GOP’s ‘Pledge To America’ Is To Ask Americans How To Solve America’s Problems

During the roll-out of the House GOP’s “Pledge to America” gimmick, House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) was asked for specifics on how his colleagues would balance the budget and cut the deficit, but he wasn’t able to hide the fact that document falls short on details. “I don’t have all of the solutions,” Boehner said, adding that the American people “will help us get the answers.”

Noting Boehner’s dodge, MSNBC host Chris Jansing today asked Rep. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) — a key GOP lawmaker involved with the “Pledge” — to help the Minority Leader out. “Can you tell us how, specifically, you’re going to cut spending?” Jansing asked. But like Boehner, Cassidy came up fairly empty, only offering the old GOP fallback of “tort reform” — saying it would save $54 billion over ten years — and ending the benefits enshrined in the new health care law. Echoing Boehner again, Cassidy said the GOP will ask Americans for answers, which Jansing called a “cop out”:

JANSING: Isn’t that a cop out? … If you’re going to say, “Here’s our pledge.” Don’t you have to say, “Here specifically is what we pledge to do”? Don’t say, “American people, I know you elected us to find answers but we’re waiting for you to give us the answers.”

Watch it: http://thinkprogress.org/2010/09/23/goppledge-ask-americans/

To be clear, the proposal Cassidy is offering to reduce spending and reduce the $1.4 trillion deficit is to enact a law that may save $54 billion in ten years. Moreover, according to the CBO, which Cassidy cited for his figures, getting rid of the new health care law would actually increase the deficit by $143 billion.

But the fact that the GOP’s new “Pledge” does not answer these questions should come as no surprise. Republicans have been asked repeatedly over the past year what federal spending they would cut to bring down the debt and deficit and can never come up with an answer.

Read more about the “Pledge to America” in today’s Progress Report.
http://pr.thinkprogress.org/

the "Americans" they are talking about are the tea baggers because republicans believe the only true "americans" are other religious extremist rights.

FYI, republics, cut the DoD in half - deficit solved.

Democrats all the way!!!

If every single Republican Member of Congress, without exception, would commit Seppuku on the White House lawn (I would suggest they do it on the Capitol steps, but blood doesn't come out of marble very easily) that would solve about 90 percent of what ails America.

I read that God-awful document in its entirety. The fuckers go on and on and on about how the Democrats are spending too much money, and then suggest one way to get America back on the winning track is to put more money into researching strategic missile defense. Y'know, guys, we've pumped about two TRILLION dollars (that's with a T, that's with four commas) into missile defense and the only thing we've got that even kinda works is the Patriot PAC-2 system, which is only good for tactical threats. Worse, the Patriot hits the missile body and not the missile nose--so when the debris lands the warhead is still intact and still blows the shit out of a school the enemy wasn't trying to hit instead of the city hall that was their actual target. (I don't know about you guys, but if a building WILL get blown up and you've got to choose between a building full of corrupt politicians or a building full of third graders, I think I'd choose to blow up the politicians.)