What do you think of the GOP's new Pledge to America?

The latter.

There is no one in any party right now that’s proposing a plan that will even maybe give us a balanced budget. The Democrats are just honest about it and saying that now is the time to spend money to get our economy on track. Cutting services isn’t how that gets done. In order for the republicans to pull that rabbit out of their hat, John Boehner would need to start crapping turds of pure gold.

The Pledge to America is an attempt to roll back a spending program which probably saved our country from a new Great Depression. It wants to move health care back to a time when only the richest Americans could afford it. And it wants to keep the military-industrial complex going strong. It wants to fund unpopular wars but not health care for the majority of Americans who work for small businesses.

It will set the economy back instead of allowing it to move forward. It would allow very big businesses like the auto industry, which directly and indirectly employees 1/6 of all workers, to falter. It would allow banks to fail running up huge deficits at the FDIC.

The GOP cries for small government unless it’s my street that has the potholes, then they want them fixed yesterday. They want small government unless it means less military spending.

Go to places where extremely stingy GOP-types have been in power for the last 30 years in Colorado Springs, CO, where they’ve turned off the street lights at night due to spending cuts. It’s pathetic.

I like it. It’s not legislation so there are details that need developing but most of it is common sense. Things like allowing time to read a bill before the vote would seem to be a ‘no-brainer’ but as we’ve seen, it needs to be stated.

The part I like best is congressional oversight and approval for all regulation. Government agencies need some oversight before they’re allowed to pass regulations. Remember the threat from the EPA that if congress doesn’t pass Cap N Trade the EPA will do it. That’s an agency out-of-control.

Things like Stimulus need to have a fresh look. I’m not sure we should just cancel any remaining funds but they should certainly be reviewed. Way too much has been wasted on projects that have little or no benefit to the economy.

No one seems happy with the Health Care Bill we got. Both left and right feel it was poorly devised. We may disagree with what we want but it seems clear we don’t like what we got.

I also like the idea of rolling back the discretionary spending. The legislation over the past two years has created hundreds of new agencies which still need to be staffed. A roll back to 2008 level is a great step in the right direction. First stop the growth, then look for where to cut. Makes sense to me.

I feel bad for Republicans to be honest. Their leadership used to be reasonable, have legitimate concerns and points, and were willing to compromise with Democrats to actually accomplish things.

Its been all downhill since Reagan.

As far as the new proposals…. They want to repeal health reform, which is ridiculous. Its hugely beneficial to our country, but they and fox “news” have painted it as evil and hence they run against it. They want to cut taxes at a time when our deficits have never been higher, let alone the fact that the tax cuts we have now are all on the deficit (Bush’s tax cuts came courtesy of China if you weren’t aware). They want to give tax cuts to people making millions and billions of dollars, all at the expense of services for the general public. Lately a growing number of them (mostly in the Tea party) have been talking about wanting to privatize social security, medicare/medicaid, and the VA hospital system. Probably the three most well running organizations in the government outside the military, all running on LESS than 1% overhead.

The only one I can get behind them on is trying to balance the budget, with a combination of spending freezes and such. BUT, as stated by many, this is not the time to cut government spending, when its propping the economy up and keeping us from disaster.

Combined with a complete lack of actual legislation in the proposal (like the original deal with america back in the 90’s had), I think its all hog-wash.

The way things are going the Republicans won’t exist in 30 years.

Asinine.

At least it is a plan with concrete details. I am not a fan of the “pledge” to increase defense spending I think we have spent plenty. Defense spending does mean lots of private sector jobs though as opposed to the Gov job bloat we are enduring now.

I think the “Pledge” itself is all drama and nothing to get excited about but I am sure will get a lot of mileage.

Something is seriously wrong with these people…....is preserving their opinion of ‘traditional marriage’ that important? You have your own economic solution? Fine. But taking away health care legislation? I just don’t get it…....These people are so stuck in the past they do not realize the rest of the country is changing without them. Or maybe they do realize, but do not want the change to happen. It’s going to happen, GOP, just go with it instead of making it harder for everyone else lol.

I’m actually reading Susan Jacoby’s The Age of American Unreason just to grasp a concept of why people are like this…..It’s so perplexing.

21 pages of worn-out talking points with an approximate half-life of six days. Once people understand this is the same shit they always say, every election, they’ll stop paying attention. The only people who are going to kick up a fuss about it are liberal bloggers, who’ve already started tearing it apart. The public won’t pay any attention to it; they’ve already made up their minds. If the Republicans prevail in November, it won’t be because of this publicity stunt.

They are showing the difference between the American people and the corporation elephants. Increase defense spending? For what? we already have the best military in the world. How bout close some bases around the world and put those FULL TIME military to fight the war and bring back our reserves. Haliburton is giving out alot of jobs, Kill healthcare reform? Health insurance companies made a 26% profit last year. But repeal any reasonable reform? Come on this is one of the most important elections of our time. With the house controlling redistricting from the last census, you can rest assured that if they win it will become even harder to get them out of power. Reasonable? Take a step back and look at all the policies enacted over the last ten years and you will see that the last administrations policies where primarily directed towards the corporations and this adminstrations policies are directed for the people. Vote! TWICE if you have to! lol

What? No Santa?

I have to agree with ETpro. It smells of snake oil. Except for one or two very minor points (Allowing small businesses to take a tax deduction equal to 20 percent of their income and giving members at least 3 days to read bills before a vote), the pledge sounds like the very same aged and decrepit Republican vehicle that helped drive us even father into this lovely depression we’re having. The rest proves that these people are simply NOT connected to reality in any way, shape or form.

I say… keep it at one page! Stop with the double speak, loopholes and all that bullshit! That’s democrat stuff.

MSNBC refered to it as Lemon Pledge. That is just genius.

I am waiting for the “Pledge for the Americans Who Are Fed Up with Both Parties”.

Ugh.

@JeanPaulSartre Ha! Well siad. But unfortunately, even if Boehner were able to extrude pure gold from his rear, even he is not full of shit enough to balance the current deficit.

@Blackberry Is Susan Jacoby’s book giving you any insight into the thinking?

@IchtheosaurusRex In a rare burst of candor, John Boehner said as much in a news conference after the rollout of the Pledge. He flat told the crowd, “We’re not going to do anything different.”

@perspicacious Hear, Hear! :-)

@Rufus_T_Firefly As a small business owner, I take the fact that the Republicans voted in lockstep with 2 defections in the Senate and only 1 in the House to stop a Small Business Jobs Bill.

@DarlingRhadamanthus That’d be a Pledge I’d sign.

All they need to do is energize their base and sway the minds of a few sheep in the middle to pose a real threat, and with Obama falling short of his promises (a most politicians do), I can see enough people buying that bullshit to possibly get a Far Right president in 2012.

@jerv Maybe we need another full scale depression before people catch on that oting matters, policies matter, government matters.

@DarlingRhadamanthus Actually, have you heard about The Rally to Restore Sanity

@ETpro I have learned some things actually. Susan feels myriad factors are at play, but some that she is focusing on are: The influence of the media, fundamentalist religion, and our poor education system.

I don’t have the book with me right now, but she was talking about how the media will report any story that shows extreme bias, because it attracts viewers. It’s a good book so far.

@DarlingRhadamanthus I’m with you… sister.

@ETpro , Boehner tried to walk that back by saying they wouldn’t be any different on social issues. You have to read the report to get that they won’t be different on anything else.

@IchtheosaurusRex Ha! Good point. I am taking them at their word on the printed page.