Conservative Activists Not Sold on GOP 'Pledge to America'

As House Minority Leader John Boehner unveiled the GOP's "Pledge to America" at the Tart Lumber Company in Virginia on Thursday, conservative activists around the country listened intently to find out if House Republicans had included their issues on the GOP's priority list for the near future.

Although Erick Erickson at RedState.com blasted the pledge as "full of compromises and milquetoast rhetorical flourishes in search of unanimity," other conservative activists praised the pledge as a good start, but just that -- a start.

The document is heavy on economic themes, pledging to keep the Bush tax cuts, cap federal spending, institute a federal hiring freeze, and whack Congress' budget. But traditional GOP social issues literally fell to the back of the line. A proposal to permanently end federal funding for abortion was listed last under a series of health care proposals, while enforcing immigration laws and strengthening America's borders came only at the end of a section on national security.

Erick EricksonMarjorie Dannenfelser, president and chairwoman of the pro-life Susan B. Anthony List, offered qualified praise for the pledge, saying the Republican leaders "echoed the voices of pro-life Americans calling for a Congress that will protect life." But she added that other items that were not in the document, like defunding Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers, must also be Republican priorities.

William Gheen, president of Americans for Legal Immigration, a grassroots group that opposes comprehensive immigration reform, said he could praise 90 percent of the document. "The concern that we have is when it says 'immigration reform starts with the enforcement of our laws,'" Gheen said. "We want to find out what some of these Republican candidates think it ends with."

Gheen said while he was happy to see border security included in the document, "What we were hoping for was, 'No path to citizenship ever for the illegals in this country.' Illegal aliens must never be able to become voters."

While issue advocates have long played a role in Republican politics, this year's Tea Party activists will be crucial to the success or failure of the GOP's efforts to recapture power in Congress.

Matt Kibbe, president and CEO of FreedomWorks, an organization closely aligned with the Tea Party movement, noted that several parts of the pledge echo or are even identical to the Contract From America, a document generated last year from grassroots activists.

"I think (the pledge) is a good step in the right direction and really reflects a lot of the issues that the grassroots have been pushing," Kibbe said. In addition to repealing the Obama health care law, which is in the document, Kibbe said Tea Party activists will want to see Boehner and other leaders fight for items that the document did not address, including a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution.

"There's more to be done," he said.

The man behind the Contract From America, Ryan Hecker, said his initial reaction to the pledge was positive -- with footnotes. "I think it is definitely a good first step," Hecker said. "Looking beyond the first few months, they need to push toward fundamental tax reform, and a balanced budget amendment, as well as real earmark reform."

The Houston-based lawyer said that he is confident that Boehner can see through the promises that he and his fellow Republicans made, but, he added, "In terms of really pushing forth other bold measures, we'll see. We're going to hold them up to it. We're not going away November 3rd."

http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/09/23 ... o-america/