Reasons for Campaign Reform Are Piling Up

Whatever his political future may hold, Newt Gingrich has assumed an indelible place in congressional history by becoming the first sitting speaker of the House of Representatives ever to be punished by a vote of his colleagues. In a final solemn act ending two years of investigation and searing partisan controversy, the Georgia Republican was formally reprimanded Tuesday for actions that, as an ethics subcommittee report concluded, brought discredit upon the House. The vote transcended party divisions, in notable contrast to the acrimonious partisanship that preceded the climactic moment. The motion of reprimand, which included a $300,000 penalty, was supported by 395 members. Only 28 opposed it. The speaker himself was not in the chamber for the vote.

Some Republicans have said that had the ethics subcommittee’s report been available last week, Gingrich would not have been reelected speaker. The report, approved 7 to 1 by the four Republicans and four Democrats on the panel, did not become public until late last Friday. In essence it found that Gingrich had misused tax-exempt funds for a college course he taught that clearly aimed at promoting Republican interests and that he submitted material to the committee that he “knew or should have known was inaccurate, incomplete and unreliable.”

The reprimand stops just short of a vote of censure, which would have forced Gingrich to resign as speaker. Under Ethics Committee rules, a reprimand is reserved for “serious violations” of ethical standards. This finding inevitably reduces Gingrich’s already weakened political authority. It could contribute to encouraging Gingrich to be a less contentious figure. It could also, as some whispers already have it, encourage his fellow Republicans to replace him as speaker before the 105th Congress is too many months old.

In the end, confronted by the weighty evidence, the House voted to put the honor and needs of the institution above the feelings and reputation of its leader. But public doubts about congressional integrity generally, and about the political process as a whole, remain high. There is no better way to reduce those doubts than by acting swiftly to pass clear and tough campaign finance reform laws.

The Gingrich case illustrated again the misuse of money in politics. Something redemptive can come from it if it at last forces reluctant politicians, in Congress and in the White House, to treat a festering scandal.