Liberal Values Defending Liberty and Enlightened Thought

The Republicans have released a draft of their Pledge to America and it is as expected. For once I agree with Erick Erickson who writes, “It is dreck,” even if not for the same reasons.

Their economic policy remains tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy and more of the Republican economic policies which have crippled our economy. They falsely attack health care reform as “the government takeover of healthcare” and advocate replacing it with changes which will give insurance companies even greater power to restrict care and interfere with doctor-patient decisions.

Republicans, knowing their base, also show they plan to continue gay bashing. They complain that there is “an arrogant and out-of-touch of self-appointed elites” which makes decisions for others while reaffirming their belief that it is the government, not the individual, who should control women’s bodies.The Republicans are the real arrogant and out-0f-touch elites.

The pledge writes about cuts on government, hoping voters will forget these are the same promises Republicans gave in their Contract With America before expanding government spending and the increasing the deficit.

They propose to require that every bill have a citation of constitutional authority, but they are speaking of the imaginary Constitution in the heads of right wingers, not the Constitution which was written by the Founding Fathers. Republicans  ignore the goal of the Founding Fathers to create a secular government while acting as if the Founders were narrow-minded conservative ideologues of the modern right wing. In reality they were liberals who understood both the need for government and the need for Constitutional limitations upon its powers. If anything, Republicans in power have certainly demonstrated the need for turning to the Constitution to oppose the increases in Executive power and government power over the individual supported by Republicans.

While it is probably too much to hope for, I hope that the response to this document from most Americans is, “We won’t be fooled again.”