The GOP's Changing Guard

"I want to shift the entire planet, and I'm doing it." "I can hold a press conference, and that's a form of real power."

"I represent real power."

Meet Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.), the second-highest ranking Republican in the House of Representatives. Yesterday morning, House Republicans elected him the new minority whip over Rep. Edward Madigan, a highly respected legislator from Illinois.

On the surface the selection may seem puzzling. After all, Gingrich, who proclaimed in 1985 "I am now a famous person," commands little respect around the Capitol. However, the choice makes sense in the context of an emerging trend within the GOP. Republicans have abandoned the legislative process and shunned decent ethical standards; they have recently turned to destructive partisan confrontations in order to regain control of the Congress.

IF Republicans cared about designing effective public policy, they would have selected Madigan, who was instrumental in the drafting of the massive 1985 Farm Bill. Gingrich, in contrast, could be the most incompetent legislator in Congress. Of the 26 pieces of legislation he has sponsored during his House tenure, only two have become law. Both of these were resolutions which had no practical effect.

Gingrich has unsuccessfully sponsored such ridiculous legislation as a bill to abolish the Social Security System. He also proposed establishing a system of government in outer space.

In fact, Newt's only claim to fame as a House member is that he brought ethics charges against House Speaker Jim Wright (D-Texas). He alleged that Wright's staff illegally contributed to a book from which the speaker improperly profited.

These are strange charges for Gingrich to bring, given his own spotty literary past. In the 1970s, Gingrich received $13,000 to write a book which was never published. When questioned about where the money went, Gingrich responded he spent it to "do research in Europe."

In 1984, a partnership amassed more than $100,000 to market another of Gingrich's books, Windows of Opportunity. Contributing members of this partnership "coincidentally" included several who benefitted from lucrative government contracts in Gingrich's district. Although Newt says he will respond to charges of impropriety in this case, he has already admitted that it is unusual that such large sums of money were raised to publicize a minor political book.

Gingrich had this to say last week when questioned about Speaker Wright: "I will be...ruthless when ethics are involved."

THE real reason Republicans picked Gingrich has nothing to do with his legislative ability or ethics. It is because Gingrich creates controversy. He yells at Democratic representatives during congressional sessions and mercilessly riducules them for hours late at night on C-Span. He is the Morton Downey Jr. of the House of Representatives.

Confrontation is the essence of America's two-party system, but the controversy Gingrich sparks has nothing to do with achieving concrete legislative results. His main goal is to drag Democrats down.

In 1978, Gingrich told a group of young Republicans that "one of the great problems we have in the Republican party is that we don't encourage you to be nasty." Last year, he remarked that crime and drugs are issues with which Republicans can "divide America."

The recent presidential election was a prime example of how this attitude can manifest itself. Charges of Dukakis' lack of patriotism were "nasty." And the racist use of Willie Horton certainly "divided America."

THE Republican party leadership is changing. Reasonable politicians like House Minority Leader Bob Michel (R-Ill.) and Madigan are out, and ruthless political hotshots such as Gingrich, Republican National Committee Chair Lee Atwater and Republican National Congressional Committee head Ed Rollins are in. These people are largely responsible for the sludge-throwing contest American politics has turned into today.

Gingrich remarked on the floor of the House in 1980, "Somehow any random kook is capable of dominating a debate even if what they are saying is total nonsense."

Did he know then that he was laying out the Republican strategy for the 1990s?