Gingrich Tells GOP Governors of New Blueprint for America

DANA POINT, Calif. — He may not be running for president, but Newt Gingrich nonetheless has a new political platform.

He calls it the Platform of the American People, and the former House speaker from Georgia and architect of the 1990s "Republican Revolution" plans to introduce it next Tuesday in the current epicenter of presidential politics, Iowa.

Despite his history as an inside-the-Beltway icon, though, Gingrich says Americans should look to their state leaders, not to Washington, for real change in the future.

"The states are a decade ahead of Washington in developing new approaches, new solutions, new ideas," he told members of the Republican Governors Association gathered at the ritzy St. Regis Resort here. "As governors, you can actually do things, as opposed to just propose things."

It's a theme that will likely be repeated in coming months by Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who is expected to replace Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue as chairman of Republican governor's group after a membership vote on Friday morning.

"I think Washington is broken," Perry said in a brief interview Thursday. "I think Washington ideas are bankrupt.

"To me, the epicenter of real (political) innovation in American today is in governors' offices in the states," he said. "And being chair of the Republican Governors Association, I can help both Texas and these Republican governors be more effective."

Amid rising speculation that Perry may want to leverage his newfound national stature for a run for higher office — before Perdue, the chairman of the Republican governors group was presidential contender Mitt Romney — Perry reiterated that he has no political aspirations outside of Austin.

"I don't have any desire to go to Washington, D.C.," he said. "I think it is a place where very little gets done."

When it comes to his own future political ambitions, Gingrich may not be as resolute. But for now at least he agrees that the power for national change today lies in the statehouse, not the White House.

In a preview of his Platform of the American People, Gingrich proposed that states help take the lead in reforming the education system.

Instead of requiring students to stay in public school for 12 years, he suggested, states should reward students — financially or otherwise — for finishing school early, saving public education expenses along the way.

Instead of relying on the federal government to take the lead in supporting science and technology, he said, states should offer cash prizes for entrepreneurs to come up with solutions to problems from health-care modernization to drought. Such competitions, Gingrich suggested, would be like the $10 million X-Prize competition that resulted in the first private manned spaceflight in 2004.

There are some parts of Gingrich's platform, though, that might require federal intervention — namely his suggestion to make English the official language of government.

Furthermore, the former history professor declared, "You should not be able to graduate from high school without a test on American history."

Gingrich, of course, has never really left politics.

But since officially announcing in September that he won't run for president after hinting that he was considering a bid, his "platform" may be the Gingrich's most substantive public attempt at influencing politics in the near future.

How far his ideas might make it into the national political dialogue, of course, remains to be seen. But not surprisingly, he found plenty of support among the Republican governors gathered here.

"The good news is that while (Gingrich) left public office, he hasn't left the public stage," Perdue said. "Few Americans have proposed more innovative ideas than Newt has."

Added Perry: "There's a lot of good ideas" in Gingrich's platform, and "some of the things he talked about we're already doing in some states in some form or fashion."