IT IS time to say a few good words about Newt Gingrich. Not that he has done a perfect job as Speaker, not that his tactics have always been on target, not that he has not made concessions to statism and Clintonian fudging that conservatives ought to criticize. There are plenty of bad things to say about Gingrich, as there are about most practicing politicians. But the steady drumbeat of criticism of Gingrich and calls for his ouster in NATIONAL REVIEW and other conservative publications paint a misleading picture.
Start by putting into perspective his great historic achievement. If Newt Gingrich had been run over by a truck in 1993, it is almost certain that there would not be a Republican majority in the House today. Few other congressional politicians have made such a difference in partisan history. Gingrich’s articulation of a Republican agenda, culminating in the September 1994 Contract with America; his avid recruitment of candidates; his continual assertion since his election to the leadership by two votes in March 1989, that Republicans could win a majority-without all these, Republicans would probably have made gains in the House elections in 1994, but would have fallen well short of a majority. And, with Bill Clinton winning re-election, they would not have made further gains in 1996.
Comments