The Republican Revolution 10 Years Later: Smaller Government or Business as Usual

The dramatic election of 1994 gave control of Congress to the Republicans for the first time in four decades. In their Contract with America, the Republicans promised “to restore the bonds of trust between the people and their elected representatives” and to end “government that is too big, too intrusive, and too easy with the public’s money.”

Did they succeed? Has the “Republican Revolution” created lasting change in Washington, or has the reform spirit of 1994 fallen victim to special interests and defenders of the status quo? This book answers those questions with a detailed assessment of the successes and failures of Republican policy during the past 10 years.

The collection includes contributions from 16 policy experts, principally Cato Institute scholars, who assess the Republican record in each major policy area, including welfare, education, heath care, regulation, taxation, and trade. It also features essays by the key architects of the 1994 election victory, Newt Gingrich and Dick Armey, who went on to lead the Republican House of Representatives.

As the Republicans begin their second decade in power, this book will help supporters and critics of the party’s agenda understand what lies ahead in federal policymaking.

Chris Edwards has more than a decade of experience in tax and budget policy. Before joining Cato, Edwards was senior economist on the Joint Economic Committee examining taxation, Social Security, and entrepreneurship issues. From 1994 to 1998, Edwards was a tax consultant and manager with PricewaterhouseCoopers where he focused on revenue estimation, tax modeling, tax reform, and international economy issues. From 1992 to 1994, he was an economist with the Tax Foundation and examined federal, state, and local tax and budget policies. Edwards holds a master’s degree in economics from George Mason University.

John Samples directs Cato’s Center for Representative Government which studies how the state encroaches on civil society and the positive contribution of limited constitutional government to liberty. The Center focuses on issues such as campaign finance regulation, delegation of legislative authority, and term limits and more general themes such as the political culture of limited government and the civic virtues necessary for liberty. Samples has published scholarly articles in Society, History of Political Thought, and Telos. His opinion writing has been published in, USA Today, New York Daily News and the Washington Times. Samples is a Fellow for the Study of American Government at Johns Hopkins University. He has appeared on National Public Radio, Fox News Channel, and MSNBC. Prior to joining Cato, Samples served eight years as director of Georgetown University Press and, before that, as vice president of the Twentieth Century Fund. He received his B.A. in political science from Eastern Kentucky University and his Ph.D. from Rutgers University.

“A wide‐​ranging evaluation of the consequences of the 1994 takeover of Congress on the occasion of its 10th anniversary, including comments by some of the architects of that takeover. The sixteen authors cover every facet of government. Some find lasting effects; others, negligible effects; still others, effects that are the opposite of the aims proclaimed in the Contract with America. An interesting and informative read.”
—Milton Friedman