GOP goes to old playbook for new attempt at winning

MONONGAHELA, Pa. (TND) — Promises and politics almost go hand in hand and Republicans issued plenty of them on Friday.

It is the party’s attempt to win back Congress in the fast-approaching midterm elections.

In the strategically valuable Pennsylvania, their top political team looked like it was lying in wait. Republicans, hoping in six weeks they can take back the House revealed their so-called "Commitment to America."

If in power, they vowed to boost American energy production by cutting the permit process in half, moving supply chains away from China, ending catch-and-release loopholes for undocumented immigrants and use recruiting bonuses for another 200,000 police officers.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., hopes to be Speaker.

“You have fentanyl, which has now become the No. 1 killer of Americans between the ages of 18 and 45," McCarthy said. "Three hundred people a day are dying from fentanyl, they’re being poisoned, that’s the equivalent of an airline being crashed every single day. That’s happening in every community, that starts in China and comes through the border of Mexico.”

And the GOP is banking on a struggling economy to help them flip seats.

Sixty-three percent of voters in a recent NBC News poll complained their income is falling behind the cost of living and 58% disapprove of President Joe Biden’s handling of the economy.

Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, alleged, “all Democrats are getting is record levels of spending, record inflation, record crime, no border, record energy costs and going after people’s fundamental freedoms.”

While Democrats dismiss much of this as just lip service, they acknowledge they need more results out of Washington if they’re going to hold on these midterms.

Rep Matthew Cartwright, D-Pa., insisted, “We’re looking for solutions that will bring down the cost of living, that will fix the supply chain issues, we have a lot of work to do in this country and the people are looking for concrete steps in that direction.”

They claim, the infrastructure law and American Rescue Plan, do exactly that.

“It’s about actually delivering for the country and we’re going to continue to run on lowering costs, delivering for the American people making sure that we’re rebuilding our country and our infrastructure and that’s what we’re going to try to get done," said Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo.

If for the GOP, it all sounds like a repeat, remember Newt Gingrich’s 1994 "Contract with America" vowing to cut taxes and shrink government. It too, was released just six weeks before Election Day during President Bill Clinton’s first term – sparking a GOP takeover.

Possibly working against them, the fury of voters over abortion restrictions, and the lingering drama surrounding Donald Trump. Though Republicans point to a recent Axios report citing increased number of Google searches for crime and immigration over abortion or Mar-a-Lago.

They say this is the time and place for a comeback.