Edition: U.S. / Global

Republicans Offer Voters a Deal for Takeover of House

Published: September 28, 1994




Democrats derided the Republicans as fiscally irresponsible.

"All told," said Representative Richard A. Gephardt of Missouri, the House majority leader, "their contract would blow a hole in the Federal budget of roughly $1 trillion."

But Representative Newt Gingrich of Georgia, who is in line to be Republican leader in the next Congress and Speaker of the House if Republicans are in the majority, was not fazed by Democratic accusations that Republicans sought a free lunch -- lower taxes with no way to pay for them.

He quoted Franklin D. Roosevelt: "We have nothing to fear but fear itself." He quoted Ronald Reagan: "We have every right to dream heroic dreams; after all, we are Americans." And he said that while it might be a heroic dream to think the budget could be balanced, it could be accomplished through "tremendous creativity and new effort."

The rally on the steps off the West Front of the Capitol had the flavor of a political convention. A band of retired military musicians played Sousa marches and college fight songs. Hundreds of miniature American flags were passed out. Candidates wore large name tags, and some waved placards. Eventually, more than 300 Republican candidates, incumbents and challengers alike, filed past a table covered with red, white and blue bunting and signed their "contract with America."

The contract resembled a party platform: a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced budget in five years and a three-fifths vote of both houses of Congress to raise taxes; a tax credit of $500 per child, regardless of the parents' income; a tax reduction for married couples; tax-free savings accounts; lower taxes for middle-and upper-income Social Security beneficiaries; tax breaks to help Americans buy insurance to cover long-term medical care; lower capital gains tax rates; more favorable depreciation rules for businesses; term limits for members of Congress; more applications of the death penalty; cuts in spending on welfare; a stronger military, and much, much more.

Adding to the festivities was a large fund-raising event tonight, similar to those held during party conventions, where the Republican candidates hoped to pocket donations from the very lobbyists and political action committees that they criticize in the abstract.


But Republican leaders today expressed confidence that they would beat the conventional odds. Representative L. William Paxon of upstate New York, the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, said he had reviewed all the opinion polls and believed that if the election were held today, Republicans would win the House.

One reason for the event today was to dispel the notion that Republicans are obstructionists who have no ideas of their own. Republican candidates for the Senate put out a similar platform last week.

"It's important that we stand for something," said Grant Lally, who is running against Representative Gary L. Ackerman in a district that includes parts of Long Island and Queens.

A matter that worries some Republicans is that they have given Democrats a target to shoot at for the rest of the campaign. Before this, when the Republican manifesto was limited to opposing President Clinton, Democratic candidates found it hard to take the offensive. Now, Democrats can tote up the Republican proposals and argue that they have promised to favor the rich at the expense of the less fortunate and would break the national economy.

Come what may on Nov. 8, today belonged to Mr. Gingrich. Standing in the sunshine, just below where Bill Clinton took the oath of office, he spoke with a flourish usually reserved for inaugurations and acceptance speeches at party conventions.

"If the American people accept this contract," he vowed, "we will have begun the journey to renew American civilization. Together we can renew America. Together we can help every American fulfill their unalienable right to pursue happiness and to seek the American dream. Together we can help every human across the planet seek freedom, prosperity, safety and the rule of law. That is what is at stake."