Bachmann praises GOP's 'Pledge to America'

News Article

The new agenda that House Republican leaders unveiled Thursday could have been written by voters in Minnesota's 6th Congressional District, according to U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann.

Bachmann, R-Stillwater, said the 21-page manifesto, called "A Pledge to America," reflects what she's been hearing from constituents week in and week out as she travels the district.

"What you see in this pledge is a lot of what I hear people calling for ... all across the 6th District," Bachmann said.

The document is reminiscent of the Contract With America that Republicans rode to victory in their 1994 takeover of the House for the first time in four decades. It calls for shrinking government size, reducing spending, streamlining regulations and cutting taxes. More specifically, it calls for the repeal of President Barack Obama's health care legislation and rescinding what's left of stimulus money.

Implementing the proposals "would go a long way to steady the economy," Bachmann said.

Bachmann said she was particularly moved by the pledge's preamble, "because there are echoes of Thomas Jefferson. It calls on us to recommit to the Declaration of Independence."

House Republicans should urge House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., to work with them to act on some items immediately, Bachmann said.

"This is a working document, not a campaign document," said Bachmann, who is seeking a third term in Congress. "We don't want to wait until after November (elections) to implement this."

A statement issued by the campaign of state Sen. Tarryl Clark, D-St. Cloud, said, "Sixth District voters, and Americans, are sick of meaningless pledges that do nothing to create good-paying jobs, help them stay in their homes, or retire. ... My pledge is to go to Washington, work for our families here in the 6th District and actually get something done."

Democrats called the pledge a shallow attempt by the GOP to buttress the party's effort to win back the House, which it lost in 2006, the year Bachmann was elected.

"I think they're going to campaign on it, so that makes it a campaign document," said Rep. Betty McCollum, D-St. Paul.

Echoing a conservative blogger's description of the document as "A Pledge to Nowhere," McCollum said the agenda mentions nothing about protecting Social Security and Medicare.

"This is nothing more than a bunch of failed old policies with new lies tied up in a ribbon," McCollum said. "This plan does nothing to alleviate the deficit. Instead it increases the deficit ... by extending the Bush tax cuts."

In announcing the agenda, Republicans said it was based on what they have heard from Americans on a range of issues.

"Across America, the people see a government in Washington that isn't listening, doesn't get it and doesn't care," said House Republican Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio.

Rep. John Kline, R-Burnsville, called the manifesto "an unequivocal statement about our commitment to listening and leading."

"Our vision for job creation and a smaller, moreaccountable government stands in stark contrast with the agenda of Democrats in Washington," he said.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who orchestrated the 1994 Republican revolution, said the pledge springs from a movement similar to what drove the Contract With America.

"A new generation of reform Republicans is offering the American people a clear choice about America's future," Gingrich said.

Conservative blogger Erick Erickson of RedState.com derided the document as "a series of compromises and milquetoast rhetorical flourishes in search of unanimity among House Republicans." The pledge "will make certain hearts on the right sing in solidarity," Erickson added. "But like a diet full of sugar, it will actually do nothing but keep making Washington fatter before we crash from the sugar high."

Source