REPUBLICAN PLEDGE TO AMERICA – AT 6:20 P.M. ET:  CBS News has obtained a copy of the new Republican Pledge to America, a modern version of the very effective Contract With America that Newt Gingrich unveiled in 1994.  The pledge will be publicly unveiled tomorrow morning.  Here, according to CBS, are the highlights:

Jobs:

- Stop job-killing tax hikes

- Allow small businesses to take a tax deduction equal to 20 percent of their income

- Require congressional approval for any new federal regulation that would add to the deficit

- Repeal small business mandates in the new health care law.

Cutting Spending:

- Repeal and Replace health care

- Roll back non-discretionary spending to 2008 levels before TARP and stimulus (will save $100 billion in first year alone)

- Establish strict budget caps to limit federal spending going forward

- Cancel all future TARP payments and reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

Reforming Congress:

- Will require that every bill have a citation of constitutional authority

- Give members at least 3 days to read bills before a vote

Defense:

- Provide resources to troops

- Fund missile defense

- Enforce sanctions in Iran

The CBS link has a reprint of the whole text.

COMMENT:  Sounds good to me.  Not original, but solid.  The Dems are already out with a wild-eyed attack on the document, using the usual scare tactics, and labeling it as a gift to the rich.  As we said here yesterday, the GOP must be ready with 1) a massive campaign to explain the pledge; and 2) a counterattack that will answer every criticism – every one.

Remember the advice of Fleet Admiral William F. Halsey Jr., (whom I once had the honor of meeting):  "Attack, repeat, attack."

September 22, 2010