European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 06, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Nothing new about Newt by Ann Mcfeatters Scripps Howard news service i Here in t a political reporter in washing Tori without old notebooks full of Newt Gingrich quotes. But the take no prison ers conservative congressman from Georgia is just getting warmed up. Gleeful smart and cunning Gingrich is convinced the voters of America whether they know it or not Are about to make him speaker of the House of representatives third  for the presidency of the United states by giving the gop a majority of seats right now the numbers Don t add for Gingrich to be speaker despite Likely big gains for republicans on tuesday. But with the coming retirement of Bob Michel of Illinois Gingrich is already the de Facto gop Leader Iff the House and he exults in his new found Power and visibility. White House polls say Only one third of Ameri cans know who Gingrich is and by a 2-to-l margin Don t like him. Republican polls say that s nonsense that he s an increasingly popular politician. Americans who Don t know what manner of Man Gingrich is soon will. He s a made for to politician with an easy quip or Pithy comment always ready. He uses his Mouth to mow Down the Competition the Way Stock car Drivers use their custom made machines.  -.  \ but he is by no Means the anti politician he d have people believe. He has been a permanent fixture i Washington since january 1979. He is As familiar to the corridors of Power As anyone. His Ropac funnel for political contributions collects wheelbarrows full of Money. His to show reaches 11 million Homes giving him remarkable visibility. He fought tooth and claw in White House meeting rooms with George Bush now he s head to head with Bill Clinton. One problem that Many people have with Gin Grich is that he s often a Loose Cannon rhetorically. Saying Clinton is the enemy of Normal Ameri cans As Gingrich did is not the Way a Leader of the noted g n Man & Republican Nasty Newt Gingrich dts and  past the. Innee limit faces Max. Sen1 for9cts of Jet Sensel Mac. Passes Lon himself off As devout supporter Mcfaw \weapqn.,Youv-cc5tj a Hen caught. Opposition party traditionally talks about the presi Dent. It hardly promotes civility. But Gingrich likes gridlock it suits his purposes perfectly. He says he wants to be the Leader of a party that Renews american civilization whatever that Means. He says he wants to educate the nation in the skills of  and he wants less government but he wants it to do More. He not Senate Republican Leader Bob Dole was the impetus for the gop contract with America which proposes to return to the Reagan Era Blue print of tax cuts higher defense spending and a balanced budget with the numbers on How to perform such magic to come sometime later. It even Calls for reviving the old debunked concept of Star wars. Against what threat republicans Don t say. Presumably terrorists. Gingrich has rightly picked up on americans fury at being deceived by and having to pay for the in competence and inefficiency of big government. Articulate in the style of the demagogic history professor he still is he is convinced of his own smarts and savvy at speaking for those americans. Like a 51-year-old revolutionary he Speaks movingly of children dying on the streets or having babies schools that cheat their students neighbors who watch while others get robbed or beaten. Amer Ica is in moral decline he thunders repeatedly As if he has discovered a new thought without offering particularly new or work bloc solutions. Gingrich is so Power hungry and self promoting that it s startling. He already All but controls the re publican party and he wants More control in making America into his Brand of utopian society where oddly term limits would keep people like him from Ever getting As much Power As he has now and Aims toward. When he analyses Why Clinton no  the great Hope for change he seemed to be to Many voters in 1992, Gingrich says it s because Clinton has become everything people Are rebelling against. He has embraced the status  if you look past the rhetoric the same could be said of Newt Gingrich. Gridlock. Sniping at the opposition. Political action committees that Dodge Dis closure Laws. Threats to special interest groups to get on Board or be snubbed. In Short politics As usual. It s All in our notebooks Clarence Pago is on sabbatical. Hollywood and toilet seats Andy Rodney. Usually when i get a lot of letters most of them Are angry so i was pleased that the letters i received on a column on _ City names and another on the use of the English language were Friendly. Homer Snow of Mundelein 111., says i always thought the seasons should be capitalized like the months but since you did t use a capital in Spring i won t  Well Homer i guess i be been brainwashed. I capitalize Spring summer fall and Winter too but when i do most newspapers change it. By the Way Homer adds the front Page of our paper last saturday must have a More Liberal editor than yours. It had two capital p s referring to   -. /. Ruth Mecklin of Palm Beach gardens  says you left out my pet Peeve the Hyphen. I cannot understand Why a paper feels it is necessary to refer to a 21-year-old son someone who is Ameri can born the hard of hearing bid rigging Etc. If you removed the hyphens it would make for less distracting Reading. Don t you think about the names of cities in the United states Igot a Hundred letters. Michael Ticktin of Roosevelt n.j., quotes me As saying there Are nine places named Roosevelt but i m assuming they were named after Teddy  ".-.-. This municipality or. Ticktin says was indeed named after Franklin. It was incorporated As the Borough of Jersey homesteads in 1937. Under a new Deal program. The name was changed after president Roosevelt s death in 1945." lilo Dewitt lives in Mobile Ala. I have family living in Israel. Israel has five digit zip codes just like we have. I write a letter to my Sis Ter in Israel and she has the same zip code As West Virginia so the letter comes Back to me cannot be delivered. They Don t see the country the letter is going to just the zip code. This is a sign that when computers take Over thinking  from Daniel Harris in Margate Fla. Are you aware that Hollywood California tried to Register a trademark on the name Holly Wood in response Hollywood Florida had a meeting of officials from about 10 other Hollywood across the country. Several of their Hollywood pre dated the one in California and Hollywood califor Nia backed  it reminds me that when i worked at Mem years ago Warner Bros tried to Stop the Marx Brothers from using the title a night in Casablanca on a film because Warners had just made the film Casablanca with Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman. In response Groucho Marx threatened to Juewarner Bros to prevent them from using Broth ers in their name because Groucho said the four Marx were Brothers before the Warners were born Warner Brothers backed Down in this Case. Daren  assistant City administrator of Albany calif., says As an added Point of information Albany California was named after your Home town of Albany new  i imagine that s True. Albany n.y., was named be fore California was born. Margaret Sullivan says mount Juliet Tennessee is the Only one with this name in the  i can believe that Margaret. Thomas Green of fort Walton Beach Fla., writes we were visiting friends and the wife complained that every time her husband went to the bathroom he left the toilet seat up. _ if she took the same Steps to accommodate him following each of her uses of the toilet she would be forced to raise the seat. How then would she Ever know who had last used the toilet Tribune Media services Andy Rooney is a former stars and stripes reporter. Page 26. Sunday november 6, 1994