GOP Pledge a Contradiction

David M. Herszenhorn reports in The New York Times on the Republicans' plans to announce a new "Pledge to America" outlining policy proposals for the mid-term elections. Chief among the goals are extending the Bush tax cuts and repealing health care reform legislation. The document will advocate for addressing the budget deficit but in very non-specific terms.

While the document emphasizes a goal of long-term fiscal stability, including reductions in the deficit and a “path to a balanced budget,” it offers no specifics about changes to big entitlement programs including Social Security and Medicare that would be required to achieve such stability.

Let me get this straight. The GOP proposes to extend the Bush tax cuts and repeal health care reform (including its initiatives to rein in the cost of health care) while leaving Social Security and Medicare untouched; all the while working toward a "path to a balanced budget." One wonders about the Republican position on the Easter Bunny.

UPDATE: Andrew Sullivan agrees on The Daily Dish.

Given the gravity of the debt crisis, this is the most fiscally irresponsible document ever offered by the GOP. It is to the far right of Reagan, who raised taxes and eventually cut defense, and helped reform social security to ensure its longterm viability. It is an act of vandalism against the fiscal balance of the US, and in this global economic climate, a recipe for a double-dip recession and default. It is the opposite of responsible conservatism.

--Ballard Burgher