THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, December 2, 1995 TAG: 9512020020
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A12 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Medium: 63 lines
Newt Gingrich went from bomb-throwing backbencher to speaker of the House by relentlessly making the case that 40 years of Democratic rule in Congress needed to be swept away or fundamental change for the better was impossible.
But Gingrich's Republican revolution can be undermined in its turn if it becomes apparent that it, too, is conducting business as usual - just wearing a reformer's mask to do it.
That's why Gingrich's just revealed troubles with the Federal Election Commission are so damaging. According to papers filed in court by the FEC, the political-action committee Gingrich headed - GOPAC - illegally contributed tens of thousands to his 1990 congressional campaign.
At that time, GOPAC was legally allowed to funnel money only to state or local candidates. Gingrich hounded a previous speaker from office for playing fast and loose raising money for political ends. For Gingrich to be caught violating laws governing such activity is embarrassing hypocrisy at best.
But it gets worse. According to documents released by the FEC as part of the court filing, there's at least the appearance of quid pro quos. Contributors to GOPAC sent in $10,000 checks along with requests for legislative help or thanks for services already rendered in cases involving asbestos regulation and trade in cement.
Gingrich, the bomb thrower, was right. The public is fed up with a federal government run by politicians willing to trade favors for contributions and pork for votes, willing to write legislation for special interests with little thought to the public interest.
Unfortunately, Gingrich appears not to be so much a revolutionary figure as a traditional one. He too has been operating in the same environment by similar rules. And since his revolution has achieved power, legislation has been written to order for a new set of supplicants. Some pork has been eliminated, but plenty of new pork is being disbursed. Some onerous regulations are gone, but others tilted to favor friends are being installed. The cast has changed, but the play is familiar.
The populist discontent that Ross Perot fanned in 1992 and Gingrich exploited brilliantly in 1994 hasn't gone away. The public still wants Washington reformed, government downsized, the budget balanced, politics cleaned up, pork eliminated and ordinary people treated fairly.
The Republican revolution still has a historic opportunity to restrain government and make a prosperous future for the nation more likely. But every time a revolutionary is found in bed with special interests, cynicism deepens. If the Republicans don't clean up their act in a hurry, they will squander their chance and cause the people to conclude that the new crowd is no better than the old. And a plague on both their houses.
Passing lobbying-reform legislation this week was a step in the right direction. Passing tough campaign-finance reform is the next logical step. But no legislation is needed to stop the blatant pandering to special interests. All that's needed is leadership. And that has to start at the top.
The Republicans were rightly repulsed by the example set by the likes of Jim Wright and Dan Rostenkowski. But their own behavior hasn't been anything to write home about. No wonder many voters continue to scan the horizon for a clean alternative - Colin Powell, Ross Perot, a third party. Yet neither party seems to be heeding the warning. by CNB