The House Republicans are rolling out the “Pledge to America” today which is basically is trying to mimic the Contract With America rolled out by former Speaker Newt Gingrich. How does this Contract With America 2.0 measure up? What emphasis is given to social issues?
In this 21-page-document, abortion is mentioned in three different spots.
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On page 5 – “We will permanently end taxpayer funding of abortion and codify the Hyde Amendment.”
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On page 14 – “Americans are overwhelmingly opposed to using tax dollars to pay for abortion, and the executive order issued by President Obama in conjunction with congressional passage of the health care law is inadequate to ensure taxpayer funds are not used in this manner.”
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On page 15 – “We will establish a government-wide prohibition on taxpayer funding of abortion and subsidies for insurance coverage that includes abortion, this includes enacting into law what is known as the Hyde Amendment. We will also enact into law conscience protections for health care providers, including doctors, nurses, and hospitals.”
No mention of the sanctity of life, no mention of steps to be taken for a human life amendment, or proposed legislation for extending 14th Amendment rights to unborn children. So most of the party platform concerning life is ignored. While I’m glad that they want to end taxpayer funding of abortion, it is just one step and it is probably the only aspect of the party platform regarding life that fiscal-only conservatives could sign onto.
What is their pledge regarding the marriage issue?
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Page 1 – “We pledge to honor families, traditional marriage, life, and the private and faith-based organizations that form the core of our American values.”
That’s it. How will they do this? Living in Iowa where gay marriage has been crammed down our throats color me underwhelmed.
Religious liberty is mentioned only once at the very beginning, “America is the belief that any man or woman can – given economic, political, and religious liberty – advance themselves, their families, and the common good.” Again what’s the agenda? How will they protect religious liberty? No agenda for protecting parental rights and family sovereignty mentioned in this document.
Regarding the judiciary, they are mentioned twice:
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Page 1 – “An unchecked executive, a compliant legislature, and an overreaching judiciary have combined to thwart the will of the people and overturn their votes and their values, striking down long-standing laws and institutions and scorning the deepest beliefs of the American people.”
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Page 18 – “Further, it has too often drafted unclear and muddled laws, leaving to an unelected judiciary the power to interpret what the law means and by what authority the law stands.”
Again, no mention on what they are going to do regarding the “overreaching” and “unelected” judiciary. There are a lot of things in the document that appeal to fiscal conservatism, but considering the document is 21-pages in length it is bare bones on social issues. It doesn’t give social conservatives much to be excited about.
You can read a draft version of the “Pledge to America” below:
Cross posted at The Innocence Blog