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Analysis of the Contract with America - 1994
Irrespective of what one thinks of Newt Gingrich's politics, his 1994
contract with America was brilliant. The voting public was drawn to the idea
of politicians holding themselves accountable by contract to a few principles if
elected to office. This is the opportunity for this electoral success
Microtutions deliver to individual candidates for elective office at all levels
of American government.
An "I will not seek re-election to this or
any other office" sanction when added to the 1994 "promise" with America turns
the "promise" with America into a real "Contract with America" with no
additional political risk to the candidates or incumbents seeking re-election.
A
PROMISE OR A CONTRACT WITH AMERICA?
Much has been written about the Republican “Contract with America” and the
revolution it created. Speaker Newt Gingrich pulled together the largest
political change in America in more than half a century in 1994. The Republican
Contract with America localized national issues and gave Republicans control of
the House for the first time in more than 40 years. Irrespective of one’s
political viewpoint, there is no question the “Contract” and election results
of the 104th Congress were a historic event in American
politics.
Below is the “Contract” with America, absent the specific bill text or
“action items,” which are easily attainable on the Internet. The only relevant
point about the action items contained in the “Contract” is the fact that each
of these items was clearly within the power of the individual candidates for Congress
to carry out if elected to Congress as a majority. The specific content of
these ten action items is not central to the following discussion.
What is important to understand is the language and wording wrapped
around the action items. It is here that the genius of Gingrich adds value; it
is also where he missed a much greater opportunity. It is important to note that the “Contract with America” is not a
contract. It is a promise. A contract is not a contract unless it has a valid
and legal sanction for nonperformance.
It also is extremely important to note the following point: If the Republican “Contract With America”
had included a sanction for nonperformance that individually, the collective
“we” would not seek re-election in the next election cycle, as outlined in the
Elements of a Microtution – the political risk would not have been increased in any
way whatsoever, and the landslide election victory by Republicans would have
been even larger. If one reads the “Contract With America” carefully, line-by-line,
with this sanction in mind, that fact becomes crystal clear.
REPUBLICAN CONTRACT WITH AMERICA
As Republican Members of the
House of Representatives and as citizens seeking to join that body we propose
not just to change its policies, but even more important, to restore the bonds
of trust between the people and their elected representatives.
That is why, in this era of
official evasion and posturing, we offer instead a detailed agenda for national
renewal, a written commitment with no fine print.
This year's election offers the
chance, after four decades of one-party control, to bring to the House a new
majority that will transform the way Congress works. That historic change would
be the end of government that is too big, too intrusive, and too easy with the
public's money. It can be the beginning of a Congress that respects the values
and shares the faith of the American family.
Like Lincoln, our first
Republican president, we intend to act "with firmness in the right, as God
gives us to see the right." To restore accountability to Congress. To end
its cycle of scandal and disgrace. To make us all proud again of the way free
people govern themselves.
On the first day of the 104th
Congress, the new Republican majority will immediately pass the following major
reforms, aimed at restoring the faith and trust of the American people in their
government:
FIRST, require all laws that apply to the rest of the country also
apply equally to the Congress;
SECOND, select a major, independent auditing firm to conduct a
comprehensive audit of Congress for waste, fraud or abuse;
THIRD, cut the number of House committees, and cut committee staff
by one-third;
FOURTH, limit the terms of all committee chairs;
FIFTH, ban the casting of proxy votes in committee;
SIXTH, require committee meetings to be open to the public;
SEVENTH, require a three-fifths majority vote to pass a tax
increase;
EIGHTH, guarantee an honest accounting of our Federal Budget by
implementing zero base-line budgeting.
Thereafter, within the first 100
days of the 104th Congress, we shall bring to the House Floor the following
bills, each to be given full and open debate, each to be given a clear and fair
vote and each to be immediately available this day for public inspection and
scrutiny.
1. THE FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY ACT: A balanced budget/tax limitation
amendment and a legislative line-item veto to restore fiscal responsibility to
an out- of-control Congress, requiring them to live under the same budget
constraints as families and businesses.
2. THE TAKING BACK OUR STREETS ACT: An anti-crime package including
stronger truth-in- sentencing, "good faith" exclusionary rule
exemptions, effective death penalty provisions, and cuts in social spending
from this summer's "crime" bill to fund prison construction and
additional law enforcement to keep people secure in their neighborhoods and
kids safe in their schools.
3. THE PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY ACT: Discourage illegitimacy and
teen pregnancy by prohibiting welfare to minor mothers and denying increased
AFDC for additional children while on welfare, cut spending for welfare
programs, and enact a tough two-years-and-out provision with work requirements
to promote individual responsibility.
4. THE FAMILY REINFORCEMENT ACT: Child support enforcement, tax
incentives for adoption, strengthening rights of parents in their children's
education, stronger child pornography laws, and an elderly dependent care tax
credit to reinforce the central role of families in American society.
5. THE AMERICAN DREAM RESTORATION ACT: A S500 per child tax credit,
begin repeal of the marriage tax penalty, and creation of American Dream
Savings Accounts to provide middle class tax relief.
6. THE NATIONAL SECURITY RESTORATION ACT: No U.S. troops under U.N.
command and restoration of the essential parts of our national security funding
to strengthen our national defense and maintain our credibility around the
world.
7. THE SENIOR CITIZENS FAIRNESS ACT: Raise the Social Security
earnings limit which currently forces seniors out of the work force, repeal the
1993 tax hikes on Social Security benefits and provide tax incentives for
private long-term care insurance to let Older Americans keep more of what they
have earned over the years.
8. THE JOB CREATION AND WAGE ENHANCEMENT ACT: Small business
incentives, capital gains cut and indexation, neutral cost recovery, risk
assessment/cost-benefit analysis, strengthening the Regulatory Flexibility Act
and unfunded mandate reform to create jobs and raise worker wages.
9. THE COMMON SENSE LEGAL REFORM ACT: "Loser pays" laws, reasonable
limits on punitive damages and reform of product liability laws to stem the
endless tide of litigation.
(Bill Text)
(Description)
10. THE CITIZEN LEGISLATURE ACT: A first-ever vote on term limits
to replace career politicians with citizen legislators.
Further, we will instruct the
House Budget Committee to report to the floor and we will work to enact
additional budget savings, beyond the budget cuts specifically included in the
legislation described above, to ensure that the Federal budget deficit will be
less than it would have been without the enactment of these bills.
Respecting the judgment of our
fellow citizens as we seek their mandate for reform, we hereby pledge our names
to this Contract with America.
(End)
The “Contract” with America was based on electing a majority of Republicans
to the House. Failure of the American people to elect a Republican majority
completely invalidates this “Contract” and lets the incumbent Republican
minority off the hook for any promises made in this “Contract.” Therefore, inclusion of an “I will not seek
re-election in the next election cycle” sanction for failure to perform has no
political risk.
The implications are tremendous. The Republican Contract with America
successfully demonstrated the political feasibility of combining voluntary social
contracts with the election process – where political feasibility is defined as
getting elected to office. In the realm of practical politics, the points made
in this paragraph and the paragraph above simply cannot be ignored.
Further analysis of The Republican Contract with America uncovers a
template for political coalition building, whether the coalition one is trying
to build is for a local school board, state senate or Congress of the United
States. If one re-reads the “Contract” holding the thought of coalition
building foremost in your mind, it becomes clear that the “Contract” can be a
template for coalition building; and can be further enhanced from a political
“gimmick” into a major shift of power to the people by the theory presented in
this paper. One should not make the
mistake that Speaker Gingrich made of promoting a “Contract” that is nothing
more than a promise. With the disclosure of Microtution contract theory,
offering a “contract” that is nothing more than a gimmick “promise” approach is
no longer a feasible political strategy.
It is worth repeating that the political social contracts outlined in
the “Elements of a Microtution” section of this paper can be constructed in
such a way that the political risk of including a sanction that says one “will
not seek re-election to this office or any other elective office” creates
little to no political risk. The political risk is tied directly to the content
of the contract action items – and one’s ability to CLEARLY meet or exceed these
contract obligations. The key is to confine one’s action items to the power of
the office sought, coupled with one’s power as an individual citizen.
The stakes are raised and the political risks lie in wait based on the
action items placed into a Microtution by two or more candidates seeking
election to the same office. In this case, there is a direct correlation
between the perceived value of the action items and voter response. These items
are linked precisely because voters have a choice between two candidates and
their Microtution action items.
Weak action items will generate weak voter response and give opposition
candidates a target to attack. The Microtution clause that enables a candidate
to add action items up to 30 days prior to Election Day provides a methodology
to shape and promote competing political ideas in the marketplace of electoral
politics.
The wise application of a Microtution contract will enable every person seeking
elective office to empower their political constituencies with a dormant, hence
new Constitutional right – and at the same time restore trust, confidence and
accountability in our government institutions and political leaders.
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