POLITICS Newt Gingrich The Establishment’s Conservative Self-proclaimed conservative Newt Gingrich could be the next Republican candidate for President. But with his unconstitutional track record, will he be “right” for America? Newscom 10 THE NEW AMERICAN • DECEMbER 7, 2009 by Rebecca Terrell GOP establishment has its way, the Re- ing the real Newt Gingrich … is essential,” publicans who will go to Washington will said John F. McManus, president of the ust as report cards keep parents be of the neocon variety and will offer John Birch Society and producer of the new posted on their children’s progress in voters looking for alternatives to the lib- DVD The Real Newt Gingrich. “Americans J school, constituents have a tool to let eral Democrats more of an echo than a must realize that they are being persuaded them know how their federal representa- choice. The establishment-favored Newt to follow false leaders, to put confidence tives measure up to their oaths to uphold Gingrich is a case in point. in men who don’t deserve our confidence.” the Constitution. We should expect high Both Gingrich’s congressional track record “grades” from them, because it is not dif- The Republican Answer? and his present activities prove him no bet- ficult to determine whether legislation After more than a decade out of the spot- ter than the current White House occupant. oversteps the clearly delineated, limited light, Newt Gingrich is once again mak- powers of the Constitution. If there is ing headlines as a conservative author and Gingrich Resumé uncertainty, the Bill of Rights tells the basking in media speculation of his pos- Newt Gingrich served in Congress from government everything else is off limits. sibility as a presidential candidate. He is 1979 until 1999. His first Freedom Index Moreover, an oath calls God as witness busy promoting his conservatively themed score (when it was known as the “Conser- to the oath-taker’s honesty and integrity. books and documentaries while touting vative Index”) was 84, but it nose-dived In other words, it is both illegal and im- firm belief in limited government and per- from there. He achieved his lowest scores moral to violate the Constitution. Why are sonal freedoms. Gingrich’s rhetoric brings as Speaker of the House. Gingrich consis- so many Representatives bringing home back memories of his old days as a staunch tently lost points for his propensity to sup- Fs on their report cards? They may mean proponent of cutting taxes, balancing the port unconstitutional legislation. well, but a Congressman’s good intentions budget, reducing bureaucrat- do not fulfill his obligation before God to ic regulations, and strength- vote according to the law. You will find the ening national defense. Newt Gingrich now positions himself Freedom Index on page 22. Just as in those days, Newt as a conservative. But does his So the burden is, as it should be, on Gingrich now positions him- “We the People,” and we have no one to self as a conservative. But definition of conservative mean loyalty blame but ourselves if we continue to does his definition of con- to the Constitution, or loyalty to the send failing Representatives to Washing- servative mean loyalty to the ton. We must use the Constitution as a Constitution, or loyalty to the establishment? litmus test. This will be especially im- establishment? “Understand- portant in 2012 since Obama seems to have a callous dis- regard for the Constitution and his oath to uphold it. As a Senator in the 110th Congress, his cumulative Freedom Index score was 11. But what alter- natives will we have? There are a growing num- ber of candidates for Congress who are running in support of the Constitution. Many of them were motivated to be- come involved as a result of the political phenomenon in the last presidential race that became known as the “Ron Paul Revolution.” But if the Rebecca Terrell is a marketing rep- resentative in Memphis, Tennessee, where she lives with her family. She is a former congressional staffer for Con- gressman Ron Paul (R-Texas). Rebecca AP Images earned a B.B.A. from the University of Arkansas and an M.B.A. from the Uni- Confused loyalties? Newt Gingrich delivers an address, “A Tri-partisan Majority for Real Change,” versity of North Alabama. in October at Harvard University. Elsewhere, he paints himself as a die-hard Republican. www.TheNewAmerican.com 11 POLITICS body, making America’s economic interests entirely at the mercy of the WTO. Gingrich knew GATT sounded the death knell for American sov- ereignty. In testimony before the House Ways and Means Commit- tee prior to the lame-duck session, he said, “We need to be honest about the fact that we are transfer- ring from the United States at a practical level significant author- ity to a new organization.... This is not just another trade agreement. This is adopting something which twice, once in the 1940s and once in the 1950s, the U.S. Congress re- jected.... It is a very big transfer of power.” 4. Contract With America — An- other con-game Gingrich played AP Images was the much-acclaimed “Con- Newt Gingrich led Republicans in the 1994 “Contract With America,” pledging lower taxes tract With America,” the Repub- and smaller government. In reality, congressional spending under Gingrich’s leadership lican Party’s supposed answer to increased dramatically. big government. It turned out to be a public relations smokescreen to cover various unconstitutional 1. Education — Gingrich backed federal for $44.8 billion in foreign aid. He also measures that Congress planned to pass education funding from his earliest days helped push through federally funded loan under Gingrich’s leadership. The Contract in office, though the Constitution gives guarantees to China. Today, that murder- included a “balanced budget amendment,” absolutely no authority over education to ous communist regime is the largest holder which amounted to a Republican excuse to any branch of the federal government. He of U.S. debt in the world. continue spending while claiming to fight helped garner support to create President for fiscal conservatism. If the government Jimmy Carter’s Department of Education 3. NAFTA and GATT — In 1993, Gingrich only spent money on constitutional pro- in 1979. Since then educational spending proved himself invaluable to Clinton and grams, the deficit would take care of itself. has soared while educational standards the Democrats in Congress when he gar- Other areas of the Contract With Amer- have plummeted. Things got worse when nered enough Republican support to pass ica dealt with measures to reduce wel- he was Speaker. In 1996, then-Republican the North American Free Trade Agreement fare programs and relieve tax burdens on Party Chairman Haley Barbour bragged (NAFTA), the precursor for development of families and businesses. That sounds good that “education spending went up under an eventual North American Union, follow- until one considers that the Constitution the Republican Congress as much as it ing the same trajectory that has occurred prohibits welfare programs and taxes that went up under the Democratic Con- in Europe with the emergence of the EU. the Contract proposed only to reduce. If gress.” That is a bit of an understatement (See the October 15, 2007 “North Ameri- Gingrich had been loyal to his oath of of- since Gingrich’s Republican Congress can Union” issue of THE NEW AMERICAN, fice, he would have worked not to trim but increased education funding by $3.5 bil- especially “NAFTA: It’s Not Just About to purge them. Ironically, but hardly sur- lion in 1996, the largest single increase Trade” by Gary Benoit.) The next year he prisingly, federal spending in all the areas in history. followed suit by supporting the creation of addressed by the 1994 Contract rose in the World Trade Organization (WTO). As subsequent years. Edward H. Crane, pres- 2. Foreign Aid — Gingrich voted numer- Minority Whip, he could have postponed ident of the Cato Institute, observed that ous times throughout his 20 years in Con- the lame-duck vote on GATT (General “the combined budgets of the 95 major gress to increase and expand unconstitu- Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) that sub- programs that the Contract With America tional foreign aid and trade. He supported jected Americans to the WTO. Gingrich’s promised to eliminate have increased by both subsidized trade with the Soviets and Benedict Arnold act helped to hand over 13%.” Crane also pointed out, “Over the federally funded loans to foreign govern- the power to regulate foreign commerce, a past three years the Republican-controlled ments through the Export-Import Bank. power reserved in the Constitution to Con- Congress has approved discretionary Between 1994 and 1995, Gingrich voted gress alone, to an internationally controlled spending that exceeded Bill Clinton’s re- 12 THE NEW AMERICAN • DECEMbER 7, 2009 quests by more than $30 billion.” Another of the problems with the Contract was that it called for Man of the Year, 1995: Time magazine heralded Newt stronger federal crime-fighting Gingrich as the Republican measures, despite the Consti- answer to Bill Clinton. Later that tution’s prohibition on federal year, Clinton publicly thanked involvement in police matters Gingrich for his support of many outside of piracy and treason. of the President’s projects. Countries that do not have such strict constitutional safeguards on federal police end up with Gestapos, KGBs, and Depart- ments of Homeland Security. Futurist In 1994, Gingrich described 5. School Prayer Amend- himself as “a conservative fu- ment — The proposed bal- turist.” He said that those who anced budget amendment was were trying to define him should not Gingrich’s only attempt look no further than The Third to change the Constitution.