Tuesday, November 10, 1998

New Congress will hinge on 'swing' votes

Perhaps someone should have reminded Newt Gingrich to be careful what he wished for.

The week before the Nov. 3 election, in which Republicans expected to substantially enhance their control of Congress, House Speaker Gingrich developed a last-minute ploy to energize voters. A barrage of TV commercials hit the air asking voters to send a message about the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal and Congress' impeachment proceedings.

Well, Gingrich got his wish.

The results, however, were humiliating. Democrats, not Republicans, gained in the House and held their own in the Senate. The message was that whatever voters might think of President Clinton, they want Congress to take care of business. They want moderation and the give and take of compromise, not hard-edged partisanship. By the end of the week, Gingrich was out, Rep. Bob Livingston of Louisiana was in, and Majority Leader Dick Armey was in trouble. Any promises Gingrich and Armey had made to new GOP congressmen stood on shaky ground. The whole atmosphere on Capitol Hill had changed.

In the new House, Rep. Charles Stenholm of Abilene is sure to play a key role. With Republicans now holding only a slim majority, any advance on major issues like Social Security will depend on the "swing" votes of moderate Republicans and conservative Democrats, of whom Stenholm is a leading voice. As speaker, Livingston pledges to work with Democrats to produce legislation on which a broad majority can agree. That's the kind of constructive effort Stenholm is willing to participate in.

Another sign in the new House augurs well for West Texas. With Republican Rep. Larry Combest of Lubbock heading the House Agriculture Committee and with Stenholm as the ranking Democratic committee member, the beleaguered agriculture industry, whose prosperity remains vital to Abilene's economy and that of the surrounding area, is sure to receive the kind of informed attention it deserves.

If Livingston and the House succeed in making progress with the difficult issues Congress has neglected, doing so will mean more to the American people than which political party outscores the other. That concept is one Mr. Gingrich never seemed to grasp.