Contract From America

Being "tough on decisive on foreign policy" usually means a military presence, which means more troops on the ground, which means spending money we don't have.

That's not exactly fiscal restraint.
That's the Reagan way though. Cut education, etc and beef up defense spending. Better to have a country feared for its physical than mental power I suppose.

While it could be a backlash against both parties, their views, "principles", and rhetoric are mainly aligned with Republican ideology. There's no question about that. I would also ask myself, where was the Tea Party when the previous administration grew the size of government, passed legislation (namely Medicare Part D) without paying for it, and funded the Iraq war almost entirely through debt and budgetary supplements? All of which added significantly to the current deficit. So for them to suddenly come out and rail against big governement, the ballooning deficit, and universal healthcare is curious at best.

That is a good question. You did hear some right wing talk radio hosts offering brief, mild criticism of the Bush administration's spending habits, but they were always quick to follow up that criticism with, "but, but, at least he's kept us safe ... blah, blah, blah."

There were smaller pockets of true paleoconservatives, strict constitutionalists and libertarians who were louder with their opposition to Bush. There have been too many who were fine with a big spending, big government guy as long as there was an "R" after his name.

Rightly or wrongly, Obama's push for health care reform is what sent people over the edge. But I don't think it makes the Tea Party any less legitimate. Talk to any of them, and they aren't happy with GOP either.

Now you're starting to see mainstream republicans, national committee types cozy up to the Tea Partiers, and act like they've been with them all along -- but trust me, they aren't having it. What I don't want to see is the Tea Party infiltrated by the bible thumpers, the neocons, and chickenhawks trying to include their agenda with what one that is only about fiscal restraint, and smaller government. Because those are exactly the people you didn't hear from when Bush was doubling the federal budget, creating massive new government bureacracies like the TSA and Dept. of Homeland Security.

If the thumpers and the neo-clowns are successful then all you're seeing with the Tea Party is a washout of the moderate republicans into a party of extremes wanting to outlaw abortion and put the throttle all the way up with Iran and Russia. If that's the case, they'll be losers again and the Democrats will maintain control.

FYI, the original Contract with America was conceived by Newt Gingrich, not Nancy Pelosi.

FYI, the original Contract with America was conceived by Newt Gingrich, not Nancy Pelosi.

He should've written Contract on America.

FYI, the original Contract with America was conceived by Newt Gingrich, not Nancy Pelosi.

Thanks, not sure where i got the idea Pelosi put it together?

While it could be a backlash against both parties, their views, "principles", and rhetoric are mainly aligned with Republican ideology. There's no question about that. I would also ask myself, where was the Tea Party when the previous administration grew the size of government, passed legislation (namely Medicare Part D) without paying for it, and funded the Iraq war almost entirely through debt and budgetary supplements? All of which added significantly to the current deficit. So for them to suddenly come out and rail against big governement, the ballooning deficit, and universal healthcare is curious at best.

On a separate but somewhat related note, it appears as though Sarah Palin is making her bed with the Tea Party, which is just fine by me. The only problem -- a major problem -- with that strategy is that at some point she's going to have to tact to the middle on some issues be considered a serious candidate.
Great question. The tax cuts + increased spending definitely didn't do us any favors.

While it could be a backlash against both parties, their views, "principles", and rhetoric are mainly aligned with Republican ideology. There's no question about that. I would also ask myself, where was the Tea Party when the previous administration grew the size of government, passed legislation (namely Medicare Part D) without paying for it, and funded the Iraq war almost entirely through debt and budgetary supplements? All of which added significantly to the current deficit. So for them to suddenly come out and rail against big governement, the ballooning deficit, and universal healthcare is curious at best.

On a separate but somewhat related note, it appears as though Sarah Palin is making her bed with the Tea Party, which is just fine by me. The only problem -- a major problem -- with that strategy is that at some point she's going to have to tact to the middle on some issues be considered a serious candidate.

I honestly think it is a backlash against both parties. I think while GW was in office during his second term, there was a sense of you cant really do anything right now except wait for him to leave. There was a lot of disgust and outrage by republicans while he was in during his second term because of the over spending, privacy intrusions, and his foreign policy intervention.

I think the start of the Tea Party stuff can be linked to Ron Paul's success during the Republican primary's. Because he was saying so many things that resonated with Goldwater type Republicans. I also think that by some states banning his participation during the primaries (i think S. Caroline), and by conservative media personalities largely dismissing him it helped flame the fire.

So while nowadays the Tea Party movement can be called a backlash against Obama's spending spree and socialist ideology i think it all started as a backlash against the Republicans because they embraced what GW was doing and offered GW Jr. type candidates for the 2008 election, all the while dismissing a fiscally conservative and socially liberal candidate that struck a cord with Goldwater Republicans and young people.

Every dept of the government should find ways and submit reports on how they can help the overall budget reduce

Everything from less expensive furniture, travel and entertainment expenses, etc

If we expect it from the banks that we bail out, we should expect it from the fed that we're bailing out as well.. states shouldn't be exempt either

Last year the President ordered such a review from Cabinet members and each government agency. It was met with skepticism, but at least he's trying to address the issue.

Analysis: Obama saving money the easy way - White House- msnbc.com (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30313409/)

I got this email the other day and thought others may be interested:

Have your Representatives Signed the Contract fromAmerica?


Thank you all so much for taking part in our initiative to achieve real economic conservative and good governance reform in D.C. Our launch on April 15th was very successful, and in the last week, a number of candidates and elected officials signed the Contract fromAmerica, including Sen. DeMint (R-SC) and Utah Senate Candidate Mike Lee. However, we need YOUR help to successfully convince elected officials and candidates that they need to listen and follow our mandate.

Below are a series of activities you (and your membership if you are the leader of a grassroots organization) can do to make a real difference in this grassroots effort...

Get Candidates/Elected Officials to Sign the Document

1.) Call the members of Congress in your district and surrounding districts, as well as your Senator and candidates for Congress/Senate of all parties. Ask them to sign the Contract from America (which you can send to them by email, by cutting and pasting the Contract at www.contractfromamerica.orgor faxing/mailing them a pdf version of the contract at www.contractfromamerica.org/documents. Give them 2-3 days to review and then call again, asking if they will sign. If they say yes, have them return a signed copy of the Contract from America to you, which you should email to us. In addition, ask if they will take a photo of the signing or a video statement of support, which we will put on our website. Please let us know if an Elected Official/Candidate signs or says that they will not sign by sending us an email.

2.) If you are a director of a coalition group, and a candidate/elected official chooses to sign, you should request they send out a press release, and you should send a press release as well, with your name as the media contact person. A template for such a press release is available to download at www.contractfromamerica.org/documents. Again, please let us know if a candidate/elected official decides to sign.

3.) You can find the various candidates/elected officials in your district and State on this site: Politics1 - American Politics, Elections, Candidates & Campaigns (http://www.politics1.com). Most of the candidates' websites (where you can get contact info, etc.) are linked to that page.

Other Things you Can Do

1.) Write an op-ed/letter to the editor to your local newspaper. We will have a template op-ed which you can use and modify as you wish up soon at www.contractfromamerica.org/documents. You should mention in your letter that Sen. DeMint has signed the Contract, and that your congressman/candidates should follow in his grassroots conservative footsteps.

2.) VOLUNTEER! If you have some available time and would like to help us, please let us know. For this project to be a success, we need the help of thousands of people. Please let us know via email if you would like to assist.

3.) Call-in to your local talk radio show and discuss how congressmen in your area and state need to sign the Contract fromAmerica.

4.) Sign the Contract yourself at Contract From America (http://www.contractfromamerica.org) and forward the link to your family, friends, and co-workers, for them to sign as well. Recruit your membership and others to make calls to the candidates and elected officials.

5.) Donate to our cause. Please click here if you wish to donate $5 or an amount of your choosing.


Thank you all for being part of this grassroots, bottom-up initiative. We will update you with further action items in the upcoming weeks and months.

Regards,

The Contract fromAmerica team
---------------------


Visit the Contract fromAmerica website at Contract From America (http://www.contractfromamerica.org) for details.
Please also join our Facebook group at Contract from America | Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/contractfromamerica). Follow us on Twitter by clicking here.

Okay it looks like the 10 with the most votes are:

Protect the Constitution
Reject Cap & Trade
Demand a Balanced Budget
Enact Fundamental Tax Reform
Restore Fiscal Responsibility & Constitutionally Limited Government
End Runaway Government Spending
Defund, Repeal, & Replace Government-run Health Care
Pass an ‘All-of-the-Above” Energy Policy
Stop the Pork
Stop the Tax Hikes