It made politics noble. Why The West Wing will be missed. RIPON FORUM Volume 40, No. 2 April/May 2006 The Suburban Agenda John McLaughlin. Nancy Johnson. Dave Reichert. Plus: Tom Schatz discusses the Sunset Commission, Bill Beach and Rudy Penner debate dynamic scoring, and John Boehner looks at the year ahead in Congress. www.riponsociety.org $5.95 U.S./$6.95 Canada Pyramidad_Ripon.indd 1 3/14/06 3:40:12 PM RIPON “Ideas that matter, FORUM since 1965.” Volume 40, No. 2, April/May 2006 Cover Story Debate 6 The Suburban Agenda 18 Dynamic scoring: By John McLaughlin The time is now. A plan to win the new political By William W. Beach battleground. 19 Dynamic scoring: 9 Suburban Not so fast! Health Care By Rudolph G. Penner By Nancy Johnson Moving from a pen and paper Observations system to a 21st century world. 22 Politics Never 10 Q & A Sounded So Good With Dave Reichert By Robert J. Thompson The man who caught the Green After seven years, The West Wing River serial killer talks about calls it quits. efforts to keep our families safe. 24 Lincoln, King and Scripture Articles By Larry R. Hayward 13 How I See It Sections By John Boehner The House Majority Leader discusses 26 Ripon Profile the year ahead in Congress. Melissa Hart 14 A Bipartisan Solution to 28 The Party Line: Our Big Government Problem Great Republican Quotes from Thomas A. Schatz Lincoln to Reagan and Bush. An idea first proposed by Democrats is taken up by the GOP. 29 From the Archives Thirty years ago in the Forum. 16 Devising a Terrorism Insurance Solution 34 The Backpage Charles M. Chamness Maybe Clinton was right. Overcoming the challenges posed by terrorism risk. Publisher Editor One Year Subscription: Comments, opinion editorials and The Ripon Society Louis M. Zickar letters should be addressed to: $25.00 individuals Ripon Forum, 1300 L Street,NW, Suite $10.00 students 900, Washington, DC 20005 or may President Assistant Editor be transmitted electronically to: Richard S. Kessler Molly J. Milliken The Ripon Forum (ISSN 0035-5526) is [email protected]. published bi-monthly by The Ripon Chief Administrative Production Society. The Ripon Society is located Officer John M. Boone at 1300 L Street, NW, Suite 900, In publishing this magazine, the George McNeill Banta Creative Services Washington, DC 20005. Periodicals Ripon Society seeks to provide postage pending at Washington, DC a forum for fresh ideas, well- and additional mailing offices. researched proposals, and for a spirit Editorial Board © Copyright 2006 of criticism, innovation, and inde- William Frenzel Postmaster, send address changes to: pendent thinking within the William Meub By The Ripon Society Ripon Forum, 1300 L Street, NW, Suite Republican Party. Gil Solnin All Rights Reserved 900, Washington, DC 20005. It's one thing to power a community. It's entirely another to energize one. Over the last five years Exelon has donated more than $87 million to a wide range of educational, cultural, environmental, and community development programs within the regions we serve. From partnering with United Way for the “Exelon Stay in School Program” to supporting Chicago’s Joffrey Ballet and the Philadelphia Zoo, Exelon is committed to making the towns and neighborhoods we serve better places to live. We’re also committed to preserving our country’s natural resources through a partnership with The Nature Conservancy. This program is focused on restoring and protecting wilderness and wetland areas in Illinois and Pennsylvania. Whether it’s helping young kids stay in school or planting trees in city parks, Exelon and our 17,000 employees are determined to make a difference. And for us, this is just the beginning. We believe it’s important to give something back to our customers and the community because we don’t just SM work here, we live here too. That’s our promise. That’s our way. exeloncorp.com © 2006 Exelon THE RIPON SOCIETY HONORARY CONGRESSIONAL ADVISORY BOARD Senator Chuck Hagel (NE) Senate Chairman Representative Nancy L. Johnson (CT) House Chairwoman A Note from the Senator Richard Burr (NC) Senator Lincoln D. Chafee (RI) Chairman Senator Norm Coleman (MN) Senator Susan M. Collins (ME) It struck us, as we were beginning work on this issue in the first part of Senator Judd Gregg (NH) Senator Orrin G. Hatch (UT) February, that this is something of a milestone moment in the history of our Senator Pat Roberts (KS) magazine. The Ripon Forum turns 40 this year. Senator Gordon Smith (OR) For the record, we have been publishing since 1965. This obviously Senator Olympia J. Snowe (ME) Senator Arlen Specter (PA) makes us 41 officially, but like a lot of others entering middle age, we lost a Senator Ted Stevens (AK) year somewhere along the way and have rounded things downward. Representative Judy Biggert (IL) Regardless, it is a significant event in the life of the Ripon Forum, and one Representative Roy Blunt (MO) in which we take a certain amount of pride. Representative Sherwood Boehlert (NY) Representative Ken Calvert (CA) To mark the occasion, we have changed the look of the magazine Representative Dave Camp (MI) somewhat to reflect its original design. The one thing that has not changed, Representative Eric I. Cantor (VA) however, is the content. Our goal — today as it was 40 years ago — is to Representative Michael Castle (DE) Representative Howard Coble (NC) provide a forum for ideas that matter. In that regard, let me reiterate that Representative Ander Crenshaw (FL) we are open to good ideas from anywhere. No one group has a monopoly Representative Thomas M. Davis, III (VA) on original thinking. Accordingly, we welcome ideas from any place on Representative Vernon Ehlers (MI) Representative Jo Ann H. Emerson (MO) the political spectrum, including, of course, the center. Representative Philip S. English (PA) We have tried to continue that tradition in this issue by focusing on a Representative Mike Ferguson (NJ) number of important topics that we believe will have some prominence in Representative Mark Foley (FL) the coming weeks and months. We lead off with a discussion of the Representative Vito Fossella (NY) Representative Rodney Frelinghuysen (NJ) Suburban Agenda, an effort by a group of House Republicans to craft a Representative Paul E. Gillmor (OH) positive, issues-oriented strategy that they hope will not only help a vital Representative Kay Granger (TX) part of the American voting population, but also help the GOP hold and Representative Melissa A. Hart (PA) Representative Robin Hayes (NC) build its majority in the elections this fall. Representative David Hobson (OH) We also feature a discussion of the Sunset Commission by good gov- Representative Sue W. Kelly (NY) ernment expert Tom Schatz, a debate over dynamic scoring by respected Representative Jim Kolbe (AZ) Representative Ray H. LaHood (IL) economists Bill Beach and Rudy Penner, and an overview of the year ahead Representative Steven LaTourette (OH) in Congress by a man who is helping to shape the agenda on Capitol Hill Representative Jim Leach (IA) — House Majority Leader John Boehner. And, for those fans of TV’s The Representative Jerry Lewis (CA) West Wing, we take a look at the program as it ends its seven year run on Representative Jim McCrery (LA) Representative Michael G. Oxley (OH) the air, and examine its impact on how politics is perceived in America. Representative Thomas E. Petri (WI) We hope you enjoy this issue, and join us once again in congratulating Representative Deborah Pryce (OH) the Ripon Forum as it turns 40 (or 41!). Representative Adam Putnam (FL) Representative Jim Ramstad (MN) Representative Ralph Regula (OH) Bill Frenzel Representative Joe Schwarz (MI) Chairman Emeritus Representative E. Clay Shaw, Jr. (FL) Representative Christopher Shays (CT) Ripon Society Representative John E. Sweeney (NY) Representative William M. Thomas (CA) Representative Fred Upton (MI) Representative James T. Walsh (NY) The Ripon Society is a research and policy organization located in Washington, D.C. There are National Associate members throughout the United States. RIPON FORUM April/May 2006 5 Cover Story The Suburban Agenda A plan to win the new political battleground JOHN MCLAUGHLIN here are two basic truths to mid-term elections in One member of Congress who is playing a key TAmerica – they are won on themes, and, histori- role in doing just that is Republican Representative cally speaking at least, they are usually lost by the Mark Kirk of Illinois. Congressman Kirk is the party in power. leader of a group of just over 20 members of the In the mid-terms of 1994, the elections were House of Representatives who are working on an about the corruption of the Democrat- agenda geared around the lives of peo- controlled Congress and the failed ple who reside in America’s suburbs. attempt by the Clinton Administration to establish a socialized health care Why the suburbs? system. Over the past few decades, subur- In 1998, the elections were about ban voters have usually been a key to President Clinton’s impeachment, and Republican victories. However, in the belief among many voters that the more recent elections, they have gone Republican majority in Congress had from being a bastion of electoral suc- overreached and was ignoring other cess to a political battleground where important issues in its drive to hold previously reliable GOP votes are now the President accountable. up for grabs. In 2002, the elections were about As part of the effort to craft a sub- the September 11th terrorist attacks, urban agenda, Congressman Kirk and the belief that our country – led commissioned a national poll among by President Bush and a Republican- 1,000 likely suburban voters between controlled House — needed to do January 24 and 26, 2006, to learn more everything possible to keep the American people and about the issues that are important to them and their our homeland secure.