Contract with America 2010

The last time Republicans were feeling this giddy, the baseball strike was in full swing, Boyz II Men had the #1 song in America and gas prices were $1.50 a gallon.

But the recent resurgence the GOP has been riding on has got them partying like it’s 1994.

The Republican Party is facing an opportunity at the midterm congressional elections not seen since then: the chance to take back control of both houses of Congress.

Fall from Grace

Since the Democrats monopolized control of Washington, D.C. in 2008 the Obama administration, along with the Pelosi-Reid led Congress, has pursued an aggressive agenda to implement a greater government role in the banking sector, the auto industry, insurance companies and now healthcare.

Their takeover of the private sector is not finished yet, but while the Republican minority in Washington has attempted to fight these reforms every step of the way, their critics have labeled them as simply a “party of no”; claiming their only interest is to blindly block all legislation from the Democrats without any viable solutions of their own to offer.

I guess nobody’s listening.

On healthcare, for instance, the Republicans brought plenty of ideas to the table for months. Ideas like creating a national marketplace where you can shop for insurance plans state by state and clamping down on frivolous malpractice lawsuits through tort reform would have severely cut costs for the consumer, brought a bipartisan approach to reform, and would have done it through free market solutions without having to increase big government.

But that obviously was not in the interest of the Democrats.

While claiming to want to achieve healthcare reform through a bipartisan approach, the Democrats instead turned a deaf ear to any idea the Republicans had to offer.

In other words, any approach to healthcare reform that did not increase big government’s role (the way it did with the banks, the auto industry, and the insurance companies), the Democrats weren’t interested.

But that’s not how they spinned it. Instead, they labeled the Republican Party as the “G-No-P,” without any apparent rhyme or reason other than to just make things difficult.

If the Republicans are to take back at least one house of congress this November, they have to break the label the Democrats have tried to slap on them and show America that they are one, cohesive voice with a clear cut message to Americans.

The latest Rasmussen poll shows Republicans favored over Democrats by at least 9 points in the generic ballot, which means Americans are willing to listen to what they have to say.

It’s time for the Republican Party to make a new contract with America.

Contract with America 2010

There’s no doubt that a big reason why the Republicans were so successful in 1994 was the introduction of their “Contract with America” six weeks before the midterm elections. Written by Larry Hunter who was aided by Newt Gingrich, Robert Walker, Dick Armey, Bill Paxton, Tom DeLay, John Boehner and Jim Nussle, the document was revolutionary in its commitment to offering specific legislation for a vote, describing in detail the precise plan of the Congressional Representatives, and marked the first time since 1918 that a Congressional election had been run broadly on a national level.

Furthermore, its provisions represented the view of many mainstream conservatives on the issues of shrinking the size of government, promoting lower taxes and greater entrepreneurial activity.

Does that sound like something that would resonate with the recent tea party movement?

A quick side note, for anyone who thinks the tea party movement is just another branch of the Republican party being “controlled by the GOP to mask their true intentions”, I would point you to a recent Gallup poll where only 49% of Tea Party members identify themselves as Republican while 51% identified themselves as Democrats or Independents. And for anyone who loves to try to paint this as movement motivated by racism, tell that to the Black conservatives trying to make their presence more and more felt within the mainstream media.

Ten Points to Focus On

The Republicans have already appointed Rep. Kevin McCarthy (CA) to lead the effort in drafting the Contract for America 2010, something he’s been working on for the last six months now. When it is to be introduced is still not clear (probably closer to election time as in 1994), but if the GOP are smart, the contract should address these 10 points through smaller government and more free market approaches:

1. Incentive growth for private sector jobs.
2. Balance the budget.
3. Draft a clear American energy plan.
4. Require all laws that apply to the rest of the country also apply to Congress (which would’ve killed the healthcare bill already).
5. Select a major, independent auditing firm to conduct a comprehensive audit of Congress for waste, fraud or abuse.
6. Lawsuit/Tort reform (a HUGE problem in America today).
7. Real healthcare reform (not repeal, but reform).
8. Roll back the additional taxes implemented by the Obama administration.
9. Education reform (performance based pay).
10. National security (protect Americans, not the “rights” of terrorists).

These are the principles of Conservatives, including independent ones. If the Republicans are willing to embrace these ideas once again, and not fall victim to catering to special interests, America will listen.

And act.