10 year anniversary of the "Contract With America"

[LevelB]

It would be funny if it wasn't so sad.

Number 8 is especially maddening: "Guarantee an honest accounting of our Federal Budget by implementing zero base-line budgeting.

The "Citizen Legislature Act" A first ever vote on term-limits to replace career politicians with citizen legislators.

Extra money to build prisons, make it harder to appeal death sentences, relax the exclusionary rule to make it easier for evidence obtained illegally to be used, cut U.S. payments for U.N peacekeeping operations.

So where is our honest accounting? Can any Republican give a simple definition of what exactly is a "career politician"?

Of course no reasonable person could argue that our spending spree on more prisons has not made us all much safer. And why should guilty people be allowed to appeal their death sentences? Illegal evidence is obviously an oxymoron, and who the hell needs the U.N. anyway?

I would really like to see these things tossed right back at these nitwits at every opportunity.

There, I feel better.

B.

[Mel]

1. I've always called it

"Contract ON Americans" for that's what it's been they aren't throwing the baby out with the bath water they are drowning the Republic. The fascist Grover Norquist is getting his wish may he be the first to the guillotine.

Have I mentioned tonight how much I hate the rat fink Republicans!? I don't give a rats ass if my comment shows up in the right wing rags either I'm sick of their tyrannical stench!
and The beat goes on to anoint Gonzales the approver of torture, shame shame shame!

[baldguy]

2. The 'pukes set out to destroy America

and they've succeeded

[mcscajun]

3. Exactly...it was a contract, all right... a mob hit. n/t

[GreenPartyVoter]

4. Welcome, and thanks for the reminder. That is important!

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[Yupster]

5. Do you have a link to it?

I don't remember what was in it.

Mostly procedural stuff I thought.

[Cervello]

6. It Was How The Republicans Took Back The House

In 1994.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contract_With_America

[bklyncowgirl]

7. We may not like what was in it but as a tactic it worked very well.

The GOP set out a series of programs that spoke loudly to the angry white male voter.

Democrats take note. Contract With America shows that saying explicitly what you are going to do (even if you have no intention of doing it once you get in power--e.g. term limits) and making it exciting and revolutionary (even if its the same old crap your party's been pushing for decades) works as a political tool.

Hate the content but study the tactic.

[AmandaRuth]

8. didn't the robo repubs behind the scenes

march around calling this the Contract on Clinton?

I think i saw that somewhere.

[LevelB]

9. If you can stand the stench

here it is <http://newt.org/clientuploads/CWA10Year.pdf>

This one is excellent too - prohibiting welfare to minor mothers.

This document was the framework the folks we now know as "neocons" used to gain control of the House in 1994. I do not believe we can defeat them if we forget that. I also believe that they can be defeated - and this document can be used for that end. Democratic politicians need to point out that implementing these principles was the direct cause for many of the problems we face right now.

B.

[kwolf68]

10. Great point

I remember in the 1980s, every single social issue was the direct result of “Liberalism run amuck”, the New Deal and Great Society.

That argument notwithstanding, the Contract With America is “an agenda” from the right. We can now do to them what they’ve been doing to us…

--They call us Socialists, Call them Fascists
--They call media Liberal, we’ll call it Consrevative
--They blame Liberal programs (New Deal, Great Society) for American’s ailments, we can now blame the Contract With America for them.

Power gives those without it a chance to strike. When you are playing "from behind" like the Dems are now, you have nothing to lose. It’s much easier being on the defensive. Notice how Republicans STILL ARE. As an example, all the bemoaning about “The Boxer Rebellion” and those “mean Democrats.”

My question is … why do they even care about the Democrats anymore? They run the show…Got the House, +10 in the Senate, a Conservative activist Court, and a willing and compliant sock puppet as President. Why bitch about us? Because it IS EASY.

Actually solving issues and standing on your own merits is too hard, however, that is the bed they have made for themselves. The show is now under their direction. We can’t blame FDR anymore folks. It’s time for the Party of personal responsibility to take some.

As horrible as the next 4 year proposes to be, it does present Democrats with a golden opportunity to pay these sons-a-bitches back.

[hopein08]

11. My Rep. and term limits

My Repug Rep. (Phil English) signed the Contract with America while running for his first election in 1994. Somebody recently asked him if that meant that he would not run again in 2006 (over the limit). On the PA board catbert836 posted this excerpt from the PAObserver...

"English Reneging on Term-Limit Pledge. In 1994, Phil English (R-3rd CD) joined the Gingrich Revolution and signed a pledge to abide by the Contract With America's six-term limit for Members of Congress. The Observer's math tells us that last month's election was English's sixth, meaning there will be an open seat in 2006. But English, like many other Republicans, is having second thoughts about his pledge. The 1994 GOP Freshman Class has been almost universally reluctant to honor their pledges, but English is being more creative than most. He claims that he signed the pledge for Republicans in general, but that it didn't necessarily apply to himself."

Now THAT's Republican LOGIC!

[kwolf68]

12. HAHA

NAIL THEM WITH THIS. Dem strategists need to hammer this home....show them for a bunch of maddening, power hungry, hypocrites. Geezus....they won the freaking elections by using the "Term Limits" issue (I am 100% opposed to them by the way)...now put up or shut up.

I want to see them squirm like English. As good as his rebuttal is (and I chuckled), I am sure there are Republicans with even dimmer bulbs than this.

Come on....give me some love Repukes...What say you? Term Limits 1994=Good: Term Limits 2006=Bad.

Lets run with it.