population and the increasing incidence of such diseases as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s…

He will find money to pay off the seven-figure debt “the same way I did in 1978 [when he was first elected to Congress after two losing campaigns], the same way I did in 1999 [after resigning the speakership]. You work and pay it off,” Gingrich said. “Whatever shape we’re in when this is over, you look at it, you take a big swallow and go to work.”