Congress: Back To The Future

WASHINGTON (Nov. 6) -- Republicans hold a majority in both houses of Congress. But there are differing views of what this divided government means.

"Never before in American history had a Democratic president won re-election and the Republicans kept the House," declared House Speaker Newt Gingrich. "We feel, this morning, frankly, pretty good."

Speaker Gingrich and most of his freshman followers have been re-elected, though the Republican House majority has narrowed.

Offering his take, the man who had fervently hoped to be speaker in the 105th Congress, House Democratic leader Richard A. Gephardt, predicted, "It will probably be the closest Congress has been in a long, long, time and all I can say is that the Gingrich revolution is over."

On the day after the election there was still that partisanship, but there was also cognizance of the message voters sent in splitting their votes.

Republican and Democratic leaders found a common tongue. "We're going to work together," said Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott. "In a mood and environment of civility," echoed Democratic Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut.

Republicans, though, say both the public and the president have moved their way. "They have expressed some support for what Bill Clinton was talking about, which was the Republican agenda of smaller government, smarter government," Lott contended. "He's talked about tax cuts."

Tax cuts, a balanced budget, and welfare reform revisions are top items for the 105th Congress. It was Lott, taking over from Bob Dole, who shepherded the late 104th Congress to legislative compromises. Yet for all the talk of civility and cooperation, confrontation lies ahead, too.

The continuing Republican majority means continuing Republican investigations of the Clinton Administration, including the questions raised by Democratic fund-raising during the campaign.

"The Congress has a responsibility to at least look into some of these matters, what happened with the Huang involvement at the Department of Commerce and then at the DNC," Lott said. John Huang is the Democratic National Committee staff member at the center of the controversy over questionable overseas donations to the Democrats.

Gephardt, while not denouncing the promise of any future investigations, said, "I hope we won't spend an inordinate amount of time trying to find out what happened somewhere in the past."

That may be Democratic wishful thinking to avoid hobbling the second Clinton term. The uproar may also move campaign finance reform toward the top of everyone's agenda as an issue that cannot be ducked any longer.

This story originally appeared on CNN's "Inside Politics."

Congress: Back To The Future

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