Republicans Embrace Extreme Tea Party Ideas

Yesterday, DNC Chairman Tim Kaine, DNC Vice Chairs Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Mike Honda, and other Democratic Members of Congress held a press conference announcing the release of the Republican Tea Party Contract on America, a compilation of ten extreme conservative Tea Party ideas that Republicans have adopted as part of their own platform.

The Contract includes, among other things, repealing health insurance reform and Wall Street reform, ending Social Security and Medicare as we know them, and extending the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy while growing the federal deficit. Every single one of those positions has been advanced by Republican leaders in Congress or Republican candidates nationally, but even we would have supposed that at least a few Republicans would take issue with some of the most extreme positions. After all, could it really be true that there’s not a single Republican willing to stand against the dismantling of Social Security? At least for now, that seems to be the case.

As the Washington Post reported yesterday, a spokesman for the RNC “would not say whether the RNC disagrees with any of the 10 agenda items.”

And despite contacting the offices of multiple Republican leaders in Congress including Congressman Mike Pence, Congressman Eric Cantor, and Congressman Kevin McCarthy, CNN’s Political Ticker couldn’t find any Republicans who would disagree either.

In a statement to the Political Ticker, a spokesman for the National Republican Campaign Committee, who also refused to disavow any of the extreme conservative policies highlighted in the Contract, said:

"Not only has this tired line of attack already been proven to be ineffective, it is offensive to voters.”

If the NRCC considers it an ‘attack’ simply to highlight some of their candidates’ most closely held positions, perhaps they should rethink the Republican Party’s support for unpopular policies like enabling insurance companies to once again raise rates unfairly and rescind Americans’ coverage when they get sick or empowering big Wall Street banks to once again gamble taxpayers’ money away.

In the meantime, voters are more likely to be offended by Republicans’ continued allegiance with big banks, big insurance, big oil and other special interests – to the detriment of the American Middle Class – than by those who are simply willing to point out those ongoing relationships.

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