Is The New GOP ‘Pledge’ A Way To Bring Ryan’s Radical Budget Plans In Through The Backdoor?

Today, House Republicans released their “Pledge to America,” a document styled after 1994’s Contract with America that the GOP claims is “an outline of the party’s targetsin the final weeks of the legislative session.” We’ve already explained how the Pledge promises to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act with portions of the Affordable Care Act and how it represents a blood oath to Big Oil, so let’s turn to another aspect: its effect on the deficit.

Of course, the Pledge includes a promise to extend all of the Bush tax cuts — including those for the richest two percent of Americans — for a total price tag of $4 trillion over the next decade, while laying out spending cuts that, even if the numbers are taken at face value, don’t come close to covering that cost. ABC’s George Stephanopoulos asked Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) — the ranking member of the House Budget Committee — to explain how the GOP can square its desire for huge, regressive tax cuts with its supposed commitment to deficit reduction:

Democrats Put Off Vote on Repealing Bush Tax Cuts

If the tea party/GOP is the party of "no" then the democrats are the party of "no, not now":

Democrats Put Off Vote on Repealing Bush Tax Cuts Senate Democrats have put off a vote on whether to extend President Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthy until after the midterm election. President Obama and his Democratic allies have proposed extending the cuts for two years, but not for households earning over $250,000 a year. Republicans want to extend the tax cuts for everyone, regardless of income.

Tea Party Backer David Koch Becomes Wealthiest New Yorker

New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg is no longer the wealthiest New Yorker according to Forbes Magazine. Tea party backer David Koch is now number one after his income soared from $16 billion to $21.5 billion in 2009. The New Yorker magazine recently revealed that David Koch and his brother Charles have quietly helped bankroll the tea party movement and dozens of other right-wing causes. The New Yorker’s Jane Mayer reported the Kochs are longtime libertarians who believe in drastically lower personal and corporate taxes, minimal social services for the needy, and much less oversight of industry—especially environmental regulation.