Pledge to America

Current Events Domestic United States Politics
1

Mike N. points to some of the text in the GOP’s recent “Pledge to America”:

America is the belief that any man or woman can – given economic, political, and religious liberty – advance themselves, their families, and the common good…

and worse:

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

This party has gone on like this for decades, vociferously claiming that the Democrats are idealists and that they themselves – the GOP – want exactly the same things, but are going to let the fat cats keep some money, because that’s the only practical way to have it trickle down to the people they really want to help.

2

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

Emphasis added, mine.

That is the main problem of Dem vs GOP.

Dems believe your rights are derived from government forebearance, GOP believes they’re derived from god.

What about the person to whom nothing was given but that they created, built and achieved by their own will? That is the person neither party speaks to.

3

I read the whole thing… Not one instance of the word “God”, btw. Read it for yourself. (PDF Download)

Ever read FDR’s Second Bill of Rights? That’s the “pledge” we get from the other side.

I think the Clarion piece may be a bit hyper-critical.

America is an idea – an idea that free people can govern themselves, that government’s powers are derived from the consent of the governed, that each of us is endowed by their Creator with the unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. America is the belief that any man or woman can – given economic, political, and religious liberty – advance themselves, their families, and the common good.

America is an inspiration to those who yearn to be free and have the ability and the dignity to determine their own destiny.

" CAN" … blah, blah blah, “advance the common good”. It is not portrayed as a duty here. Perhaps it suggests an ideal, but clearly not a duty. (This doesn’t make it correct, but it is not an argument for sacrifice in the name of the common good… at least in that quote)

We pledge to uphold the purpose and promise of a better America’ date=’ knowing that to whom much is given, much is expected and that the blessings of our liberty buoy the hopes of mankind.[/quote’]

This is part of the series of pledges by those voted into office. Much is expected from them… (i.e. upholding the constitution) … followed by the “blessing” and “buoy the hopes of mankind” fluff. It doesn’t matter if the source of our rights comes from a nature, God, or Snuffleupagus, what matters is whether or not they are unalienable. It matters that you understand they do not come from government. And they do make the point that the power of the government comes from the consent of the governed.

Now read the Second Bill of Rights and consider in whose hands you’d least prefer to control the levers of government power. (Hint: Those suggesting that you broaden that power or those running on limiting it.)

4

May as well put the chum in the water:

We pledge to honor families, traditional marriage, life, and the private and faith-based organizations that form the core of our American values.

They can “honor” whatever the heck they want so long as it doesn’t have the force of law behind it.

5

Freestyle, you’re right, i.e. the GOP are Democrat-lite when it comes to the economy.

6

are these truly the “core” of american values as they claim? and what are those “american values” ? Do they mean right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness

7

I think I read up to page eight, and then I got bored and quit. There was really nothing new in it that I noticed; by new, I mean a divergence from what they’ve been saying since I can remember. Here are some of the notes I made while reading it:

  1. With this pledge, the GOP insists that they will “protect our entitlement programs for today’s seniors.” By doing that, they will be maintaining the status quo and their prior position on the issue.

  2. The GOP, “With common-sense exceptions for seniors, veterans, and our troops, … will roll back government spending to prestimulus, pre-bailout levels, saving us at least $100 billion in the first year alone and putting us on a path to balance the budget and pay down the debt.” I understand the ‘exceptions’ towards veterans and troops–though I believe both could be cut significantly and better streamlined, especially the later–but what is the legitimacy for the exceptions for seniors? The senior related entitlements of medicare, medicade, and social security account for a significant portion of the budget. Furthermore, saving $100 billion, with the budgets of today, means very little. When it comes to the GOP and some of their supporters, almost nothing strikes me as more ridiculous than the current support for medicare and senior coverage, while railing against the new health care law. Nothing signifies that they are still playing political, election games and are utterly incapable of a position on principle than such examples.

  3. They “will launch a sustained effort to stem the relentless growth in government that has occurred over the past decade. By cutting Congress’ budget, imposing a net hiring freeze on non-security federal employees, and reviewing every current government program to eliminate wasteful and duplicative programs, we can curb Washington’s irresponsible spending habits and reduce the size of government, while still fulfilling our necessary obligations.” As mentioned previously, such cuts are a drop in the bucket and mean very little when it comes to trimming the budget to sustainable levels. This is just an easy way to tout the idea of “cutting government” while at the same time evading the issue almost entirely.

  4. And don’t forget, the GOP is going to repeal ‘ObamaCare,’ but what will they do afterwords? “We offer a plan to repeal and replace the government takeover of health care with common sense solutions focused on lowering costs and protecting American jobs. We will enact real medical liability reform; allow Americans to purchase health coverage across state lines; empower small businesses with greater purchasing power; and create new incentives to save for future health needs. We will protect the doctor patient relationship, and ensure that those with pre-existing conditions gain access to the coverage they need. We will permanently end taxpayer funding of abortion and codify the Hyde Amendment.” They are going to “replace” the current law; they are going to cap liabilities; they are going to force insurance companies to cover pre-existing conditions; and, to top it all off, they are going to end taxpayer funding for abortion, while allowing funding for other medical procedures. There is nothing here that screams out free market solutions or, for that matter, freedom.

8

Beats the hell out of what the Marxists currently in power are doing.

9

Beats the hell out of what the Marxists currently in power are doing.

The Republicans may not (publicly) believe in Obama’s interpretation of Keynesian Economics (and the idea that the government’s deficit spending can lead to economic growth), but that says nothing about their views on Marxism.

Just because the Republicans want to limit spending and the deficit, that does not make them inconsistent with Marx’s philosophy. There isn’t a single proposal in that document that refutes Marxism, in fact there are many that fully embrace it.

In fact I bet Marx would agree with Republicans that Obama’s spending spree was idiotic, and that communist leaders still need to manage resources realistically.

10

Well, then, lets just bite the bullet and delare this as a Soviet Republic. Saves a lot of hassle. :lol:

11

On further reflection, not so good. It appears they are trying to fool us once again:

http://www.campaignforliberty.com/blog.php?view=38540

12

In other words, the Pledge on America amounts to business as usual, but a promise to bleed us a little bit less. My favorite part is when they get to the core of their pledge, they contradict themselves almost line-by-line.

“We pledge to advance policies that promote greater liberty…We pledge to honor families, traditional marriage, life…”

Also, does the fact that this is a .gov domain name mean the taxpayers are funding it? I’m not entirely clear about how domain registration works, but it’d be a hoot if that were the case.