by Kevin Hurley

inosaurs and Newt Gingrich have a few things in common. There are many questions about the reasons for their demise, but neither party is inclined to give its version of the events. A recent documentary, however, provides a few good clues to why Gingrich is now politically extinct. Michael Pack's The Fall of Newt Gingrich, which was narrated by Blair Brown and premiered on PBS this past August, vividly captures Newt's strange indifference toward discussing (and apparently even thinking about) the impeachment proceedings so important to the rest of the nation. Interviews with Arne Christenson, Gingrich's chief of staff; Joe Gaylord, special consultant to Gingrich; and David Bonior, Barney Frank, Trent Lott, Matt Salmon, Dennis Hastert, and Newt himself reveal not only a very shrewd, smart politician dealing with the pressures of leading the Republican party and piloting its 1998 election campaign, but also an individual who curiously refused to deal with the serious problem of impeachment in a manner satisfactory to his media critics and, more important, the American people. With interviews, insider looks into Newt's meetings, and coverage of bus and campaign stops during the 1998 election, Pack establishes that Newt seriously underestimated his own role in the impeachment affair. The video also shows the unfortunate growth of a confessional culture in America, a phenomenon exemplified by Oprah Winfrey and her TV-talk colleagues, deftly exploited by President Clinton, and unwisely ignored by Newt.

Time and time again in Pack's film, media personnel ask Gingrich about the impeachment, and Newt says, "Go talk to Henry," referring reporters to Judiciary Committee Chairman Henry Hyde, though he knows full well that they already know Hyde's opinion and are seeking Gingrich's. The speaker's bland evasions seem exceedingly arrogant and imperial, although a more likely motivation is simple fear. Gingrich invariably shifts the subject to Social Security or says, "This is tax cut day. We are here to talk about tax cuts." CNN congressional reporter Bob Franken is seen repeatedly trying to ask Gingrich questions about the impeachment affair, and Newt consistently refuses to answer them, usually looking rather peeved as he does so. For the Speaker of the House to say that he is above the fray of a presidential impeachment but not above detail work on Social Security and tax cuts, however, looks both foolish and hypocritical, as Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) and CNN congressional correspondent Bob Franken note in interviews. After all, it is not necessarily his duty to work on those issues, either.

Clinton's approach was far savvier. After he confessed his "inappropriate" actions and apologized, the public could accept his claims to want to focus on balancing the budget. Pack shows Clinton saying, on House impeachment day, "I have accepted responsibility for what I did wrong in my personal life and I have invited members of Congress to work with us to find a reasonable, bipartisan, proportionate response." This is a completely accurate statement that is, of course, meaningless and sidesteps the real charges (perjury, obstruction of justice, etc.), but it is definitely some kind of apology and confession to the American people and a model of directness when compared with Gingrich's stock responses.

In fact, if one thing is clear from Newt's leadership of the 1998 congressional election campaign, it is that people were apathetic about economic questions (with the economy humming along so nicely) and the only issue of real importance was the impeachment. Gingrich and his supporters maintained that the Republicans were going to pick up anywhere from ten to forty seats in Congress, but Pack shows that they were well aware that the American people were not responding to them as positively as in 1994. A campaign stop with incumbent Representative Helen Chenoweth (R-ID) illustrates this point when Republican operative Joe Gaylord remarks, "This is an election that isn't happening." Pack then takes viewers into the 1998 Republican "war room" to watch the GOP partisans settle into a bewildered funk that deepens as the night goes on and the Republicans' dreams of a large congressional majority are dashed. Rather than gaining dozens of House seats, they lose five. Near the end of this long, dark night, RNC Chairman John Linder says bluntly, "So tomorrow is the first day of the 2000 race."

Newt does deserve credit for laying the groundwork for George W. Bush's narrow victory by making inroads on issues such as the balanced budget, Social Security, and tax cuts. Nonetheless, it seems likely that things would have been much easier for the Republicans if Newt had simply been more direct and honest about his position on the impeachment. Near the end of Pack's film, Newt claims, "I am a high-tempo, high-risk offensive coach. I take risks." His associates call him an agent of change, and Trent Lott even calls him a Joshua for leading the Republicans into the promised land. But a real risk taker, a truly bold leader, would never have considered playing a prevent defense on the critical matter of a presidential impeachment. Newt's successor, Bob Livingston, took a huge risk in resigning his post to set an example for Clinton; his gambit failed, but it was bold and dramatic. Newt, by contrast, kept himself on the bench during the crucial moments.

Pack's documentary brings all this out with a nicely understated style. One would have liked to hear from Henry Hyde, and the film could have used more clips of Clinton, to strengthen the stylistic comparison between the two leaders. Still, the interesting looks behind the scenes and insightful comments from Newt's staff and Republican opponents such as Matt Salmon, who led the charge against Gingrich, more than compensate for such deficiencies.

Clearly, Newt Gingrich is a complex, intelligent individual and appears to be a decent human being. His failure, as Pack's documentary shows, was to assume that policies trump personality in politics. The last words Newt speaks about Clinton in his final interview in The Fall of Newt Gingrich are, "He won the personality contest, I won the policies." Well, maybe, but Clinton lasted two full terms, and the Republicans are entering the promised land, while Newt stands on the eastern shore of the Jordan and stares wistfully as the people move on.

Kevin Hurley is a freelance writer in Indianapolis.

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