More proof that they have no new ideas, just more of the same duplicity and stale talking points. Just a loosely regurgitated and repackaged combination of buzz words (freedom, liberty, Mom, apple pie, puppies, America - FUCK YEA!) that don't have any real meaning to these people.
But underneath it all the two basic planks of the Republican Party:
- No regulation of any kind for any commercial venture.
- No change in tax policy for the "haves, and the have mores".
To hell with everyone else.
UPDATE: Link to Contract
Individual Liberty
Our moral, political, and economic liberties are inherent, not granted by our government. It is essential to the practice of these liberties that we be free from restriction over our peaceful political expression and free from excessive control over our economic choices.
Now what exactly does this mean? "free from restriction over our peaceful political expression". I was unaware that any of these rights had been stifled. What am I missing? Just sounds like more ‘poor, pitiful, victim speak’ to me. The First Amendment only refers to government suppressing your speech, not when some media outlet, personality or pundit calls you out. "free from excessive control over our economic choices." What does this mean? I would think that it’s a reference to the recent HCR bill, but they devote a whole talking point to that. I guess that this means no regulation on ANY economic endeavor. Which means let Wall Street do whatever the hell they want, and if their house burns down, let it burn. The short sightedness of this precept is astounding. If Goldman Sachs is burning out of control, their fire could also burn down everything around it. We need fire prevention, not fire watching.
O yea, and if we all have moral liberty, what’s the problem with gay marriage? If this is a moral issue, and therefore a moral liberty, why would you want to restrict it? Same goes for a woman’s right to choose.
Limited Government
The purpose of our government is to exercise only those limited powers that have been relinquished to it by the people, chief among these being the protection of our liberties by administering justice and ensuring our safety from threats arising inside or outside our country’s sovereign borders. When our government ventures beyond these functions and attempts to increase its power over the marketplace and the economic decisions of individuals, our liberties are diminished and the probability of corruption, internal strife, economic depression, and poverty increases.
Translation: NO REGULATION OF ANY KIND. And we all know how that works. I guess the logical extension of this is, no workplace safety laws, no food inspection, no minimum wage laws, no equal pay, no auto safety standards, no pollution standards. All of these and more are government "power over the marketplace". Further, without a coherent national economic policy, we’d be adrift at the mercy of whatever corporation wanted to exploit our country's labor and resources. Maybe that’s what they want.
O by the way, also we want a HUGE military. We want to spend more than the next ten nations combined. Why? Because when we want another country to do what we want them to do, we want to be able to force that on them. Spend money that could go to health and education for our children on a new aircraft carrier or two. Is that really your priority?
Economic Freedom
The most powerful, proven instrument of material and social progress is the free market. The market economy, driven by the accumulated expressions of individual economic choices, is the only economic system that preserves and enhances individual liberty. Any other economic system, regardless of its intended pragmatic benefits, undermines our fundamental rights as free people.
Again, NO REGULATIONS. How often can you say that? Do these ‘tea partiers’ realize what a world of hurt they would be in without government regulation?
- Protect the Constitution
Require each bill to identify the specific provision of the Constitution that gives Congress the power to do what the bill does.
About nine years too late for this one. Again, where were these guys then? Didn’t the AUMF move the responsibility of declaring war from the legislative to the executive? Also, didn’t we violate the Geneva Convention? And doesn’t the Constitution say that all ratified treaties are the law of the land? And didn’t the Patriot Act violate the "unreasonable search and seizure" provisions? So yea, maybe they do have a point. But I’ll bet that is not what they are talking about. It’s just more complaining about HCR and "States Rights" crap.
- Reject Cap & Trade
Stop costly new regulations that would increase unemployment, raise consumer prices, and weaken the nation’s global competitiveness with virtually no impact on global temperatures.
Again the Republican mantra "no regulation" on anything. Allow these people to pollute MY air, but don’t make them pay price for it, rather allow them to make huge profits from it. Wow, as an aside, does the phrase "no impact on global temperatures." Does this mean they admit Climate Change now?
- Demand a Balanced Budget
Begin the Constitutional amendment process to require a balanced budget with a two-thirds majority needed for any tax hike.
When Republicans are in power, they spend like there is no tomorrow, and via deficit spending to boot. If Republicans regain power, this will be the first item crossed off the list. Now that we are in the midst of a vast Republican recession, we need to stop spending? No credible economist agrees with that. I say we slash Pentagon spending first, throw half the savings into diplomatic efforts and development programs. Safer world, lower cost. And if we have a two thirds majority for tax hikes, the same must apply to tax cuts. I want to know who benefits from those cuts, and how they are paid for. It was unpaid tax cuts that ballooned the deficit in the first place.
- Enact Fundamental Tax Reform
Adopt a simple and fair single-rate tax system by scrapping the internal revenue code and replacing it with one that is no longer than 4,543 words—the length of the original Constitution.
Now there is a real "apples and oranges" statement. What the hell is this fixation on the length of documents? I guess there is not much emphasis on reading with the home-schooled, and they get bored, confused, and cranky when they have to read. A recent CBS poll shows that 62% of Americans say they are taxed fairly. The problem with these single tax rate plans is that they are unfair to lower income people (like most tea-partiers). Let’s say its ten percent. The single mom will pay $4,000 on $40,000 she earns from working two full time jobs. This is by far more detrimental to her disposable income then someone who makes $10 million on capital gains and only has to pay $1 million in taxes. They still can live comfortably on that $9 million.
- Restore Fiscal Responsibility & Constitutionally Limited Government in Washington
Create a Blue Ribbon taskforce that engages in a complete audit of federal agencies and programs, assessing their Constitutionality, and identifying duplication, waste, ineffectiveness, and agencies and programs better left for the states or local authorities, or ripe for wholesale reform or elimination due to our efforts to restore limited government consistent with the US Constitution’s meaning.
Talk about increasing the size of government, WOW! Whose going to do that? Who decides what’s Constitutional and what isn’t? Per the US Constitution, the the Supreme Court is the final arbiter, not some "Blue Ribbon task force". Will they clear their calendar for the next ten years to hear all that? Who appoints that task force? Who writes their charter? This is laughable, but SOUNDS good to the great unwashed. Besides, you know what they say in Washington: "When you want to do nothing about a problem, appoint a commission"
- End Runaway Government Spending
Impose a statutory cap limiting the annual growth in total federal spending to the sum of the inflation rate plus the percentage of population growth.
Again, where was this years ago? Maybe "our side" should have taken this up. O, that’s right, we did, but we were painted as "unpatriotic" by he librul media I’m all for deficit control, but not the way they want to do it.
- Defund, Repeal, & Replace Government-run Health Care
Defund, repeal and replace the recently passed government-run health care with a system that actually makes health care and insurance more affordable by enabling a competitive, open, and transparent free-market health care and health insurance system that isn’t restricted by state boundaries.
Here is the REAL effort behind this whole "Contract ON America". We have free market health care now. Too many are left out. Every year costs spiral. The Republicans have realized that they can’t really run on "repeal". After all whose going to vote to allow insurance companies to deny care? Republicans will say they want to keep these nice features, but when the real work comes, figuring out how to pay for it, the really tough job of governing, they are devoid of any workable ideas. This was apparent with the Bush tax cuts and the Iraq war. Just borrow to pay for it. At least the Democrats took the time to figure out the tough stuff, and make the hard decisions. All the while allowing some 100+ Republican amendments to the bill.
And can we stop the LIE about "Government-run Health Care"? It’s private insurance companies and private practice at private hospitals. The only Government run health care is the VA. For Medicare the government is merely acting in the place of the insurer.
- Pass an ‘All-of-the-Above" Energy Policy
Authorize the exploration of proven energy reserves to reduce our dependence on foreign energy sources from unstable countries and reduce regulatory barriers to all other forms of energy creation, lowering prices and creating competition and jobs.
Ummm didn’t the President open millions of acres to offshore drilling? Didn’t the President give his blessing for more nuke plants? What else do you want?
- Stop the Pork
Place a moratorium on all earmarks until the budget is balanced, and then require a 2/3 majority to pass any earmark.
The actual amount of earmarks is about 1% of the Federal budget, down from 2% under Republican control of Congress. Further, these "earmarks" are from existing budgets, not ON TOP of the budget. They simply steer funds to projects that members of Congress want them to get steered to. Earmarks are another faux-issue to rile the base, and are completely ignored when Republicans are in control. At least, thanks in part to Sen. Obama, we have much greater transparency.
- Stop the Tax Hikes
Permanently repeal all tax hikes, including those to the income, capital gains, and death taxes, currently scheduled to begin in 2011.
The REAL purpose of this treatise, don't let the Bush tax cuts expire! Yes, by all means don’t raise taxes on those making more than a $1 million a year, poor darlings, how will they make it? Don’t raise taxes on bank CEOs and hedge funds managers. And please keep capital gains taxes below wage taxes that are earned by the sweat off your brow. Even Warren Buffet knows this is wrong:
Buffett cited himself, the third-richest person in the world, as an example. Last year, Buffett said, he was taxed at 17.7 percent on his taxable income of more than $46 million. His receptionist was taxed at about 30 percent.
Don’t you love it when those on fixed incomes and in the lower status of income are fighting so valiantly for millionaires?
What kind of Bizzaro world is this?