House Republicans Plan New Contract for America
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The “Contract for America” was a 10-point document created by then-Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., which many believe contributed to Republicans winning the 1994 elections.
House Republicans are in the planning stages of creating a 2010 version of the “Contract for America,” which Republicans believe will outline their principles and help them repeat the 1994 mid-year election wins that allowed them to gain control of the House of Representatives.
The “Contract for America” was a 10-point document created by then-Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., which many believe contributed to Republicans winning the 1994 elections. The Republicans also used the Contract as an effective governing tool as they led the first Republican House majority since the 1950s.
The Republican Party is looking to average Americans for help defining the ideals that should be included in this new “Commitment to America” via the newly-launched website “America Speaking Out.” The site, which was created in conjunction with Microsoft, will allow visitors to submit ideas, rate others’ ideas and spread these ideas through both Facebook and Twitter.
Republicans hope people from all political parties and persuasions will join in what they hope will be “a robust debate” that will help them develop “a new American agenda.”
According to the site’s homepage, “This is an open forum … where all Americans are welcome to respectfully offer their opinions, regardless of party affiliation and whether we [the Republican Party] endorse them or not.”
Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., told CNN in a recent interview that many Americans feel aggravated with those in Washington, D.C., because they announce and enact major, life-changing proposals without seeking the opinion or consent of the people. McCarthy, one of the architects of the initiative, said “America Speaking Out” brings voters one step closer to regaining a sense of political control and influence.
“This is a new townhall mechanism — never used before,” McCarthy said, “To me it’s revolutionary, because it allows the individual to have greater control and say. For too long, people think nobody in Washington listens to them. This starts listening across the country and lets them provide the idea, but also debate the idea.”
“Will there be items on this page that we disagree with? Yeah,” McCarthy said, “But this is about an open discussion of the ideas. One of the biggest problems is no one believes anybody in Washington is listening.”
McCarthy, who was chosen by House Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio to craft the “Commitment to America,” said that while users of “America Speaking Out” will be able to rank various ideas and engage in debate, the GOP will not necessarily include the most popular ideas to the “Commitment to America.”
“It’s not ‘American Idol’ — the top vote count gets it. This is about having a real discussion to solve a problem,” McCarthy said.
To encourage continued visits and debate, users will be awarded points for every idea they submit or every contribution they make to the debate. McCarthy compared this point system to frequent flyer miles, but users won’t get prizes or free trips for accumulating a large amount of points. Instead, they will get bragging rights, and McCarthy hopes this will ignite the people’s competitive spirit and lead to some compelling discussions and ideas.
However, “America Speaking Out” isn’t the only way average Americans can deliver their message to the Republican Party this election year. House GOP members are planning a number of traditional town hall meetings over the Congressional Memorial Day break to prolong the discussion, and they will host several telephone town hall meetings over the summer.
In addition to the “Commitment to America,” the debate and ideas generated by “America Speaking Out” and the various town hall meetings will result in legislation in the early fall that Republicans will try to enact this year despite the fact they lack the votes necessary to pass such legislation.
“What we will do is submit these bills, and we will introduce them now,” McCarthy said, “We will work to pass them now.”
The Americano/Agencies
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I will greatly consider looking at this new approach and give it into consideration. Though I do have some problems with it overall, I think is a great idea for the public to look, research, observe and evaluate what kind of self-concepts they may agree on. Is actually a combination that can go wrong but with a respectful, supportive and appreciated stance, I think is a great idea.