Newt Gingrich at Garrison
Scripps promotes real ideological diversity
Hannah Burak & Breanna Deutsch
Last Updated: 3/6/10 Section: Features
For the fourth consecutive year now, Scripps has angered some and surprised many by inviting a renowned speaker who strays from its characteristic liberal values. This effort to balance the campus' typical flow of leftist dialogue with conservative opinions can be credited to the Elizabeth Hubert Malott Public Affairs Program. A graduate of the class of '53, Malott went on to leave her imprint on Scripps through generous donations for the improvement of campus grounds and facilities. And with her program's goal of exposing students to "a range of opinions about the world - especially opinions with which we may not agree, or think we agree," she will also leave a message of embracing opinions that may not be popular to present and future Scripps students. The program has already hosted an array of prominent and often controversial conservative figures, ranging from the first ever joint public appearance of the Cheney sisters, to last year's talk by an outspoken critic of Islam's treatment of women, the Somali-born Dutch politician and author, Ayaan Hirsi Ali. After the extensive security, protesters, and hostility that accompanied Ali's visit, this year's speaker, although perhaps controversial during his tenure as Speaker of the House, seemed rather tame. With a full house in Scripps' Garrison Theatre, the southern conservative and Republican visionary Newt Gringrich, spoke to the largely female audience.
Picking up on one of politics' favorite buzzwords, Gingrich's speech "Effective Leadership for Real Change," outlined his assessment of the key elements of great leadership. And though certainly interesting, the content of Speaker Gingrich's talk matched its generic title. Avoiding controversial issues, he instead focused on past examples of successful leadership, and "ground rules" for achieving it. He first insisted that one cannot do the same thing as always and expect change. Gingrich recounted the Republicans' forty-year drought in Congress, noting that it was only once they started analyzing their situation and trying solutions did they regain leverage. The story referred to his extremely effective 1994 "Contract With America," which united Republican factions against congressional Democrats, restored power to the GOP, and helped earn Gingrich the title of Time's 1995 Person of the Year.
Picking up on one of politics' favorite buzzwords, Gingrich's speech "Effective Leadership for Real Change," outlined his assessment of the key elements of great leadership. And though certainly interesting, the content of Speaker Gingrich's talk matched its generic title. Avoiding controversial issues, he instead focused on past examples of successful leadership, and "ground rules" for achieving it. He first insisted that one cannot do the same thing as always and expect change. Gingrich recounted the Republicans' forty-year drought in Congress, noting that it was only once they started analyzing their situation and trying solutions did they regain leverage. The story referred to his extremely effective 1994 "Contract With America," which united Republican factions against congressional Democrats, restored power to the GOP, and helped earn Gingrich the title of Time's 1995 Person of the Year.
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