Republicans’ ‘Commitment to America’ midterms pledge rehashes 90s pitch – live

Democrats have failed you, elect us instead. That’s the message top House Republican Kevin McCarthy delivers in the video below, which was released ahead of the debut of the party’s Commitment to America platform happening right now in Pennsylvania.

The California representative hones in on high inflation, rising crime and migrant and asylum seekers’ arrival at the southern border. Considering the likelihood of Republicans again winning a majority in the House following the midterms, it’s a message worth paying attention to:

The platform’s debut can be watched live here.

Key events

Republicans might be gunning for the House majority, but they have apparently thrown in the towel in one race.

Axios reports that the National Republican Congressional Committee tasked with winning House seats for the GOP has withdrawn $1 million in television advertisements for J.R. Majewski, who is trying to unseat longtime Democratic incumbent Marcy Kaptur.

It wasn’t his embrace of the QAnon conspiracy theory that did him in. Nor his call for states that supported Donald Trump to secede from the union. Not even his participation in the January 6 insurrection.

No, it was an Associated Press report that revealed Majewski did not see combat while deployed to Afghanistan following 9/11 attacks, as he had claimed, but rather loaded airplanes in Qatar for six months. Majewski remains in the race and is spending his time decrying “fake news”, but it’s unclear if he can recover from the news.

Much as today’s high inflation may benefit Republicans, Democrats have their own advantage they are hoping to work as they woo voters ahead of the midterms: Donald Trump.

To be more specific, Donald Trump and everything that happened during and since his presidency. While the Commitment to America top House Republican Kevin McCarthy rolled out today focuses on quality-of-life issues like fighting crime and lowering the cost of living, Joe Biden’s allies are eager to remind Americans that’s not all Republicans stand for.

House majority leader Steny Hoyer has distributed a list of eight questions Democrats have for Republicans about their platform, which takes aim at many House members – including McCarthy’s – defense of Trump. “Who won the 2020 Presidential Election?” the list asks. “Like President Trump, do you believe that the January 6 insurrectionists were engaged in ‘legitimate political discourse’ and should not be prosecuted for their violent actions?” it continues. “Do you support defunding the FBI in retaliation for executing a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago?”

It also seizes on the GOP’s opposition to abortion access and attempts to cut costs for Americans, particularly when it comes to health care. “Will Republicans pursue a nationwide abortion ban?” Hoyer asks. “If given the chance, will you try again to repeal the Affordable Care Act and strip health-care access away from millions of Americans?”

Newt Gingrich, once a power player in Washington, today less so.
Newt Gingrich, once a power player in Washington, today less so. Photograph: Shawn Thew/EPA

Are you a follower of American politics in your 30s or older? Do the words “Commitment to America” sound familiar to you, but you can’t quite put your finger on it?

You are definitely on to something. In 1994, the top Republican in the House Newt Gingrich rolled out the Contract with America which contained pledges to, among other things, fight crime and strengthen the economy – as Kevin McCarthy promised today in his Commitment to America. There are, of course, differences germane to the times. Gingrich, for instance, promised to tighten down on American troops’ ability to serve in United Nations peacekeeping missions, while McCarthy has the issue of inflation to campaign on, which today is at rates not seen since the 1980s.

McCarthy clearly hopes to pull off what Gingrich did in the midterms held 28 years ago: wipe out the Democrats and decisively take control of the House. Indeed, the GOP won 54 seats and pushed House Democrats into the minority for the first time since 1954, with Gingrich as speaker until his resignation in 1999.

The similarities aren’t lost on opponents of today’s Republican Party. The anti-Trump Lincoln Project has released an advertisement highlighting the connection:

Speaking in Pennsylvania, top House Republican Kevin McCarthy went through a laundry list of perceived Democratic failings to pitch his party as the right one to control Congress.

Among them were topics familiar to anyone who has heard a Republican speak over the last two years: inflation is too high and so is crime, the border isn’t secure and fentanyl is killing too many. McCarthy also made mention of some specific Biden policies that have lately become targets for GOP attacks, saying he’d stop the hiring of new IRS agents and blaming the president’s American Rescue Plan spending bill enacted last year for fueling inflation.

“They control the House, the Senate, the White House, they control the committees they control the agencies. It’s their plan, but they have no plan to fix all the problems they created,” McCarthy said.

Democrats have failed you, elect us instead. That’s the message top House Republican Kevin McCarthy delivers in the video below, which was released ahead of the debut of the party’s Commitment to America platform happening right now in Pennsylvania.

The California representative hones in on high inflation, rising crime and migrant and asylum seekers’ arrival at the southern border. Considering the likelihood of Republicans again winning a majority in the House following the midterms, it’s a message worth paying attention to:

The platform’s debut can be watched live here.

Trump isn’t alone in spending big to get Republicans who deny Joe Biden’s election win into power in November. Peter Stone reports that Pacs controlled by multibillionaire Charles Koch are spending big to support Republicans:

Fossil fuel giant Koch Industries has poured over $1m into backing – directly and indirectly – dozens of House and Senate candidates who voted against certifying Joe Biden’s win on 6 January 2021.

Koch, which is controlled by multibillionaire Charles Koch, boasts a corporate Pac that has donated $607,000 to the campaigns or leadership Pacs of 52 election deniers since January 2021, making Koch’s Pac the top corporate funder of members who opposed the election results, according to OpenSecrets, which tracks campaign spending.

In addition, the Super Pac Americans for Prosperity Action to which Koch Industries has given over $6m since January 2021, has backed some election deniers with advertising and other communications support, as well as a few candidates Donald Trump has endorsed who tried to help him overturn the 2020 election, or raised doubts about the final results.

It’s no secret that Donald Trump would like to run for the White House again. The bigger question is when will he announce a 2024 campaign? Reports in recent weeks emphasize that Democrats would love if he did so before the midterms, so they can once again remind voters of the GOP’s ties to the polarizing former president.

The announcement of Maga, Inc, the new Super Pac run by Trump’s allies, doesn’t answer that question, but it does show that the former president is willing to work to get the lawmakers he wants elected in the Senate and elsewhere. That’s welcome news for Kevin McCarthy and Mitch McConnell, the GOP leaders of the House and Senate, respectively, who hope voters will give them a majority following the 8 November midterms.

But it would also give Trump the chance to make sure candidates he favors win their elections – potentially putting politicians who support his baseless claims of fraud in the 2020 election in positions of power.

Embattled Trump aims funding firepower at loyal Republicans

Good morning, US politics blog readers. It might be hard to believe, but the midterms are about to get even more Trumpier. The former president is poised to spend millions of dollars supporting candidates loyal to his wing of the Republican party through a new super PAC launched by his top allies, Politico reports this morning. It isn’t just an effort to bolster embattled GOP politicians nationwide – it may also be a prelude to Trump’s widely expected announcement of a second run for the White House.

That’s not all that’s going on today:

  • House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy will debut the party’s “Commitment to America” platform as he hopes for a return to the majority in Congress’s lower chamber.

  • Trump will hold a rally in North Carolina at 7 pm eastern time, where we could hear more about his plans for the midterms.

  • Elton John performs at the White House at 8 pm this evening, where president Joe Biden will also give remarks.

source: theguardian.com