A GUIDE TO THE FIRST 100 DAYS

摘要

On wednesday for the first time in half a century, the Republicans take control of Congress. They will celebrate, not with fireworks or parties, but by reducing the size of Hill staffs and declaring that the laws of the United States apply to members of Congress as well as to ordinary people. The new speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich, knows how much voters distrust government. He understands that voters won't take politicians at their word anymore. Too many of the people believed that Lyndon Johnson saw the light at the end of the tunnel in Vietnam, that Jimmy Carter was sincere when he promised, "I will never lie to you," and that Bill Clinton really meant to reform the Democratic Party. Gingrich and his colleagues put their vows down in writing: guaranteed votes on 10 major promises — including the balanced-budget amendment, a middle-class tax cut and term limits—all in the first 100 days. It is the most ballyhooed legislative program since FDR launched the New Deal.