This is definitely not 1994:
When Republicans took over the House of Representatives in 1994, ending four decades of Democratic dominance there, they followed marching orders they'd laid out in their Contract with America.Actually they have told us what they would do -- get rid of all the Bush tax cuts, pull out of Iraq, investigate anyone with an "R" behind their name...But if Democrats pull off the biggest shakeup of Congress since then by regaining control of the House and Senate in the Nov. 7 election, they will have no comparable document to guide them and thus may have a smaller claim to a mandate from the voters.
The 1994 Contract with America included draft legislation for budget, tax, military and social policies. It was a roadmap for what the new majority would do starting Day One through their first 100 days.
The Democrats' version this year - "A New Direction for America/Six for `06" - is one page long. It lists six fairly general goals - and raises as many questions as answers.
"It is hardly the specific, comprehensive agenda the GOP had," said Frank Luntz, who helped shape the '94 Contract with America as a Republican strategist and pollster. "They have made a conscious decision to focus on Republican weakness, and it may turn out to be the right decision. But it means nobody knows what they're going to do."
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