The former Speaker of the House of Representatives was one of the most respected politicians in Washington, especially after engineering the dynamic Republican takeover of Congress in 1994 -- summarized by his brilliant "Contract with America." (This is not to be confused with the weak-kneed, limpid imitation offered by soon-to-be Speaker John Boehner earlier this year -- the ill-fated GOP "Pledge to America.")
Of course, Speaker Gingrich found himself on the horns of a nasty dilemma when the course he charted for America in the 90's led to a budget impasse and forced an historic shutdown of the Federal government. He begrudgingly gave in to the forces of political nature, ate some crow and got the government up and running again -- only to see the hated and reviled President Bill Clinton receive most of the credit for reviving the national economy and posting an actual budget surplus (remember what that was like?)
It was so hard on Newt that he evidently had a hard time telling the truth for a while -- either to his colleagues in the House (who voted 395-28 to reprimand him and fined him $300,000 -- yes, read it here) or to his wife, whom he asked for a divorce while she was recovering from cancer, though he later admitted that it was he who was having an affair. (um, you can read that one here, if you want.)
Tsk, tsk...those were tough times!
Ah, but now Mr. Gingrich's star has risen once again. He is considered something of an elder statesman and is generally credited with being a brilliant political thinker.
It was in that context that he spoke this past week to the Republican Governor's Association-- which is pretty much what it sounds like. All the state governors who also happen to be Republican get together, hob-knob, shoot the gubernatorial breeze and what-not. It is a place to plot strategy, as well, and Mr. Gingrich had some excellent words of advice for the gentle men and ladies. (Catch the full text here.)
I thought his points regarding public education were truly on the mark; accountability in the classroom is a good thing, and true to the beat of his capitalistic heart, he proposes that excellent teachers be rewarded with excellent pay. (I understand that there was a collective choking sound from the governors when they realized he meant that they would have to actually FUND this initiative, not just trot it out as a campaign slogan.)
I also kind of like his proposal to have some sort of annual review of the Declaration of Independence in public schools, and to reassert that America is a learned society. I will be forever grateful for the wonderful teachers who instilled in me my appreciation and love for our Constitution, the Declaration, the Pledge of Allegiance, and our system of checks and balances in government. (Kudos to you, Mrs. Vowell, Mrs. Graves, Mr. Cooper, Mrs. White, and Coach Bragg!)
I do have to admit that I got quite a chuckle when I read Newt's point #6, however; he wants to get rid of "Obamacare," which will entail dealing with the mammoth headache that is Medicare. But, smart guy that he is, he has a plan. Just imagine the new Republican governor of Florida, Rick Scott, shifting a bit uncomfortably in his chair as Gingrich made this point:
Big Ups for pointing out teachers need to get paid right if everybody is going to have such an opinion. But before everybody thinks that teacher raises should be dependent on test scores, everybody has to admit that a student poppulation's median income is the best predictor of test score success.
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