SUB-ROSA NEWS

Some of the News
That may be True

News Item: Former Speaker Newt Ginrich has been offering his opinion and his suggestions regarding the current
lobbying scandal involving Jack Abramoff and quite a few members of Congress. Since most of those
who may be tainted are Republicans, Mr. Ginrich's suggestions for reform were directed primaily to
the Republican party. He had some good comments, including criticism of the fund raising done to protect
incumbency. However, he assigned most of the blame to the size of the Federal government and called
for limited government as the cure.

Comment: In Speaker Ginrich's call for limited government, he is way off the mark. Given the size of this nation, its
complexities, and its defense and security commitments, there is not a chance that the government can
shrink so as to make the liklihood of corruption negligible. Think of how much smaller are the state, county,
and local governments. Is corruption there eliminated? Maybe so at town meeting sixe. But that size is
hardly conceivable for our Federal government.