It’s only been 16 years since Newt Gingrich led the charge for the Republican’s Contract with America that gave his Party control of both Houses of Congress. It was the time of the rise of the Religious Right Republicans and the insertion of the "culture wars" into political dialogue. House Speaker Gingrich himself resigned from Congress in an ethics scandal the next year to be replaced by Tom Delay [who later resigned in an ethics scandal]. That Class of 94 has given us a few more scandals along the way: John Ensign, Mark Foley, Mark Sanford, Bob Ney, Mark Souder. The campaign rhetoric from those days is largely forgotten, even by the people espousing it. They failed to pass legislation to limit Congressional terms, and a number of them broke their pledge of self limiting terms going on to become the very "career politicians" they campaigned against back then. And while we remember that election by the sweep of Congress, it was also the year George W. Bush was elected Governor of Texas, defeating Ann Richards.
I am so sorry to have let so many friends down, people who have fought so hard for me. The ideas we advocate are still just and right. America will survive and thrive when anchored in those values. Human beings, like me, will fail, but our cause is greater than individuals. It is based upon eternal truths. By stepping aside, my mistake cannot be used as a political football in a partisan attempt to undermine the cause for which I have labored all my adult life.
It seems like the pendulum during my lifetime is out of balance. It swung left for JFK and LBJ but then it went screaming right for Nixon Ford. It swung back briefly for Carter, then there were twelve years of Reagan Bush. We had eight years of Clinton [struggling with the Class of 94], then back again to eight years of Bush [Cheney]. Here we are not two years into Obama, and the damn thing feels like it’s swinging back. It’s way out of whack.
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.