Politics / Whipped Into Shape
Norquist, Grover G.
Whipped Into Shape by Grover G. Norquist I n the early 1980s, Newt Gingrich organized the Conservative Opportunity Society to promote his vision of an alternative to the liberal welfare state....
...Simpson has been particularly hostile to pro-family conservatives, leading many to see him as a William Weld–style social liberal and fiscal conservative...
...Republicans have more in mind these days than the funneling of pork into their districts...
...Conservatives who worked hard to elect fellow activist Spence Abraham from Michigan were stunned when he threw his support behind Simpson—all because Lott had supported fellow Mississippian Haley Barbour, rather than Abraham, in the 1993 contest for the chairmanship of the Republican National Committee...
...Armey's margin of victory was similarly slim—he bested Lewis, 88-84...
...Boehner's election was a victory for activism and a repudiation of Hunter's anti–free-trade obsession of the past two years...
...So did Dick Shelby, the former Democrat from Alabama who switched parties after the election, and with this vote let everyone know he aimed to join an aggressive party...
...A politics-asusual approach would not have countenanced the election of two members of a single state delegation—Texans Armey and DeLay (and, for that matter, Mississippians Lott and Thad Cochran, the latter now Senate GOP conference chairman)—to leadership positions...
...Not so—he's nasty to everyone...
...And support The American Spectator at the same time) Every year, TAS throws a special party for its Washington Club members...and in March 1995 our guest for cocktails and dinner will be none other than Rush Limbaugh, star of the airwaves and scourge of the politically correct...
...A n equally important (if under-appreciated) fight for the soul of the Republican Party has occurred in the contest for Senate whip between incumbent Alan Simpson of Wyoming and Trent Lott of Mississippi...
...Thompson's vote may be one reason Dole named him to deliver the GOP response to President Clinton's "Bill of Rights" speech of December 15...
...What was once thought impossible—and intolerable—has come to pass...
...Zip: WC195In addition to having backed the wrong horse, Dole now finds himself in a difficult position: when he leaves Washington to fund-raise or campaign, he can't count on having a whip on the Hill who'll give him unquestioned loyalty...
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...Trent Lott is now Republican heir apparent, and his triumph is a repudiation of Bob Dole's vision of the party...
...DeLay tallied 119 votes to Walker's 80 and McCullom's 28...
...One Lott supporter said that the best way to characterize his victory was that it proved Senate Republicans had embraced the activist agenda outlined in the Contract With America...
...party loyalty was...
...Dole chose to make the race for whip into a showdown...
...It leaves many in Washington wondering what Dole planned to do about the contract—which voters expect him as a Republican leader to embrace...
...In 1965 he argued unsuccessfully for repealing Wyoming's right-to-work law...
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...11 58 The American Spectator February 1995...
...Stevens won handily, 39-13, but seniority was not the issue...
...Their loss showed yet again that the conservative wing of the party is without influence or respect...
...Roughly a decade later, the Republican caucus has unanimously elected Gingrich to be Speaker of the House, and voted Dick Armey in as majority leader...
...Lott's one-vote, 27-26 win on December 2 was as radical in its implications as Gingrich's 1989 victory...
...F finally, a cultural shift of sorts has occurred among congressional Republicans: the results of these leadership races signal the end of pork-barrel politics...
...Stenholm and Rose both championed the Clinton tax-and-spend explosion, and in running as a conservative alternative to Gephardt and Bonior, they demonstrated that the Democratic Party is as solidly left-wing as House Republicans are Reaganite...
...The win also signals a strengthening of ties between Senate leadership and grassroots conservative groups...
...the last five years of the Republican Party and brought Republican control of the House of Representatives was won by a two-vote margin: Newt defeated Ed Madigan, 87-85...
...By contrast, Kay Bailey Hutchison, whose commitment to conservative activism had been questioned by some, voted for Lott...
...Gingrich had the backing then of both conservative activists and "moderate" Republicans such as Steve Gunderson and Olympia Snowe, who liked his aggressive style...
...In any case, Lott's victory signals more than a conservative ideological majority and a willingness to confront the present leadership...
...If Dole had wanted to support the contract, and had truly desired to fight aggressively for the conservative agenda, he couldn't have asked for a better lieutenant than Lott...
...THE AAIERICAN SPECTATOR P.O...
...Michel realized that the increasing number of younger, post-Reagan Republican congressmen spelled the end of his reign...
...Although Gingrich announced his support for Walker, to whom he is close personally, unlike Dole he did not pressure freshmen to use their votes as a demonstration of fealty (even though DeLay in 1989 had supported Ed Madigan for whip...
...House Republican leaders, who for years had been collaborating with the Democratic leadership in return for pieces of the pork barrel for their districts, were uncomfortable with Gingrich...
...Meanwhile, on the Democratic side of the aisle, the House leadership elections were yet another phony tiff between "conservative Democrats" and the party's liberal leadership...
...Look for more posturing, as both attempt to separate themselves from the Democratic leadership they have served so loyally...
...The entrenched Republican network, led by Bob Michel, campaigned hard against Newt in favor of Ed Madigan of Illinois...
...The American Spectator February 1995 57 Meet Rush Limbaugh...
...Every Republican senator remembered that Warner's betrayal of North could have cost Republicans a Senate majority...
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...Gingrich won re-election as whip in 1990 unanimously, but activist conservative control of the House leadership wasn't assured until 1992, when Armey defeated Jerry Lewis of California for the leadership position of conference chairman...
...Charlie Stenholm of Texas made the customary complaints that the Democratic Party is too liberal, and challenged David Bonior for minority whip, while Charlie Rose of North Carolina challenged Richard Gephardt for the party leadership...
...My tax-deductible contribution of $1,000 is enclosed, payable to: TAS Educational Foundation ^ Please send me details about the March 1995 Club dinner with Rush Limbaugh Name: AddressCity: State...
...Republicans did not trust Warner, who had opposed recent GOP nominees in Warner's state—Mike Farris, 1993 candidate for lieutenant governor, and 011ie North...
...Tom DeLay of Texas won the race for House Republican whip, defeating both Bob Walker and Bill McCullom of Florida on the first ballot...
...For the 139 Republican newcomers elected in 1990, 1992, and 1994, the team of Gingrich and Armey seemed a natural choice...
...They viewed him (and fellow travelers like Bob Walker of Pennsylvania) as a "gadfly" and "bomb-thrower" for challenging the feudal hierarchy of Congress...
...T hese crucial leadership elections revealed much else about the 104th Congress...
...All three are strong conservatives whose election would have validated the Gingrich-Armey leadership, but DeLay was perceived as having given more time, money, and staff support to help elect Republicans to the House...
...After Dick Cheney resigned as Republican whip in 1989 to replace rejected defense secretary nominee John Tower, Gingrich announced he would run for the number two Republican leadership slot...
...Instead, he backed Simpson, who would not understand how to play that role...
...Lott supporters believe he would have garnered as many as 35 votes if Dole hadn't weighed in behind Simpson...
...Term-limits advocates, who have been counting on Tennessee's Fred Thompson to buck the system for their cause, shuddered when Thompson, after heavy lobbying by Howard Baker, cast his vote for Simpson and the status quo...
...it also amounts to an endorsement of a more aggressive challenge to Democrats and the status quo...
...Despite tremendous pressure from Arlen Specter, Pennsylvania's incoming freshman Rick Santorum voted for Lott...
...Simpson, of course, was a cheerleader in 1990 for the Bush tax hike...
...As Vin Weber, then Gingrich's campaign manager, says, "It is sobering to remember that the decision that guided Grover G. Norquist is president of Americans for Tax Reform...
...In the race for conference chairman, John Boehner of Ohio defeated Duncan Hunter of California, 122-102...
...He has not only refused to make a commitment against income taxes, in 1990 he also tried to stop then–congressional candidate Craig Thomas from taking an anti-tax pledge on the grounds that the door should always be left open to higher taxes...
...Ted Stevens of Alaska challenged John Warner of Virginia for the post of Rules Committee chairman, with each man arguing that, according to the complicated seniority rules, he should get the slot...
...Although personally not that close to Simpson, Dole lobbied hard for his election, twisting arms and threatening incoming freshmen, demanding loyalty on this vote in return for recent campaign support...
...But Simpson hasn't beena friend of taxpayers or the free market...
...He announced his retirement, and within days, Gingrich had won majority support and become the presumptive leader...
...Two years ago, Michel was told that if he didn't retire, Gingrich would challenge him for the leadership position...
...Both Stenholm and Rose faced strong challenges in the midterm elections and can expect close races in 1996...
...As one Senate aide has observed, "Some people who watch C-Span think Al Simpson is conservative because he was supposedly nasty to Anita Hill...
...But for pre-Reagan Republican "old bulls," as well as other members of Washington's establishment elite, the ascension of this dynamic pair has turned the world upside down...
...Dole's 1996 presidential chances have been heavily damaged by Lott's victory...
Vol. 28 • February 1995 • No. 2
