NEW LEADERSHIP

November 25, 1998
		Louisiana Rep. Bob Livingston will lead the House Republicans next session. What will this new leadership mean for the party? In what direction is the Republican party going? What is next?

Will the GOP move to a more moderate position? What issues are the new GOP House members likely to move on? Will the turmoil impact the 2000 elections? Isn't the GOP skating on thin ice with its core support? Has the GOP really changed? Why doesn't GOP leadership get the message? Can Livingston succeed as speaker? Who of the GOP candidates would be most beneficial to the party if they became speaker?	By Daniela Carollo Special to the Online NewsHour On November third, Republicans lost more than five seats in the House; they lost faith in their leader. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who had steered the party to their first House majority in 40 years, was blamed for belaboring over President Bill Clinton's impending impeachment inquiry and costing the Republican party half their majority. Just three days after the election Gingrich announced he would not run for speaker in January. In a statement he said, "The Republican conference needs to be unified and it is time for me to move forward, where I believe I still have a significant role to play for our country and our party." But will Ginrich's departure unify the party? Even before the resignation, Rep. Robert Livingston announced that he would vie for the Speaker position. Livingtson has said that he had secured the votes to do just that. Will Livingston as Speaker change the party? According to Congress-watchers, his style of leadership is different from that of Gingrich. While Gingrich often highlighted the differences between Democrats and Republicans, Livingston, as Chairman of the powerful Appropriations Committee, has worked to pass legislation. The GOP shakeup is not limited to the speaker though. Republican Jennifer Dunn of Washington State and Texan Steve Largent, a former football star, ran unsuccessfully against the number two Republican, Majority Leader Richard Armey of Texas. J.C. Watts of Oklahoma defeated John Boehner of Ohio to head the Republican Conference. Will Gingrich's stepping down change the face of the party? Can Livingston and other hold on to their slim House majority? Will they be able to provide the Republicans with a clear message for the 2000 elections? Will anything really change? What's next? Here to examine the direction of the Republican party and answer your questions are two veteran Congress-watchers, Professors John Pitney and William Connelly, authors of one of the first studies of the House Republicans, Congress' Permanent Minority?. John Pitney, a former Capitol Hill staffer, is now a professor at Claremont McKenna College. William Connelly also served on Capitol Hill and now teaches at Washington and Lee University.