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Gingrich Resigns

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* Re “Under Attack, Gingrich Quits as House Speaker,” Nov. 7:

As a registered Democrat I should be cheering that ol’ Newt is gone. In this instance, however, I take no satisfaction in his resignation. The Republicans have panicked and blamed the speaker for their overconfidence and lack of understanding of the “American people.” Truly, pride goeth before the fall.

RODNEY K. BOSWELL

Los Angeles

* Twice in this administration, Newt Gingrich and his right-wing friends have tried to hijack the government; first with the government shutdown and then with the Monica Lewinsky affair.

Instead of feeling part of the government and imbued with loyalty to it, they see it as an implacable enemy, a great and dreadful monster to be evaded, hoodwinked, combated and stabbed in the dark, if occasion offers. The elections show that the citizens of this country are not so easily deceived and will not be mugged by these gangsters.

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WILLIAM H. DuBAY

Costa Mesa

* The first casualty of the Lewinsky affair? Gingrich! Ah, the irony of it all.

ANU SOOD

Cerritos

* In the context of Clintonian politics, Gingrich committed three fatal errors: He kept his campaign promises, was naively straightforward and non-deceitful and accepted re- sponsibility for his personal and political lapses. When the IRS did a swift and precise hatchet job on Gingrich, the speaker admitted his mistakes without whining and subterfuge, and I remember no claims of a vast left-wing conspiracy.

Contrast Clinton’s responses to losing Congress. He mangled just about every election law on the books, among other things turning the Lincoln Bedroom into a romper room for rich, out-of-touch liberals, sold state secrets to foreign governments and prematurely legalized thousands of criminal aliens just in time for the 1996 elections.

KENNETH A. EATON

North Hills

* Thank you, Newt, for your outstanding service to America. In a sometimes bleak atmosphere, it is magnificent to have another genuine hero. Our young people have been blessed.

NATALIE A. HENDERSON

Laguna Hills

* So Gingrich is stepping down as speaker of the House. Fine. But since he is resigning from the House altogether, he should be required to pay the cost of the special election now necessary to replace him. To “pick up his marbles and go home” three days after he was reelected by over 70% of his Georgia constituents is a complete abrogation of his responsibility to them--particularly for a man who built his career in public service on railing at wasteful government spending.

SHARON SPIRA-CUSHNIR

Los Angeles

* Of all the adjectives I can think of to describe soon-to-be ex-speaker and ex-Rep. Gingrich, the one that now comes easily to mind is “quitter.” He ends his years of grandiose and heroic rhetoric with (something like) “If I can’t play quarterback I’m taking my ball. . . .”

Yikes! Turns out our emperor has been naked all along!

DONALD FUNK

Redondo Beach

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