printIt was interesting to hear Ann Coulter and Sean Hannity, two oft-closeted establishment Republicans, use the pronoun “we” in discussing the Republicans and their “Pledge to America.” The Repbulicans are the team to which the two belong. Team Republican has issued a paltry pledge that did not displease La Coulter or Hannity.
The Preamble to The Pledge is quite nice, except that it seems sacrilegious for dirty dogs such as the Republicans to suddenly speak up about first principles they’ve seldom respected—original intent, the Tenth Amendment, etc.
“America is more than a country” states the pledge. Indeed. But it is also a community of souls once linked by a common history, heroes and traditions—a community rapidly being dissolved by central planners.
While the Republicans pay homage to the propositional nation (America as an idea), a cursory read tells me that their commitment to the flesh-and-blood American community remains pretty pitiful.
UPDATE I (Sept. 24): Have the Pledge makers promised to repeal “the new Paycheck Fairness Act passed by the House 256 to 162”? “The rise of the egalitarian society means the death of the free society,” writes Pat Buchanan in a brilliant column, “Equality or Freedom,” on pay parity being pursued by the Obama administration.
As I wrote when Obama signed a pay equity act:
If women with the same skills as men were getting only 78 cents for every dollar a man earns, men would have long-since priced themselves out of the market. The fact that the wily entrepreneur doesn’t ditch men in favor of women suggests that different abilities and experience are at work, rather than a conspiracy to suppress women.
UPDATE II: The Pledge is festooned with huge, “patriotic” images. To me that’s very reassuring—as reassuring as the promise by these power-hungry creeps to “roll back government spending to prestimulus, pre-bailout levels, saving us at least $100 billion in the first year alone.” Wow, $100 billion in a debt of $110 trillion! Now that’s bold. Basically the Republicans, who still don’t get it, are promising to return to 2008-level spending.
Notice all the legally safe, adjectival ejaculate used by these cobra heads to qualify their promises: “common-sense limits on the growth of government.” You know that to the Coulter and Hannity Republican, limiting any accretion in the military-media-congressional-industrial complex is tantamount to treason. “National security” (minus borders) is a big stick with which they like to beat their Democratic opponents. It’s the only stick they have, given their statist record.
Indeed, the Republikeynesians will “impose a net hiring freeze on non-security federal employees and ensure that the public sector no longer grows at the expense of the private sector.”
Allow the military and the TSA bullies at the airports to grow their fiefdoms as they please.
Republicans are tinkering on the margins, as Ron Paul has suggested, with no commitment to say which departments will be eliminated; or to tackle the philosophy of government, etc.
UPDATE III: “Republicans are the drag queens of politics. Peel away the pules for family, faith and fetuses and one discovers either ‘neoconservative welfare-warfare statists or global social democrats,’ or national socialists of sorts, who fuse economic protectionism, populism and a support for the very welfare infrastructure that is at the root of the social rot they decry.”—ILANA MERCER
Except for one republican (for he is not a Republican). Run Ron, run.
The only thing the hypocrites promised to cut was Congress’ own budget. They actually denounced Obama for cutting Medicare (an UNCONSITUTIONAL program that should be phased out). They also denounced phasing out various tax credits (such as those that go to overseas children who do not even live in the US or speak English or pay taxes like my grandnephews). Other nonsense talks about patriotism and how Congress/President do not represent “the people” (YES THEY DO – that is how they got elected!). The whole pledge is full of hot air, hypocrisy, and rhetorical fluff.
Although Ann Coulter’s books, columns, and her even outbursts, remain entertaining.
Whenever I hear Sean Hannity’s voice, it reminds me of Professor Hinkle-who was always boasting how he was going to steal Frost The Snowman’s magic hat.
SOMEBODY has to start SOMEWHERE. Maybe this is a start. We’ll see.
Here is Congressman Paul, being very diplomatic – about the non-cutting Republican Congressional swine:
http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/66145.html
It’s actually worse than that Ilana. One of the central planks in the pledge – repeal of ObamaCare is at least one item which seems to be a no-compromise promise. HOWEVER, the ‘pledge’ includes this whopper:
More Info at REASON
And here’s the folks at ‘progressive’ think-tank Think Progress showing us the similarities between the GOP Pledge and ObamaCare
Of course we can count on plenty of commitments for indefinite war from team elephant as well. I mean, it’s not like the military is a part of “big government” or anything (sarcasm).
Dan
Why rail against perceived Republican fecklessness and hypocrisy when the current sole alternative is worse in all respects by orders of magnitude?
It never ceases to amaze me how so many who consider themselves independent or libertarian, and un-beholding to either established party, find hypocrisy the ultimate vice. Where is the Democrat pledge?
How is it worse for a party to delineate its good goals and ideals if only to sometimes (if not often) fail than it is to never state the good ideals in the first place?
I say it’s not worse, and we should focus our intellectual prowess on the latter. There will be time later to establish the libertarian utopia, in the mean time let us not abet the official party of the ruling class, the Democrats.
NJ_Patriot: “[Democrats] worse in all respect by orders of magnitude”?? Dubya Bush took the Clinton Federal spending of under 19% of GDP and raised it to over 21% of GDP. Bush’s Legacy: Bank-TARP, Auto-TARP, Prescription Medicare, No Child, Dream Downpayment – how is this “orders of magnitude” better than the Democrats? The federal debt nearly doubled under Bush.
NJ_Patriot: “time later to establish the libertarian utopia”. NO – there is NO LATER TIME for Libertarian Utopia because the % of debt to GDP has been spiraling upward since 1975 – mostly by Republicans (Clinton was dropping Debt/GDP). Once you mortgage your future to debt, there is no later time.
If the Republicans bankrupt us in 10 years while the Democrats do it in 8, that is hardly an acceptable alternative. If the Republicans allow 1 million illegals into America and the Democrats allow 1.2 million illegals into America, that is hardly an acceptable alternative.
So, NJ_Patriot – in what concrete (non-rhetorical) ways are the Republicans significantly better than the Democrats??? Civil Liberties!? War!? I’ve watched Republicans blather while the federal budget soared from $100 billion to over $ 3 Trillion. I am surely waiting to hear the answer.
Thank you for telling the truth, Ilana.
OK – on the VERY DAY that the Republicans issued their phony “Pledge to America” with the promise to obey the 10th Amendment, reduce government, and cut spending: (1) they vote 187-24 for HR 5756 – the “Training and Research for Autism Improvements Nationwide Act” ; (2) they vote 170 to 1 (Ron Paul) for HR 1745 the “Family Health Care Accessibility Act of 2010” ;(3) they vote 140 – 31 for HR 5710 “National All Schedules Prescription Electronic Reporting Reauthorization Act of 2010”; (4) they vote 165-5 for HR 3199 “Emergency Medic Transition Act of 2010”.
NJ_Patriot: “[Democrats] worse in all respect by orders of magnitude”?? Dubya Bush took the Clinton Federal spending of under 19% of GDP and raised it to over 21% of GDP. Bush’s Legacy: Bank-TARP, Auto-TARP, Prescription Medicare, No Child, Dream Downpayment – how is this “orders of magnitude” better than the Democrats? The federal debt nearly doubled under Bush.
Don’t forget about CAFTA, The USA PATRIOT Act, and the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP) to add to Bush’s atrocities while in office. The man doesn’t get enough credit for being the fanatical globalist that he truly is. Remember that the UN was used as the final justification for the invasion and occupation of Iraq.