So now we have the GOP Pledge. I hope I’m completely wrong, but how soon do you think it will be before the Republicans begin breaking this new slate of promises? They will of course blame the Democrats, but that is an excuse. Worse, it is a card they are already scheming to play so they can demand even more power in 2012.
Have they not learned anything from this President who promised to close Guantanamo, to have open debates on C-Span, and to keep unemployment under 8%? Promises should not be made unless they will be kept. The Republicans will not have a veto proof Congress. They will certainly not have a filibuster proof Senate. Promises like this cannot possibly be guaranteed. Yet make them they do. Why? Because they know we will not hold them accountable. Politicians will say whatever they feel they must to get elected.
They are promising to roll back spending to 2008 levels, which if anyone cares to remember, were the largest in the history of our nation, excluding the last two disastrous years. We were spending $600 billion more than we were collecting in 2008! Their out of control spending finalized the demise of their majority position. Now, they expect us to be excited about this promise of “restraint?” Why don’t they promise something bold, like 25% cuts each year until the budget is balanced?
They promise to “establish strict budget caps” but seem to have forgotten about the federal debt limit that is already in place. Do they think we do not remember they raised the limit in 2001, '02, '03, '05, '06, '07, and '08 to accommodate their out of control spending habits? Are we to trust they will not simply raise them again because of whatever crisis is happening?
They claim that every bill will have a "citation" of Constitutional authority. Hasn’t such authority been implicitly required since our nation was founded? If they have voted for even a single bill that did not have such authority, did they not violate their oath of office? Are they admitting they did so? Or, as they have done in the past, are they going to say the general welfare and commerce clauses authorize anything and everything?
The pledge accurately says, “An arrogant and out-of-touch government of self-appointed elites makes decisions, issues mandates, and enacts laws without accepting or requesting the input of the many.” Are we to believe that only applies to Democrats? Was it not arrogance and horrendous results that led the country to vote out these very same Republicans - who had complete control from 2000 to 2006? The Democrats were voted in because the Republicans were arrogant and out of touch. Because they were self-appointed elites making decisions, issuing mandates and enacting laws.
People write me and say the Republicans have changed, ignoring Karl Rove’s attacks on O’Donnell, Gingrich’s support of Scozzafava in New York, and sore losers like Crist (FL), Murkowski (AK) and perhaps Castle (DE) who refuse to accept the primary vote. I do not see change, merely a swing of the pendulum from one party back to the other as our dissatisfaction and problems increase.
I strongly favor preventing either party from having complete control of Congress and slowing down the madness, but I insist that the only solution is to address the root cause of the problem: politicians. We must break the death grip the two parties have on our system. We must take the money out of the process. We must remove all of the career politicians from OUR House.
The solution is to elect true citizen representatives. With your help, we will do so in 2012.
We urge you to get your family and friends to join us at GOOOH.com.
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great blog tim I look forward to having you at my first leaders meeting on October 5th
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