Maverick Will Oppose Gingrich, Await Reprisal

WASHINGTON — Ignoring what could be great political consequence, Rep. Tom Campbell of San Jose broke from his pack of fellow Republicans Monday and announced that he would not support Newt Gingrich’s bid for a second term as speaker of the House.

He is one of four of the 227 House Republicans to openly defect before today’s scheduled vote, when members convene to select their leader for the 105th Congress.

“Intellectually, not difficult; emotionally, very difficult,” Campbell said of his decision in an interview after Monday night’s nearly four-hour GOP session at which Gingrich defended his actions.

One member said that Campbell looked nervous when he spoke. The San Jose lawmaker asserted that Gingrich had intentionally tried to mislead the Ethics Committee about charges that he improperly financed a college course he taught.

When Campbell finished, Gingrich was quoted as saying that “this pains me greatly,” going on to deny that he intended to commit mistakes he admitted had brought dishonor to the House.

It should have come as no surprise that Campbell, a former Stanford law professor once anointed one of the 10 smartest members of Congress and a maverick lawmaker, would be among the first to desert.

Just six days after arriving in Washington in 1995 to fill an open seat, Campbell took his place as a loner. He was one of only four Republicans to support President Clinton’s early veto of a Republican welfare-reform bill. During last year’s State of the Union address, Campbell leaped to his feet in applause for Clinton’s proposed $10,000 tuition tax credit and was the only Republican standing.

*

When ethics violations began to threaten Gingrich’s future as speaker, Campbell went about the matter like a prosecutor, launching what amounted to an independent investigation. He spent the weekend poring over the Ethics Committee report, questioning Gingrich’s lawyer, procuring copies of any documents made public. He placed a call to Gingrich himself and spent an hour talking.

Still, Campbell was not satisfied. He met privately with Gingrich Monday afternoon and told him of his intent to oppose him. All along, he said, the complex allegations came down to one question: Did Gingrich intentionally deceive the ethics panel investigating him?

“Speaker Gingrich has taken the decision out of my hands. He has admitted filing inaccurate, incomplete and unreliable information to a committee of Congress investigating his behavior,” Campbell said. “I agree with the speaker’s own words and for that exact reason, I cannot vote for him.”

Campbell’s independent streak is not likely to hurt him in his San Jose-Silicon Valley district, a pocket of mostly high-income, college-educated, social liberals who never have embraced the Gingrich revolution.

But there could well be retribution from Gingrich allies should he overcome the small but determined effort to unseat him.

Campbell seemed unfazed by any possible backlash Monday, saying that he did not let the fallout affect his decision.

“I expect this to be damaging to me,” Campbell said. “I clearly am not going to be a popular individual in the Congress in the near future.”