A ‘Top 10 list’ for the Republican Study Committee

March 1, 2006

Rep. Mike Pence’s (R-Ind.) Republican Study Committee, a far-right faction of the GOP House caucus, is, to its credit, willing to do many of their colleagues aren’t — present a rabidly conservative legislative agenda in writing.

Want to know exactly what far-right lawmakers want to see come out of the 109th Congress? The RSC has written up a handy Top 10 List.

1. Make the Tax Cuts Permanent, including the repeal of the marriage-tax penalty and the death tax and pass fundamental tax reform.

2. Pass Budget Process Reform, which includes budgeting for emergencies with a rainy day fund, instituting a sunset commission for federal programs, instituting a constitutional line-item veto, and making the budget resolution carry the force of law.

3. Pass another Deficit Reduction Bill in the form of budget reconciliation, to reign in autopilot spending, which has risen from 25% of all federal spending in 1963 to 54% today, and is expected to reach nearly 60% in 2014.

4. Pass Ethics Reform that requires transparency and earmark reform that permits Members of Congress to strike earmarks on the House floor.

5. Pass the Marriage Protection Amendment, to ensure that marriage, the union of a woman and a man as husband and wife, is not redefined by activist judges.

6. Pass a Balanced Budget Amendment to put our fiscal house in order.

7. Offset all emergency supplemental spending with spending reductions and offset all new programs with simultaneous, equivalent reductions in, or eliminations of, existing programs.

8. Defend the Sanctity of Human Life, which includes banning all human cloning, passing the Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act, promoting ethical adult stem cell research, and preventing federal funding for destructive embryonic stem cell research.

9. Pass Protections for Religious Freedom, such as the Pledge of Allegiance, the Ten Commandments, and religious expression in the public square.

10. Pass legislation that stops the raid on the Social Security Trust Fund and allows Americans to own a Personal Social Security Account.

There’s plenty to chew on here. It may seem contradictory, for example, that the RSC would make trillions in tax cuts permanent (item #1), while also mandating a balanced budget (item #6), but it’s not — the RSC would eliminate most government funding for almost everything. I’d love to see how voters reacted to the list of domestic programs and priorities that the RSC would literally eliminate to pay for the tax cuts.

But I can’t help but find item #10 the most amusing. Was the Republican Study Committee not paying attention throughout 2005?

Granted, this type of list opens these jokers to all kinds of criticism, and they are more than a year late, but it’s something. I would love to see “our side” answer with their own progressive version for both the remainder of the 109th (largely blocking a lot of the crap listed by Pence and Co.) and also for the 110th, which should be the Dems’ first in a while as the majority.

I also love the idea of poking holes in their list, especially just filling in the info that was left out, such as the program gutting and eliminating that CB already mentioned.

  • 1. Make the Tax Cuts Permanent, including the repeal of the marriage-tax penalty and the death tax and pass fundamental tax reform.

    2. Pass Budget Process Reform, which includes budgeting for emergencies with a rainy day fund, instituting a sunset commission for federal programs, instituting a constitutional line-item veto, and making the budget resolution carry the force of law.

    How do they plan to accomplish both of these, print more money?

  • I am, admittedly, no fan of Mike Pence and can’t imagine why anyone in this state votes for this clown.

    Actually, Pence and his group could have had issued just one point that would encompass all of their goals:

    1. We own you and don’t owe you a dime.

    Presto. Balance budget and reduced spending all in one swoop!

  • The priorities are clear.
    1)Take care of the rich
    by
    2) By cutting from the rest
    while
    3) While pandering to the evangelicals

    What’s missing… ANYTHING ABOUT SECURITY

  • Ya know if guys like this actually got all that they wanted they may not like it. For instance:

    4. Pass Ethics Reform that requires transparency and earmark reform That permits Members of Congress to strike earmarks on the House floor.

    imagine, if you will, the cat fights, brawls, and back stabbing .

    7. Offset all emergency supplemental spending with spending reductions and offset all new programs with simultaneous, equivalent reductions in, or eliminations of, existing programs.

    So we zero out the rest of the government (including many of their committees, staffs, and money for their districts) to pay for Iraq.

    2. constitutional line-item veto

    Boy they sure didn’t like it when Clinton tried to use a line item provision (even if it wasn’t an amendment). I know they think they will have a permanant majority but since that his highly unlikely the sure better be prepared for a Democratic president to exercise that line item veto.

  • 9. Pass Protections for Religious Freedom, such as the Pledge of Allegiance, the Ten Commandments, and religious expression in the public square.

    if the Pledge of Allegiance counts as “Religious Freedom” – then isn’t that government sponsered and mandated religion? They can “pass” all they want – but is it Constitutional?

  • I might get flamed for stating this, but the Democrats should embrace #2, 4, 6 and 7 and hold on for dear life–while of course resisting the nods to oligarchy and theocracy that comprise the rest of this batshit-crazy manifesto.

    What our side has failed to grasp about budget process debates is that they’re the perfect battleground for our values vs. their values. If you’re mandating a balanced budget, the clash of “tax cuts for Paris Hilton” vs. “funding roads, schools, sanitation and affordable housing” is going to be a rout for our side every single freakin’ time.

    The only reason these jackals can get away with the nonsense they’ve been running for the past six years is because we’re allowed to run insane and unsustainable deficits. Take that away, make the choice clear and stark, and watch their coalition shatter.

    Mandating balanced budgets is a bad idea whose time has come.

  • kali,
    Excellent point. Not a word on security or Iraq. If and/or when the Democrats respond, adressing this issue should be Number One.
    And am I crazy to think that this list has some relation to the Ten Commandments? They should’ve had waumpuscat write it.

  • 2Manchu- How do we know that waumpuscat didn’t write it when he was sober. Sometimes I like to imagine that waumpuscat is actually a top level republican official who sometimes likes to get drunk and anonymously let it all hang out in progressive blogs. Hey, those guys are under a lot of pressure lately.

  • Isn’t #7 basically the definition of having a budget? If you spend more money one place, you have to take it away from somewhere else. I realize that our government pretends that money grows on trees, but actually, it doesn’t.

    It seems like 2,3,6 & 7 (except for line-item veto) could be summarized by saying “make the government get on a budget and stick to it.”

  • 2Manchu,
    And he might just take us “hunting” if the secret gets out. Ooops! I hear the men in black at my door.

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