« Quick Political Website Commentary | Main | Must Be Very Upset That All Those Profits Towards World Peace Went Nowhere... »

"And You Don't Seem to Understand..."

So, from the Blog De Kerry, we learn that John Kerry has issued a "Contract with America's Middle Class":

Unlike the Republican �Contract with America� of 10 years ago that divided America and worked against our values, Kerry said his contract will bring us back together by honoring our values, expanding the middle class, making our economy stronger and our nation more secure.

Well, you can go to his website and read his speech, but really, the important thing to note is that Kerry is trying to steal the thunder of the Contract with America in the most vapid way possible. The real significance of the Contract wasn't what it said, but how it said it. It was "a written contract with no fine print." Whatever you felt about the agenda itself, the Contract dedicated its members to a particular set of legislation, to be enacted within a set timeframe. Kerry's 'contract'?

I will reform out of control spending by putting in place budget caps that assure Washington has to live within its means. I will cut waste and abuse out of our health care system by giving incentives for smarter more efficient systems.

I will reform corporate America by requiring corporations to report to their shareholders and what they report to the IRS. And I will reform our tax code by ending incentives for companies to send jobs overseas.

Government should take less money from the middle class, and do more to make sure their hard-earned tax dollars go to solve their real problems.

For example, we have to invest more on health care if we're going to keep businesses from cutting jobs and going under. But putting more money into the health care system won't do any good if we don't reform it to get health costs under control-which is exactly what my plan does.


Erm... yes. Well, the devil's in the details. At time of writing, the "Contract with America's Middle Class" doesn't appear as a document on Kerry's website, nor is there a promise that it will. It's a verbal contract, and not much of one at that. Besides a host of platitudes and "I won't be Bush" statements, there's nothing concrete. Missing is the Contract with America's timeline. Gone is its promise for particular pieces of legislation. There's nothing by which a President Kerry could be judged to be in default.

A pity. The original Contract worked as a piece of political theater because whatever its positions, it was a measurable roadmap by which leaders who were elected could later be judged. (Well, 'measurable' in Washington terms, which I'll admit isn't much.) Newt Gingrich took that risk, and should be credited for its success. Kerry seems to have taken a page from Newt's book, but not read it carefully at all.

Comments

Hang on a sec - Kerry is supposed to be the Democrat candidate isn't he ? At least half the stuff you quote there is right wing policy ! Anyway, if Kerry wants to expand the middle class he should try what Blair did here in the UK: Just declare without proof that there is no working class anymore and everyone is middle class. (On the subject of which, there is no left wing anymore...)
Isn't Kerry already a Senator? Senators are supposed to look out for the Republic as a whole, so why hasn't he already introduced this into legislation? If it was a wonderful plan, he would be tremendously popular, and would then probably win the election. Since he hasn't drafted this legislation, I doubt he even seriously considers it possible.

Post a comment

(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)

NOTICE TO SPAMMERS, COMMENT ROBOTS, TRACKBACK SPAMMERS AND OTHER NON-HUMAN VISITORS: No comment or trackback left via a robot is ever welcome at Three Years of Hell. Your interference imposes significant costs upon me and my legitimate users. The owner, user or affiliate who advertises using non-human visitors and leaves a comment or trackback on this site therefore agrees to the following: (a) they will pay fifty cents (US$0.50) to Anthony Rickey (hereinafter, the "Host") for every spam trackback or comment processed through any blogs hosted on threeyearsofhell.com, morgrave.com or housevirgo.com, irrespective of whether that comment or trackback is actually posted on the publicly-accessible site, such fees to cover Host's costs of hosting and bandwidth, time in tending to your comment or trackback and costs of enforcement; (b) if such comment or trackback is published on the publicly-accessible site, an additional fee of one dollar (US$1.00) per day per URL included in the comment or trackback for every day the comment or trackback remains publicly available, such fee to represent the value of publicity and search-engine placement advantages.

Giving The Devil His Due

And like that... he is gone (8)
Bateleur wrote: I tip my hat to you - not only for ... [more]

Law Firm Technology (5)
Len Cleavelin wrote: I find it extremely difficult to be... [more]

Post Exam Rant (9)
Tony the Pony wrote: Humbug. Allowing computers already... [more]

Symbols, Shame, and A Number of Reasons that Billy Idol is Wrong (11)
Adam wrote: Well, here's a spin on the theory o... [more]

I've Always Wanted to Say This: What Do You Want? (14)
gcr wrote: a nice cozy victorian in west phill... [more]

Choose Stylesheet

What I'm Reading

cover
D.C. Noir

My city. But darker.
cover
A Clockwork Orange

About time I read this...


Shopping

Projects I've Been Involved With

A Round-the-World Travel Blog: Devil May Care (A new round-the-world travel blog, co-written with my wife)
Parents for Inclusive Education (From my Clinic)

Syndicated from other sites

The Columbia Continuum
Other Blogs by CLS students