Gingrich For Speaker?

It is a peculiarity of politics in the western democracies that voters have short memories. For example, in the UK our first past the vote electoral system finds Party A voted into power as an antidote to the failed policies of Party B, only to find an unchanged and unrepentant Party B back in power just few short years later. And it is not just the political parties who benefit. Individuals transgress and are removed from power, only to find themselves welcomed back to the fold. Tony Blair welcomed Peter Mandelson back to his cabinet not once but twice, after Mandelson had transgressed and broken rules.

And so it was, a few days ago, that a chill sense of foreboding crept down my spine when The Washington Post reported that influential House conservatives are privately plotting a possible leadership challenge to House Speaker Paul D. Ryan. The group has floated the idea of recruiting former House Speaker Newt Gingrich as a potential replacement for Ryan. Gingrich is no longer a member of Congress but, oddly, the Constitution does not require that an elected member of the House serve as Speaker.

Unlike the Speaker in the British parliament, the office of the US Speaker is vested with enormous powers. He or she administers proceedings on the House floor, including recognition of members to speak or make motions and appointment to committees. The Speaker’s role as “elect of the elect” places him in a highly visible position with the public. He is leader of the House majority party conference and often responsible for airing and defending the majority party’s legislative agenda, including calling or deferring votes.

So, here comes the memory thing. In the 1994 mid-term elections, Bill Clinton found himself isolated when the Republicans won majorities in both Houses of Congress. Gingrich was elected by House Republicans as Speaker and what followed was what Gingrich termed "The Contract with America." He sought to emulate Franklin Roosevelt's first 100 days by having the House pass ten major and important pieces of legislation. 

The proposed new laws were radical and controversial but easy to understand, covering all aspects of American politics and society. Here are some examples: The Fiscal Responsibility Act represented the ideological belief that there should not be deficits. Taking Back Our Streets Act contained numerous provisions to make the death penalty more effective including reducing appellate rights. The Personal Responsibility Act cut aid to unmarried mothers under the age of 18. The American Dream Restoration Act gave a $500 tax credit per child and tax relief for families earning up to $200,000 pa. The Citizen Legislature Act imposed term limits on Congress members: two terms for senators and six for Representatives.

One effect of the mid-term victory and the proposed laws was to put Gingrich to the top of the political heap. The atmosphere in the House was mixed, with the Republicans jubilant and the Democrats depressed. But, as is often the case, the Senate came to the rescue. The Gingrich Bills passed the House but not the Senate, where it was recognised that the public had voted against the status quo, not for the Contract with America.

Then in the run-up to the 1996 election, Clinton adopted the popular issues as his own while the economy improved and made the Republicans, especially Gingrich, appear harsh, uncaring and victimisers of women and children. Gingrich’s arrogance was exposed for good and all when he complained to the media about his seating allocation on Air Force One during the Presidential trip to Israel for Yitzhak Rubin’s funeral. His credibility was shot to pieces.

I doubt that Gingrich, undoubtedly a clever politician, has changed much. He remains as he ever was, a Southern politician enflamed with right wing ideology who would run the House of Representatives as his personal fiefdom if ever he was re-elected as Speaker. It’s unthinkable…..but so was President Trump and, for us Brits, Leader of the Opposition, Jeremy Corbyn, a man whose own Party is divided about his leadership, is now more than a possibility for PM. Funny old world.