House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy last month unveiled the Commitment to America, a summary of the agenda for what he hopes will be a new Republican majority in 2023. The policy goals it outlines are a mix of traditional Republican positions (pro-life, pro-gun, pro-military spending) and relatively new priorities, such as promising to “confront Big Tech” and “ensuring that only women can compete in women’s sports.”
In both its name and its intended function, the document consciously echoes the Contract with America, the House Republicans’ national platform from the 1994 midterm elections. (To further emphasize this pedigree, Contract with America architect Newt Gingrich has taken an active role in promoting the Commitment to America.) The Contract with America is well-remembered today because the GOP gained more than 50 seats and majority control of the House immediately after its release, making Gingrich the first Republican speaker in 40 years.
Ever since Gingrich’s success, minority parties have hoped that releasing a similar list of campaign promises might grant them a comparable electoral payoff. Congressional Democrats produced a “Six in ‘06” plan before the 2006 midterms, and House Republicans endorsed a “Pledge to America” in 2010. But even though both parties ultimately marched to electoral victory in those years, there isn’t much reason to believe that any of these documents actually helped them do it — or that it’ll be any different this year.
