Two Contracts--One Trashed, One Honored
November 2005 By Denny Hatch
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What Republicans can learn from Warren Buffett
Nov. 1, 2005: Vol. 1, Issue No. 44
It was a tough week for the Republicans.
It need not have been.
Six weeks before the 1994 congressional elections, the Republican members of the House of Representatives issued one of the most electrifying documents in recent history.
The brainchild of then House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Tom DeLay and the conservative movement, the Republican "Contract with America" was signed by all but two Republican congressmen. In addition, it was the platform of all non-incumbent Republican congressional candidates. Its appeal was so visceral and powerful that it gave the Republicans a majority in Congress.
The equivalent in corporate America is "An Owner's Manual," which was issued by Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett to all Class A and Class B shareholders in 1996.
Rereading these two documents today can give you goose bumps.
Based on what was promised to constituents, the Republicans got elected, and Buffett got very, very rich.
Trouble is, Buffet means it, and the Republicans did not.
Inspiring Words From the 1994 Republican 'Contract of America'
Nov. 1, 2005: Vol. 1, Issue No. 44
IN THE NEWS
US Death Toll in Iraq Reaches 2,000
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN)--The U.S. military death toll in Iraq reached 2,000 Tuesday with the reports of three new deaths, and President Bush prepared the nation for more casualties, saying the "defense of freedom is worth our sacrifice.
--CNN.com, Oct. 26, 2005
Miers Withdraws Nomination
President George W. Bush's nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court, White House counsel Harriet Miers, abruptly withdrew from consideration on Thursday after mounting criticism from the right and the left about her credentials for the lifetime job.
--Steve Holland
Reuters, Oct. 27, 2005
Cheney Adviser Indicted in CIA Investigation
Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, was indicted on charges of obstruction of justice, making false statements and perjury in the probe into the unmasking of a CIA covert agent.
--Financial Times Reporters
Financial Times, Oct. 28, 2005
It was a tough week for the Republicans.
It need not have been.
Six weeks before the 1994 congressional elections, the Republican members of the House of Representatives issued one of the most electrifying documents in recent history.
The brainchild of then House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Tom DeLay and the conservative movement, the Republican "Contract with America" was signed by all but two Republican congressmen. In addition, it was the platform of all non-incumbent Republican congressional candidates. Its appeal was so visceral and powerful that it gave the Republicans a majority in Congress.
The equivalent in corporate America is "An Owner's Manual," which was issued by Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett to all Class A and Class B shareholders in 1996.
Rereading these two documents today can give you goose bumps.
Based on what was promised to constituents, the Republicans got elected, and Buffett got very, very rich.
Trouble is, Buffet means it, and the Republicans did not.
Inspiring Words From the 1994 Republican 'Contract of America'
This year's election offers the chance, after four decades of one-party control, to bring to the House a new majority that will transform the way Congress works.
That historic change would be the end of government that is too big, too intrusive and too easy with the public's money. It can be the beginning of a Congress that respects the values and shares the faith of the American family.
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