Taking the pledge—to America
Here’s the GOP’s Pledge to America.
It seems fine to me, but I’m not sure it matters all that much. People hate Congress right now. They may indeed vote Republicans in this year—but only out of desperation, not trust. The Republicans will have to earn back their trust.
We’ve put together the Tea Party, massive protests, sit-ins, conservative activists (an oxymoron?), the biggest Republican wave possibly in this generation (certainly in the past 15 years), and that gets us … a spending freeze at 2008 levels?
What?!
If that’s what it takes to “get the process started”, what are we going to have to do to get actual change?
This “wave” has momentum, and it will never be higher than right now. If we don’t intend to seize it, lurch towards fiscal conservatism and show moderates (“middle America”) how smaller government actually benefits this country…
Then they’ll never learn. This Obama/Democrat inspired backlash will wane as they lose power and the parties stalemate and everyone goes back to their lives.
The march of Big Government will continue.
Maybe the Pledge to America won’t influence votes that much, but Jay Cost argued last week at the Weekly Standard that it would help to unify Republicans around an agenda.
(http://www.weeklystandard.com/articles/new-contract-america)
Likewise, it seems to me that it gives us a reference point for holding them accountable – and they’ll need holding, no doubt about that. The elite/media backlash post-Wed., Nov. 3 will be vicious. It will create its own reality – quite separate from the real reality of unsustainable debt and trashing of individual liberties. It will be back to “throwing widows and orphans in the street,” etc. Our guys will need lots of spine-stiffening and the pledge is something specific to point to and remind them of.
I grew worried when the first few paragraphs seemed to be a bit flowery but empty. As a ceiling, it is frighteningly low. If it succeeds as a floor, as Judith suggests, that will be fine.
Take a cue from Christine O’Donnell, GOP. People are tired of politicians with vain promises. We get lip service from the White House. How about something more convincing than a creed commited to by rote.
Nyom in a fog doesn’t know. He might vote fro Coons…
ALL the points are good. I’m of two minds. I want more bullet points. But I know that they have to keep it simple.
They’re not going to earn by flocking to the wish-thinkers on the Religious Right.
..I don’t live in Delaware……………… the Coons/O’Donnell race is for the people of Delaware to decide, not me.
Count me in as being unimpressed.
1. Copycat pledge from the glory days of Newt. He had originality and energy. They don’t. That is, he was real then. They aren’t.
2. Way too long; way to mushy; almost the definition of vacuous.
3. Should be able to fit on a 3×5 index card: hard hitting; provocative, etc. They should be both fighting words to the Dems and a rallying cry for America. They are neither.
4. I am less hopeful today because of this than I was yesterday when it was only a promise; and less again than the day before when the leaders were doing a pretty good job at shutting up since they stink.
Should the Rs take Congress I hope the very first order of business before anything else at all is a revolt by the members against the leaders, and their replacement. Why? Their leaders stink and this has been a long-standing problem from Frist to McCain to Boehner. The whole lot of them.
Our deliverance will come from some other quarter I guess.
You said yesterday it’s a toss up.
So now it’s a toss up for the people in Delaware !
I’d say there is a clear choice.
More virus.
Or…
The prescription..
Get out of your fog Nyom !
It’s important to remember that every government program has a constituency. The gravy train has become very crowded since FDR. Threatening to cut everyone’s freebees a month before an election is a very bad idea. Until the American people fully understand that deficit spending is going to wreck the country their children will inherit and result in high taxes and high interest rates, they are not going to sign on for austerity. Think Greece and France riots.
It has been pointed out that feeding bears is not particularly dangerous. It’s when you run out of food that the bear gets angry.
I heard ‘tax incentive’ was among the measures included in the plan and knew it was more of the same. Not even 1994 brevity. More like 1996 when the hair-helmeted RINOs scuttled the Contract with America and adopted business as usual. This Pledge reeks of more of the same.
They should have put out a two-word agenda: Balanced Budget. It has the advantage of being what all stripes of disatisfied people have agreed upon in the last year or two. Pro-lifers, pro-abortionists, evangelical christians, atheist libertarians and dejected democrats all would be supportive. In service of balancing the budget, they could get people to go along with killing things like Fannie/Freddie and HCR, and starving sundry bureacracies (e.g. Education, EPA). Who knows, balancing the budget may even be enough to stop subsidizing the f***ing corn.
Good thoughts Mike.
Re: the ceiling/floor argument: hands up, who believes that this is the GOP leadership that’s going to offer promises of fiscal conservatism, and then not only keep their political promises, but go above-and-beyond?
If Sharon Angle was leading the bunch, maybe I’d believe that they were playing centrist to get elected. But I remember the GOP of NY 23, TARP, big spending, “compassionate conservatism”, pork, every little program that they’ve passed with more regulation, more “commissions”, ……
They could use this to define the argument. Brand the GOP as the Small Government party: X% spending cuts every year for 4 years. New tax code. Law review boards. You name it. THEN negotiate from that position, force the media and Democrats to the table on your terms, which are, namely, “We’re riding this huge anti-Democrat wave, people are angry. You can’t stop this. You won’t. We’re going to try fiscal conservatism (without the social part). Slash taxes, simplify your lives, let the economy go nuts. Then we’ll look at this in 4 years and refactor our approach.”
Instead, they’re sitting on this momentum — which will die soon — just to get back into power. And then not do anything but Business As Usual.
Who here thinks it will be easier to convince America to try fiscally conservative government 2 years from now than it is at this moment?
WE are a patient with a seriously gangrenous leg. Survival is questionable but survival without a radical amputation is impossible. And these Republicans are promising us a really serious toe-nail trimming just as soon as they are elected.
And these are the same Republicans who were in control of the anti-septic bottle twice in recent years that might have prevented the original infection.
Who are they kidding? I want pain. I want spending levels rolled back to 1968 not 2008 levels. At the age of 61 I want my minimum SS retirement age increased to at least the age of 70 and not at the current 62. I want every new federal agency established in the last 50 years defunded and disbanded. I want every federal benefit and subsidy I receive reduced by 30% and I want it done yesterday.
I want to leave something for my kids and grand kids other than a crushing debt; a worthless currency; and an omnipotent bureaucracy.
I’m not impressed. Talk is cheap. I agree with CDM: Roll spending back to 2008 levels? WTF?
I read the first couple dozen comments. Most were childish and insipid. There are 568 comments now. It looks like the morons have us outnumbered.
A few weeks ago Karl Denninger of the Market Ticker posted suggestions for Tea Party candidates. It is here: To The Tea Party (And Related Organizations)
In a nutshell, he says that candidates should concentrate entirely on issues of limited government and fiscal responsibility, and avoid all “wedge issues” such as abortion and gay marriage. His reasoning is that wedge issues, no matter what your position, are guaranteed to repel as many voters as they attract, while the core issues resonate with a clear majority of the American public. It sounds like a much better starting point to me.
ick and P U. Just like the losers who get in a taxi, ride to the front of the marathon, and try to sneak in first place. They don’t have any of the stink and sweat of real battle.
Well, I don’t know. I’m in favor of gutsy and strong as much as the next person, but it occurs to me that what we need to do is think strategically. With that in mind, the first thing we need to do is stop the Democrats, get them the hell out of there. The rest will only matter if and when that is done.
The second thing to recall is that the Tea Party candidates are–either actively or simply by contrast–showing old-time establishment Republicans to be precisely what they are, and Tea Party forces are in the process of doing EXACTLY what we need to have done, and that is to take over the Republican Party. This is going to have to be similar to the way the Left took over the Democrat Party, only we don’t have decades to do it. It has to be done quickly to keep this country from being wrecked. Castle and Murkowski are, if I’m right, managing to disgust their own partisans, and hanging themselves into the bargain. I don’t think they have a clue what they’re doing, or of the kind of clock-cleaning they’re setting themselves up for.
This country is aroused in a way and to an extent that I have never seen in my lifetime, with the possible exception of the ’60s, which was of course a move in a different direction. I don’t know, but I’m hopeful that it won’t peter out after November 2. It doesn’t have the feel of something that will do so, but you can’t tell until the moments come. This “Pledge” is nothing more than decoration, and I think it was conjured up to satisfy the cries of those who say, for example, “You can’t beat something with nothing,” or, “The Republicans have to say what they’re for, it’s not enough to just be against things.” I, myself, do not agree in this instance. I think that right now, being against the Democrats is plenty good enough. Being for things at this point involves doing more stuff, and that’s the last thing we need. We need a period of calm, so the dust can settle and we can see where we are–no moves of any kind, in any direction, until we get a grasp of that. If the American people will muster the will to continue, we might just pull it off.
With that in mind, I think the “Pledge” is plenty good enough. All it has to do is exist. In fact, it might be a good idea for the longer term to keep it vague and a little limp. It’s like the Parties’ platforms–it doesn’t really mean very much except as a general rallying point, and beyond that the battles will be elsewhere. And the fighting will be intense.
What is needed is the recreation of the Republican Party: it needs a foundation of principles instead of bullet points; Newt’s Contract with America was a “we’ll try” deal: if they didn’t get what they wanted after a couple of attempted, they told us, “we tried, that is all we could do.” The Republican Party needs to establish as its foundation the principles of the Founders, the founding documents, and Natural Law – the Law of Liberty: Let the differences be loud and clear: the Republican Party will dedicate itself across generations to restore the Republic under the people’s law; let the Democratic Party be known for what has always been: the party of Slavers and Tyrants.
The Republican Party must dedicate itself to the reestablishment and maintenance of the Republic:
1. The restoration of the primacy of Natural Law and God as its source – this divine source being Yahweh, not the damnable and execrable demon moon god known as allah (piss be upon him);
2. The restoration of the founders’ principles;
3. The restoration of the republic nationally and within the states;
4. The restoration of the Constitution without the accretions of the progressives’ lies and amendments.
5. The establishment of the Primacy of the Constitution over all laws, executive edicts, the diktats of the Supreme Court, and even treaties;
6. That no treaty shall be made with any nation or international body that transfers to said body powers and authority Congress, the President, or the Supreme Court is denied under the Constitution; Nor shall the powers and authorities of said branches be handed over to said bodies;
7. Nor shall any bureaucratic regulation override the Constitution;
8. Congress shall create no national or international body that has the authority or power to supersede the Constitution.
The Republican Party must dedicate itself to the same step by step fervor the Demoncrats and Progressives have to implement their system of tyranny: the lies and policies of the left and the progressives must be walked back to their beginning threads.
Following the moves I’ve outlined, then–THEN it will be time to start dismantling this monstrosity that these wizards have built over the last couple of years.
Corrections:
6. That no treaty shall be made with any nation or international body which transfers to said body any powers and authority Congress, the President, or the Supreme Court which are denied to them under the Constitution; Nor shall the powers and authorities of said branches be handed over to said bodies;
And start with chucking this loathsome health-care bill down the nearest rat-hole.
Excellent comments, betsy, especially at 8:11. And this part:
The really neat thing is that we can be open, honest, explicit, and vocal about it. Not like the sneaky, surreptitious way the left took over the Democrat party.
rickl,
Right. If we’re both lucky and good, and after a bit of a long haul, it will go down as history’s second recorded Bloodless Revolution.
Much to be desired. Longed for, even. 🙂
When I say we need to start, after winning the elections (! ?), with chucking the health-care bill down the rat-hole, I mean that to be part of letting the dust settle.
As we used to say when I was a kid and things needed to be done again, “we have to take it over.”
betsybounds Says:
Well, I don’t know. I’m in favor of gutsy and strong as much as the next person, but it occurs to me that what we need to do is think strategically. With that in mind, the first thing we need to do is stop the Democrats, get them the hell out of there. The rest will only matter if and when that is done.
I agree with you 100%, up until “first thing we need to do…” — which, of course I agree with that, too, but here’s the rub: That will happen, almost regardless of what the Republicans do.
The Democratic party is locked in with corruption. Their policy answers end up like ObamaCare – overreach coupled with terrible sausage-making. And it misses the right focus, which is the economy.
Their economic solutions are worse. More taxes? More bailouts? Seriously?
The only thing Americans really care about right now is the economy. And none of the traditional Democratic solutions are going to satiate that, rather, they’re going to piss everyone off more.
So the Republicans are back in November, and at worse we get political deadlock. Assuming the economy doesn’t magically fix itself in 2 years, 2012 will be another wave.
So I go back to the original point. Republicans have huge momentum right now, and their solutions are in demand. Why are we beating around the bush?
I have a feeling that the serious Tea Party organizers (I hesitate to say “leaders”), and candidates, will pay just as much attention to this as they have to.
Their job right now is to get elected. The Republican leadership has offered precious little help… and I suspect the candidates know all too well who their true friends are.
No doubt we will get some weathervanes and turncoats; we always do. But hopefully we’ll get some serious, righteous people who mean it when they say “Taxed Enough Already”.
respectfully,
Daniel in Brookline
(go, Sean Bielat!)
betsy bounds, I agree with you. Even if the Repubs took both the Senate and the House, it would still be difficult to enact many of the items in the Pledge. It seems there are a lot of people who think the Repubs can just take over and cram HCR repeal, lower spending, lower taxes, reform of Medicare, reform of Social Security, etc. down the throats of the left and Obama. Much as we would like to see that happen, short of a military coups, nothing dramatic is going to happen right away. Obama still has the veto pen, the MSM, and the netroots in his corner. He is not helpless. This is going to be trench warfare.
What we TEA Partiers and those of like mind have to do is keep the pressure on. We all know the e-mail addresses of our representatives. We know their fax numbers and their telephone numbers. We know where their local offices are and how to contact them and picket them. These have to be our weapons for keeping the pressure on. I am dreaming that in January I will be able to send faxes or e-mails to John Koster and Dino Rossi and know that they may actually read them.
The Pledge may not be all that people hoped for, but I don’t want to make the perfect the enemy of the possible. Gallup says there are 44% Democrats, 40% Republicans and 16% Independents. Republicans cannot govern unless at least 11% of the Independents buy into their program. It is hard to accept but those are the statistics.
kaba, I’m with you, but all that you outline will take time and can only be done in steps. So many agencies, bureaus, and departments that need to be done away with. Each one, however, has a vocal constituency that will fight very hard against change. I would like to see a reform of Social Security that would change the way benfits are calculated. Doing that and gradually increasing the retirement ages would make a big difference.
I don’t know if Medicare has a solution other than means testing. Getting serious about stopping fraud would help, but it’s not the full answer. There are 77 years of New Deal, Great Society, and other Progressive programs to deal with. It’s going to be a long slog.
CDM, you make excellent points, and the truth is that I don’t know the answers to your questions.
I will say, though, that thus has it ever been. I’m not persuaded that the Republicans’ solutions are in demand. I don’t think anyone, at this point, knows what those solutions even are, and that’s despite the new program. But that probably doesn’t matter, as I’ve suggested.
And I’m pretty sure that the Democrats’ solutions are NOT in demand.
I’m not sure that I agree that the right focus is the economy. A couple of years ago, I went with some friends here in town to an early Tea Party rally, and people were exercised about government spending. I said then, to a number of people at the rally, that we need to remember that it’s only incidentally about the spending. The truth is, then as now, that it’s about the freedom.
I think people know this, and I think that at some elemental level, they are prepared to act on it. I think they know it goes beyond the economy. The economy is for sure a marker, but it’s only a marker. “Taxed enough already” ultimately, and taken to its logical conclusion, means “No longer free.”
Needless to say the pundits just had to start complaining about it. It was too general, it was not general enough, it was too long, it was not long enough.
blah blah
Actually, I kind of liked it and while it is true that the Republicans need to earn back the trust of the voters, it is also true that they never sucked as bad as the people running the show right now.
Thanks for the good discussion everyone. 🙂
betsybounds, I truly hope that people are beginning to pine for freedom. I know the Tea Party is.
I’ve seen too much apathy in politics to have faith in the American people fighting for it, though. I see this whole period of massive public outrage as temporary.
Terrye: Actually, I kind of liked it and while it is true that the Republicans need to earn back the trust of the voters, it is also true that they never sucked as bad as the people running the show right now.
This attitude earned us what we’ve gotten over the past 40 years. Sorry if I’m jumping on you unfairly. After being disappointed in 1994, and having hopes in 2000, I’m afraid the “they’re better than the other guys” attitude is really going to screw us another time.
It hurts to see all this rage and hard-won attention turning into nothing more than “Meh. It’s a start. Better than the other guys.”
Who knows, I could be dead wrong, maybe we’re able to sustain this kind of political pressure 2 years from now. I don’t think it’s possible that far removed from Obama/Pelosi/Reid’s lawmaking-spree, but I pray that my thinking is wrong.
Re: the Murkowski Crack-Up, have a look at this. It is hilarious:
http://www.itsnotyourseatlisa.com/
I’d just like to point out what a breath of fresh air it is to here people like Paul Ryan and Eric Cantor speak. My God we’ve been so inundated these past two years with so many dysunctional creeps and idiots in politics, i was beginning to wonder if normal people still existed. Pound away at em boys!
njartist49 – “What is needed is the recreation of the Republican Party…”
You can guess how I misread that at first. More recreation, that’s what I say.
And that may indeed be the key. PJ O’Rourke claims that in America, whoever has the most fun at politics tends to win. Because our opponents seem to enjoy their anger, actually seek it out, we forget that it’s fun for them (Gad, what sickos). Contrast that to everyone having a good time with pleasant people at Tea Parties. Ticked? Sure. Enraged? Hell no, we’re lovin’ it.
Don’t hunker down angry. Rise up cheering. We knock off as many as we can this round. Then we come back for more. We should be grateful they put out as many good targets for us as they have. Pour me another Guinness. (Or perhaps something more retro would be better, such as a stiffish brandy-and-soda or an Old Fashioned)