Re: Gingrich, Moynihan step down

tsoon (
Tue, 10 Nov 1998 18:50:54 +1100

>how can you say such a thing about the man who led a radical christian coup
>of the American political system? i see
>that your address ends with .au so i'll assume that you have not had the
>same exposure to this man as I have...

You're right that I only know of Gingrich from profiles of him in Wired and Reason. To the best of my knowledge the man is a pragmatist and a political opportunist to a certain extent. He first ran as a socially moderate Republican. His Contract with America was an attempt to unite social conservatives and economic libertarians and to that extent he had to make concessions but that doesn't mean he holds all the fundie-Christian views you mentioned. To get some things done, he had to let other things through, mostly symbolic concessions. After all, no homosexual in the US is actually under any political persecution (with the exception of State anti-sodomy laws) while no one has actually made abortion a criminal offence. There is a difference too between being pro-choice and arguing that those who find abortion morally repugnant should be forced to subsidise abortion.

Regarding his ideas, he has put Bionomics by Michael Rothschild on his Congress reading list, he has spoken at Cato Institute functions, he has praised the Tofflers who have advocated things which the Christian right would regard as worthy of a burning at the stake. I suspect he is sympathetic to libertarian ideas though he has some blind spots (like drugs).

Jason Soon