Real Circus Atmosphere Follows First 100 Days

As the clock ticked down on the first 100 days of the 104th Congress this week, elephants romped on the east front of the Capitol and Republicans romped on the west, looking a bit covetous as they gazed down the Mall at their next target--the White House.

The final week of the House Republicans’ 93-day legislative sprint to complete their “contract with America” had started with Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) grimly warning of an impending “near-death experience,” as Democrats tried to derail a GOP tax-cut package. But by Friday, House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-Tex.) was begging the indulgence of his colleagues for the irrepressible smile on his face.

“The birds are singing,” Armey told an exuberant Republican rally on the Capitol steps. “The cherry blossoms are in bloom. Baseball is back. And we’ve completed the ‘contract with America.’ ”

Some 500 participants, dominated by flag-waving Republican staff members and a smattering of curious tourists, applauded the completion of the GOP contract more vigorously than the return of baseball--apparently validating Armey’s recent assertion that Washington is an “insidious town” whose residents are out of touch with Main Street America.

Between the grim and the giddy, the week included political theater both sublime and ridiculous:

Throughout the week, the Democrats repeated into every microphone thrust in front of them that the big winners of the 100-day contract were lobbyists, corporate special interests and the wealthy.

On Friday, to make her point about Republican policies, Rep. Patricia Schroeder (D-Colo.) went to the top of the Capitol and, from the outside catwalk, unfurled a 12-foot red banner that said “Sold.” The message lay across the white dome about 10 minutes before it was removed.

On Wednesday, a group of Democrats staged a mock “Publisher’s Clearinghouse” prize patrol in which they awarded prizes to the “winners” of the Republican “contract with America.” These were “environmental polluters,” “tax-evading corporations,” “billionaire Benedict Arnolds” and “powerful lobbyists.”

But the GOP celebrated the week instead with a menagerie of creatures that have never slipped into a pair of Guccis. On Wednesday, a bearcat from the Cleveland Zoo perched on Gingrich’s shoulder for a photo opportunity. A baby wallaby and, of course, a newt also dropped by for a visit.

There was even bigger game in the parking lot.

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After weeks of anxious budget-cutting, lawmakers eagerly agreed to allow the elephants of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus to perform in the parking lot of the Capitol on Wednesday. The cost of bringing the “Greatest Show on Earth” to the “greatest deliberative body in the world” was at least $60,000 in set-up costs and overtime for Capitol Police.

Gingrich, who as a boy dreamed of becoming a zookeeper, on Wednesday added another title to his growing list of honorifics: along with Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole (R-Kan.), Gingrich was named honorary circus ringmaster.

But bringing the circus act to Congress was not without controversy, even among the strongly unified Republicans. Sen. Robert C. Smith (R-N.H.) begged his colleagues on the Senate floor not to allow the elephants to perform on the Capitol grounds. He argued passionately that the threat of a breakaway beast posed “a grave risk, not only to the animals but also to the children who have been invited to be here.”

But, after the elephants paraded without incident, Republicans regained their unity, vying only to outdo each other with bold claims of their accomplishments.

Freshman Rep. J.D. Hayworth (R-Ariz.) pronounced Friday that, with the end of the 100-day period, “once again, it is truly morning in America.” Rep. Barbara F. Vucanovich (R-Nev.) asserted that Republican policy changes would even make children’s visits to their grandparents more fun, because under a measure passed by the House, senior citizens could earn more and still collect Social Security benefits. And Rep. Christopher Cox (R-Newport Beach) stated flatly that “for the first time ever, every American can be proud of the U.S. Congress.”

Finally, Rep. Bill Paxon (R-N.Y.), chairman of the Republican Congressional Campaign Committee, challenged Democrats to come out and fight on the electoral turf. He warned that with 100 potential Republican challengers already having expressed their intentions, the GOP majority could grow by 20 to 30 members in 1996.

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It was a big week for dares.

The operators of a Maryland amusement park, apparently concluding that the Republicans’ legislative blitz was not mind-bending enough, came to Washington during the week to challenge lawmakers to ride their new roller coaster called the Mind Eraser. An $8-million looping roller coaster made of inverted steel, the ride appears to be right down Gingrich’s alley--the ultimate in third-wave entertainment.

While lawmakers did not fear being marched at breakneck pace through the contract’s 10 items, they did seem daunted by the Mind Eraser. By Friday, no one had signed up for the challenge.

Times staff writer Edwin Chen contributed to this story.