Who's Really Writing the GOP's New Contract with America?

The ideas in the new “Contract with America” are meant to be from suggestions on a website, but Republicans can't use many of them.

Tomorrow, Republican House Leader John Boehner’s office plans to unveil a new “Contract with America” in Virginia.

The ideas behind the contract will be pulled from the Republican Party’s “America Speaking Out” program, a website which encourages voters to submit ideas on how to better the country.

But if the “America Speaking Out” program is to be the basis of the new contract, Republicans are going to have to handle the process with some finesse – the ideas on the website are atypical fare for many mainstream Republicans.

Under the “American Prosperity” category, the top vote-getters suggest that the government should “stop the outsourcing of jobs from America to other countries that do not pay taxes into the U.S. … If there [sic] company is in the United States, hire people in the United States” and the deportation of all illegal immigrants “to make jobs available”.

Under “Fiscal Accountability”, drastically reducing politicians’ expenses is popular, as is the elimination of the IRS, the Department of Education and the estate tax, as well as the imposition of a flat tax.

Marijuana legalization or decriminalization is extremely popular on the website’s “Open Mic” section, as is the release of all non-violent drug crime offenders.

It is not expected that the GOP’s new Contract with America will have the same historical importance of the 1994 Contract with America, on which it is based. Lacking will be timetables for floor votes – Gingrich’s contract promised votes within 100 days on legislative packages – and Republicans won’t even be signing this new contract.

The new contract will thus be substantially meeker and less ambitious than Gingrich’s 1994 promises. But much that will be rolled out can already be expected: an extension of Bush tax cuts to all income groups and significant revisions to -- if not repeal of -- President Obama’s healthcare reforms.

A call to Republican Leader John Boehner's office for comment has not yet been returned.

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