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Mitchell Cumstein of Boise, Idaho asks:
In your opinion, who of the GOP candidates would be most beneficial
to the party if they became speaker? How significant is this position
to the republicans in terms of maintaining a majority?
William
Connelly responds:
As Speaker, Livingston inevitably will play a crucial role in aiding
Republicans in retaining their majority. He will need to articulate
the GOP message as prime party spokesman and he will need to manage
the factions in the House. He also will need to steer Republicans between
the Scylla and Charybdis of the strategic "government vs. opposition"
dilemma outlined in response to Question # 7 above.
While we can safely assume that Bob Livingston will be Speaker of the
House in the 106th Congress, the question invites us to speculate as
to who might be the best possible Speaker of the House for the GOP and
the nation. Since the Constitution does not require the Speaker to be
a Member of Congress, House Republicans could in fact look outside their
immediate ranks for the best candidate. Two names immediately come to
mind as individuals who understand the special challenges confronting
congressional leaders: Dick Cheney and Vin Weber. Both individuals served
in the House and are well known and respected by Members on both sides
of the aisle. Either individual, had he chosen to stay in the House,
would without a doubt be among the ranks of top House Republican leaders.
Cheney, of course, left Congress to become Secretary of Defense under
President George Bush, serving with distinction during the Persian Gulf
War. To be honest, he is our favorite candidate for Speaker in part
because we both worked for him when he was House Republican Policy Committee
chair in the mid-1980s. As author, with his wife Lynne, of KINGS OF
THE HILL, Dick Cheney understands the House like few others. Either
Cheney or Weber would make a fine Speaker should House Republicans be
tempted to look outside their ranks.
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