i don't agree with him all the time...but i do think he is an interesting man to listen to....
By David M. Brown
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who engineered the Republican takeover of the House in 1994, says the GOP could lose its House majority in November unless its leaders energize the party's conservative base.
Republicans had to pick up 53 seats to win control in 1994, but Democrats need a net gain of just 15 in November to get a majority.
"Will they win? I think that's still up to the Republicans," Gingrich said Tuesday in a meeting with reporters and editors of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
Gingrich said he agrees with political analysts who believe a substantial number of conservative voters -- upset over unbridled federal spending and unsecured national borders -- could sit out the mid-term elections, giving Democrats an edge in close House races that might otherwise go to Republicans.
Although recent polls show a majority of Americans would rather see Democrats controlling Congress, it's not too late to turn that around before November, Gingrich said.
"If you have the White House, the House and the Senate, and if you have the natural majority in the country, you always have the potential to be able to pose the election on your terms," he said.
An AP-Ipsos poll released last week showed angry conservatives are driving the approval ratings of President Bush and the GOP-led Congress to new lows.
A majority of Americans -- 51 percent to 34 percent -- say they want Democrats rather than Republicans to control Congress, the survey of 1,000 adults showed. Six of 10 conservatives say America is headed in the wrong direction, according to the poll.
Gingrich, who was born in Harrisburg, rose to national prominence in the 1990s as a Republican congressman from Georgia. He became famous as the architect of the "Contract with America" -- a GOP campaign platform that in 1994 helped the Republican Party capture a majority in the U.S. House for the first time in 40 years.
Gingrich was speaker of the House from 1995-98.
"The problem you have right now is the conservative movement -- which is still very healthy in the country at large -- feels very abandoned in Washington," he told the Trib yesterday.
"Conservatives actually believe in a balanced budget as a moral issue. Conservatives actually believe you ought to control the border as a matter of national security. Conservatives are the people who pay the taxes. They're not the people who get the pork."
Gingrich, 62, is widely acknowledged as an expert on international affairs, military issues and world history. He resigned from Congress in 1998, following a 20-year career in the House. He has remained publicly active as a political analyst, communications consultant, lecturer and author of more than a dozen books.
Gingrich also has been mentioned as a possible Republican candidate for president in 2008, although he declined to speculate about that yesterday.
"We're trying to launch a movement to win the future," he said. "We think this country has to reach beyond the kind of consultant-defined, focus-group-described politics that has come to dominate how we deal with public policy."
Asked to summarize how he would craft a "Contract with America" for this century, Gingrich said "the highest priority has to be national security."
"I'd look at very substantial investment in national security -- a very tough-minded approach to homeland security -- and absolute control of the borders."
His next priority would be "reasserting the core basis of American civilization: We're endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights."
"How can you say God can't exist in a public square if your primary political document starts by saying your rights come from God," Gingrich said. "You have to have a fight about defining America."
Gingrich lives in Virginia with his wife, Callista. He has two daughters and two grandchildren.
By David M. Brown
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who engineered the Republican takeover of the House in 1994, says the GOP could lose its House majority in November unless its leaders energize the party's conservative base.
Republicans had to pick up 53 seats to win control in 1994, but Democrats need a net gain of just 15 in November to get a majority.
"Will they win? I think that's still up to the Republicans," Gingrich said Tuesday in a meeting with reporters and editors of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
Gingrich said he agrees with political analysts who believe a substantial number of conservative voters -- upset over unbridled federal spending and unsecured national borders -- could sit out the mid-term elections, giving Democrats an edge in close House races that might otherwise go to Republicans.
Although recent polls show a majority of Americans would rather see Democrats controlling Congress, it's not too late to turn that around before November, Gingrich said.
"If you have the White House, the House and the Senate, and if you have the natural majority in the country, you always have the potential to be able to pose the election on your terms," he said.
An AP-Ipsos poll released last week showed angry conservatives are driving the approval ratings of President Bush and the GOP-led Congress to new lows.
A majority of Americans -- 51 percent to 34 percent -- say they want Democrats rather than Republicans to control Congress, the survey of 1,000 adults showed. Six of 10 conservatives say America is headed in the wrong direction, according to the poll.
Gingrich, who was born in Harrisburg, rose to national prominence in the 1990s as a Republican congressman from Georgia. He became famous as the architect of the "Contract with America" -- a GOP campaign platform that in 1994 helped the Republican Party capture a majority in the U.S. House for the first time in 40 years.
Gingrich was speaker of the House from 1995-98.
"The problem you have right now is the conservative movement -- which is still very healthy in the country at large -- feels very abandoned in Washington," he told the Trib yesterday.
"Conservatives actually believe in a balanced budget as a moral issue. Conservatives actually believe you ought to control the border as a matter of national security. Conservatives are the people who pay the taxes. They're not the people who get the pork."
Gingrich, 62, is widely acknowledged as an expert on international affairs, military issues and world history. He resigned from Congress in 1998, following a 20-year career in the House. He has remained publicly active as a political analyst, communications consultant, lecturer and author of more than a dozen books.
Gingrich also has been mentioned as a possible Republican candidate for president in 2008, although he declined to speculate about that yesterday.
"We're trying to launch a movement to win the future," he said. "We think this country has to reach beyond the kind of consultant-defined, focus-group-described politics that has come to dominate how we deal with public policy."
Asked to summarize how he would craft a "Contract with America" for this century, Gingrich said "the highest priority has to be national security."
"I'd look at very substantial investment in national security -- a very tough-minded approach to homeland security -- and absolute control of the borders."
His next priority would be "reasserting the core basis of American civilization: We're endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights."
"How can you say God can't exist in a public square if your primary political document starts by saying your rights come from God," Gingrich said. "You have to have a fight about defining America."
Gingrich lives in Virginia with his wife, Callista. He has two daughters and two grandchildren.
