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November 22, 2006

Newt Gingrich Has Lost His Way

Newt Gingrich is hoping to relive the glory days with a program he is calling "American Solutions for Winning the Future." Not only does he fantasize about bringing back "Ronald Reagan conservatism," but he also hopes to become President. If anyone should be able to pull this off, it would be Newt. He worked wonders with GOPAC and later co-authored the successful "Contract with America" that helped Republicans end 40 years of Democratic rule of the House. Now that Republicans have fallen to pieces, he's hoping to get them back on track. But unfortunately for Republicans, Newt has wound up on the wrong track himself.

Gingrich has published a book with his idea for a conservative 21st Century Contract with America, which you can also read on his website. He recently told Fortune magazine, "I am not ‘running’ for president, I am seeking to create a movement to win the future by offering a series of solutions so compelling that if the American people say I have to be president, it will happen."

Back in my Republican loyalist days, I was a big fan of Newt Gingrich. He gives a great speech and really seemed to be able to tap into the heart of the right. This time around, I'm a bit concerned about some of the aspects of his new Contract with America. Here are the ones that most concern me:

Transform the Social Security system into personal savings accounts that will enable every worker to have higher retirement incomes from their own work and avoid the need for financial support from their children.

I am completely opposed to the privatization of Social Security. The huge, heartless corporate scandals of the past several years have completely disabused me of any notion that something as important as retirement income could be entrusted to the private sector. If anything, Social Security funds should be locked away where Congress can't spend them. And I wouldn't necessarily be opposed to a means test if necessary to preserve the system.

Recenter on the Creator from Whom all our liberties come. We will insist on a judiciary that understands the centrality of God in American history and reasserts the legitimacy of recognizing the Creator in public life.

Can you say "theocracy"?

[Create] a new system of civil justice to reduce the burden of lawsuits and to incentivize young people to go into professions other than the law.

This sounds to me like a lot of glorified language that is all about "tort reform" – or rather, preventing injured parties from suing the corporations that cold-heartedly injured them, and an attack on lawyers – who frequently vote Democratic. And I'm quite concerned about the audacity involved in even stating that one would wish to create "a new system of civil justice," when we have the best legal system ever devised by man.

Develop a system in which those who wish to stay economically active are encouraged and incentivized to do so because active people live longer and healthier, have a greater opportunity to pursue happiness, and are less of a burden on their fellow citizens.

I think it's wonderful if people want to stay active into their retirement – but notice Newt says "economically active," which really means employed. I wonder what sort of incentivization he is thinking of using to get those old people to go to work and quit being a burden on the rest of us.

After reading the first Contract with America and comparing it to this new effort, I think Newt is the one who has lost his way. The America he is envisioning sounds more like a dictatorial, corporate-controlled theocracy than the freedom-loving democracy we hold so dear, and if this is the direction Republicans intend to go in their hopes of winning back America, they have a very long road ahead.

Posted by Becky at November 22, 2006 10:21 AM