OpEd: Contract agenda smart; but exaggerated scandal culture

Thinking about thinking about running; decision by October

A: I promise, if after the September 27th American Solutions workshop, I do decide to run, I will come back and be on “Meet the Press.”

Q: So you’re thinking about running?

A: Well, I’m thinking about thinking about running. But I won’t do anything at all about the possibility of running until after September 29th when we have our second workshop.

Q: So by October you should have a decision?

A: By October I’m confident that we’ll be chatting.

Six challenges for a prosperous, free, & safe America

Let me outline the six major changes that I believe are necessary to leave our children with an America that is prosperous, free, and safe:
1. We must reassert and renew American civilization. Until we re-establish a legitimate moral-cultural standard, our civilization is at risk.
2. We must accelerate America’s entry into the Third Wave Information Age. Second only to renewing our civilization is making the intellectual investment necessary to understand these changes and harness them to our lasting advantage.
3. We must rethink our competition in the world market. We want our labor to add the highest value so that we can be the most effective competitor on earth.
4. We must replace the welfare state with an opportunity society.
5. We must replace our centralized, micro-managed, Washington-based bureaucracy with a dramatically decentralized system more appropriate to a continent-wide country.
6. We musty be honest about the cost of government programs and balance the federal budget.

OpEd: Frivolous ethical complaints reached critical mass

Prior to the election of 1994, the Democrats had held a majority in the House of Representatives for four decades. Working with a team of grassroots activists, Newt selected and trained candidates, shaped a political message--a genuine movement leader." To the left, that meant one thing: he had to be eliminated.

Back in the 1990s, Democrats had Newt in their sights. And strangely enough, the more influential he became, the more "unethical" he became--at least if you counted the number of complaints filed against him. Over time the cloud of ethical questions hanging over Newt reached critical mass. Instead of defending their own, Republicans on certain committees forced Newt to concede to one charge.

3 out of 14 planks of Contract With America passed by 1996

The Republicans finally were being held accountable for both the budget impasse and the shutdowns, and the drop in their approval ratings led to a fracturing of the party's united front. By January, Sen. Bob Dole, likely looking ahead to the launch of his presidential campaign, started talking compromise. Gingrich's strategy of "playing chicken" with Bill had failed, and I felt great relief that we could reopen the government and get workers back on the payroll now that Bill had prevailed.

As Congress opened on Jan. 3, 1996, only three minor pieces of the Gingrich Contract had been signed into law. Bill had sustained 11 vetoes. He had managed to stave off disastrous cuts to Medicare and to save programs like AmeriCorps and Legal Aid services