According to Open Congress Wiki:
In 2004, eighteen members of Congress were due to leave office as a result of previously made promises. The following eleven, however, broke their pledge and ran for reelection again in the November elections [1]:
Sen. Bob Bennett (R-Utah); Rep. Leonard Boswell (D-Iowa); Sen. Richard M. Burr (R-N.C.); Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.); Rep. Steve Chabot (R-Ohio); Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Virginia); Rep. Ralph Hall (D-Texas); Rep. Steven C. LaTourette (R-Ohio); Rep. Donald Manzullo (R-Ill.); Rep. Ted Strickland (D-Ohio); Rep. Dave Weldon (R-Fla.)[1]
It might be instructive to point out that America's arguably most famous pledge, the "Pledge of Allegiance" to the U.S. flag, was a the brainchild of Christian socialist (and apparent marketing wiz) Francis Bellamy -- who was, among other things, a U.S. flag salesman. Bellamy's obvious marketing savoir-faire brings to mind the case in Los Angles a couple of years back, of a glass repairman who developed his own personal economic stimulus plan by way of late-night forays into city armed with a slingshot he used to shoot out windows and car windshields. Ahh, the "magic" of the marketplace.
But the question remains: Will pledging work a different kind of magic for the GOP? One that would enable the party to pull a presidency out of its hat in 2012? At this rate, it seems that only the magic of a major intervention of sorts can save the Republicans from pledging their party into epic irrelevancy. What worked for Newt in 1994 seems, this election cycle, unlikely to have the effect of attracting the level of support among independents needed to elevate the GOP into the White House or, in any way, expand the party's base.
It's simple mathematics. Few of the goals of the various pledges address the need for jobs creation. In fact, many of them mirror the same GOP policies that have alienated large swaths of the electoral demographic. Hispanics are put off by the GOP's immigration stance, gays have been alienated over the issue of traditional marriage; women over its anti-reproductive rights position and older voters over Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security cuts.
My take on what's going on with Republican Party is fairly simple. All the self-flattery among Republicans about how "the American people" gave them control of the House in order to "restore fiscal sanity" to government is pure hogwash and they know it.
They ignore the possibility that what the "American people" did in 2010 was less a mandate for reigning in government spending as an exercise traditionally undertaken by the electorate during national off-year elections -- restore some level of power to the party that does not control the White House. Indeed, the 2010 mid-term elections was an event characterized by the top-heavy involvement of the GOP's fringe base. A large percentage of the progressive and independent vote stood pat.
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
4
3
2
