The status quo was for 40 years the Dems held power. They gave the Republicans cover and pork. Congresscritters go to DC broke and end up wealthy. For them, it worked.
Along comes Gingrich. He gets control of the House. CHAOS! Budget cuts. Less pork. And the Republicans actually had to GOVERN. AND take responsibility. The Dems were outnumbered. The 98 budget was scheduled for a $1 Billion cut. GET RID OF NEWT. And they did. Phony ethics charges that were ALL dropped. AND they got to smear him.
He's baaaack! Older and wiser. And the elites are AGAIN trying to save the status quo. The question is, what are YOU going to do?
Finally, someone pointing out the facts: Establishment Republicans don’t want to win elections, not on any widespread basis. As odd as that sounds, it’s true. The establishment hates Newt because Newt wants to win. It’s also why they hate the Tea Party, Rush Limbaugh, and Sarah Palin, to name a few others.
Excellent post from you.
It’s true: the current GOP elite have a tacit agreement with the Dems so that both ‘sides’ can grow rich in peace.
It’s straight out of Belloc’s ‘The Servile State’. The baton of rulership gets passed around every so often, but the main thing is that the pork gets delivered.
Principled candidates and the Tea-Party movement are a direct threat to this self-serving status quo.
Not true. Newt was formally reprimanded for one ethics charge in 1997 and paid a $300,000 fine. The Republicans lost five seats in the House in the 1998 off-year Congressional elections, and Newt stepped down as Speaker of the House in part because of that debacle.
DJ - great thinking here! I never considered that angle!
I often wonder why more people don’t ask why many Congresscritters come to DC with very little wealth but they all leave extremely wealthy. It’s not like they get paid a lot although the perks are pretty damn good. I see Giffords waited until her pension kicked in then resigned.