Republican déjà vu
The new 'Pledge to America' has many echoes of 1994's 'Contract with America,' including built-in projections of gridlock.
Then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich addresses a rally on Capitol Hill, April 7, 1995, on the Republicans' 'Contract with America.' How much does the new 'Pledge to America' echo the older document?
Denis Paquin / AP / File
Republicans promise to cut spending and keep taxes low if they gain control of Congress. Once that happens though, the Democratic president will veto their agenda and there will be political gridlock. But don't worry, as soon as we get a Republican in the White House, we will implement our agenda, Republicans say.
"Pledge to America 2010"? Actually, more like "Contract with America 1994", but the former fits the description too.
We all know what happened after Republicans took control of both the White House and Congress in 2001, so the question that needs to be raised to Republicans is that why one should trust them now when it was wrong to trust them in 1994?
This is not to say we shouldn't root for (and perhaps even vote for, if you're an American) Republicans in the upcoming Congressional election, as divided government is generally better as it at least means that changes for the worse are more often blocked. But one shouldn't have too much faith in the actual implementation of the "Pledge to America".
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