At a forum hosted by the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC), Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich proclaimed that, if elected president, he would appoint former Bush administration U.N. ambassador John Bolton to be Secretary of State. Gingrich said he would require Bolton to restructure the U.S.’s entire diplomatic structure, and seek a more business-like atmosphere at State. Gingrich made the announcement to raucous applause [...]

The Senate refused to confirm the pugnacious Fox New contributor as U.N. envoy in 2006, forcing a recess appointment. Known for extremely hawkish positions and undiplomatic conduct, Bolton has maintained close ties to the Islamophobic right — but sometimes only when the money was good enough.

Here's more from Raw Story on Keith Olbermann's follow up on the topic with Steve Kornacki above -- Steve Kornacki explains tribalism of Gingrich’s support for Bolton:

Salon news editor Steve Kornacki on Wednesday night described Newt Gingrich’s support for former Bush administration U.N. ambassador John Bolton as “a tribal thing.”

“What he is doing here is holding up for all conservatives to see, ‘See, here is this guy who the other tribe really can’t stand, and it drives them crazy, and he’s with me,’” Kornaki explained on Countdown with Keith Olbermann. “I think the conservative tribe, as it were, really likes to hear that.” [...]

“I heard somebody make the point today, ‘You had Bush and Cheney that radically expanded the powers of the presidency, Obama who sort of consolidated that, and then now you’re going to hand it off to Newt Gingrich and John Bolton?’” Kornaki added. “Something to think about.”

And as they pointed out, TPM reported that Gingrich had not in fact, broken the law -- No, Newt Is Not Going To Jail For Saying He Would Appoint John Bolton.