Scrapbook
Guess Who Came to Connerty's Dinner Newt Gingrich made a surprise appearance Feb. 12 at a Washington dinner honoring Ward Connerly, the chairman of the California Civil Rights Initiative. It came...
...Circuit Court of Appeals was upholding his handiwork in California, restoring constitutional order to that state—and to the national debate over affirmative action...
...We will forward them to the IRS and publicize favorites...
...Meanwhile, the Clinton administration, after promising to intervene in the case on the ACLU's side, has decided merely to file pro forma "friend of the court" briefs...
...we want 100 percent of our kids to pass this test...
...Keep in mind," he explained, "we don't want Johnny to make a better score than Mary on this test...
...In the spirit of "public journalism," then, we propose to balance the playing field...
...But actions speak louder than words...
...Instead, the Ninth Circuit panel will itself—soon, probably by mid-March—make a formal determination whether CCRI may be constitutionally enforced by California's state and local governments...
...Indeed, he went a step further, pledging "to pursue an all-out effort to end affirmative racism...
...The mission: Keep an eye on Thompson so he doesn't get too squishy in dealing with Democrats...
...On Feb...
...And it gets better...
...One conservative GOP senator was recently approached by senior colleagues, including members of the leadership, and asked to join Thompson's committee...
...but word is that he's lost control of both the senator and the progress of Thompson's investigation...
...Gingrich said it wasn't a top priority, prompting the questioner to turn to a reporter and exclaim in frustration "Goddamn hypocrite...
...When kids start taking the new math and reading tests, won't some of them fail...
...The ACLU and Judge Henderson may adopt whatever fancy theory they like, Kleinfeld noted with obvious contempt, but the United States remains a government by the people, for the people—not one by "the people with the highest LSAT scores...
...But all the latest news is good...
...Only one Republican senator besides John McCain backs it—Fred Thompson...
...There's still no telling how this whole mess will turn out in the end...
...And then when a lot of them don't, we don't want to give them an F, we want to give them a hand up...
...Constitution's 14th Amendment—and should not be enforced until such doubts could be formally addressed in court...
...To forestall hearings that may wind up helping Democrats more than the GOP, some Republican senators hope a Democratic filibuster against Thompson's $6.5 million budget for his investigation will succeed, killing the hearings and damaging Thompson's presidential plans in 2000...
...Send your candidates for left-wing "charities" most needing an audit to The Weekly Standard, 1150 17th St., NW, Suite 505, Dept...
...The case will not now return to Judge Henderson's court, as expected...
...Many conservative and right-leaning groups are reportedly already under the auditors' microscopes...
...You can help to root out tax fraud, too...
...In Annapolis last week, the president proved once more that his agility can be relied on...
...Republicans fret he'll let the spotlight drift from Democratic wrongdoing, especially illegal foreign contributions, to focus on fund-raising at the Republican National Committee and the National Republican Senatorial Committee when headed by Sen...
...Why the one-sidedness...
...Al D'Amato from 1994 to 1996...
...Thompson Gunner Senate Republicans are worried about Democratic efforts to thwart Fred Thompson's investigation of Clinton campaign fund-raising shenanigans...
...Readers whose tips lead to audits will receive the gratitude of their fellow citizens...
...The IRS, in other words, is following up on leads it gleaned from the media, which tend to be more interested in the abuses of conservatives...
...1-800-Rat-on-the-Left Sure, Fred Thompson's committee says it will investigate the "misuse of charitable and tax-exempt" groups...
...The Wall Street Journal reported last week that the IRS is gearing up to audit lots of nonprofits...
...10, the panel unanimously overturned the outrageous ruling by district court judge Thelton Henderson that had blocked implementation of CCRI...
...We want to say we haven't done what we should and we're going to do this...
...According to the IRS battle plan, "During the election cycle of 1994-96, numerous news articles were published concerning exempt organizations' intervention in political activities and their increased electioneering efforts...
...If, as appears likely, they decide the answer is yes, Gov...
...But that doesn't mean that concerned citizens—especially readers of The Weekly Standard—should be content merely to sit back and watch the fireworks on C-SPAN...
...Pete Wilson will be freed immediately to begin requesting that state appellate courts hold California's myriad affirmative action programs unconstitutional...
...So thats what having high standards means...
...The real news, though, was in Gingrich's speech...
...Canady, who also attended the dinner, was only slightly more polite to Gingrich, calling the discrepancy between Gingrich's words and deeds "bizarre...
...A few minutes after the event ended, Gingrich was asked by a middle-aged gentleman if he would try to pass legislation sponsored by Rep...
...Last Monday, the Ninth Circuit panel swept aside Judge Henderson's constitutional improvisation with unusual ferocity...
...It came just a week after Gingrich alienated many conservatives by inviting Jesse Jackson to sit in the speaker's box at the State of the Union, and then appeared to side with Jackson in an ensuing spat, rather than with fellow Republican J. C. Watts...
...Sounded good to the audience of movement conservatives, which gave Gingrich a standing ovation...
...A majority of California voters last November had approved the amendment to the state's constitution, which prohibits race and gender discrimination in employment, education, and contracting...
...You might think Senate majority leader Trent Lott would intervene with Thompson...
...The senator declined...
...Worse, the Thompson hearings may increase pressure for passage of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform bill, supported by Clinton and most Democrats...
...Connerly had kind words for Gingrich, but also chided him— as Gingrich sat 20 feet away—for "reaching out" to Jackson in preference to standing by his allies...
...VM, Washington, DC 20036...
...Never fear...
...California is not like "Serbia or Algeria," where "first they have the elections and then decide whether to honor them," Judge Andrew Kleinfeld reminded an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union, which opposes CCRI...
...Weakly Standards_ The Clinton administration's new education initiative brings a sticky challenge for the president: how to combine his cherished role of National Empathizer and Repairer of the Breach with the unavoidably painful business of enforcing standards...
...But they're also anxious about Thompson himself, fearing the Tennessee Republican may bend over backward to accommodate Democrats, spend too much time probing Republican fund-raising, and pave the way for sweeping campaign finance reform...
...Charles Canady of Florida banning federally sponsored racial preference programs...
...Good News for CCRI_ While Washington was feting Connerly, a three-judge "motions panel" of the Ninth U.S...
...Already, Thompson has agreed to look into soft money, independent expenditures, and "the misuse of charitable and tax-exempt organizations," such as those connected to House speaker Newt Gingrich...
...Later the same day, Judge Kleinfeld and his two colleagues on the Ninth Circuit motions panel elected to retain near-term jurisdiction over the underlying constitutional litigation surrounding CCRI...
...Judge Henderson, however, decided in December that CCRI was probably a violation of the U.S...
...After listening to five individuals movingly recount their experiences with reverse discrimination, Gingrich praised them all and even embraced one of their phrases, declaring "there is no moral defense of affirmative racism once you describe it accurately...
Vol. 2 • February 1997 • No. 23
