Search?

2008 Washoe County Republican Party Platform

2008 WASHOE COUNTY REPUBLICAN PARTY PLATFORM

Adopted March 15, 2008
At The Washoe County Republican Party Convention

Respectfully Submitted by Thomas F. Dickman, Chairman,
Washoe County Republican Platform Committee

PREAMBLE AND PRINCIPLES

As Washoe County Republicans, We establish this platform of our common beliefs, which are grounded in the time-proven principles that have made America the greatest nation on earth:
o Our Constitution is the Supreme Law of the land; and we believe this precious document demands that government at all levels be limited in power and authority.
o This nation was established by men humbly seeking the guidance of Almighty God.
o We believe in equal rights, equal justice under law, and equality of opportunity for all.
o The strength of our nation lies with the individual acting in self-restraint, leaving an inheritance of freedom for our children’s children.
o Individual initiative through a free enterprise system has brought this nation opportunity, economic growth and prosperity.
o The power of the federal government must be strongly bound by the chains of the Constitution to allow maximum individual achievement through freedom.
o Private property rights are fundamental to our freedom.
o Whenever American citizens are attacked, it is the duty and responsibility of our government to ensure that the perpetrators and any sponsoring organization are brought to justice, or justice brought to them.
o The individual’s right to keep and bear arms is fundamental to deterring tyranny and must be preserved without political meddling.
o All Americans must keep more of the money they earn, spending as they deem proper by limiting and eliminating excessive taxation.
o The best government is that which governs least, while protecting fundamental Constitutional rights.
o As Americans, we should preserve our own national strength while working to extend freedom throughout the world.

We believe the Republican Party is the best catalyst for translating these ideas into successful self-government.

2008 Platform

The Constitution

We advocate strict constructionist interpretation of the U.S. and state constitutions and do not support judicial activism.

Individual states have sovereign authority to govern the lands and peoples within their borders except as limited by the Tenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

We oppose usurpation of state sovereignty by federal mandate or economic extortion.

We support Nevada’s Protection of Marriage Amendment that defines marriage as the union between one man and one woman. We support the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and we also support amending the Constitution of the United States to define marriage as the union between one man and one woman. We also support the maintenance of the social and economic privileges of traditional marriage.

We believe in the right to keep and bear arms as an individual right and we support legislation and judicial decisions that secures this right.

The Economy

A strong free-market economy is necessary for promoting and maintaining our standard of living, job creation, strong national defense and the American dream. We believe that business in the private sector is the engine that drives our successful economy and that individual American ingenuity and creativity is the cornerstone of our nation.

We believe that high taxes, excessive regulation, government interference and unreasonable litigation inevitably drive businesses to seek alternative locations.

We support keeping businesses and jobs here at home by promoting a more attractive business atmosphere.

We support Nevada’s Right-to-Work laws.

We support fair and equitable international trade agreements. Inequitable trade agreements should be renegotiated or terminated.

Education

We recognize parents are primarily responsible for their children’s education. Therefore, we support the right to parental choice in K thru 12 education whether it is public schools, charter schools, private schools or home schools.

Currently over half of our state budget is dedicated to education. We support raising existing standards and requiring strict accountability in achieving an improved education for the benefit of our children, state and nation.

Energy

The United States is facing a major energy challenge which conservation alone cannot fully resolve. Our dependence on foreign oil is also a matter of national security.

We believe high energy costs negatively impact our economy and affect us all. Our failure to address our energy needs harms most those who can afford it least.

We support the repeal of unreasonable regulations that inhibit free market solutions to maximizing the development of America’s domestic oil, gas, coal, solar, wind, hydro, geothermal, hydrogen and nuclear resources, as well as developing other alternative sources of energy.

English as the Official Language

We support legislation making English the official and legal language for all of the United States.

Government, Taxes and Spending

Government spending in general has become excessive as government size and scope has grown, resulting in burdensome taxes. We believe government which governs the least governs best as it fosters individual responsibility.

Government at all levels should explore alternatives to the current tax systems.

The problem of growing entitlements threatens our prosperity. We support entitlement reform that solves the problems rather than just acknowledging them.

New government programs should have appropriate sunset provisions. All existing government programs at every level should be reviewed for relevancy and effectiveness, including entitlement programs.

We expect our legislators to identify and eliminate self-perpetuating, ineffective and obsolete programs. We support holding those legislators accountable who allow these detrimental programs to exist. Spending cuts and surplus revenues should result in lower taxes and balanced budgets.

To promote efficient and transparent government and to prevent wasteful spending, fraud and abuse, all governments in Nevada should publish their budgets, revenues and expenditures on the internet in a timely manner for public inspection.

We support repealing the estate tax and the alternative minimum tax.

President Bush’s tax cuts should be made permanent.

We support the Constitution of the State of Nevada as amended that requires a 2/3 majority in both houses to increase or create state taxes (Article 4, Section 18).

We continue to oppose increased taxation on Nevadans through additional state business taxes and fees.

We believe that Nevadans are NOT under-taxed.

We expect ethical behavior from all public servants.

The right to vote should be limited to U.S. citizens. Registration and voting should only be allowed after presenting a photo ID card or acceptable form of identification that verifies residency and eligibility. We do not support same-day voter registration.

We support counting all military and absentee ballots prior to certifying elections.

Local growth should be coordinated between city, county and state agencies to provide for well-planned and well-executed development. This should take into consideration land use factors, water, infrastructure, transportation and public services.

We oppose the abuse of eminent domain.

Immigration

We welcome all people from all nations, races and cultures who enter our country legally and support the freedoms and principles of the United States of America.

We strongly support securing the borders for purposes of national health, welfare and security as well as the prevention of illegal immigration and criminal activity.

Federal, state and local agencies must be empowered and required to enforce immigration laws.

We do not support amnesty, government benefits or other special treatment for aliens who have or will enter the United States illegally.

We support improved identification systems for citizens, legal aliens, visitors and illegal aliens.

We support effective exit visa programs for those in the United States who are visiting, studying or working.

Sanctity of Life

We affirm the sanctity of life and the inherent dignity of each human being from conception to death.

The unborn child has a fundamental right to life and should be welcome in life and protected under law.

We believe every woman considering abortion deserves informed consent, including ultra-sound and the disclosure of all physical and emotional risks.

We support parental notification for teens considering abortion and enforcement of statutory rape reporting laws.

We support the ban on partial-birth abortion.

We support legislation that recognizes as a legal victim any “child in utero” who is injured or killed as the result of a crime.
We oppose taxpayer funding for abortion and for organizations that advocate or provide abortions. Medical professionals, health care facilities and insurers should not be forced to participate, provide or pay for abortions or conscience violating and life ending procedures.

We oppose assisted suicide, euthanasia and the non-consensual withholding of medical treatment.

We oppose cloning of complete human beings.

We support scientific research that utilizes adult stem cells and/or stem cells recovered from the byproducts of live births for treatment and cure of disease, and oppose embryonic stem cell research.

We support the revision of current adoption legislation to facilitate the adoption of children by loving parents as an alternative to abortion.

Strong Military and National Security

The primary role of our military is to protect and defend the Constitution and the citizens of the United States of America. To achieve its purpose, the United States must enhance its military might. We urge our government to fully fund our military as necessary to meet the demands of modern warfare.

We support the efforts to eliminate anti U.S. terrorism at home and abroad. We support taking the fight to those who seek to harm the Unites States by aggressively targeting terrorists as well as those who support them.

We reiterate our strong support for military personnel and support improved care for our military families and veterans.

Intelligence is truly America’s first line of defense and an essential tool in defending our nation. We should incorporate new technologies and strategies that will increase the effectiveness of the military, intelligence agencies and the Office of Homeland Security.