Pledge to America
Encyclopedia
The Pledge to America is a list of proposed legislative items that the Republican Party
promised to pursue in the 112th Congress if Republicans gained a majority of the seats in the U.S. House of Representatives
in the November 2010 election
. The Pledge to America was written by Rep. Kevin McCarthy's staffer Brian Wild at the behest of House Republican leaders. The Pledge to America was publicly released on September 23, 2010, at a hardware store in Sterling, Virginia
.
In the pledge, Republicans call for:
called it bolder than the Contract with America
and a "shrewd political document." Political strategist and former President George W. Bush
adviser Karl Rove
called it "important" and "practical." Conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh
defended the Pledge to America, arguing, "There's nothing crazy about any of this."
Some conservative commentators, however, were critical. Erick Erickson
, managing editor of Redstate
.com called it "perhaps the most ridiculous thing to come out of Washington since George McClellan
." Republican-affiliated columnist David Frum
interpreted the document as "a GOP pledge to do nothing." Some social conservatives, such as Family Research Council
president Tony Perkins
and Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission president Richard Land
, believed the document could have made a stronger commitment to moral issues.
Democrats and The Daily Show
s Jon Stewart
have criticized the proposals as recycled ideas from the Bush administration. Economist Paul Krugman
criticized the document for denouncing deficits but calling for tax cuts (which he notes would add $3.7 trillion over the first ten years after its enactment) without specific spending cuts: "In essence, what [the Republicans] say is, 'Deficits are a terrible thing. Let's make them much bigger.'" Other commentators agreed that "the numbers don't remotely add up" and that the Pledge "should be read as a plan to explode debt through the ceiling." Keith Boykin cited a lack of ethnic diversity in the photographs accompanying the Pledge to America, calling it a pledge "to White America."
In a Washington Post editorial, pollster Frank Luntz
, who polled Republican proposals in 1994 before Republicans drafted the Contract with America, found the Pledge to America more partisan-oriented, more anti-government, and lacked a "detailed course of action," but concluded it was a justifiable effort.
chairman Pete Sessions
encouraged incumbents to raise money themselves rather than relying upon the NRCC for funding. Kevin McCarthy, one of the founders of the Young Guns Program, had also implemented strategies used by former Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee
chairman Rahm Emanuel
back in 2006, such as aggressively recruiting Republican candidates to challenge Democrats in districts considered safe and running ads attacking incumbent Democrats before the campaign began to weaken or persuade them to retire.
The Republicans made a net gain of 63 seats from Democrats and retook control of the chamber which they lost in the 2006 midterm elections. This number is the highest of any House victory for a single party since 1948, and the highest of any midterm election since 1938.
Several powerful Democrats were defeated, including several who were chairman of standing committees, including Ike Skelton
of the House Armed Services Committee, John Spratt of the House Budget Committee, and James Oberstar of the House Transportation Committee
. Other congressional veterans including Paul Kanjorski, Chet Edwards
, and Earl Pomeroy
were also not returned to Congress. House Appropriations Committee chairman David Obey had dropped out of his re-election race.
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
promised to pursue in the 112th Congress if Republicans gained a majority of the seats in the U.S. House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
in the November 2010 election
United States House of Representatives elections, 2010
The 2010 United States House of Representatives elections, also known as the 2010 midterm elections, were held on November 2, 2010, at the midpoint of President Barack Obama's first term in office. Voters of the 50 U.S. states chose 435 U.S. Representatives. Voters of the U.S...
. The Pledge to America was written by Rep. Kevin McCarthy's staffer Brian Wild at the behest of House Republican leaders. The Pledge to America was publicly released on September 23, 2010, at a hardware store in Sterling, Virginia
Sterling, Virginia
Sterling, Virginia is a census-designated place in Loudoun County, Virginia. The population as of the 2010 Census was 27,822.It is located northwest of Herndon, east of Ashburn, and west of Great Falls, and includes part of Dulles International Airport and the former AOL corporate headquarters...
.
Main points
The pledge criticized the Obama administration, stating that "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". It lists a number of issues, along with the Republican plan to solve them.In the pledge, Republicans call for:
- Extending the temporary tax cuts passed under President George W. BushGeorge W. BushGeorge Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
in 2001Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001The Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 , was a sweeping piece of tax legislation in the United States by President George W. Bush...
and 2003Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003The Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 , was passed by the United States Congress on May 23, 2003 and signed into law by President George W. Bush on May 28, 2003...
for all taxpayers, including those for those earning over $200,000 ($250,000 for married couples). - A tax deductionTax deductionIncome tax systems generally allow a tax deduction, i.e., a reduction of the income subject to tax, for various items, especially expenses incurred to produce income. Often these deductions are subject to limitations or conditions...
for small businesses on up to 20 percent of their business income. - A hold on all unspent funds authorized as part of 2009's stimulus billAmerican Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, abbreviated ARRA and commonly referred to as the Stimulus or The Recovery Act, is an economic stimulus package enacted by the 111th United States Congress in February 2009 and signed into law on February 17, 2009, by President Barack Obama.To...
or the 2008 TARP legislation. - Roll back government spending to 2008 levels, to save $100 billion while exempting "seniors, veterans, and our troops" from cuts; this would entail cutting 21 percent of the $477 billion budgeted for domestic discretionary spending.
- A hiring freeze on all federal agencies except those necessary to national security.
- A repeal of the 2010 health-care reform billPatient Protection and Affordable Care ActThe Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is a United States federal statute signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010. The law is the principal health care reform legislation of the 111th United States Congress...
. - Reform of medical liabilityTort reformTort reform refers to proposed changes in common law civil justice systems that would reduce tort litigation or damages. Tort actions are civil common law claims first created in the English commonwealth system as a non-legislative means for compensating wrongs and harm done by one party to...
and health insurance practices. - A permanent ban on any federal funding for abortionAbortionAbortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
. - A requirement that Congress post all bills online three days before a vote.
- A requirement that lawmakers cite the specific constitutionalUnited States ConstitutionThe Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...
authority that enables the legislation. - A ban on trials on U.S. soil for detainees currently held at Guantanamo Bay.
Reactions
The pledge has generally received support from Republicans. National ReviewNational Review
National Review is a biweekly magazine founded by the late author William F. Buckley, Jr., in 1955 and based in New York City. It describes itself as "America's most widely read and influential magazine and web site for conservative news, commentary, and opinion."Although the print version of the...
called it bolder than the Contract with America
Contract with America
The Contract with America was a document released by the United States Republican Party during the 1994 Congressional election campaign. Written by Larry Hunter, who was aided by Newt Gingrich, Robert Walker, Richard Armey, Bill Paxon, Tom DeLay, John Boehner and Jim Nussle, and in part using text...
and a "shrewd political document." Political strategist and former President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
adviser Karl Rove
Karl Rove
Karl Christian Rove was Senior Advisor and Deputy Chief of Staff to former President George W. Bush until Rove's resignation on August 31, 2007. He has headed the Office of Political Affairs, the Office of Public Liaison, and the White House Office of Strategic Initiatives...
called it "important" and "practical." Conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh
Rush Limbaugh
Rush Hudson Limbaugh III is an American radio talk show host, conservative political commentator, and an opinion leader in American conservatism. He hosts The Rush Limbaugh Show which is aired throughout the U.S. on Premiere Radio Networks and is the highest-rated talk-radio program in the United...
defended the Pledge to America, arguing, "There's nothing crazy about any of this."
Some conservative commentators, however, were critical. Erick Erickson
Erick Erickson
Erick Erickson , also known as Erick-Woods Erickson, is a politically conservative American blogger and managing editor of the blog site RedState.com. In 2010, he became a political contributor for CNN's John King, USA...
, managing editor of Redstate
RedState
RedState is a conservative American political weblog.The site is currently a subsidiary of Eagle Publishing, Inc., a conservative publishing house which also owns Regnery Publishing and the weekly magazine Human Events...
.com called it "perhaps the most ridiculous thing to come out of Washington since George McClellan
George B. McClellan
George Brinton McClellan was a major general during the American Civil War. He organized the famous Army of the Potomac and served briefly as the general-in-chief of the Union Army. Early in the war, McClellan played an important role in raising a well-trained and organized army for the Union...
." Republican-affiliated columnist David Frum
David Frum
David J. Frum is a Canadian American journalist active in both the United States and Canadian political arenas. A former economic speechwriter for President George W. Bush, he is also the author of the first "insider" book about the Bush presidency...
interpreted the document as "a GOP pledge to do nothing." Some social conservatives, such as Family Research Council
Family Research Council
The Family Research Council is a conservative or right-wing Christian group and lobbying organization formed in the United States in 1981 by James Dobson. It was fully incorporated in 1983...
president Tony Perkins
Tony Perkins (politician)
Anthony Richard "Tony" Perkins is president of the Family Research Council, a conservative Christian think tank and public policy foundation based in Washington, D.C...
and Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission president Richard Land
Richard Land
Dr. Richard D. Land, aka Chief Red Bull, is the president of The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission , the moral and ethics concern entity of the Southern Baptist Convention in the United States, a post he has held since 1988...
, believed the document could have made a stronger commitment to moral issues.
Democrats and The Daily Show
The Daily Show
The Daily Show , is an American late night satirical television program airing each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central. The half-hour long show premiered on July 21, 1996, and was hosted by Craig Kilborn until December 1998...
s Jon Stewart
Jon Stewart
Jon Stewart is an American political satirist, writer, television host, actor, media critic and stand-up comedian...
have criticized the proposals as recycled ideas from the Bush administration. Economist Paul Krugman
Paul Krugman
Paul Robin Krugman is an American economist, professor of Economics and International Affairs at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University, Centenary Professor at the London School of Economics, and an op-ed columnist for The New York Times...
criticized the document for denouncing deficits but calling for tax cuts (which he notes would add $3.7 trillion over the first ten years after its enactment) without specific spending cuts: "In essence, what [the Republicans] say is, 'Deficits are a terrible thing. Let's make them much bigger.'" Other commentators agreed that "the numbers don't remotely add up" and that the Pledge "should be read as a plan to explode debt through the ceiling." Keith Boykin cited a lack of ethnic diversity in the photographs accompanying the Pledge to America, calling it a pledge "to White America."
In a Washington Post editorial, pollster Frank Luntz
Frank Luntz
Frank I. Luntz is an American political consultant and pollster. His most recent work has been with the Fox News Channel as a frequent commentator and analyst, as well as running focus groups after presidential debates...
, who polled Republican proposals in 1994 before Republicans drafted the Contract with America, found the Pledge to America more partisan-oriented, more anti-government, and lacked a "detailed course of action," but concluded it was a justifiable effort.
Result
The Republicans' campaign tactics were effective, as Boehner's handpicked National Republican Congressional CommitteeNational Republican Congressional Committee
The National Republican Congressional Committee is the Republican Hill committee which works to elect Republicans to the United States House of Representatives....
chairman Pete Sessions
Pete Sessions
Peter Anderson Sessions is a politician from the state of Texas. He is a Republican, and currently represents the 32nd congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives. He is the current Chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee-Personal:Sessions was born in Waco,...
encouraged incumbents to raise money themselves rather than relying upon the NRCC for funding. Kevin McCarthy, one of the founders of the Young Guns Program, had also implemented strategies used by former Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is the Democratic Hill committee for the United States House of Representatives, working to elect Democrats to that body. They play a critical role in recruiting candidates, raising funds, and organizing races in districts that are expected to yield...
chairman Rahm Emanuel
Rahm Emanuel
Rahm Israel Emanuel is an American politician and the 55th and current Mayor of Chicago. He was formerly White House Chief of Staff to President Barack Obama...
back in 2006, such as aggressively recruiting Republican candidates to challenge Democrats in districts considered safe and running ads attacking incumbent Democrats before the campaign began to weaken or persuade them to retire.
The Republicans made a net gain of 63 seats from Democrats and retook control of the chamber which they lost in the 2006 midterm elections. This number is the highest of any House victory for a single party since 1948, and the highest of any midterm election since 1938.
Several powerful Democrats were defeated, including several who were chairman of standing committees, including Ike Skelton
Ike Skelton
Isaac Newton "Ike" Skelton IV is the former U.S. Representative for . During his tenure, he has served as the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. He is a member for the Democratic Party...
of the House Armed Services Committee, John Spratt of the House Budget Committee, and James Oberstar of the House Transportation Committee
United States House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
The U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. John Mica currently chairs the committee.-History:...
. Other congressional veterans including Paul Kanjorski, Chet Edwards
Chet Edwards
Thomas Chester "Chet" Edwards is a former member of the United States House of Representatives from Texas. He represented a district based in Waco, Texas from 1991 to 2011, and served in the Texas Senate from 1983 until 1990. He is a member of the Democratic Party...
, and Earl Pomeroy
Earl Pomeroy
Earl Pomeroy is a lobbyist and former U.S. Representative for , serving from 1993 until 2011. He is a member of the North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party.- Early life, education and career :...
were also not returned to Congress. House Appropriations Committee chairman David Obey had dropped out of his re-election race.
See also
- Six for 06 agenda
- United States House of Representatives elections, 2010United States House of Representatives elections, 2010The 2010 United States House of Representatives elections, also known as the 2010 midterm elections, were held on November 2, 2010, at the midpoint of President Barack Obama's first term in office. Voters of the 50 U.S. states chose 435 U.S. Representatives. Voters of the U.S...
External links
- Official text of the pledge from House GOP site (PDF format)
- Pledge to America Official gop.gov site
- The draft version of The Pledge To America that was passed around to reporters before the official release (PDF format)
- GOP’s Lobbyist-Authored ‘Pledge To America’ Drops Prior Pledge To Impose Earmarks Moratorium
- Fact check of the Pledge to America
- Top 20 Industries contributing to Campaign Committee For Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA)