Reviews Turning Negative on House GOP's 'Pledge to America'

After an initial wave of partisan enthusiasm for the House Republicans' "Pledge to America," the inevitable backlash is cresting.

Unimpressed by the GOP agenda, the Libertarian Party Executive Director Wes Benedict said today, "Instead of a 'Pledge to America,' the Republicans should have written an 'Apology to America.' It should have gone something like this:

"We're sorry, America. Sorry we grew the federal government budget from $1.7 trillion to over $3 trillion. Sorry we added $5 trillion to the federal debt. Sorry we doubled the size of the Department of Education. Sorry we started two incredibly costly foreign wars. Sorry we supported the absurd and costly TARP bailouts. Sorry we created a huge and costly new Medicare entitlement. Sorry we did nothing to end the costly and destructive War on Drugs. Sorry we did nothing to reform the federal government's near-prohibition on immigration.

"But hey, at least we helped you by shifting a lot of your tax burden onto your children and grandchildren."

Not all tea partiers are bowled over, either. For example, the national Tea Party Patriots group condemned House Republican leaders for failing to include a balanced-budget promise.

Robin Stublen, a tea activist from Punta Gorda, noted that FreedomWorks' previously released "Contract From America" was a vastly superior manifesto of fiscal conservatism.

"After reading through the pledge, I now see why the House leadership would not sign the 'Contract from America.' The CFA is missing 19 pages of BS.

"This is a perfect example of how not to reinvent the wheel and why they still do not understand the American people. Twenty-one pages of political babble meant to enlighten the masses, or is it to confuse?" Stublen wonders.