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Since 2008 – Progress Through Politics

New GOP document – A Pack of Lies to America

In 1994, Newt Gingrich unveiled the Contract for America. Many political analysts view  this document as being helpful to the GOP’s effort to gain control of Congress in that year’s election. Now that the GOP finds itself in a similar situation in 2010, they have decided to release a Pledge to America with the hope that it will help them gain control of Congress in the mid-term elections. Whether that proves to be true is yet to be seen.

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A draft version of the document has been released on the Internet. What I’ve read so far appears to be a typical GOP document filled with misdirection, misinformation, half-truths, and outright lies.

The misdirection starts on the first page in the intro. They save the lies for the content. I’ll deal with those in a later post.

An unchecked executive, a compliant legislature, and an overreaching judiciary have combined to thwart the will of the people and overturn their votes and their values, striking down long-standing laws and institutions and scorning the deepest beliefs of the American people.

What they say in that paragraph is true. The misdirection is that they want people to think they are talking about the current government when it is obvious that they are describing the Bush administration that was appointed by a conservative controlled Supreme Court  and enabled by a compliant GOP-controlled Congress.

They continue the misdirection with this paragraph.

Rising joblessness, crushing debt, and a polarizing political environment are fraying the bonds among our people and blurring our sense of national purpose.

They hope people will forget that the rising joblessness and crushing debt are the direct results of GOP misgovernance, while, at the same time, ignoring their part in creating a polarized political environment and their constant efforts to drive a wedge between different segments of our populous.

It continues.

The need for urgent action to repair our economy and reclaim our government for the people cannot be overstated.

The unmitigated gall of this statement is hard to believe, even for the GOP. They have spent every minute of every day in an effort to prevent any action to repair our economy, or for that matter, the country. They have played the sole role of obstructionists since the day Barack Obama took office.

The next paragraph is also misleading.

We pledge to honor the Constitution as constructed by its framers and honor the original intent of those precepts that have been consistently ignored – particularly the Tenth Amendment, which grants that all powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.

The leaders of the GOP know perfectly well that the Tenth Amendment has very little to do with the governance of this country. Numerous precedents show that the Tenth Amendment is subordinate to the Necessary and Proper Clause in Article One of the United States Constitution, section 8, clause 18:

The Congress shall have Power – To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.

The inclusion of the mention of the Tenth Amendment is rather telling. This was the favorite clause of the slave-holding states leading up to the Civil War. It is the first weapon in the arsenal of bigots. They trot it out every time some disadvantaged group is given a leg up by the Federal government. The feds ban segregation – 10th Amendment!!!!. The feds outlaw unfair housing practices – 10th Amendment!!!! The feds mandate health insurance – 10th Amendment!!!! We’ll see a lot more of this in the months and years ahead.

The misdirection goes on and on in this document. I’ve gotten pretty good at interpreting right-wing doublespeak. This next sentence is loaded with it.

We pledge to advance policies that promote greater liberty, wider opportunity, a robust defense, and national economic prosperity.

For instance, “advance policies that promote greater liberty, wider opportunity” translates to gutting regulations so their favorite oligarchs can rape the economy again, while others can steal the nation’s commonly held natural resources, like oil in ANWAR or oil shale in western states. “A robust defense” means the military-industrial complex will have an even easier time driving this country into bankruptcy. And, “national economic prosperity” means that the rich will continue to get richer while the middle-class and the poor fall farther and farther behind.

The last example from the intro is this seemingly high-minded declaration.

We pledge to uphold the purpose and promise of a better America, knowing that to whom much is given, much is expected and that the blessings of our liberty buoy the hopes of mankind.

They are currently putting the lie to this claim. “knowing to whom much is given, much is expected”. If they really believed this, would they be fighting a 3.5% increase in taxes for marginal income over $250,000? Seems rather contradictory to me.

I’ll have more on the specifics in this document in future diaries. I’m sure we’ll all be hearing more about it between now and election day. I, for one, have no intention on letting their lies go unchallenged. Too bad we don’t have a news media in this country that can say the same.


31 comments

  1. Shaun Appleby

    Another quotable opinion:


    It is a document with a clear theory of what has gone wrong — debt, policy uncertainty, and too much government — and a solid promise to make most of it worse.

    Ezra Klein – The GOP’s bad idea Washington Post 22 Sep 10

    Heh.  It has me stumped that the Republicans can make such a fuss over renewing tax cuts which will cost $4T dollars and in the same breath wring their hands over the perils of the growing deficit.  The deficit which concerns me is the one disordering our collective attention span.

  2. jsfox

    are in for a rude awakening. The reviews on this 21 page fish wrap are not going to be good.

    From Huffpo:

    The Republican Party’s 21-page blueprint, “Pledge to America,” was put together with oversight by a House staffer who, up till April 2010, served as a lobbyist for some of the nation’s most powerful oil, pharmaceutical, and insurance companies.

    In a draft version of The Pledge that was being passed around to reporters before the official release, the document properties list “Wild, Brian” as the “Author.” A GOP source said that Wild — who is on House Minority Leader John Boehner’s payroll — did help author the governing platform that the party is unveiling on Thursday. Another aide said that as the executive director of the Republican leadership group American Speaking Out, Wild’s tasks were more on the administrative side of the operations.

    Until early this year, Wild was a fairly active lobbyist on behalf of the firm the Nickles Group, the lobbying shop set up by the former Republican Senator from Oklahoma, Don Nickles. During his five years at the firm, Wild, among others, was paid $740,000 in lobbying contracts from AIG, the former insurance company at the heart of the financial collapse; $800,000 from energy giant Andarko Petroleum; more than $1.1 million from Comcast, more than $1.3 million from Exxon Mobil; and $625,000 from the pharmaceutical company Pfizer Inc.

  3. A bit of translation of this entire document, if I may:

    We are Americans – Real Americans – and everyone who does not agree with God and Us is an Outsider from Foereign Lands or a Traitor.”

    Good on ya’, Gov’nur!  That’s the way to unpolarize the political environment!

  4. jsfox

    Sullivan

    Given the gravity of the debt crisis, this is the most fiscally irresponsible document ever offered by the GOP. It is to the far right of Reagan, who raised taxes and eventually cut defense, and helped reform social security to ensure its longterm viability. It is an act of vandalism against the fiscal balance of the US, and in this global economic climate, a recipe for a double-dip recession and default. It is the opposite of responsible conservatism.

    I am in disagreement with most of what Sullivan thinks should be done, but his conclusion is spot on.

  5. Jjc2008

    You are right on.  

    My disgust for this rightist, Christianist pov is only exceeded by my disgust for how many gullible tea party folks are being manipulated to believe these characters give a damn about anyone other than themselves.

    On Huffpo today I was watching a Sharon Angle video of her complaints about “Obamacare”  where she is angry that “we the people” are mandated to help “autistic” people (she has autistic in quotes…I suspect she does not believe autism exists at all or believes it’s some Satanic curse).  She’s also angry that “we the people” have to pay for maternity leave as she says “I can’t get pregnant any more…..”   Could not read the rest, but this supposed Christian woman is angry she has to be part of a community that helps and cares about other people?   From this woman to Palin to O’Donnell to Boehner to DeMint, I have never seen a more selfish, unloving group that proclaims loudly their Christian beliefs while trying to steal from, screw over, destroy so many.  And oh yea, the video of Huckabbee… a supposed minister, basically laughing at the notion of insurance companies mandated to not insure sick kids, comparing sick children to a dilapidated, burnt house, speaks volumes.

    Anyway, I think this “Pledge” is an amazing tribute to just how selfish, self serving and cold hearted these jerks are.  Yet, the Tea Party stooges will hail it as “for the people.”

    Needed to rant in frustration.  I fear for us all if the right takes back anything in November.

  6. spacemanspiff

    For instance, “advance policies that promote greater liberty, wider opportunity” translates to gutting regulations so their favorite oligarchs can rape the economy again, while others can steal the nation’s commonly held natural resources, like oil in ANWAR or oil shale in western states. “A robust defense” means the military-industrial complex will have an even easier time driving this country into bankruptcy. And, “national economic prosperity” means that the rich will continue to get richer while the middle-class and the poor fall farther and farther behind.

    Especially the National Economic Prosperity part. What a bunch of douchebags.

  7. Kysen

    Well, looky here who the cat dragged in.

    (not that I have much room to talk)

    Another 21 pages of expensive toilet paper from the GOP. While I think it sad that there will be many who swallow it hook, line and sinker…I do believe that the majority will see it for what it is. A pack of lies. As pointed out, even some on the Right are pointing out the myriad ways in which it stinks.

    The next few weeks are gonna be bringing me much heartburn, however, while I am no Pollyanna…I AM beginning to see where there is the chance we will hold both, even if only by a thread. The funny thing, though, I am now stuck wondering if that is for the best. Only time will tell.

    Good to see you, John…you have been missed.

    Just for grins:

    “I have never been in a tanning bed or used a tanning product.” -House Minority Leader John Boehner

  8. Steve M

    Image and video hosting by TinyPic

    Totally shameless by the GOP, but there’s a bit of an object lesson about Democratic messaging in here as well, if 99% of the country doesn’t realize these things are already law…

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