The Freshmen Get Fresh
Killian, Linda
The Freshmen Get Fresh by Linda Killian The relationship between House Speaker Newt Gingrich and his freshmen can be likened to that of a father and his sons. Like a father, Gingrich takes pride...
...It has nothing to do with Gingrich, except for the concern that his occasional verbal missteps and willingness to cut deals detract from their message and their mission to downsize government...
...Even George Nethercutt of Washington, one of the older and more statesmanlike members of the freshman class, expresses frustration over some of Gingrich's remarks to the press: "There's a higher purpose here than one man...
...He may have gotten the movement started, he may have been the engineer who got the train rolling, but now the train doesn't need him to run down the tracks...
...The freshmen like to call themselves the "true believers," and they use religious analogies frequently to describe what they're trying to do...
...Shortly after his election, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina told Congressional Quarterly, "I trust Newt Gingrich to lead us to the promised land, but the Good Lord never let Moses go...
...they think it was voter dissatisfaction with Bill Clinton...
...The freshmen may not be Gingrich's most reliable political allies, but when you're running a political majority coalition, you can't choose your friends...
...Some days I think Newt is a liberal, some days I think he's a moderate, and some days I think he's a true believer," muses one freshman...
...When Gingrich's pique over being ignored by Bill Clinton on the plane rides to and from Yitzhak Rabin's funeral overshadowed the budget issues, the freshmen were fit to be tied...
...Although many of the freshmen consider him to be a brilliant political strategist, they also consider him arrogant and aloof...
...It was this attitude, shared by a majority of the freshman class, that led to Foley's quoted remarks...
...These are revolutionary times...
...Linda Killian, formerly the editor of National Public Radio's "All Things Considered," is writing a book about the Republican House freshmen...
...It's not a matter of [Gingrich's] being childish," said one...
...The revolution to restore confidence in government transcends Newt Gingrich," Weldon said...
...We'll do to him what the Good Lord did to Moses...
...Even so, the freshmen know they have clout and visibility the likes of which perhaps no previous freshman class ever enjoyed, largely because of Gingrich's political acumen and organizational skills...
...We were upset at that tactical decision," says Joe Scarborough of Florida...
...Like a father, Gingrich takes pride in their accomplishments along with the knowledge that he gave them life...
...It didn't make sense to us...
...Perhaps for that reason, the freshmen gave Gingrich a standing ovation last week when he spoke at their weekly meeting...
...Neither assessment is entirely accurate...
...We remain independent and suspicious of the entire leadership...
...The skepticism toward Gingrich is even ideological...
...The freshmen are sure what they are-they are warriors at the gates, grandiose fighters for the right...
...Nothing could more perfectly sum up the feeling the freshmen have about the speaker-and for that matter the rest of the senior Republicans in the House and Senate...
...Just one example of the freshmen flexing their muscles and asserting their independence almost as soon as they arrived was the suggestion by Graham and several other freshmen that there should be term limits on the speaker and other members of the leadership...
...That same conventional wisdom now assumes that Gingrich's vulnerability is causing the freshmen to run for cover...
...We've got a responsibility to ask tough questions of our leadership," says Scarborough...
...The freshmen were also angered when Gingrich attached Medicare reform to the continuing resolution to keep the government operating last month after saying he wouldn't...
...We have been the conscience of the election...
...If that sounds ungrateful coming from people who may owe their elections to Gingrich and his strategizing, the freshmen beg to differ...
...As Foley told the Post, they don't believe Newt Gingrich or the Contract with America got them elected...
...The presumption that the freshmen are feeling antsy was fueled by a December 8 story in the Washington Post featuring Mark Foley of Florida offering dark assessments of Gingrich's book deal and ethics investigation...
...And like adolescent children, the freshmen are eager to show their independence and at times distance themselves from the Great White Father...
...I'm not really sure what he is...
...The 73 newcomers were never the lapdog followers of Gingrich that Washington conventional wisdom has assumed they are...
...Practicality and revolutions don't go hand in hand," says Graham...
...One freshman said they just wanted to send a signal that they're still with him...
...Doing so gave Clinton a good excuse for vetoing the measure...
...Gingrich has alternately played the schoolmaster, drill sergeant, and team captain to the freshmen, and while they respect his political instincts and vision, he does not appear to have engendered much affection or warmth among them...
...It's just not smart...
...Although Foley's quotes got the most attention- "Newt Gingrich didn't elect me to anything" was one of them-the words of Foley's fellow Florida freshman David Weldon were more representative...
...This isn't personal...
...When our leadership gets back in the politics-as-usual mode, we need to say, whoa, wait a minute-that's not why we got elected...
...It's more powerful than him...
...they deserve some discipline by our leaders...
...Nethercutt and the freshmen want Gingrich to allow other GOP members to serve as public spokesmen for the party...
Vol. 1 • December 1995 • No. 15
