Playing King of the Hill

Almost unnoticed, a political drama is unfolding on Capitol Hill. The star villain? House Speaker Jim Wright, who, a growing number of Republicans protest, has turned the House of Representatives into his own personal fiefdom, ruling with an iron fist, a lust for glory, and a flagrant disregard for House rules. “I never would have thought it likely to say, but now that we’ve seen Wright, O’Neill looks like a moral Rotarian committed to bipartisanship,” says Newt Gingrich, leader of the hardy band of increasingly militant Republicans out to dethrone the Speaker.

What is Gingrich so hot and bothered about? Millions of C-SPAN viewers got a glimpse on October 29, when Wright asked his colleagues to consider the “Guaranteed Deficit Reduction Act.” Despite Wright’s personal plea (“the public wants it”), moderate Democrats joined with Republicans to defeat a motion to consider the bill, which combined a $12.8-billion tax hike with a $2,700 congressional pay raise.

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Cort Kirkwood

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Almost unnoticed, a political drama is unfolding on Capitol Hill. The star villain? House Speaker Jim Wright, who, a growing number of Republicans protest, has turned the House of Representatives into his own personal fiefdom, ruling with an iron fist, a lust for glory, and a flagrant disregard for House rules. “I never would have thought it likely to say, but now that we’ve seen Wright, O’Neill looks like a moral Rotarian committed to bipartisanship,” says Newt Gingrich, leader of the hardy band of increasingly militant Republicans out to dethrone the Speaker.

What is Gingrich so hot and bothered about? Millions of C-SPAN viewers got a glimpse on October 29, when Wright asked his colleagues to consider the “Guaranteed Deficit Reduction Act.” Despite Wright’s personal plea (“the public wants it”), moderate Democrats joined with Republicans to defeat a motion to consider the bill, which combined a $12.8-billion tax hike with a $2,700 congressional pay raise.