Platform of the Main Republican Party

The following is the Platform of the Maine Republican Party. While not quite perfect, it would make a good start toward restoring this country to what it should be – a Constitutional Republic with severely limited central power.

I've added a few short comments of my own within the document and a longer one at the end. I've enclosed these in [brackets].

Platform of the Maine Republican Party
Adopted by the Maine Republican State Convention on May 8, 2010

Preamble:
In the course of a nation’s history, it is natural that political philosophies will evolve which run contrary to the original principles evident at the time of that nation’s founding. A nation founded in tyranny will by its nature spawn sentiment in direct opposition to that tyranny. Conversely, a nation which is dedicated to protecting the rights of its people, and seeks to bind the excesses of power which naturally accrue to governments, is subject to the evolution of factions which strive to throw off those shackles of restraint and gather power and influence over the people. Freedom is not a pre-existing condition into which everyone is delivered. Freedom and personal liberty are conditions of existence which are hard fought for and once won, must be maintained. Each generation must be taught anew the importance of eternal vigilance against those who would disregard the limits imposed on government, and usurp powers not granted to them by the people.

Today this state and the nation are in crisis precisely because we as a people have failed to maintain that vigilance. We have failed to pass down from one generation to another the critical knowledge and lessons that history provides. We have let rot from within, the foundation upon which freedom and prosperity must be built for it to survive.

This election cycle is unique in the history of both this state and our nation. We are presented with a situation in which WE THE PEOPLE, must re-educate ourselves and our neighbors, and put the knowledge of liberty to work in the elections this November. Years of neglect have allowed factions detrimental to the core principles of this nation, to entrench themselves in both political parties, and undermine the education of Constitutional principles vital to the survival of the republic. [Those factions have had their tentacles wrapped around us since the ratification of the Constitution which was a blueprint for a central tyranny. Only the alertness of men like Richard Henry Lee, Methacton Smith, and Thomas Jefferson slowed them down with the “Bill of Rights.” Nevertheless, when Hamilton and Washington set up the first national bank, the stage was set for eventual creation of the centralized tyranny first sought.]

The Tea Party movement is reminiscent of the principled revolt that led to the birth of the Republican Party in 1854. In June of that year, Horace Greeley referred to the newly formed Republicans as “…united to restore the Union to its true mission of champion and promulgator of Liberty…". This year it is incumbent upon those Republicans who strive to protect and defend our Constitution, to reclaim that heritage.

It is within this context that We, the citizens of Maine united by free association as Republicans, dedicated to seeing the principles which brought forth the birth and ascendance of this State and these United States once again made dominant and pledge our unwavering allegiance, not to a political party, but to the Constitution of the State of Maine and the Constitution of the United States of America. The Republican Party is the vehicle through which we seek to better unify and promote those in pursuit of these goals.

The principles upon which the Republican Party was founded, to which we as Citizens seek return, and to which we demand our elected representatives abide, are summarized as follows:
The Constitutions, both State and Federal, are the framework to which any and all legislation must adhere.
State sovereignty must be regained and retained on all issues specifically relegated to the States by the constitution. [To see how the attack on that State sovereignty is being carried out, see the “Regionalism – Death of the American System” in this blog.]
National sovereignty shall be preserved and retained as dominant over any attempted unconstitutional usurpations of such by international treaty.
It is the responsibility and duty, of “We the People”, to educate both ourselves and others; to demand honest elections free of corruption, and to hold our elected officials to the highest standards of honesty, integrity and loyalty to the constitution.
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In pursuit of these principles we endorse and shall promote the following initiatives.

I. To Form a More perfect Union
a. All legislation must adhere to the restrictions outlined in the Constitution to protect the individual from intrusive government.
b. Direct the State of Maine to join with other states in asserting our 10th amendment sovereignty rights which protect us from unconstitutional federal government intrusions.[Stop taking “federal funds.” The strings attached are being used to strangle State sovereignty. Stop the federal government from getting or creating those funds in the first place.]
c. Insist on strict adherence to our 2nd amendment right to keep and bear arms.
d. Pass a “Read the Bill” act, to insure clarity, and eliminate the corruption associated with side issues, earmarks, pork or riders.
e. Oppose “Localism and Diversity”, the Fairness Doctrine or whatever else such attempted restrictions are labeled. Any restriction on speech is by definition NOT free speech.
f. Reject the Employee free -choice Elimination- act, as an unconscionable affront to the right to a secret vote.
g. Restore integrity to the electoral process:
i. Prohibit any public funding of advocacy groups such as ACORN, no matter what it or its affiliate organizations rename themselves; New York Communities for Change, New England United for Justice etc.; Conduct thorough investigation of their activities and voter fraud and prosecute violations.
ii. Eliminate motor voter and other voter fraud mechanisms; institute secure voter registration and identification systems.
iii. Reject any effort to give foreign citizens the right to vote in the US in any situation or capacity.
h. Oppose any and all treaties with the UN or any other organization or country which surrenders US sovereignty. Specifically:
i. Reject the UN Treaty on Rights of the Child.
ii. Reject “LOST” the Law Of The Sea Treaty.
iii. Reject any agreement which seeks to confiscate our firearms.
i. Restore the process of assimilation of immigrants to preserve the benefits of an advanced educated and prosperous society. Rescind Maine’s sanctuary State status. No amnesty, no benefits, no citizenship -ever- for anyone in the country illegally. Arrest and detain, for a specified period of time, anyone here illegally, and then deport, period.
j. Pass a Congressional reform act which includes the following provisions:
i. Term Limits: 12 years only, in any capacity.
1. Two Six year Senate terms
2. Six Two year House terms
3. One Six year Senate term and three Two Year House terms
ii. No Pension
iii. Congress participates in Social Security under the same rules as the general public.
iv. Congress can no longer vote themselves a pay raise.
v. Congress participates in the same health care plan as the general public. No preferential plans or treatment.
vi. Congress is subject to and must abide by all the laws they impose on the general public.

II. To Establish Justice:
a. Restore “Constitutional law” as the basis for the Judiciary.
b. Reassert the principle that “Freedom of Religion” does not mean “freedom from religion”.

III. To Insure Domestic tranquility:
a. Promote family values.
i. Marriage is an institution between a man and a woman.
ii. Parents, not government, are responsible for making decisions in the best interest of their children, whether disciplinary, educational, or medical.
iii. We recognize the sanctity of life, which includes the unborn.

IV. To Provide for the Common Defense:
a. Discard political correctness, make public the declaration of war (Jihad), made against the US on 23 Feb 1998, and fight the war against the United States by radical Islam to win.
b. Seal the border and protect US citizens along the border and everywhere, as is the prime directive of the Federal Government.

V. To Promote the General Welfare:
a. Return to the principles of Austrian Economics, and redirect the economy back to one of incentives to save and invest.
b. Cut spending, balance the budget, and institute a plan for paying down debt. Proclaim that generational debt shifting is immoral and unconscionable and will not be tolerated!
c. Pass and implement Fed bill #1207 (Introduced by Ron Paul), to Audit the Federal Reserve, as the first step in Ending the Fed.
d. Return to transparent and honest reporting of economic statistics free of gimmicks and distortions.
e. Require the government and all its agencies adhere to the same GAAP accounting rules that businesses must follow.
f. Restore the provisions of welfare reform removed with the stimulus bill.
g. Defeat Cap and Trade, investigate collusion between government and industry in the global warming myth, and prosecute any illegal collusion.
h. Freeze current stimulus funds, prohibit any further stimulus bills, and apply all unspent funds towards the debt they created.
i. Promote energy independence aggressively by removing the obstacles created by government to allow private development of our resources; natural gas, oil, coal, and nuclear power.
j. Institute Zero based budgeting on all programs.
k. Espouse and follow the principle: It is immoral to steal the property rightfully earned by one person, and give it to another who has no claim or right to its benefits.
l. Clarify that healthcare is not a right. It is a service. As a compassionate society we will aid those in need. However, the government takeover of healthcare is not only unconstitutional, but detrimental to the entire healthcare system. Only market based solutions will solve the problems. [But they must be free market based solutions. The controlled and manipulated markets we have now will continue to serve the wealthiest segment of our society – the segment that now controls it.]
i. In the state of Maine:
1. Remove the restrictions on health providers, (as was done in New Hampshire), to increase competition, drive down the costs, and increase the options available.
a. Bring Maine standards in line with national average.
b. Allow purchase of insurance across state lines. LD 290
c. Enact tort reform as exemplified by Texas.
d. Eliminate Dirigo

VI. To Secure the Blessings of Liberty:
a. Restore a vigorous grounding in the history and precepts of liberty, freedom, and the constitution to the educational process. As Thomas Jefferson said, “If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be.”
i. Eliminate the Department of Education and restore schools to local control as specified in the constitution.
b. Repeal and prohibit any participation in efforts to create a one world government.

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[Without prolonged study, I think this a good start, but I find several weaknesses in the platform. I don't like the phrase “To Form A More Perfect Union” taken from the Preamble. This has been used incorrectly by opponents of the right of the States to secede.
The phrase “fight the war against the United States by radical Islam to win” sounds like a call to continue the policies of Daddy and Baby Bush and Uncle Tom Obama of indiscriminate murder of men, women, and children in the Middle East and of transferring the wealth of the American people to the bankers and munitions makers. We might end or greatly reduce the desire of others to terrorize us if we stop terrorizing others.
While I agree with the concept of restoring Constitutional government, I would like to see some more concrete stands such as: i End the Imperial Presidency by stripping the Admin Branch of the unconstitutional powers to legislate and to adjudicate given it during the FDR administration. ii Forget a “first step” toward eliminating the Fed. Abolish it now and put an end to the commercial banks' power to enrich themselves at our expense by issuing bookkeeping entry Etherbacks. Restore control and issuance of our money supply to Congress and the Treasury where it belongs. iii Repeal the 17th Amendment to restore to the States the power to check usurpation of power by the federal government.
Liberty has no time left on the clock. We must make it plain to those who promise to restore the Constitution, to get us out of foreign entanglements, and to end the tyranny of a banker run America that they must honor those promises. We can tolerate no further breach of trust. We must make it clear to these people that if we can't get representative government through electoral action, then we will get it through executive action. We, ourselves, must decided whether to live as slaves or die as a free people and hope that it's not too late for a third option – to live as a free people.]

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Obamacare Simplified

Obamacare Simplified – an Addendum to “Healthcare Obamanation”

Prior to writing “Healthcare Obamanation,” I spent many hours trying to make sense of it before concluding it couldn't be done, that its meaning would have to be determined by the courts (after flesh was put on the bones). I may have erred. The Ohio Project was able to analyze it and create an easy to follow road map of the healthcare program created. A copy was printed in The Ohio Republic blog. Anyone who is confused by the legislation should take a close look at the map in order to get a clearer understanding.

[The link to the expandable version of the chart is no longer available.  The link immediately below should take you to the file in my Google Documents.  To best view the chart, click "file" in the menu at the upper left and then click "download original."  If it doesn't work, please leave me a note. Thanks!]

Download the PDF and use it to explain the plan to your friends and family and impress them with your knowledge

I tried posting the chart directly, but Google immediately adds the spy site url to the code.The links below no longer work properly for this, but are still good links to those sites.

http://ohiorepublic.blogspot.com/2010/07/lost-in-maze.html

The above link will take you to the ohiorepublic page with the map. Clicking on the map no longer takes you to the PDF file in the OhioProject.

Below is a link to the ohioproject main page.
http://www.theohioproject.com/

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