GOP rolls out its 'Pledge to America'

STERLING, Va. - Pushing toward big gains on Nov. 2, House Republicans promised Thursday to end a slew of Democratic policies and restore Americans' trust in government as they rolled out a campaign manifesto designed to show they're listening to an angry public and are focused on creating jobs.

"The land of opportunity has become the land of shrinking prosperity. . . . Our government has failed us," Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California said. "We will take back our country. We will restore for a better future. This is our pledge to you."

At a hardware store in suburban Washington, senior House Republicans in shirtsleeves showed off the 21-page document they say would guide them should they gain a majority of seats in the midterm balloting five weeks away.

The "Pledge to America" was filled with familiar proposals to slash taxes and spending and cut down on government regulation, as well as repeal President Barack Obama's health care law and end his stimulus program. In a show of unity, Senate Republicans and Haley Barbour, chairman of the Republican Governors Association, issued strong statements of support.

The unveiling capped a private debate among Republicans that had pitted those who favored making an agenda public against others who argued it would merely open GOP candidates to criticism in a campaign that has been tilting their way.

Republicans have sought to turn the midterm elections into a referendum on the policies of President Barack Obama and the Democratic-controlled Congress. Democrats, in turn, want it to become a choice between two alternatives - what they describe as their own efforts to fix the economy, as opposed to what they criticize as Bush-era policies that led to a recession.

Democrats dismissed the GOP plan as recycled ideas that would further exacerbate the nation's problems. "Republicans want to return to the same failed economic policies that hurt millions of Americans and threatened our economy," said Nadeam Elshami, a spokesman for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

With polls showing voters disenchanted with Obama, worried about the economy and mad at elected officials, the agenda vows to change the way Congress works, requiring that every bill cite its constitutional authority, for example, and to be made public for three days before a vote.

The plan steers clear of specifics on important issues, such as how it will "put government on a path to a balanced budget."

It omits altogether the question of how to address looming shortfalls in Social Security and Medicare, which account for a huge portion of the nation's soaring deficit, instead including a vague promise: "We will make the decisions that are necessary to protect our entitlement programs."