Book_Review_Real

Book Review

Real Change:

From the World That Fails to the World That Works

By Newt Gingrich

Review by Steve Fritsch (April 2008)

If there is one must-read book in 2008 for conservatives it is Newt Gingrich’s Real Change: From the World That Fails to the World That Works. To go one step further, if there is one book that GOP elected officials, candidates, and leaders should read this year to understand how to get the party back on track, this is most certainly it as well. Real Change explains how to do just that: achieve transformational change in America. Gingrich, the former Speaker of the House and architect of the Contract with America, has plenty of credibility and experience to talk about producing real change in government and he provides plenty of pragmatic proposals in his book. Furthermore, not only does he provide a lesson plan for the GOP to have future electoral success, he also offers a lesson plan for America so that it can remain the most prosperous and free country in the world for decades to come.

For all the partisan bickering we have seen over the last decade or so—especially within the last few years—as well as all the negativity we hear daily from liberal political pundits about what is wrong with America, Gingrich is optimistic that if Americans step up and demand changes to our nation’s most pressing problems and concerns, we can take control of our country’s destiny and leave it in better hands for future generations. However, Gingrich’s optimism should not be viewed as simplistic cheerleading. He is very blunt in his appraisal of America’s problems and that if we do not quickly implement the appropriate solutions to them that America will face decline and potential ruin. His optimism comes from his belief that Americans have always overcome their challenges and have always done the right thing, and he believes that if Americans unite behind what the majority of them believe in, success is a highly realistic end.

One of Gingrich’s first points that he makes in the book is that there is a myth of a “red America versus blue America.” Gingrich says that the media tells us America is a divided nation, but he says it simply is not true. “The reality is the American people are united on almost every important issue facing our country,” he writes in the opening chapter, adding that the “real division is between red-white-and-blue America (about 85 percent of the country) and a fringe on the left (about 15 percent of the country).” Gingrich goes on to state that the media, backed by the elites on the left fringe, “have insisted that their positions hold moral superiority,” but polls show that the majority of Americans simply do not agree with this.

In 2007, Gingrich created American Solutions, a nonpartisan organization that calls for breaking partisan gridlock and creating commonsense solutions, and he promotes the organization throughout the book. Much of what American Solutions has found in its polls and surveys is that (not surprisingly) America has a “natural, overwhelming center-right majority.” Additionally, it is a majority that Gingrich says has a “better grasp of the challenges facing [America] than the Washington bureaucrats, politicians, and lobbyists who don’t think of finding solutions to problems but of managing ‘the system.’” Throughout the book, Gingrich covers the issues of immigration, labor, Social Security, judicial activism, a balanced budget, entrepreneurship, the environment, transportation, health care, national security and homeland security, and provides examples on how conservative solutions can fix and improve each one.

While addressing each of the aforementioned issues throughout the book, Gingrich is quick to point out the absurdity of some of the left’s solutions to these problems, and ridicules many of today’s leading members of the liberal establishment. Yet Gingrich is also quick to mention those on the right who have been in error as well. He lambastes L. Paul Bremer for his mismanagement of Iraq, and fairly criticizes President Bush at times on numerous issues as well. Overall, Gingrich is pretty tough on the Republican establishment—which makes this book a breath of fresh air—since true conservatives know that it is the RINOs (Republicans In Name Only) of the party that have failed conservative voters and were the ones responsible for the Republican defeat in the 2006 midterm election.

Another reason this book is a breath of fresh air is that it is about ideas—ideas that can change the future. In her memoir about Ronald Reagan, When Character Was King, Peggy Noonan talks about the difference between Republicans and conservatives, and how one friend of hers summed it all up. He said, “Conservatives respect books because they respect ideas. Republicans respect money.”

Gingrich is certainly an idea guy and he provides a plethora of them. Perhaps the most interesting one I came across is the idea that government should offer a billion-dollar tax-free prize for the first hydrogen car that can be mass-produced for a reasonable price. This makes sense, especially since Gingrich has made the environment one of his main priorities recently (see his 2007 book, A Contract with the Earth). On the environment, an issue that the Republican Party has neglected to really address for a very long time, Gingrich asserts that, “Green conservatism is the real answer to our environmental challenges.” He also talks about offering the incentive of prizes for new technology and inventions for space travel and various other industries as well. By and large, however, Gingrich really focuses on the importance of deregulating our most important industries and allowing the free market to make things both more efficient and more affordable.

As good as Real Change is, it does have its dry moments, especially the chapter on health care. As one who only has a passing interest in learning about the health care system I had to labor through the chapter. It was not that what Gingrich said did not make sense, it just happened to be the most boring chapter of the book. But as for the rest of it, I couldn’t put it down and I will probably end up reading it all over again eventually.