Will Gingrich Regret his Endorsement?

I like Newt Gingrich. He is smart, optimistic, and brings a credible perspective to issues that the left has a difficult time dismissing. However, Gingrich's best days may be behind him and the type of politician that believes political success (getting Republicans elected) is more important than policy, simply does not resonate with the growing number of Republicans who are not going to be satisfied with a candidate simply because he or she is in the GOP. There was a time that Gingrich was a rebel. I remember back in the 1980s and early 1990s, when Republicans were largely an inconsequential minority in the US House (like they are today) and he stormed the floor of the US House with other unhappy members, when the Congress was not in session and performed "special orders," which is the giving of speeches to an empty House. These messages informed voters via C-Span about what the Congress was doing and went against the "get along" decorum that politicians were so noted for.

Gingrich created a group of political insurgents that he called COS -- the Conservative Optimistic Society. These members, largely of the neoconservative variety, chipped away at the status quo and by 1994 became a big enough player to get the US House into the GOP's hands for the first time in decades.

When the COS got started in the 1980s, I was working for a US Senator and, later, with Washington think tanks. Although I was impressed with Gingrich's ability to get dissent of Democrat policies noticed, I was never comfortable was his fundamental approach to governing. Gingrich, who was one of the only members of Congress with a PhD in history (in his case, from Tulane) is an excellent debater. The problem is, the former Speaker rarely fought against the growth of government, but the pace of which government grew. Gingrich has never been opposed to more government, but the speed of the expansion. This has been reflected in his role as leader of the GOP in the House; the way he addresses policy issues in general, and is even demonstrated in his values when he made an endorsement in an up coming Congressional race.

The Wall Street Journal sets the stage: "You might have heard about the unusual election next week in New York's 23rd Congressional District. It's unusual for several reasons: It's taking place in an odd-numbered year, there was no primary, and there are three candidates." This is due to the President choosing the sitting Congressman (Rep. John McHugh) to be Army Secretary. The Journal goes on to lay out the landscape of the race, "Local GOP bosses nominated a state legislator, Dede Scozzafava, who is so liberal that she also received the endorsement of the Acornite Working Families Party. (Under New York's unusual 'fusion; system, several minor parties have spots on the ballot, and a candidate may receive multiple party nominations.) Doug Hoffman, who had been passed over for the GOP nod, won the Conservative Party nomination. Establishment Republicans like Newt Gingrich lined up behind Scozzafava, while conservatives like Sarah Palin endorsed Hoffman. This threatened or promised, depending on your point of view, to split the Republican vote to the benefit of Democrat Bill Owens."

If Owens wins, Gingrich and other Republicans who put party above ideas will blame people like Palin who places philosophy above party. Like many of us, Palin believes the party is only a vehicle and the GOP is one that is broke. The reality is, if Owens wins, it will be because establishment conservatives doing the expedient thing, rather than the right one. If Republican Scozzafava wins, the GOP will be the biggest loser of all as that brand continues to stand for nothing. If Owens wins, it will be because of a lack of courage among those who should do the right thing.

Kevin Price is Host of the Price of Business, the longest running show on AM 650 (M-F at 11 am) in Houston, Texas and on AOL Radio. His articles often appear in Chicago Sun Times, Reuters, USA Today, and other national media. Steve Moore of the Wall Street Journal calls Price the “best business talk show host in the country.” Find out why and visit his blog at www.BizPlusBlog.com and his show site at www.PriceofBusiness.com. You can also find Price on Strategy Room at FoxNews.com.

Republicans Look Like Young Turks of 1994

Remember the "Young Turk" Republicans of the early 1990s that eventually took over the Congress? Led by than Congressman (and future Speaker) Newt Gingrich, Republicans took on the Congress at every turn. It pointed out the corruption that was seen through out the Congress. Members wrote hot checks on their Congressional checking account without consequences and these Republicans reminded voters of such disgrace. The GOP changed the power and structure of committees, taking away the autocratic nature of chairmanships. Virtually every day members of the GOP went on to the House floor denouncing the Democrat's behavior, regardless if Congress was in session at the time.

This approach offered promise to a country that had grown tired of a corrupt and "do nothing" Congress that had ruled the country under one party for decades and resulted in the "Revolution of 1994." These vigorous members saw a net increase of 54 House seats in that election, and a pick up of 8 seats in the US Senate. But it didn't stop there, Republicans won 472 legislature seats around the country, the mayor's office of two big Democrat cities (New York and Los Angeles), and the GOP took control of 20 state Legislatures. The Republican Party became the majority party over night.

The issues against the Democrats in this Congress is even bigger than those in 1994, in my opinion. We have a credit crunch that is being solved by bailing out lending institutions and having the government going further into the banking industry. We have had the price of gas almost double since the Democrats took over just two years ago and they want to solve our energy problems by demanding to make sure we fill the air in our tires. We are successfully waging a war on terror in Iraq and the Democrats are demanding that we pull these troops out before our task is completed.

The energy issue alone is important enough that the Congress should have done what many Americans are choosing to do -- saying "no" to a vacation. Republicans took the House floor today without lights and with little hand held cameras and denounced their Democratic colleagues for failing to do their job. The Democrats went home to run for their political lives and will have a horrible record to try to defend. Yes, it is beginning to look like the good old days!

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Gingrich Joins Anti-Gonzales Fray

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (picture) has come out calling for the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, joining a growing chorus of individuals who are on a witch hunt against the nation's chief law enforcement officer. I find it hard to believe that he would get on this train for several reasons:

* He was a victim of a political and character assassination himself. He was forced out of office due to largely trumped up ethical charges when he was the Speaker. He knows what Gonzales is going through and I'm surprised he would concur with those who would support the AG's demise.

* Gingrich knows the Constitution and the law, and I believe he knows Gonzales hasn't violated either.

* He also has to know that the President becomes politically impotent if this resignation is forced to happen.

It is one thing for Gingrich to suggest this based on the fact that the Attorney General has become a distraction -- an argument that can certainly be made, although his resignation will only create more problems in this area in my opinion. It is completely inappropriate, and not at all Presidential, for him to get on this bandwagon for political expediency, which seems to be the basis of his argument. Being a leader means standing up for what is right. The Attorney General's actions -- although unpopular -- were completely legal. Gingrich should join the many who are calling on Congress to deal with real issues and get away from the political grand standing that is hurting this country.