House GOP Vote Deals Blow to Gingrich

In a sharp setback for combative Minority Whip Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) and hard-line conservatives, House Republicans Monday rejected his candidate for the No. 3 leadership post and reelected a moderate Californian, Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-Highland), after a bitter contest that left deep divisions in GOP ranks.

The usually affable and soft-spoken Lewis, who defeated Rep. Carl D. Pursell (R-Mich.) by a surprisingly large margin of 98 to 64, declared the outcome a “disaster” for Gingrich and two of his close allies who tried to oust Lewis as chairman of the House Republican Conference.

“Their purpose was not to help Carl Pursell but to dump Jerry Lewis,” snapped Lewis, who said that Reps. Duncan L. Hunter (R-Coronado) and Vin Weber (R-Minn.) were “designated deputies” by Gingrich in the campaign against him.

In another implied rebuff for Gingrich, who earlier this year led the revolt against the first budget package endorsed by President Bush, Minority Leader Robert H. Michel (R-Ill.) expressed deep concern that the 167-member House GOP group not become a “battleground” where Republicans snipe at each other or attack Bush and his Cabinet members.

Lewis’ victory indicates that the President will have smoother working relations with Congress than he would have otherwise, because Pursell made clear that he would carry on a fight against both new taxes and new spending if he was victorious.

It also gave Lewis a strong vote of confidence if, as many Republicans expect, he opposes Gingrich for the Republican leader’s job when Michel, 67, eventually steps down from the post he has held for nearly a decade.

But another candidate backed by Gingrich in a hard-fought race--Rep. Guy Vander Jagt (R-Mich.)--decisively won his campaign for reelection as chairman of the National Republican Congressional Campaign Committee over Rep. Don Sundquist (R-Tenn.) by a vote of 98 to 66.

The House GOP campaign fund-raising organization under Vander Jagt’s direction was accused by Sundquist of making improper financial arrangements with consultants and polling organizations and getting unsatisfactory results. Vander Jagt promised to review the complaints and make changes, if warranted.

Gingrich, who was reelected without opposition to his No. 2 position in the GOP hierarchy, insisted that the Lewis-Pursell contest was not a referendum on him or his followers. “I am for Jerry Lewis in some elections and against him in others,” Gingrich said. “The conference voted for the established leadership.”

Rep. Steve Gunderson (R-Wis.), a Gingrich deputy whip, acknowledged that the anti-Lewis campaign did not suit the mood of most Republicans. “More than anything, they want to unify our party, and you never unify with purges,” Gunderson told reporters.

In contrast with the sharp infighting among Republicans, House Democrats reelected Speaker Thomas S. Foley (D-Wash.) and their other leaders by acclamation as they organized for the 102nd Congress that will convene in January.

Democrats netted a gain of nine seats in the November elections while the Republicans suffered a net loss of 10. One independent, Bernard Sanders, defeated a GOP representative in Vermont.

In one major change, Rep. Vic Fazio (D-Sacramento) was tapped to be the new chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in advance of the 1992 elections.

On the GOP side, Republican leader Michel tried to smooth over the differences between the forces backing Gingrich and those who lined up with Lewis in the divisive battle.

Noting that his party has 101 fewer members than the opposition, Michel urged the Republicans to work with President Bush because he can give them more leverage by using his veto power to influence the shape of legislation in the Democratic-controlled Congress.

“I must confess to having deep concerns when we spend our time sniping at each other, at the President or at members of our Administration,” Michel said. “It can be a total disaster if we don’t recognize that, outnumbered as we are, we have to work together to achieve a unity of purpose.”