GOP’s Past Invests in Its Future

It was almost like old times, the two Republican titans lounging on a Capitol balcony overlooking the Mall as the sun began to set on a lovely spring evening.

But it wasn’t legislative strategy that Bob Dole and Newt Gingrich, both in their shirt sleeves, had on their minds.

Rather, they were talking money. Big bucks.

And Dole had an offer that Gingrich could not refuse: a personal loan of $300,000 that would enable the speaker of the House to repay taxpayers for the costs of a probe into the ethics and legality of his campaign fund-raising, and perhaps put the case behind him for good.

Dole told Gingrich that he, Dole, as well as former First Lady Nancy Reagan and former presidents Bush and Ford, wanted to simply kick in $75,000 each. But there was no way they could finesse that without inciting a political and legal firestorm.

“You can’t just hand somebody money,” said one longtime Dole aide.

Thus Dole came up with the idea of extending a personal loan to Gingrich.

The events leading up to Gingrich’s acceptance of Dole’s loan--and its revelation on Thursday--were described by aides to both men as well as House Republicans who met privately with Gingrich earlier in the day.

They said that after Dole had made the decision to offer Gingrich the loan, he had Scott Reed, who managed his presidential campaign last year, telephone Joe Gaylord, a Gingrich advisor, to relay the offer.

“He [Dole] sent word quietly that he was willing to be helpful,” said a Dole aide.

The Reed-Gaylord conversation took place on Tuesday, the same day Dole gave a 1 p.m. speech at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.

In Cambridge, Mass., 2 1/2 hours before his talk, Dole ducked into the office of Sheila Burke, the Kennedy school’s executive dean and formerly his top aide when he was Senate majority leader. Burke called Gingrich to set up a 6 p.m. meeting at the Capitol.

In Washington, Gingrich was “pleasantly surprised and moved” by Dole’s display of largess.

‘Warm’ Meeting

Dole caught a 4 p.m. shuttle back to Washington, and the two men met on Gingrich’s balcony for what aides described as a “warm, friendly and relaxed” session that lasted 30 minutes.

Gingrich was predisposed to accept the loan but said he wanted to run the matter by his wife, Marianne, as well as the House Ethics Committee.

After the men agreed on the general terms of the loan, they turned the matter over to their lawyers.

Late Wednesday the Gingriches disclosed their long-awaited decision to the speaker’s staff members, who were uniformly stunned when told the source of the loan--a common reaction on Capitol Hill as the news quickly spread.

Still, if Gingrich thought a personal loan from the man he once derided as “the tax collector for the welfare state” would end the controversy, he was badly mistaken.

That became clear from the moment the House opened for business Thursday morning, as one Democrat after another lambasted not only Gingrich but also Dole, whom they called a lobbyist for the tobacco industry--a reference to Dole’s new job at a large Washington law firm whose clients include tobacco companies.

“It’s business as usual--one good ol’ boy politician taking care of another,” snapped House Democratic Whip David E. Bonior of Michigan, one of Gingrich’s harshest critics.

Such Democratic attacks--interspersed with ringing GOP praise for Gingrich--set off a new ruckus that quickly brought House proceedings to a halt as angry words echoed through the chamber and beyond.

The harsh exchanges also raised new questions over whether the House can put the Gingrich ethics case behind it and get on with the public agenda, with many members fearing the worst.

Still Polarizing Figure

The exchanges also underscored the fact that Gingrich remains a polarizing figure in the House even as he goes about rehabilitating himself politically and solidifying his role as leader of the House Republicans.

One of the first speakers was House Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-Texas), who said in a defiant tone that the Democratic “mission [to destroy Gingrich] has failed.”

Tempers quickly soared as Rep. George Miller (D-Martinez) questioned the propriety of what he characterized as “the chief lobbyist for big tobacco . . . financing the payoff” of a penalty Gingrich had incurred “for lying to Congress.”

Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) said he was “surprised to see my Republican colleagues on the floor today congratulating Speaker Gingrich for doing something that he should have done months ago--paying $300,000 for lying to Congress.”

With that, the Republicans had had enough and, after a prolonged hiatus, the GOP-dominated House voted to strike Lewis’ remarks from the record.

Afterward, Rep. Marge Roukema (R-N.J.) sighed warily when asked to assess the ability of the House to conduct public business in a civil manner in the aftermath of Thursday’s events.

“I don’t know,” she responded. “I’m hopeful we can put this behind and try to get on with the business at hand. Try to.”

Rep. David Dreier (R-San Dimas) was more upbeat. “At first blush, it looks like it’s going to be tough,” he said. “But we’re committed to moving ahead.”

Ironically, when the angry exchanges first began flying on the House floor, Dreier was chairing a Rules subcommittee hearing nearby--on the subject of civility in the House. He quickly adjourned the session. Civility in the House would have to await another day.