Gingrich Revolution

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The Gingrich Revolution

The Gingrich Revolution changed congress in a major way. During the Gingrich revolution, Newt put together a strong coalition of “freshman pit bulls” to push through all his legislation. Because of this, he all but eliminated the need for Committees. Instead of Committees, he had everything brought before the House floor, and with his control of the senate, he pushed through any legislation he wanted, without dealing with the other side, or any real and sustentative debate. This changed the Congress because instead of a group it became a big machine assisting the Speaker to rival the President in power. It was not a lasting change however, and when Newt resigned his position, the House returned to its previous ways.
In order to accomplish his goal of dominating congress, he had to have strong political skills as the leader of his party. He had to be able to control his rambunctious freshmen republicans, he had to win over the support of the hard line republicans, and he had to try to at least partially placate the democrats so that they wouldn’t get to troublesome like they did later during the end of Gingrich’s reign.
Gingrich had many planks upon which to base his Contract of America. Some of these where the Senior Citizens Fairness act, the Family Reinforcement act, the Fiscal Responsibility act, and the American dream restoration act. Three of the most important planks of his contract where the Congressional Responsibility act, the National Security Restoration act, and the Personal Responsibility Act.
The most important plank by far in Gingrich’s contract of America was the Personal Responsibility Act. This plank reformed the Welfare program. This is one of the planks that had a lasting impact, as the changes it enacted are still in effect today. Basically what this plank did was that it put the responsibility of Welfare into the hands of the states instead of the federal government. The Fed ...