The pent-up curiosity about which of Newt Gingrich’s opponents would be the first to aggressively take him on was answered yesterday by Ron Paul.

His YouTube video blasting Newt Gingrich for “serial hypocrisy” is making the rounds of social media today, viewed more than 172,000 times by late this morning and generating lots of media buzz.

The 2-1/2 minute black and white video with ominous music playing in the background calls into question former House Speaker Gingrich’s conservative chops by showing clips of him in an appearance with Nancy Pelosi supporting action against climate change.

It intersperses his quotes about politicians being to blame for the housing mortgage crisis with commentators skewering him for his recently exposed profitable ties to Freddie Mac.

And it shows the incredulity of radio host Rush Limbaugh as he talks about Gingrich’s support of an individual health insurance mandate – attempting to link him to what conservatives have dubbed Obamacare.

He’s “flipped and flopped.” He’s the “essence” of a Washington insider, sources in the video say.

“It’s pretty tough. If he ever does air it [on TV], it’s bound to hurt Gingrich,” says Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics. “It revives a lot of things that voters have forgotten, maybe older voters too.”