WASHINGTON INSIGHT

SMALL HOUSE, BIG TENT? As House Speaker Newt Gingrich works to regain his footing in the wake of last month’s aborted coup by disgruntled conservatives, the Georgia Republican is turning for support to . . . moderate Republicans. He has given a key leadership post to Rep. James C. Greenwood (R-Pa.), a leader in the party’s abortion-rights faction who has been at odds with conservatives on other social issues. Greenwood will head up the House GOP team responsible for long-term political and legislative planning, replacing Rep. Bill Paxon (R-N.Y.), who resigned from the leadership after he was implicated in the rebellion. While Greenwood may seem an unlikely choice for Gingrich, once an icon of conservatism, the move could reflect a shift in the speaker’s political base. In the wake of the coup attempt, some of Gingrich’s most vocal proponents have been moderate Republicans.

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BACK TO BASICS: A recent national survey by President Clinton’s pollster found that the public appetite for bold changes in the nation’s schools may be greater than politicians in either party have assumed. The survey, by Mark Penn for the centrist Democratic Leadership Council, found that majorities of 80% or greater support strict end-of-year tests to stop the “social promotion” of students who don’t really make the grade; giving schools more authority to expel disruptive students; and expanding principals’ authority to dismiss incompetent teachers. Two-thirds of those polled want to see more charter schools, and 70% back national education standards--both top priorities of Clinton. But the survey also suggests conservatives are gaining ground in their push to provide low-income parents with vouchers to send their children to private schools. Nearly 70% of those surveyed--including 68% of Democrats--said they would be more likely to support candidates who embraced that idea.

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A WHISTLE-BLOWER WINS: A Labor Department administrative law judge has ruled that Steven Jones, former safety manager of the Army’s chemical weapons incinerator at Tooele, Utah, was illegally fired in September 1994. For firing Jones the day after he refused to certify that 3,016 hazards at the incinerator constituted an “acceptable” risk for a facility disposing of deadly weapons, plant operator EC&G; has been ordered to rehire Jones, give him full back pay and pay him almost $220,000 in compensatory damages. If the company does not reinstate Jones, it must pay him an additional $499,629.

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SOFT MONEY, HARD SELL: The Chairman’s Foundation, “the most distinguished leadership level of the National Republican Senatorial Committee,” is preparing for a two-day fund-raising gathering at New York’s Waldorf-Astoria. The invitation to the event--signed by Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), the NRSC chairman, and Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), chairman of the Chairman’s, as in McConnell’s, Foundation--pulls no punches. After stating that “the elections of 1998 will be the most hard-fought and expensive in American history,” the letter notes the “crucial” role played by the foundation, “with its ability to accept unlimited corporation contributions.” The “membership commitment,” good for 12 months only, is a “corporate check in the amount of $25,000.”

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SIGN OF THE TIMES: In a twist to the customary small-print disclaimers that accompany appeals for campaign cash, the Chairman’s Foundation invitation advises would-be donors that “contributions from foreign nations are not permitted,” and that “contributions from foreign nationals are not permitted.” Got that?