The Pledge To America: A Sucker’s Bet

The Republicans have released their “Hail Mary” playbook for the mid-term elections, and it’s called “The Pledge To America.” To describe this as a cynical effort to dupe the American people would be an insult to cynics and con men everywhere. The GOP has dealt the cards as the house, and they are hoping and praying that the American people will make a Sucker’s Bet in November.

What is a “Sucker’s Bet”? It’s a gamble that someone makes based on a false view of the odds. The gambler believes he has a higher likelihood of winning than he actually does. In most cases, the sucker does not realize he is being put at a disadvantage. It’s not until the gamblers come up short that they realize that the house always wins.

So what’s this particular “Sucker’s Bet?” It will happen when the American people believe the Republicans and vote for them based upon what the media is telling them is in The Pledge To America. I say that because the Pledge is 21 pages long. Very few Americans will actually read it…they’ll just believe what the media tells them it says. Americans will actually believe that these criminals in DC want to obey the Constitution and will act accordingly in every way.

The Republicans are SAYING all the right Conservative things to America in the Pledge in a desperate plea to regain control of Congress. They know that Americans hold Congress members in lower esteem than even drug dealers, child molesters and used car salesmen. And they also know that all they have to do to win over most Americans is SAY the right things. America seldom watches the things that the Republicans DO, and holds them accountable for their tyranny and perfidy even less often.

This Pledge is not about legal, moral or ethical governance. It is a desperate ploy to regain control…and power.

(This Pledge To America is a smoothly written fraud. Read it for yourself.)

The Republicans have heard the sermon…so to speak, and are entering the confessional booth. They have written a 21-page confession of their many sins. Let’s hit the highlights…or the new heights in low.

The general overview of the Pledge is that the Republicans…using the inclusive term “Washington”…have confessed to the crimes of violating the Constitution over decades. May we now prosecute them?

Here is a quote from page one:

”In a self-governing society, the only bulwark against the power of the state is the consent of the governed, and regarding the policies of the current government, the governed do not consent.
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.
An arrogant and out-of-touch government of self-appointed elites makes decisions, issues mandates, and enacts laws without accepting or requesting the input of the many.”

The “deepest beliefs of the American people” don’t matter one whit. If you believe that the United States Constitution is the supreme law of the land, then law is supreme to all beliefs. And Washington has flouted the law for at least 160 years.

Here are more excerpts from pages one and two, with my comments in bold:

”With this document, we pledge to dedicate ourselves to the task of reconnecting our highest aspirations to the permanent truths of our founding by keeping faith with the values our nation was founded on, the principles we stand for, and the priorities of our people. This is our Pledge to America. Look at all the warm fuzzy words here which are devoid of definitions. The words they used are cleverly crafted to evoke feelings, but mean nothing.

“We pledge to honor the Constitution as constructed by its framers and honor the original intent of those precepts that have been consistently ignored – particularly the Tenth Amendment, which grants that all powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.” What does it mean to honor the Constitution? There is not one word of commitment to abiding by the law, nor what penalty they would anticipate when the Constitution is violated.

“We pledge to advance policies that promote greater liberty, wider opportunity, a robust defense, and national economic prosperity.”Dear God, where do I start? (a) to promote greater liberty, decades of regulation and taxation have to be cast aside. Property rights have to be once again protected. (b) promoting wider opportunity is much the same as (a), (c) promote a robust defense is clearly undefined…as we’ll see later in the article, and (d) promote national economic prosperity goes right back to (a). It is impossible for Washington to promote any of these four features without slashing the size of Washington’s government down to its Constitutionally-authorized size.

“We pledge to honor families, traditional marriage, life, and the private and faith-based organizations that form the core of our American values.” Once again, what does it mean to “honor” anything? The Federal Government has no business whatsoever being involved in any of these four human behaviors.

“We pledge to make government more transparent in its actions, careful in its stewardship, and honest in its dealings.” Being transparent, careful and honest would be great things. But they give no details, and do not recognize that others in government might disagree with their interpretations of moral good.

“We pledge to uphold the purpose and promise of a better America, knowing that to whom much is given, much is expected and that the blessings of our liberty buoy the hopes of mankind.” Once again, warm fuzzy words cleverly crafted to illicit feelings. I don’t want them to manipulate my feelings. I want them to obey the damned law. My feelings will get REAL warm and fuzzy when I’m not regulated and taxed to death and beyond.

“We make this pledge bearing true faith and allegiance to the people we represent, and we invite fellow citizens and patriots to join us in forming a new governing agenda for America.” Washington, you’ve ALL already taken an Oath of Office in which you swore you would protect and defend the Constitution. Does your Pledge have the weight of law? Why should we believe that you’ll keep your Pledge when you haven’t kept your Oath?

Now let’s look at key points on various pages of this vacuous Pledge To America:

Page four: First, their very words prove that they have no concept of what jobs are. They think jobs are things that can be magically created…not the labor component of a product or service when a business fills a market need. They pledge to create jobs by stopping tax hikes and “allowing” small business to have a 20% tax deduction. They still think that small business’ income belongs to them, and they are going to “allow” them to keep more. Nothing here about scrapping the IRS and the income tax.

They will repeal the new health care law, and “rein in the red-tape factory.” Not a word about repealing decades of monstrous regulation by all the Federal bureaucracies presently existing. They only want to restrict NEW regulations.

Page five: They pledge to roll back government spending to “pre-stimulus, pre-bailout levels, saving us $100 Billion in the first year…” That’s only 4% of a $2.5 Trillion budget…and we all know that Washington spends a lot more off-budget. Nothing is said about slashing spending below a couple trillion a year.

They pledge to reform the budget process. They pledge to require any bill introduced to Congress to have Constitutional authority attached. But they didn’t say that they would throw out all bills not meeting Constitutional muster. Further, most of the stuff done over the last 150 years was done under the Commerce Clause. So is someone going to begin interpreting original intent of the Constitution? Deadly silence about that, folks. And they pledge that Congress members will have a whopping THREE DAYS to read any new bill before a vote.

They pledge to keep the Guantanamo base open to house the “enemy combatants” captured in a non-declared war. They pledge to “fully support” our troops scattered over the globe, fully fund missile defense, and enforce sanctions against Iran. Nothing here about bringing ALL foreign-based military personnel home inside American borders and minding our own business. And the pledge to “act decisively” to protect our borders…whatever the hell that means.

Page ten – thirteen: They SAY they want a “fact-based conversation” with America about reigning in Federal Spending. But until the Feds disclose all their spending this is Bullshyt. Page eleven talks about cutting spending to pre-stimulus levels. That’s all? They talk about a hard cap on NEW discretionary spending. What about rolling back OLD discretionary spending? In addition, within a few years, just the interest on the Federal debt will be greater than ALL discretionary spending. Not a word about that.

Page fourteen: Repeal the new health care law. But they want to write their own new reforms, not just leave the medical insurance industry alone. Remember that this subject is all about MEDICAL INSURANCE, not health care.

Page seventeen and eighteen: Reforming Congress. Incredibly, their reform is to have Congress read the bills and adhere to the Constitution. Merely obeying the law is considered reform for Congress.

Page nineteen: National Security at home and abroad. The Republicans still cannot see nor will admit that terrorism exists because we have troops in foreign lands, and those nations’ citizens want our troops to leave. So, Republicans pledge to continue policies such as Homeland Security, fully-funded foreign military missions, and sanctions against Iran, predicated upon monstrous government lies.

Page twenty: Republicans think that our problems lie in strengthening visa security and gaining operational control of our borders…which really means the Mexican border. But there is not a word in here about not interfering with Southwestern states as they secure their borders .

Page twenty one: The stated, written summary in the pledge is that the Republicans intend to be the “Checks And Balances” against schemes that are against the “priorities and rights of the American people.” There is not one word here about the STATES being the checks and balances of a runaway Washington government. They still think it’s ALL ABOUT THEM!!!

My concluding comments: There is not a word in this Pledge about auditing the Federal Reserve…or stripping the central bank of its authority…or auditing the US gold supply…or saving the dollar…or paying off the trillions of dollars of debt. Monetary policy is what will cause the collapse of the American economy, with the assistance of Congressional cupidity and stupidity.

The GOP wants to blame all America’s ills on the Democrats and the Obama Administration. Look at all the times that the Republicans controlled the Congress in the last twenty years. Then add in the years that the Republicans controlled the Congress and the White House. Where were all these commitments when they had all the power? Did spending, regulation, national debt and war-making all diminish in those years? Did stimulus spending start with a Republican President or a Democrat President?

Further, even if the Republicans swept back into the Congressional majority in both houses, there is the tiny complication of the Democrats in the minority. The system will not change. Republicans dominating Congress will not substantively affect the gigantic Federal bureaucracies that rumble along unimpeded.

Remember the old adage, “Actions speak louder than words.”

Also remember the definition of the word “credulous:” The readiness or willingness to believe, especially upon slight or uncertain evidence.”

The “Pledge to America” are the words of ideologues, hearkening back to real Conservatism. These are the principals of men who will not compromise. These are the ways that statesmen would behave. Men and women of these very principles would hold these principles as inviolable, and would never negotiate their principles away to get a bill passed.

However, we know these men and women who populate the Republican Party of 2010. All they do is compromise. Their actions are as far removed from this Pledge as night is from day. In the years in which they held the Congress, or in the years in which they held the Congress AND the White House, they did not accomplish ANY of these things which they now name as their bedrock principles.

But they want Americans to believe that they have now seen the light…that God met them on the mountain, and they are bringing us the new tablets scrolled in God’s own handwriting. The masses WANT TO BELIEVE. The Tea Partiers, the Tenth Amendment guys, the Article V enthusiasts, the Glenn Beck fans, the Rush dittoheads…they ALL want to believe that American can be saved. So, for the most part, this farcical Kabuki theater will convince the credulous Americans.

Finally…if you read the Pledge To America, do you see any signatures of any Republicans affixed below the pledges? This 21-page piece of fiction is neither contract nor treaty. There is no force of law behind it. There are no penalties for non-compliance. These are the ramblings of deluded men and women who will say anything to regain the power they once enjoyed and abused. Just like the lowest heroin addict or the most pathetic crystal meth user, there is nothing they would not do to get another power fix. They will sell themselves and you and all our children to get back the power.

No, Ladies and Gentlemen. A pledge is not sufficient as the hope for liberty here in America. Keeping the United States together as a hopelessly broken Empire is not the answer.

Secession is the hope for mankind. Who will be first?

DumpDC. Six Letters That Can Change History.

© Copyright 2010, Russell D. Longcore. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is gladly granted, provided full credit is given.