Word: speaker
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1990-1999
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...that of a Roman general who became master of the empire, only to find that his own inner circle posed a greater threat than any enemy he had met on the battlefield. Last Tuesday evening, when a handful of conspirators met in the Capitol to plot against their Speaker, Gingrich could not help noticing where they had gathered--in a secluded suite of rooms one floor above his, the offices that belong to majority leader Dick Armey...
...Speaker, in an interview, dismissed questions about his political survival as a "media frenzy" over a "road bump," in this case, the recriminations that followed the G.O.P.'s bungling of a disaster-aid bill. It is true that he appears in little immediate danger: the consequences of unseating the party's leader seem vastly worse than the damage Gingrich has done, and, more important, Republicans have no obvious replacement. But both his allies and his enemies say this summer's struggle over shaping the tax bill, the initial versions of which both houses expect to pass with much fanfare this...
Armey, having grumbled privately that he was shut out of a budget deal that abandoned conservative principles, took his complaints public and announced that he would not be bound by the agreement. When Armey was asked Tuesday whether he regards Gingrich as an effective leader, the Speaker's top lieutenant made for the exit, telling reporters; "Y'all have a good day now." In subsequent statements, Gingrich and Armey downplayed reports of a rift as misconstrued, but Republican sources say the relationship has become badly and possibly irreparably frayed...
...Republicans vowed to put their differences aside, but dissent still divides the party even at the leadership level. The uprising fizzled last night after a small group of disgruntled Republicans met for less than 20 minutes without the company of the GOP leadership to voice their disenchantment with the Speaker. The poor showing led organizers to downplay the significance of the unrest. "I don't think the Speaker is in any trouble in any sense of the term trouble. This is politics," said Lindsey Graham, who organized the gripe session. John Kasich chimed in: "Do I believe there is some...
...panic at knowing one has to get through the day. Even when he plays the sweetest people, he creates a roiling emotional subtext. There is odd stuff going on inside; he's wild and weird at heart. So he will furrow his brow and gaze doggily at the speaker, as if he's trying hard to listen to your problems so his head won't explode from all of his. Yet he can see the humor in himself. Says Shirley MacLaine, his co-star in Guarding Tess: "Nic winks at his own intensity...