Newspaper Page Text
4A
♦ TUESDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2006
Houston 3Daikj .IJmmuil
OPINION
Daniel F. Evans
Editor and Publisher
Julie B. Evans
Vice President
Don Moncrief Foy S. Evans
Managing Editor Editor Emeritus
A new front runner?
Move over Hilary. Any of you other
Democrats thinking about a 2008
presidency? Forget about it.
Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois let it be
known this past week that he is “weighing”
the notion of running for the presidency.
And you can bet for top-level Democrats
weighing the decision is the same thing as
opening the door. And you can bet “if” he
runs, all bets are off for all other challeng
ers.
After all, this is the guy who, following
his keynote address in 2004 - described by
others as “electrifying” - had Democrats
looking at themselves asking: “Why isn’t
‘he’ our candi
date?”
This time he
may be.
Before, for
Democrats it
was sort of like
the 2006 Tour
de France(and
the Tour de
Georgia). You
knew you had
a good candi
date in Floyd
Landis but you just couldn’t get excited
about it.
But when seven-time winner Lance
Armstrong was in the field: Our nation was
abuzz.
Obama, a Hawaiian born 45-year
old African American, brings that to the
Democrat table.
Letter to the Ephtor
No harm for our children
Did you know that on the Nov. 7 ballot, Georgia voters
will be given the opportunity to decide one of the most
important issues facing hunters and anglers in years?
Don’t be surprised if you have not heard about this
“Hunting and Fishing” amendment, but with election
day fast approaching, now is the time to act!
You can affect the future of Georgia’s outdoor tradi
tions simply by voting “yes.”
On the ballot, you will be asked this question:
“Shall the Constitution be amended so as to provide
that the tradition of Fishing and hunting and the taking
of fish and wildlife shall be preserved for the people and
shall be managed by law and regulation for the public
good?”
Your yes vote on the “Right to Fish and Hunt”
Constitutional amendment will help ensure that Georgia’s
sporting traditions receive the highest form of legal pro
tection possible. This amendment will ensure that future
generations will be able to enjoy the outdoors as sports
men, just as we did as children and adults. With our abil
ity to hunt and fish elevated from a privilege to a right,
conservation groups can continue to spend donated dol
lars on valuable wildlife and educational programs rather
than fight radical groups in court over how, when and
where Georgians can hunt and fish in the future.
For additional information on this issue, please visit the
Georgia Outdoor Traditions web site at www.gaoutdoor
tradition.org.
Please vote YES for hunting and fishing Nov. 7.
John Trussell, Board Member,
Georgia Outdoor Traditions
Worth Repeating
“The right to vote freely for the candidate of one’s
choice is of the essence of a democratic society, and any
restrictions on that right strike at the heart of represen
tative government”
Earl Warren, 1891-1974
Chief Justice, V.S. Supreme Court
Governor of California (Republican)
Republican Vice Presidential Candidate (with Dewey)
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Monday through Friday.
And you can bet tor
top-level Democrats
weighing the decision
is the same thing as
opening the door. And
you can bet "if" he
runs, all bets are oil for
all other challengers.
50 years of making people iiappy'
I attended the 50th anniversary cel
ebration for the Houston County
Association for Exceptional Citizens
(Happy Hour) a few days ago.
Nothing pretentious about the event.
Just recognition of the accomplish
ments of this remarkable organization
and the people who make it so impor
tant to our community.
Fifty years ago the Warner Robins
Jaycees and Jaycettes joined with a
small group of parents who saw the
need to help disadvantaged children.
They organized and, in a town of about
10,000 people, laid the groundwork
for an organization that today has
hundreds of volunteers and about 175
exceptional children and adults.
They held their first class at Second
Baptist Church with seven children.
A successful fund drive by the Jaycees
and Jaycettes raised enough money for
their first building, which was com
pleted in 1964.
It has grown steadily ever since, and
some of the great men and women
who were there at the beginning still
are making significant contributions in
money, support and hard work.
The city of Warner Robins donated
land for Happy Hour’s first building.
Since then it has expanded its facili
ties, including two group homes funded
by HUD.
There now are three workshops,
where handicapped persons do produc
tive work and are paid for it.
“If I had taken the time to vote,
I wouldn’t have made dumb choices like you did!"
Gingrich: Still GOP's true speaker
So why was it the Republicans in
1998 decided that Newt Gingrich
had to go as U.S. speaker of the
house?
The continuing crisis over former
Florida U.S. Rep. Mark Foley’s inap
propriate contact with teenage pages
and the handling of the situation by
current House Speaker Dennis Hastert
of Illinois jogs my memory back to
November 1998.
That’s the day Newt Gingrich, the
man whose political campaigns I had
chaired for years, suddenly resigned
from Congress altogether.
I fumed when he had to step down. I
fume still. Now I get to unload on the
GOP ingrates who turned on the only
Republican in my lifetime, other than
Ronald Reagan, to have original politi
cal ideas.
The day Gingrich resigned, I left
early in the morning to take my family
to our mountain house. Everyone in
his office said Gingrich had the votes
to remain as speaker.
What many don’t know is that
Gingrich, when he first moved into
my North Atlanta district in 1992, was
not popular even with Republicans.
A group of us, who had established
constituencies in the area, pulled every
string and made every connection pos
sible to help barely lift Gingrich past
a virtually unknown opponent in the
congressional Republican primary. It
proved well worth the effort.
I then witnessed the effort of
Gingrich and a devoted cadre of pro
gressive conservatives to reinvent pub
lic policy programs, culminating with
the Contract with America.
I wanted to strangle Newt when he
resigned. But his explanation to me
made sense - it wasn’t worth continu
ing the fight for true reforms if he
had to also fight Republicans lacking
the intestinal fortitude to see them
through.
Now, with the GOP House polling
Foy
Evans
Columnist
foyevansl9@cox.net
The Association has contracts with
Robins AFB and numerous business
es.
The work done in these workshops is
professional and high quality.
Also, there are contracts for recy
cling. It is a big business, in itself.
From the beginning Happy Hour has
received broad support from the com
munity.
With a budget of $4.2 million a year
it still needs more money to keep up
with the growth of our area.
As I sat there in the presence of more
than 200 generous, warm-hearted vol
unteers I was humbled to be in their
presence.
They are the kind of people—dedi
cated, hard working, without fanfare
or publicity—who make you proud to
live in this community.
Some of those who were in on the
birth of this great organization say
they want to be around to celebrate
another 50 years of accomplishment.
They won’t be, but the memory of
what they sowed and have nourished
Matt
Towery
Columnist
Morris News Service
lower all the time over everything from
Mark Foley to ethics to the federal bud
get, I ask again:
Why did Newt Gingrich have to
resign?
He didn’t have to and shouldn’t
have. I’m not judging Gingrich, but I’m
about to judge some accepted history.
Current research of that time mostly
assures us that Gingrich’s plunge in
popularity was largely a result of his
showdown with President Bill Clinton,
which forced a “government shut
down,” and, subsequently, Gingrich’s
alleged irritation at having to exit Air
Force One from the rear of the plane
when it returned from Israel.
Sure, the media transformed the
shutdown into a caricature of Gingrich
as being coldhearted. But it was
Clinton’s unwillingness to negotiate
on tough budget constraints pushed by
the Republicans that led to the short
shutdown of government operations.
And Gingrich’s alleged complaint about
the airplane landing was taken out of
context. He pointed out that Clinton
had avoided the GOP leadership on
board for the 20-plus hours of the
flight. Budget negotiations could have
been taking place. Then the president
simply lacked manners in shunting the
Republicans out the back of the plane.
In reality, the shutdown was a con
certed action by Congress to do what
most Americans wanted them to do,
rein in big government.
Further, it was Gingrich’s capital
gains tax cut that helped to spur the
economy for which President Clinton
■HHk <■*> vBHK
if
will be remembered on that occasion.
■ ■■
During the current political sea
son I keep reading about cutbacks
in funds for various programs, when
actually the amount of money being
spent on them, including education,
has increased substantially.
This is the way critics of those in
power come up with their claims of
“cutbacks.” Departments submit pro
posed budgets, which usually are unre
alistically high, When the budget pro
posals are reduced the word goes out
that there has been a cut in funding
for the year.
Anytime you hear talk of “cutbacks”
for federal or state programs, look
behind the scenes and see what really
happened.
I learned how this process works
when I was mayor of Warner Robins.
Department heads consistently pre
sented proposed budgets that exceeded
our ability to fund them. So we cut
back the proposed budgets, but usually
were able to increase overall funding
for departments based on their actual
needs.
It is a game played on all levels of
government.
It provides fodder for critics with an
axe to grind and willingness to bend
the truth.
is now so widely credited. And it was
Gingrich who forced issues of balanced
budgets and welfare reform. It may
have made him a poster boy for the
left, but it ended up helping make the
Democratic president’s legacy appear
grand.
As for the impeachment issue, which
is also noted in many articles as hav
ing hurt Gingrich, well, that too is a
stretch. Gingrich was savvy enough
to know that the effort to remove
Clinton would be unpopular. But his
members demanded action, and he fol
lowed what he felt was a constitutional
duty, if clearly an ill-conceived politi
cal action. For all he did, his reward
from an ungrateful bunch of spoiled
Republicans was a demand that he
walk the plank for having lost a few
House seats in the 1998 elections.
To his credit now, he has publicly
stood by embattled House Speaker
Dennis Hastert, despite the fact that
he would be well justified to hang him
out to dry.
Just remember, Republicans: What
goes around comes around.
This brilliant leader has had eight
years to reinvent himself. With a party
begging for brains and action in place
of cocky half-wits and slick-looking
talking heads, Newt Gingrich is look
ing more and more like the hero he
truly was.
He’s still the GOP’s true Mr.
Speaker.
Matt Towery served as the chairman
of former Speaker Newt Gingrich’s
political organization from 1992 until
Gingrich left Congress. He is a former
Georgia state representative, the author
of several books and currently heads the
polling and political information firm
Insider Advantage. To find out more
about Matthew Towery and read fea
tures by other Creators Syndicate writ
ers and cartoonists, visit the Creators
Syndicate Web site at www.creators.
com.