even the obama haters know the republicans are fos with their pledge gimmic. read the comments after the story: Perhaps the Most Ridiculous Thing to Come Out of Washington Since George McClellan A+ Rhetoric. C- Ideas. A+ Rhetoric. C- Ideas. Posted by Erick Erickson (Profile) Wednesday, September 22nd at 6:47PM EDT 162 Comments The House Republicansâ âPledge to Americaâ is out. A thrill will run up the leg of a few Chris Matthewsâ types on the right. As Dan noted on Twitter, the Contract with America was 869 words and this is 21 pages. The Contract told you everything you needed to know about how a Republican Congress would be different from a Democrat Congress after 40 years of Democrat control. These 21 pages tell you lots of things, some contradictory things, but mostly this: it is a serious of compromises and milquetoast rhetorical flourishes in search of unanimity among House Republicans because the House GOP does not have the fortitude to lead boldly in opposition to Barack Obama. I have one message for John Boehner, Eric Cantor, and the House GOP Leadership: If they do not want to use the GOP to lead, I would like to borrow it for a time. Yes, yes, it is full of mom tested, kid approved pablum that will make certain hearts on the right sing in solidarity. But like a diet full of sugar, it will actually do nothing but keep making Washington fatter before we crash from the sugar high. It is dreck â dreck with some stuff I like, but like Brussels sprouts in butter. I like the butter, not the Brussels sprouts. Overall, this grand illusion of an agenda that will never happen is best spoken of today and then never again as if it did not happen. It is best forgotten. The pledge begins by lamenting âan arrogant and out-of-touch government of self-appointed elitesâ issuing âmandatesâ, then proceeds to demand health care mandates on insurance companies that will drive up the costs of health care for ordinary Americans. The plan wants to put âgovernment on the path to a balanced budgetâ without doing anything substantive. There is a promise to âimmediately reduce spendingâ by cutting off stimulus funds. Wow. Exciting. There is a plan to cut Congressâs budget, which is pretty much what was promised in 1994. Seriously? In 4 years did the Democrats really blow up the Congressional budget? No â the GOP did that too. There is no call for a Spending Limitation Amendment or a Balanced Budget Amendment. It is just meaningless stuff the Democrats can easily undo and that ultimately the Senate GOP will even turn its nose up at. The entirety of this Promise is laughable. Why? It is an illusion that fixates on stuff the GOP already should be doing while not daring to touch on stuff that will have any meaningful longterm effects on the size and scope of the federal government. This document proves the GOP is more focused on the acquisition of power than the advocacy of long term sound public policy. All the good stuff in it is stuff we expect them to do. What is not in it is more than a little telling that the House GOP has not learned much of anything from 2006. I will vote Republican in November of 2010. But I will not carry their stagnant water. http://www.redstate.com/erick/2010/...ome-out-of-washington-since-george-mcclellan/
Yes, the contract/pledge is bullshit, but we need a different party in charge of Congress than in the Oval office. The way it is now, there is no checkof powers that the Constitution intended. What one branch wants, the other goes along all nilly/willy. We had it for 6 yrs and look what it brought, and now 2 years of the other side. IMO, we need a return to the mid 90's governing - look how much better we were as a nation.
have you been living in a cave. the party of no has won every battle so far. every obama win has been watered down by the corporate lobby to the point of being a joke.
If the new contract (or whatever they are calling it this time) doesn't include: 1. Term limits 2. A balanced budget amendment 3. Tax reform; then it's just another Republican scam. It's a shame what the Republican party has become today. If Ronald Reagan was here today, he'd be a Libertarian.
it doesnt. it is the same old same old. tax cuts for the rich and less regulation on corporations so they can transfer even more jobs overseas and pay even less tax on the profits.
I haven't read this document, but the fact it is 21 pages long tells me all I need to know. It can't help but be compromised mush. I don't think John Boehner is a bad person, but he's not a dynamic leader or agenda setter. The republican party is a deeply flawed vehicle for conservatives, but it's the only one they've got.
I think my idea for a Contract would be: 1. Stop the bailouts. 2. Secure the border. 3. Stop the war on America, eg lawsuit against Arizona, and the war on American values. 4. Repeal Obamacare. 5. Put an end to earmarks. 6. No tax increases. That is all. Simple, more or less doable and popular. Let the democrats try to explain why they are all so impossible or misguided.