UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Tuesday. December 6. 1994
9A
White House feathers ruffled with latest Gingrich remarks
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Suggesting a pattern of Republican recklessness, President Clinton's top adviser said yesterday the White House cannot do business with Newt Gingrich if the new House speaker insists on making unfounded allegations.
from chief of staff Leo Panetta to first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, the administration pounced on Gingrich for his charges that up to a quarter of the White House staff had used illegal drugs.
"His charges are absolutely false," Panetta said angrily. "The time has come when he has to understand that he has to stop behaving like an out-of-control radio talk show host and begin behaving like the speaker of the House of Representatives."
"I think it is so unfair," the first lady said of Gingrich's remarks. She said she hoped it was a momentary lapse.
Saying he saw signs of a troubling pattern, Panetta compared Gingrich's remarks with Republican Sen. Jesse Helms' recent warning that Clinton would need a bodyguard if he ever visited North Carolina.
if any Republicans were bothered by Gingrich's accusations, there was no sign of it as House GOP members joyfully installed him as the next House speaker, cheering "Newt, Newt, Newt." In nominating speeches, he was praised as a visionary.
Rep. Bob Walker, R-Pa., a close Gingrich ally, said, "This White House is going to have to learn that they no longer have lap dogs on Capitol Hill. They're also going to have to learn there's a new majority here."
Gingrich offered no apologies, saying that if he were Panetta he would be talking to senior law enforcement officials about the charges. "I am very surprised at the way Leon flew off the handle," Gingrich said.
He dismissed Panetta's statement that he could not work with the incoming speaker. "His comment was nonsense," Gingrich said. "I am constitutionally going to be the chief legislative officer of the House. I don't know who he's going to be chief of staff for if he doesn't want to negotiate with the speaker of the House."
Meanwhile, a U.N. spokesman reacted yesterday to Gingrich's assertion Sunday that the United
Nations was a totally incompetent instrument
"There are problems and there are areas where obviously we could be doing better ... but to call the organization a failed organization is completely incorrect," said U.N. spokesman Joe Sills.
Gingrich ignited the latest flap between Republicans and the White House when he charged in a television interview that up to a quarter of the White House staff had used drugs in the past four or five years.
Gingrich, who has admitted smoking marijuana as a youth, said the source of his information was a senior law enforcement official, whom he did not name.
Panetta said that no one in the White House uses drugs. "If Newt Gingrich has evidence to the contrary he ought to tell me that, he ought to make it public and I'll fire them," Panetta said.
The White House seized on Gingrich's remarks as evidence that Republicans who are taking power in Congress are out of control and willing to go to any length to undercut Clinton.
The White House was slow to react to Gingrich's charges Sunday, with administration officials saying they did not want to dignify his comments with a reply. Once Gingrich's comments made a front-page splash, the White House hit back.
Panetta invited reporters to his office to respond to Gingrich. When television reporters asked if he would do it again in front of cameras, Panetta readily agreed.
"He's speaker of the House of Representatives. Words matter." Panetta said. "And he's no longer just the minority whip. He's not the editor of a cheap tabloid, he's not just an out-of-control radio talk show host.
"We want to work with him. We can't do business on the basis of unfounded allegations and on innuendo."
Panetta said Clinton has the toughest anti-drug policy of any administration. All job applicants are required to take drug tests, make full disclosure of prior drug use, under FBI background checks and submit to random drug testing.
He said the number of White House employees who had acknowledged prior drug use was at best, a very, very small percentage.
Shallenburger gets new member votes
TOPEKA — Republican conservatives seized control of the Kansas House yesterday, electing Rep. Tim Shallenburger as speaker and unseating Rep. Bob Miller.
The Associated Press
New GOP speaker eager for change
Shallenburger, a four-term representative from Baxter Springs, was nominated by the House GOP caucus to serve as speaker in 1995-96 with 45 votes to 34 for Miller, who is from Wellington. Rep. Al Lane, R-Mission Hills, got the other caucus vote.
It was the first time in Kansas history a speaker has been denied a second term.
Shalenburger, who campaigned vigorously for Republicans' votes since the Nov. 8 election, said changes in the House mirror those that are occurring in Washington with the Republican takeover of Congress.
The nomination of Shallenburger, 39, who has been speaker pro tem the past two years, and other conservatives to House leadership positions all but guarantees them formal election when the Legislature convenes on Jan. 9.
His nomination is tantamount to election, which will come on the day the Legislature opens its 1995 session.
"There's a tremendous movement of change, and it's finally reached the Statehouse," Shallenburger said.
He needed 41 votes from the 80 Republicans in the house. Democrats hold 45 seats in the 125-member chamber.
Other House Republicans who won leadership posts include Rep. Susan Wagle of Wichita, speaker pro tem, the No. 2 post, and Rep. Vince Snowbarger of Olathe, majority leader. Wagle defeated Rep. Gene Shore of Johnson, 41-39. Snowbarger, the majority leader under Miller the past two years, had no opposition.
On the Democratic side, Rep. Tom Sawyer of Wichita was renominated minority leader, receiving 34 votes, while Rep. Jack Wempe of Little River got 10.
Rep. Bill Reardon of Kansas City was nominated to be assistant minority leader without opposition, and Rep. Ed McKechie of Pittsburg was nominated for minority whip over Sheila Hochhauser of Manhattan, 23-21.
But the focus yesterday was on the House speaker's race, which many saw as a contest of strength between social conservatives and the moderate wing of the Republican Party.
"My perception is that most of the conservatives voted for me," Shallenburger said.
He also said yesterday's caucus results indicate that a conservative agenda will be pursued more aggressively in the House.
"That is because of the membership, not the leadership," Shallenburger said. He added he expects bills supported by conservative members to be debated on the floor more than they have been in the past.
"Times are changing, and a lot of members of the Legislature, especially new members, are reading what happened in campaigns all across the country as the people wanting change." Miller said.
Rep. David Heinemann, R-Garden City, who with 27 years in the House has served longer than any present member, said Miller's defeat was the result of conservative opposition combined with personal animosity by some incumbents toward Miller, 60, a 12-term veteran.
Miller said he believes many of the newly elected House members voted for Shallenburger. Republicans picked up 14 seats in the House during the Nov. 8 election.
Meanwhile, Sawyer said he sees opportunities for Democrats to exploit what he says are schisms in the GOP ranks.
"Clearly, there is some division over there that could give us an opportunity on a number of different issues," Sawyer said. "For us to pass anything, we need at least 18 Republicans. If we can get 18 votes from the moderates on something, we'll do that."
The change in leadership could create a shakeup in committee membership, with Shallenburger replacing chairmen, although the speaker-elect said some will be retained.
Time will only tell results of Republican conservative
By Stephen Martino
Kansan staff writer
The headline reads "New GOP speaker eager for change," and students may be wondering why it matters who the speaker of the Kansas House of Representatives is. And in normal circumstances it probably doesn't. But these aren't normal circumstances.
During the past six years, there has been an active and aggressive, although not always out in the open, attempt by extremely conservative members of the Republican Party to gain control of not only elective positions in the government but also the party's internal leadership and apparatus. They have done it in three of the most populous counties in the state — Johnson, Douglas and Sedgwick. In all three counties, the party's head is a social conservative who espouses views against abortion, broadening legislation of the death penalty and prayer in school.
But for the past several years, the ability of religious conservatives to translate county party success into a coherent, successful agenda at the Statehouse has been thwarted by more moderate members of their own party and an organized and determined Democrat minority. However, voters across the state changed that on Nov. 8. They increased the Republicans majority in the House to a staggering 80-45 over Democrats. But most importantly, of the Republicans they sent, many were more socially conservative than their predecessors. And they were candidates who wanted to change their party's legislative leadership, starting with House Speaker Robert Miller, R-Wellington.
Yesterday, Miller was ousted from his position as speaker by State Rep. Tim Shallenburger, R-Baxter Springs, who served as speaker pro tem last session and
NEWS COMMENTARY
is also a leader of the socially conservative Republicans in the House. It is the first time in the history of the state that a sitting speaker of the House has been voted out of that position.
Now depending on what side of the political spectrum you are on, this change in leadership may be good or it may be bad, but it seems fairly clear that the change does not forebode positive things for the University of Kansas or those interested in a non-intrusive approach by government in social issues.
Social conservatives like to point out that their agenda expands past social issues and that they are far more interested in holding the line on spending and taxes. That is certainly a commendable approach, if you don't favor budget increases in government institutions, such as the University of Kansas.
Last year, the Board of Regents budget passed but without the much heralded Partnership for Excellence, which would have sent more money to Regent schools to raise faculty salaries. And it seems unlikely that such a proposal would gain much support under more conservative leadership in the House. The new speaker has the power to set the agenda and select committee heads.
Time will only tell what the long-term outcome of Shallenburger's election will be. But there are probably hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people throughout the state keeping their fingers crossed that the impact will be minimal. But in these times of social conservatism, state legislators are probably hoping we would be saying our prayers instead of crossing our fingers.
Whitewater appraisals were false
The Associated Press
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — A businessman in the Whitewater investigation pleaded guilty yesterday to backdating property appraisals at a savings and loan owned by President and Mrs. Clinton's former real estate partners.
Robert Palmer, 44, promised to cooperate in the investigation of the Clintons' finances and of Madison Guaranty Savings and Loan, the failed company once owned by Jim and Susan McDougal.
Palmer's work for Madison Guaranty links him to real estate transactions involving Gov. Jim Guy Tucker and former Municipal Judge David
Boisterous GOP members choose Gingrich
Hale, a key prosecution witness in the Whitewater investigation.
Palmer admitted to U.S. District Judge G. Thomas Eisele to conspiring to defraud federal bank investigators by making false entries on at least 25 appraisals for loans Madison Guaranty already had made.
The false documents were filed, he said, because Madison's executives were anxious to have the financial institution's files complete before the arrival of federal auditors.
Palmer said he did not file the false documents for personal gain, but that his actions were "based on my personal failure to put aside personal relationships in performing my professional obligations."
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — To chants of "Newt, Newt, Newt," jubilant Republicans chose combative conservative Newt Gingrich yesterday to be the first GOP speaker of the House in four decades. He vowed action to improve "economic opportunity and the safety of virtually every American."
To serve alongside the 51-year-old Georgian, GOP lawmakers tapped two Texans, Richard Arney as majority leader and Tom DeLay as whip, as they rounded out a Southern-based leadership team.
Gingrich said Republicans would move swiftly beginning on the first
day of the Congress in January to implement their "Contract With America," a campaign manifesto that helped power many GOP candidates to victory last month.
He cited recent polling information that said the public backed Republican plans for tax cuts, tougher crime measures and welfare reform by eyecatching margins. "We were elected to keep our word," Gingrich said. "We will keep our word."
While Gingrich's elevation won't become official until the 104th Congress convenes on Jan. 4, his unanimous selection came at midpassage of an ambitious overhaul of House operations.
Gingrich said he was hopeful the GOP majorities could show early signs of cooperation with President Clinton. By the end of January, he said, it is possible that Congress will pass and Clinton will sign measures applying all federal laws to Congress and giving the president the power to veto portions of spending bills without killing the entire legislation.
Gingrich was accorded a standing ovation as he entered the room.
"Yesterday we spent 21/2 hours just walking through rooms in the Capitol that the Democrats have never let us in before," he said to appreciative laughter.
Gingrich's remarks to the caucus
Recalling Franklin Roosevelt's Depression-era declaration, Gingrich said, "I think we want to say to the nation that we have nothing to fear but fear itself, that we can reach out together as a family, all Americans, and we can dramatically improve the quality of life of virtually every American."
were a blend of the personal, political and professorial. He choked up briefly as he thanked his wife, Marianne, for her support, suggested all Republican lawmakers read the Declaration of Independence and other works, and offered a sobered political caution to those still celebrating last month's triumphs.
PHILOSOPHY 101
Take-Home Exam
Compare and contrast the dialectic of phenomenology as revealed in the work of Hegel, Kierkegaard and Nietzsche. (Use additional blue books as necessary.)
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