Politics -- The Gingrich-ization Of Conservatives

February 17, 2009

by Faiz Shakir, Amanda Terkel, Satyam Khanna, Matt Corley, Benjamin Armbruster, Ali Frick, and Ryan Powers

POLITICS

The Gingrich-ization Of Conservatives

From the presidential campaign to his election and inauguration, President Obama often pledged to reach out to Republicans in an effort to change the bitter partisan tone in Washington. "The monopoly on good ideas does not belong to a single party," Obama said last month. "If it's a good idea, we will consider it." Indeed, in the run-up to the passage last week of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Obama acted in good faith by preemptively including Republican-favored tax cuts in the original House version of the bill, meeting personally with House and Senate Republicans, and stripping stimulative spending initiatives because of GOP complaints. But conservatives ended up taking their cues from hate radio host Rush Limbaugh, who declared early on that he hoped Obama fails in his effort to rebuild the economy. As a result, Obama received support from just three Senate Republicans, while zero House Republicans voted for the bill, with many participating in a campaign to perpetuate myths and falsehoods about the plan's specifics before the final vote. Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA), one of the three Republicans who voted for the package, said bluntly that the GOP risks becoming "the party of Hoover" because of its near complete rejection of the stimulus. But while Limbaugh is leading the rhetorical battle, conservatives appear to be looking for political strategy from former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

LEADER GINGRICH: The GOP has been scrambling to pick up the pieces after two devastating elections, in which they lost control of the House, Senate and the White House, and Gingrich is seizing upon the leadership vacuum. Last September, Gingrich "was whipping against" President Bush's TARP plan "up until the last minute" and was reportedly in part responsible for the GOP voting against it. As House Speaker from 1995 to 1999, Gingrich whipped his colleagues into opposing most of President Clinton's policy agenda, most famously health care reform. Now he is advising the GOP leadership to follow the same path with Obama's agenda. The New York Times reported this weekend that House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) "had studied Mr. Gingrich's years in power and had been in regular touch with him as he sought to help his party find the right tone and message." "I talk to Newt on a regular basis," Cantor said.

SMART STRATEGY?: Yesterday on MSNBC, host Chris Matthews noted that "the Republicans plan to say, 'I told you,'" if Obama's recovery plan fails. He asked, "So how smart is it for the Grand Old Party to place all its chips on the grand defeat of the American economy?" Also, how smart is it to follow Gingrich's lead? Conventional wisdom suggests Gingrich's obstruction tactics in the early 1990s were a success, but as Center for American Progress Action Fund Fellow Matt Yglesias pointed out, "those tactics included lockstep opposition to a Clinton economic program" that "laid the groundwork for years of prosperity." Obstructing Clinton's health care reform initiatives in the '90s have been costly. Nearly 10 million more Americans have joined the rolls of the uninsured and health care costs "surpassed $2 trillion in 2006, almost three times the $714 billion spent in 1990." Gingrich's credibility on major issues is also in question. In 1993, he warned that Clinton's budget proposals "will lead to a recession next year. This is the Democrat machine's recession, and each one of them will be held personally accountable." Moreover, the American public became disgruntled with Gingrich's political tactics, especially during the budget standoff that led to the government shutdowns of 1995-96. Newsday reported on Nov. 11, 1995, that a "USA Today/CNN poll released yesterday suggested Americans by wide margins have soured on the Republican agenda, with 60 percent saying he [Clinton] should veto the budget bill and 33 percent saying he should sign it." And on the first day of the government shutdown, a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll found that 36 percent favored the GOP position while 49 percent favored the Democratic position.

A BLEAK FUTURE: Newly-elected Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele said recently that he hopes to return to "the principles" of the Gingrich era. "We had a contract with America, 1994, with the American people and the party bound together in agreement that these would be some 10 principles that we would follow. We moved away from that...the principles that we espoused then are still true and good today," he said. The GOP also plans to bring back elements of the old K Street Project, a pay-to-play machine set up by former representative Tom DeLay where lobbyists were given influence over legislation in exchange for contributions to Republicans and refusal to hire Democrats. And like the days of Gingrich, the GOP is also beginning a campaign to obstruct Obama's health care reform agenda. House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) announced the creation of a task force that will devise "free-market solutions" to health care and highlight the "consequences" of a "government-dominated health care bureaucracy." The panel is also stacked with lawmakers cozy with the health care industry. But it seems that the GOP's move toward Gingrich and the far right is already having consequences. The New York Times reports today that the GOP's charge against Obama's recovery package has led to a "disconnect" between Republicans in Congress and GOP governors, some of whom openly and avidly support Obama's plan. "It really is a matter of perspective," Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (R) said. "As a governor, the pragmatism that you have to exercise because of the constitutional obligation to balance your budget is a very compelling pull."

ENVIRONMENT -- GEORGE WILL MAKES UP FACTS IN HIS COLUMN DENYING GLOBAL WARMING: In the Washington Post yesterday, conservative columnist George Will chastised Energy Secretary Stephen Chu for "doomsaying" about global warming, arguing that concerns about climate change are just "eco-pessimism." As evidence to support his point, Will claimed that "according to the University of Illinois' Arctic Climate Research Center, global sea ice levels now equal those of 1979." But as TPMMuckraker notes, the Arctic Climate Research Center (ACRC) quickly disputed Will's claim. "We do not know where George Will is getting his information," wrote the organization on its website "but our data shows that on February 15, 1979, global sea ice area was 16.79 million sq. km and on February 15, 2009, global sea ice area was 15.45 million sq. km. Therefore, global sea ice levels are 1.34 million sq. km less in February 2009 than in February 1979." In its statement, the ACRC added, "It is disturbing that the Washington Post would publish such information without first checking the facts." Washington Post editorial page editor Fred Hiatt told TPMMuckraker that "he'd try to respond to questions about the editing process later today." The site has yet to hear back from him. Noting other factual problems with Will's column, The American Prospect's Ezra Klein slammed Will, writing that "sadly, our political pundits have outsourced their scientific research to an intern charged with a superficial skim of Newsweek covers." He added, "I look forward to [Will's] correction."

JUSTICE -- DOJ REPORT SHARPLY CRITICIZES BUSH ADMINISTRATION'S LEGAL REASONING BEHIND TORTURE: A soon to be completed internal Justice Department report condemns the legal reasoning offered by Bush administration lawyers to justify waterboarding and other harsh interrogation tactics. The report is the culmination of over a year of research led by H. Marshall Jarrett of the DOJ's watchdog unit, the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR), aiming to determine if the Bush team's legal advice permitting unprecedented interrogation methods "was consistent with the professional standards that apply to Department of Justice attorneys." It focuses primarily on the legal memos authorizing torture written by three top Bush officials: Jay Bybee, John Yoo, and Steven Bradbury. A draft of the report submitted in the final weeks of the Bush administration prompted the sharp criticism of then-attorney general Michael Mukasey. "OPR is not competent to judge [the opinions by Justice attorneys]," he said. "They're not constitutional scholars." Attorney General Eric Holder will have to decide whether or not to approve the findings and make the report public. But Holder's expected response to this report remains unclear. During his confirmation hearing, he explicitly stated that waterboarding is torture, but he has declined to say whether he will pursue charges against Bush officials who authorized the the technique.

EDUCATION -- BRISTOL PALIN SAYS ABSTINENCE 'IS NOT REALISTIC AT ALL': In 2006, as an Alaska gubernatorial candidate, Sarah Palin filled out a questionnaire emphasizing her support for abstinence education. She wrote that "the explicit sex-ed programs will not find my support." Palin's hard-right views came under fire when it was revealed that her then-17-year-old daughter Bristol was pregnant. In her first public interview, Bristol told Fox News's chief Palin cheerleader Greta Van Susteren last night that abstinence is "not realistic at all." "I think abstinence is, like -- like, the -- I don't know how to put it -- like, the main -- everyone should be abstinent or whatever, but it’s not realistic at all," Bristol said. When Van Susteren asked Gov. Palin about abstinence later, she seemed similarly dismissive of her former views, admitting, "It sounds naive." Bristol added, "I just -- I hope that people learn from my story and just, like, I don't know, prevent teen pregnancy, I guess." Despite its record of failure, conservatives continue to beat the drum for abstinence-only education. Last week, Republicans were angry that "essential" abstinence education funding had been "eliminated" from President Obama's recovery and reinvestment bill. A Republican report on the bill expressed its concern "that while abstinence education receives only $176 million annually...contraceptives and family planning already receive $1.6 billion of federal funding."

Dick Cheney was "furious" up until the end at President Bush's refusal to pardon Scooter Libby. "He went to the mat and came back and back and back at Bush," a "Cheney defender" said. "He was still trying the day before Obama was sworn in."

Tomorrow President Obama will be going to Phoenix, AZ -- a state that had the third-highest rate of foreclosures in January -- to "roll out a plan meant to keep struggling families from losing their homes."

Of President Obama's first 56 senior-level appointees, 68 percent are men. Nearly 70 percent are white, "7 percent are of Asian or Pacific island descent, 16 percent are African American, and 7 percent are Latino." Of Bush’s first 28 nominees, 79 percent were white "and only 14 percent were women."

As the Postal Service is posting nearly $3 billion a year in losses, Postmaster General John Potter received a $135,000 bonus last year to supplement his $263,575 salary. Potter's total compensation and retirement benefits added up to more than $800,000 in 2008 -- more than double the salary for President Obama.

Time publishes its list of the top 25 blogs. Unfortunately, ThinkProgress doesn't make the list, but many of our favorite blogs do, including: TPM, Huffington Post, Paul Krugman, Crooks & Liars, and Andrew Sullivan.

Americans' opinion of Congress's job performance has sharply increased from 19 percent last month to 31 percent in a new Gallup poll. Though "still quite negative on an absolute basis, this is the best rating for Congress in nearly two years." The rise is a result of increasing satisfaction amongst Democrats and independents. Republicans, however, are now less likely to approve of Congress.

A new U.N. report released today finds that "civilian casualties in Afghanistan rose by 40 percent last year, more than half of them resulting from roadside bomb and suicide attacks by militants, but many ascribed to air strikes and other actions by NATO and American forces battling the resurgent Taliban." According to the report, the level of civilian casualties is the highest since the U.S.-led invasion in 2001.

The private security company Blackwater is changing its name to Xe. The move is part of an effort to "shake a reputation battered by its work in Iraq." Last month, the Iraqi government refused to issue a new operating license to Blackwater, following an incident in Sept. 2007 when the company’s contracts "shot and killed 17 Iraqis in a crowded square."

And finally: Billionaires for Bush, the band of political satirists that "sallied forth in tuxedos and tiaras for street theatrics" to show the coziness between the Bush administration and wealthy interests, doesn't know what to do now that its inspiration has left office. "Here's the conundrum," said group member Andrew Boyd, about President Obama being in office. "Can you point out that the emperor has no clothes when you like the emperor -- and his clothes?" Boyd, however, anticipates that the organization will regroup for the future. "Billionaires never die," he said. "We just refinance."

Today, President Obama will be in Denver, CO to sign into law the $787 billion economic recovery package.

THINK PROGRESS: White House aides complain that executive salary caps are too tough.

WONK ROOM: Mark Bowden's new article in The Atlantic is effectively "a paid advertisement for the F-22."

YGLESIAS: The CATO Institute's David Boaz joins George Will in peddling bogus "global cooling" stories.

FIREDOGLAKE: Economist James K. Galbraith on the next steps for economic recovery.

MARYLAND: Department of Homeland Security tracked the protests of peaceful antiwar group and passed the information to the Maryland State Police, which had labeled the activists as terrorists.

CALIFORNIA: "With lawmakers still unable to deliver a budget," Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) is preparing to lay off 10,000 government workers.

ECONOMY: Conservative governors support recovery package; conservative Congress does not.

"I believe that more likely than not, I will vote for it because the 2nd Congressional District needs a stimulus package."
-- Rep. Joseph Cao (R-LA), 2/12/09

VERSUS

"Nay."
-- Cao, 2/13/09, voting against the economic recovery package

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