Journalist @baltimoresun writer artist runner #amwriting Chaplain PIO #partylikeajournalist

Journalist @baltimoresun writer artist runner #amwriting Chaplain PIO #partylikeajournalist
Journalist @baltimoresun writer artist runner #amwriting Md Troopers Assoc #20 & Westminster Md Fire Dept Chaplain PIO #partylikeajournalist
Showing posts with label People Gingrich-Newt. Show all posts
Showing posts with label People Gingrich-Newt. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Newt Gingrich Still Can't Win a General Election - Linda Killian - Politics - The Atlantic

Newt Gingrich Still Can't Win a General Election - Linda Killian - Politics - The Atlantic: LINDA KILLIAN - Linda Killian is a Washington journalist and a senior scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Her new book The Swing Vote: The Untapped Power of Independents, will be published in January 2012 by St. Martin's Press. Subscribe to her on Facebook.

Despite his impressive win in South Carolina, the former speaker has too many flaws to make it to the White House. http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/01/newt-gingrich-still-cant-win-a-general-election/251815/

"In the wake of his 12-point victory in the GOP South Carolina primary, Newt Gingrich has pierced Mitt Romney's mantle of inevitability, but it's still a long way to the nomination and many senior Republicans are warning that a Gingrich candidacy would mean disaster for the party in November.

The former speaker is trying to appeal to GOP voters who want a conservative candidate from outside Washington, but insiders aren't buying it. "The problem is Newt is neither," one Republican strategist told me. Joe Scarborough -- a member of the GOP Class of '94 who served under Gingrich who now hosts "Morning Joe" on MSNBC -- said on "Meet the Press" Sunday, "He's not a conservative -- he's an opportunist," charging that the self-styled man of the people is trying to use "the politics of grievance."

His rivals are taking aim too." ... http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/01/newt-gingrich-still-cant-win-a-general-election/251815/

'via Blog this'

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Monday, January 23, 2012

Newt Gingrich | Ann Coulter | South Carolina | The Daily Caller

Newt Gingrich | Ann Coulter | South Carolina | The Daily Caller:

By Jeff Poor - The Daily Caller


Coulter: ‘With Newt Gingrich you throw out the baby and keep the bath water’ [VIDEO]

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2012/01/22/coulter-with-newt-gingrich-you-throw-out-the-baby-and-keep-the-bath-water-video/

"On a Sunday morning appearance on “Fox & Friends,” conservative columnist Ann Coulter explained why Romney fell short in the South Carolina GOP presidential primary, blaming the priorities of South Carolina voters for Gingrich’s success.

“Apparently, South Carolinians would rather have the emotional satisfaction of a snotty remark toward the president than to beat Obama in the fall,” Coulter, the author of “Demonic: How the Liberal Mob Is Endangering America,” said. “We saw it in the debates when Gingrich would say things that didn’t really make sense. That is what you usually associate with Democrats, which I described in my last book, ‘Demonic,’ how mobs behave.”" Read more... http://dailycaller.com/2012/01/22/coulter-with-newt-gingrich-you-throw-out-the-baby-and-keep-the-bath-water-video/

'via Blog this'

*****

Friday, January 13, 2012

Speaker Newt Gingrich has become an unhinged post turtle January 13, 2012 by Kevin Dayhoff


The narrative of the attacks upon the presidential candidacy of Gov. Mitt Romney by Gov. Rick Perry, Speaker Newt Gingrich, and the Democratic Party is just plain nuts.

Although I never found the candidacy of Gov. Perry sustainable; I at one time, gave serious consideration to the idea of Speaker Gingrich assuming the responsibilities of the Oval Office. That ship has passed. And that’s sad…

For the balance of the 2012 presidential campaign and perhaps for the rest of his career, Speaker Gingrich is a post turtle…

Between the malicious and irresponsible attacks upon Gov. Romney and the distinct possibility of a Ron Paul third party run for president, the re-election of President Barack Obama is all but a cinch.

Like many, I vote the economy and national security. Anyone who levels specious attacks upon Gov. Romney about his role in venture capitalism and private equity demonstrates a basic lack of knowledge of how our economy works and how jobs are created – and thus, they disqualify themselves to assume the role of the presidency or have any place in national leadership.

As I have written before – and as recently as last Wednesday in The Tentacle, “Iowa caucuses, New Hampshire, the Republican Party and The King of Hearts:”

“By the time you read this, we will all be analyzing the electability of Gov. Mitt Romney and pondering how badly the Republicans will look as they snatch defeat, in the November elections, from the jaws of victory.

“To paraphrase the colorful words of a liberal colleague, who after carefully watching the debates and the political silliness of the Iowa caucuses remarked irreverently, at this point President Obama could kill a puppy on TV and still win the election.

“Especially since President Obama still has the complete support of the traditional left-leaning major media that will work hard to make sure he gets a second term, so as to justify its unabashed and shameful full-throttle support of the machine-made candidate of 2008.

“It has been said that the highest statistical probability of failure is within sight of success. Only with Republicans, they usually can’t wait and work hard at eating their own long before the finish line.

“To paraphrase President Lyndon B. Johnson, the only difference between cannibals and Republicans is that cannibals only eat their enemies.”

My view is apparently shared by many, including, JAMES TARANTO - BEST OF THE WEB TODAY: Barack Hussein Gingrich

JANUARY 10, 2012




Humiliated in Iowa, a desperate and angry Newt Gingrich is taking the offensive against Mitt Romney, whom he accuses of "looting companies when he headed the Bain Capital investment firm," reports NationalJournal.com, and "conservative interests are pushing back":

"Newt Gingrich's attacks on Mitt Romney's record at Bain Capital are disgusting," Club for Growth President Chris Chocola said in a statement Monday night. "There are a number of issues for Mitt Romney's Republican opponents to attack him for, but attacking him for making investments in companies to create a profit for his investors is just wrong.''

Radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh said Gingrich "is using the language of the left.''

The National Review weighed in on Gingrich's line of attack this morning, calling it "foolish and destructive.'' Former New Hampshire Sen. Judd Gregg joined the anti-Gingrich bandwagon in an interview with MSNBC's Chuck Todd. "We are a market economy,'' he said. Added Rep. Frank Gunta, sitting to his left: "I don't think (these attacks) belong in a Republican primary.'' … http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204124204577152971109729132.html


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Thursday, January 12, 2012

Don Surber The Daily Mail: Why Republicans oppose capitalism


Why Republicans oppose capitalism


January 11, 2012 by Don Surber  http://blogs.dailymail.com/donsurber/archives/49429

The attacks on Mitt Romney for making a buck are interesting. I think I know why. It has less to do with partisan politics and more to do with ignorance. Republican rivals — Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry — have little experience in the private sector, just like the Occupy crowd or the Obama administration — and that ignorance shows.

Mitt headed a company — Bain Capital — that invested in companies. In some cases, it did some turnaround management. In other words, Bain Capital provided the money that provided the jobs. Bain Capital was highly successful under Mitt Romney’s leadership and remains so today. This company engages in some high-risk, high-reward investments. According to a “scathing” report in the Wall Street Journal, 78% of the companies that Bain invested in were still doing business 8 years after Bain first entered the picture.

92% of the time Bain Capital either made money or broke even. Considering the high stakes, that is an achievement.

From the Wall Street Journal report:

Marc Wolpow, a former Bain Capital executive, said the frequency of trouble did indeed stem largely from the firm’s strategy early on of investing in smaller, troubled firms it hoped to turn around.
“I don’t think you can hold Mitt out as a great investor per se,” Mr. Wolpow said, “but he was an excellent CEO of an investment firm, and the results speak for themselves.”

Mr. Romney, previously a Bain & Co. consultant, became the first leader of Bain Capital when it was founded in 1984. He left in early 1999 to take charge of the financially faltering 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics.


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Tuesday, December 20, 2011

CHQ's Conservative Digest: The Problem with Freddie Mac was the Bailout, Not Newt Gingrich By George Rasley

CHQ's Conservative Digest
The daily news bulletin for conservatives and Tea Partiers committed to bringing small-government constitutional conservatives to power. 
CHQ Exclusives:

Please View All Images
The Problem with Freddie Mac was the Bailout, Not Newt Gingrich
By George Rasley
In looking at Newt Gingrich, one aspect of his relationship with Fannie and Freddie that is consistently ignored was his principled opposition (from the beginning) to the bailout of the mortgage giants.
Read and Comment

Newspaper Endorsements Are So 20th Century!
By David Franke
They count for little in the Internet age, conservative and Tea Party activists tell the CHQ Poll.
Read and Comment

The Ron Paul Foreign Policy Debate (continued): A Response from Bruce Fein about The Myth of Implied Executive Power
By Bruce Fein
In this special to ConservativeHQ.com, Ron Paul presidential spokesman Bruce Fein presents the counter-argument to those who claim the president possesses vast foreign policy powers and discretion under the Constitution.

Read and Comment


Are the presidential debates helping or hurting the Republican Party, the conservative cause, and the Tea Party?  They are the defining characteristic of this electoral cycle, but do they hurt because of all the round-robin criticism of the candidates, or help by making the eventual nominee a stronger candidate?  On balance, do you think they help or hurt? VOTE NOW

CHQ Front Page:

Fighting Back, Not Fearing, Big Government 
Washington Examiner 
Mark Fitzgibbons, writing at The Washington Examiner , puts the recent Gallup poll showing 64% of Americans fear big government and the little-used Ninth Amendment in context: Keep government surveillance devices off our property.

You're It!
The Daily Caller 
It's better than a Rorschach test: Republicans who claim there is no Republican Establishment are Establishment Republicans.

Gallup Poll: Newt's GOP Support 'Collapses' vs. Romney
Washington Examiner 
So far in December, Gingrich has fallen from a 14- to 15-point lead over Romney to a statistical tie.  Unfortunately for Romney, all the other candidates seem to have picked up Gingrich's former supporters.

Rick Perry: TARP was 'Single Greatest Act of Thievery' in U.S. History
CBS News 
And, he adds, "Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney were for it."

Can Ron Paul Win New Hampshire?
Real Clear Politics 
"Unlike Mitt Romney, I am not a betting man," writes Jeremy Lott.  "But if I were, I might go to Intrade right now and bet a bundle that Ron Paul will win the New Hampshire primary."


Find these stories and other leading conservative news at ConservativeHQ.com

*****

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

MAGGIE HABERMAN - Politico: Gingrich says he will stay relentlessly positive

Gingrich says he'll stay 'relentlessly positive' By MAGGIE HABERMAN


Newt Gingrich vowed this afternoon to stay "relentlessly positive" as Fight Night looms in Iowa, as he talked to the roughly 200 people crammed into his recently-opened Urbandale headquarters for a kick-off event.

But Gingrich also drew a distinction between "attack ads" that are distortive of records, and contrasts about differences, which he said are different, and acceptable.

"We should focus on solutions," Gingrich said, adding that the discussion has to be "positive" or the nominee will never be strong enough to take on President Obama… http://www.politico.com/blogs/burns-haberman/2011/12/gingrich-says-hell-stay-relentlessly-positive-106763.html

[20111210 Politico: Gingrich says he will stay relentlessly positive]

Monday, August 24, 2009

Newt Gingrich: Sopranos-style tactics in health care

Newt Gingrich: Sopranos-style tactics in health care

By:
Newt Gingrich Examiner Columnist August 21, 2009

More from Newt Gingrich
Newt Gingrich: Sopranos-style tactics in health care
Newt Gingrich: The Great Communicator and the Great Obfuscator
Newt Gingrich: Go to a Townhall meeting
Newt Gingrich: Deal Bites Dogs
Newt Gingrich: Henry Waxman - fraud king

Rep. Henry Waxman is making America's health insurance companies an offer they can't refuse.

Like a mafia underboss trying to face down a rival crime family, the powerful California Democratic chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee has resorted to ugly intimidation tactics with opponents of government-run health care.

In the spirit of Joe McCarthy, earlier this week, Waxman and House Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Bart Stupak, D-MI, sent a letter to 52 of the nation's largest health insurance companies that contained a not-so-veiled threat.

Waxman and Stupak's letter demanded detailed information from health insurance companies about executive pay, corporate conferences and retreats, and other business practices.

For any employees or officers making more than $500,000 a year in the past six years, the congressmen are demanding details on salaries, bonuses, pensions and other compensation.

They're asking for a list of conferences and retreats that are paid for by insurance companies. They're also insisting that insurance companies disclose the identity of all board members and their compensation.

According to the letter, all this information must be provided by Sept. 14 as part of an investigation of "executive compensation and other business practices in the health insurance industry."

Imagine that. An investigation of health insurance compensation launched by two powerful Democratic House Committee Chairmen in the midst of a coordinated campaign to vilify health insurance companies.

As far as intimidation tactics go, this latest move by Waxman and Stupak makes the White House's effort to "flag" online political opponents look small time.


More: Newt Gingrich: Sopranos-style tactics in health care

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/columns/Sopranos-style-tactics-in-health-care-8132851-53804682.html

20090821 Newt Gingrich Sopranos style tactics in health care
*****

Friday, May 01, 2009

Red, White And Blue Dinner Special Guest Speaker - Newt Gingrich

Red, White And Blue Dinner Special Guest Speaker - Newt Gingrich

Host: MARYLAND REPUBLICAN PARTY

Date: Friday, June 5, 2009
Time: 6:30 pm - 9:30 pm
Location: BWI Marriott Hotel
Street: 1743 W. Nursery Road

Phone: 4102690113
Email: arose AT mdgop.org

The Maryland Republican Party cordially invites you to The 19th Annual Red, White and Blue Dinner and Tribute to Maryland Republican U. S. Congressmen and women Past and Present

Honorary Chairman
The Honorable Roscoe Bartlett
U.S. Congressman, Maryland District 6
Special Guest Speaker
The Honorable Newt Gingrich
Former Speaker of the U.S. House

Friday, June 5, 2009
6:30 p.m. VIP Reception
7:30 p.m. Dinner and Program

BWI Airport Marriott
1743 W. Nursery Road, Baltimore, MD 21090

Donation: $250 VIP Reception Dress: Business Attire
$125 per person

For tickets, contact John Wafer at jdwafer AT verizon.net

20090430 SDOSM Red White Blue Dinner Je 5 Spec Speaker Gingrich
Kevin Dayhoff Soundtrack: www.kevindayhoff.net http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/
Kevin Dayhoff Art: www.kevindayhoff.com
Kevin Dayhoff Westminster: www.westgov.net

Thursday, May 29, 2008

20080528 Newt Gingrich: Drill Here Drill Now Pay Less


ACTION ALERT: Fight Back Against High Gas Prices And the Politicians Who Will Make them Higher Still

May 28, 2008 Vol. 3, No. 22 By Newt Gingrich

There must be something about springtime in Washington that makes Senators forget where they came from.

Next week, the Senate is set to begin debate on a bill that will raise the price of gasoline, diesel fuel, heating oil and aviation fuel.(view this Heritage Foundation state-by-state breakdown to find out how much Warner Lieberman will cost you). It's the Warner-Lieberman global warming bill, and its supporters are as misguided and out-of-touch with the American people as the supporters of last spring's immigration amnesty bill - and we all remember how that turned out.

Our Goal: 100,000 Voices the Senate Can't Ignore

There are two things you can do now to fight back.

First, call or email your Senator and tell him or her to vote "no" on Warner-Lieberman - "no" on raising the cost of driving to work, heating your home, and feeding your family.

Second, visit americansolutions.com/drillnow and sign our "Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less" petition.

The petition is simple but powerful. It says:

We, therefore, the undersigned citizens of the United States, petition the U.S. Congress to act immediately to lower gasoline prices by authorizing the exploration of proven energy reserves to reduce our dependence on foreign energy sources from unstable countries.

In just a few short days, over 45,000 Americans have signed the pledge.

And with your help, as the Senate begins to debate Warner-Lieberman, American Solutions will present the names of 100,000 of their constituents who will hold them accountable if they fail to allow America the freedom to use its own energy resources instead of relying on foreign dictators.

Americans truly have a choice - a choice between the Pay More, Send More Money to Foreign Dictators and Cripple America Left and the Produce More, Enjoy More, Pay Less, Stengthen American Center-Right Majority.

Make your choice by visiting americansolutions.com/drillnow.

Kudos to Congressman Green

I also want to take the time to congratulate a principled Democratic Representative who had the courage to break with his party leadership last week on the issue of domestic energy production.

Congressman Gene Green (D-TX) told CNBC, "We also need more exploration. But we really need to get more oil to the market, particularly from our own country. The best signal we can send to OPEC and anywhere else in the world is maybe not filing a lawsuit against them but actually saying 'we are going to start producing in our own country.'"

All Americans who are concerned about out-of-control prices and our vulnerability to energy blackmail by foreign dictators should appreciate and acknowledge Congressman Green's stand. The only question left is the one posed to Green by the CNBC anchor: "Can you convince the other wings of your party to think like you do?"

####

And, as always, stay tuned to americansolutions.com for more updates!

Haz clic aquí para leer la Plataforma del Pueblo Estadounidense.

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

20071030 Newt Gingrich and his new book: A New Way of Thinking About the Environment

Newt Gingrich and his new book: A New Way of Thinking About the Environment

October 30, 2007

Related: For other posts on Newt Gingrich on Soundtrack, please click on: Gingrich Newt Gingrich

Green Conservatism: A New Way of Thinking About the Environment

My Latest Book: A Contract with the Earth

A Better Way to Protect God's Creation

Join Me in Atlanta and New York City

Insanity in the Empire State: The Feds Won't Stop the Madness

Calling on Congress to Prohibit States From Issuing Driver's Licenses to People in America Illegally

Satellite Photos Show Suspected Syrian Nuclear Sites Wiped Clean

Introducing Gov. Bobby Jindal, Conservative Reformer

Do you remember back in the late 1980s and early 1990s when people began thinking differently about welfare?

Politicians in Washington and in state capitals actually woke up to the fact that the usual left-right screaming matches weren't doing any good. Lots of us came to understand that the welfare system we then had was actually harming many of the people it was supposed to be helping. The result of this new way of thinking was welfare reform.

Eleven years later, the effects of this change are nothing less than transformational. Welfare rolls have declined by more than 60 percent. And a million and a half fewer children are living in poverty.

Today, I want to introduce you to a new way of thinking about the environment.

My Latest Book: A Contract with the Earth

This week marks the launch of my new book, A Contract with the Earth.

I wrote it with my friend Terry Maple, who was once the head of Zoo Atlanta and is now president and CEO of the Palm Beach Zoo and professor of conservation and behavior at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

If I had to boil down the message of A Contract with the Earth to just a couple sentences, I would say it's this:

The left doesn't have the last word on how we protect our environment -- and neither do the folks who say we should sit back and do nothing.

The fact is, according to polling done by my grassroots organization, American Solutions, 95 percent of Americans believe we have an obligation to be good stewards of God's creation for future generations. Eighty-two percent said they believe so "intensely."

Over the last 36 years, I have watched the pro-regulation, pro-litigation, pro-taxation and pro-centralized-government advocates become the definers of environmentalism.

The left would have us believe that to be an environmentalist you have to believe in catastrophic threats, dramatic increases in government power and economically draconian solutions. Such a big-government bureaucracy, trial-lawyer-litigation and excessive-regulation "environmentalism" does a poor job of protecting the environment while it erodes individual freedom, destroys jobs and weakens our country.

The time has come to propose a fundamentally different approach to a healthy environment and a healthy economy.

The time has come for the development of a mainstream environmentalism as an alternative to big bureaucracy and big litigation environmentalism. You could call it "green conservatism," but it's really the mainstream environmental approach that has worked so well in the United States. President Theodore Roosevelt epitomized this approach when he said, "The movement for the conservation of wild life and the larger movement for the conservation of all our natural resources are essentially democratic in spirit, purpose and method."

A Better Way to Protect God's Creation

A Contract with the Earth, which is available in both book and audio form, describes a different -- and better -- way to protect God's creation.

Take this quick quiz:

Do you believe a healthy environment should be able to coexist with a healthy, growing economy?

Do you believe investments in science and technology will generate solutions to most of our environmental problems?

Do you believe incentives should be offered to encourage corporations to clean up the environment?

Do you believe corporate and private philanthropy is essential to the success of a global and environmental movement?

If you answered "yes" to most of these questions, you're probably in the environmental mainstream. You may even be a green conservative.

I'll have a lot more to say about A Contract with the Earth and new ways of thinking about protecting our environment in the weeks and months ahead. For now, you can read more about green conservatism at ContractWithTheEarth.com.

You can buy my book here.

Join Me in Atlanta and New York City

Terry Maple and I will be appearing in person this afternoon in Atlantic Station in Atlanta and on Thursday evening at the New York Public Library. Details on these two events are below:

Atlanta, Ga. -- Tuesday, October 30, 2pm-4pm
A Forum on the Environment: Contract with the Earth
More info here.

Location:
Atlantic Station
Central Park
B/T East & West District Ave
's
Atlanta, Ga.

New York City, N.Y. -- Thursday, November 1, 7:15-8:45pm
A conversation with Jeffrey Sachs.

More info here. Purchase tickets at Smartix

Location:
New York Public Library
Celeste Bartos Forum
Humanities and Social Sciences
5th Ave & 42nd Street
New York, N.Y.

And don't forget to go to ContractWithTheEarth.com to see where Terry and I will be appearing to talk about A Contract with the Earth.

Tuesday, October 02, 2007

20070930 Newt Gingrich Defends White House Pass as Legal Necessity

Newt Gingrich Defends White House Pass as Legal Necessity

Former Speaker of the House Criticizes Campaign Finance Laws

By MARY BRUCE, Sept. 30, 2007 —

Former speaker of the House Newt Gingrich reiterated this morning that his recent pass on a 2008 White House bid was a legal necessity.

Gingrich rejected the notion that it was for lack of resources or potential. He announced this weekend that he would not be a Republican candidate because it would prohibit him from continuing to work with his American Solutions organization.

"To give up and kill an organization we spent a year on, and that had 2,000 sites around the country where people had now invested their time and effort, just to look at whether or not you could run, I thought would be irresponsible," Gingrich said in an exclusive interview on ABC's "This Week with George Stephanopoulos."

He went on to rail against campaign finance laws.

"The McCain-Feingold Act criminalizes politics ... We were informed yesterday morning that if I had any communication with American Solutions after I became a candidate, it was a criminal offense."

Gingrich, who was poised to launch a $30 million fundraising Web site, asserted that he could have been a serious contender.

"I think it would have been a real campaign. I think we would have had a chance to win," he said.

On what it will take for the Republicans to win, Gingrich said, "The Republicans have got to get out from under Washington. And, if we nominate somebody who is a continuation of where we are right now, we're going to lose."

He went on to offer up his predictions for the Republican candidates….

Read the entire article here: Newt Gingrich Defends White House Pass as Legal Necessity

####

Saturday, August 09, 2003

20030809 Newt Gingrich Visit to Union Mills, Carroll County Maryland





Union Mills Newt Gingrich Visit

August 9th, 2003

The Union Mills Homestead

Carroll County Maryland

Built 1797

http://www.unionmills.org/gingrich.htm

In the picture to the left: left to right - James Shriver III, Mayor Kevin Dayhoff of Westminster, Newt Gingrich, Caroline Babylon, Carroll County Commissioner Julia Gouge and Tom LeGore

Newt Gingrich and William R. Forstchen, Gettysburg: A Novel of the Civil War, St. Martin's Press, (June, 2003). Fictional account of the battle, set along the Pipe Creek Line at Union Mills. See especially the photo gallery for pictures of Newt at Union Mills during research for the book.

Wednesday, September 28, 1994

19940927 Republican Contract With America

(Photograph from Newt.org – Contract with America)

See text below…

UPDATE:

{The Contract itself emerged publicly with the staging of the mass signing of the Contract on the steps of the U.S. Capitol by 367 candidates for office on September 27, 1994. On that day, all of these candidates publicly pledged: "If we break this Contract, throw us out." The Republicans who were already Members of the House of Representatives organized themselves into 11 working groups that eventually drafted ten bills that made up the Contract.}

For more information go here, and here, and here.

Newt.org’s: Download the 10-Year Anniversary Fact-Sheet

Other information sources retrieved from Wikipedia on June 10th, 2007:

Text of the Contract, from the U.S. House website

The Contract with America: Implementing New Ideas in the U.S., from the Heritage Foundation

Beyond the Contract, criticism of the Contract from Mother Jones magazine

Contract on America's Environment, criticism of the Contract from the Sierra Club

Twelve years later, myths about the Contract persist, mixed picture from A.B. Stoddard of The Hill.

Ignoring evidence to the contrary, USA Today editorial asserted 1994 "Contract with America" was "effective ... in bringing Republicans to power", Media Matters For America cites variety of polls (including NBC/Wall Street Journal) showing low public awareness of Contract.

__________________

_________________

As Republican Members of the House of Representatives and as citizens seeking to join that body we propose not just to change its policies, but even more important, to restore the bonds of trust between the people and their elected representatives.

That is why, in this era of official evasion and posturing, we offer instead a detailed agenda for national renewal, a written commitment with no fine print.

This year's election offers the chance, after four decades of one-party control, to bring to the House a new majority that will transform the way Congress works. That historic change would be the end of government that is too big, too intrusive, and too easy with the public's money. It can be the beginning of a Congress that respects the values and shares the faith of the American family.

Like Lincoln, our first Republican president, we intend to act "with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right." To restore accountability to Congress. To end its cycle of scandal and disgrace. To make us all proud again of the way free people govern themselves.

On the first day of the 104th Congress, the new Republican majority will immediately pass the following major reforms, aimed at restoring the faith and trust of the American people in their government:

FIRST, require all laws that apply to the rest of the country also apply equally to the Congress;

SECOND, select a major, independent auditing firm to conduct a comprehensive audit of Congress for waste, fraud or abuse;

THIRD, cut the number of House committees, and cut committee staff by one-third;

FOURTH, limit the terms of all committee chairs;

FIFTH, ban the casting of proxy votes in committee;

SIXTH, require committee meetings to be open to the public;

SEVENTH, require a three-fifths majority vote to pass a tax increase;

EIGHTH, guarantee an honest accounting of our Federal Budget by implementing zero base-line budgeting.

Thereafter, within the first 100 days of the 104th Congress, we shall bring to the House Floor the following bills, each to be given full and open debate, each to be given a clear and fair vote and each to be immediately available this day for public inspection and scrutiny.

1. THE FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY ACT: A balanced budget/tax limitation amendment and a legislative line-item veto to restore fiscal responsibility to an out- of-control Congress, requiring them to live under the same budget constraints as families and businesses. (Bill Text) (Description)

2. THE TAKING BACK OUR STREETS ACT: An anti-crime package including stronger truth-in- sentencing, "good faith" exclusionary rule exemptions, effective death penalty provisions, and cuts in social spending from this summer's "crime" bill to fund prison construction and additional law enforcement to keep people secure in their neighborhoods and kids safe in their schools. (Bill Text) (Description)

3. THE PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY ACT: Discourage illegitimacy and teen pregnancy by prohibiting welfare to minor mothers and denying increased AFDC for additional children while on welfare, cut spending for welfare programs, and enact a tough two-years-and-out provision with work requirements to promote individual responsibility. (Bill Text) (Description)

4. THE FAMILY REINFORCEMENT ACT: Child support enforcement, tax incentives for adoption, strengthening rights of parents in their children's education, stronger child pornography laws, and an elderly dependent care tax credit to reinforce the central role of families in American society. (Bill Text) (Description)

5. THE AMERICAN DREAM RESTORATION ACT: A S500 per child tax credit, begin repeal of the marriage tax penalty, and creation of American Dream Savings Accounts to provide middle class tax relief. (Bill Text) (Description)

6. THE NATIONAL SECURITY RESTORATION ACT: No U.S. troops under U.N. command and restoration of the essential parts of our national security funding to strengthen our national defense and maintain our credibility around the world. (Bill Text) (Description)

7. THE SENIOR CITIZENS FAIRNESS ACT: Raise the Social Security earnings limit which currently forces seniors out of the work force, repeal the 1993 tax hikes on Social Security benefits and provide tax incentives for private long-term care insurance to let Older Americans keep more of what they have earned over the years. (Bill Text) (Description)

8. THE JOB CREATION AND WAGE ENHANCEMENT ACT: Small business incentives, capital gains cut and indexation, neutral cost recovery, risk assessment/cost-benefit analysis, strengthening the Regulatory Flexibility Act and unfunded mandate reform to create jobs and raise worker wages. (Bill Text) (Description)

9. THE COMMON SENSE LEGAL REFORM ACT: "Loser pays" laws, reasonable limits on punitive damages and reform of product liability laws to stem the endless tide of litigation. (Bill Text) (Description)

10. THE CITIZEN LEGISLATURE ACT: A first-ever vote on term limits to replace career politicians with citizen legislators. (Description)

Further, we will instruct the House Budget Committee to report to the floor and we will work to enact additional budget savings, beyond the budget cuts specifically included in the legislation described above, to ensure that the Federal budget deficit will be less than it would have been without the enactment of these bills.

Respecting the judgment of our fellow citizens as we seek their mandate for reform, we hereby pledge our names to this Contract with America.