Time to submit your resolutions!
Jan Heinricks, one of our long-time members, speakers, and rant-winners, put together these proposals for the GOP platform a couple of months ago. I asked him to be a guest blogger to start this conversation on resolutions, so now is the time to put in your two cents and start helping to draft resolutions. Use the comments section to add your thoughts, and please remember to keep the resolution topics within our core principles of fiscal responsibility, personal and governmental accountability, limited government, free markets, and sovereignty.
If you wish to see the 2008 Texas GOP platform, you can find it HERE.
Republican Party Platform Addendums by Jan Heinricks
CREATE JOBS NOW!
- Cut the Payroll Tax in half for two years and eliminate the capital gains tax for two years. Make President Bush’s tax cuts permanent. Recent studies have shown that each dollar cut in taxes results in a 3 to 1 growth in GDP.
- Remove restrictions from drilling for oil and natural gas on all federal and state lands and oceans.
- Provide tax incentives for natural gas pipeline contractors to build new pipelines from natural gas sources to major cities. Repay the tax incentives with a non-permanent natural tax surcharge.
- Remove federal and state restrictions preventing the construction of nuclear power plants and provide tax incentives to encourage construction.
- Use taxpayer dollars to help fund the development of “clean coal” technology. Through a surcharge, repay the tax dollars spent and create jobs by utilizing U.S. companies to build and sell the technology overseas.
CUT THE SIZE OF FEDERAL GOVERNMENT NOW!
- Eliminate immediately the Departments of Education and Energy.
- Cut Congressional staffs and funding in half.
- Eliminate all Presidential “Czars” and cut the President’s staff and funding in half.
- Unless a Federal department is deemed necessary to protect and defend the nation, cut their budget 25%.
- Over the next three years, the federal government needs to sell its ownership in General Motors, AIG, the Banks, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac. The federal government should no longer guarantee Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans.
- Over a very long term (e.g. 50 years), Social Security and Medicare need to be eliminated and replaced with plans that are owned privately by the individual taxpayer and not the federal government. It took us 50 plus years to get in this mess. It will take us 50 years to get out of it.
- Stop the funding of ACORN and get the unions out of the Whitehouse.
CONGRESSIONAL TERM LIMITS NOW!
- Senators should be limited to two terms (12 years) in office.
- House of Representatives should be limited to six terms (12 years) in office.
CONTROL OUR BORDERS NOW!
- Before any immigration reform is even considered, our borders must be closed to stop illegal aliens from entering this nation undetected. This includes finishing the fence along the southern border, providing more funds to expand our border patrol personnel, buying drones to patrol unmanned areas of the border, etc.
- Enforce immigration laws. This includes giving local police officers the wherewithal to check citizenship. Non-criminal illegal aliens must be deported immediately.
- Repeal the “Anchor Baby” clause of the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act. The baby of an illegal alien should not be granted citizenship just because they were born here in the United States.
REPEAL THE PASSAGE OF ANY HEALTHCARE REFORM, CAP AND TRADE (CARBON TAX), IMMIGRATION REFORM OR EMPLOYEE FREE CHOICE ACT (LABOR UNION CARD CHECK) LEGISLATION NOW!
- The government takeover of healthcare needs to be stopped. Free market solutions must be used instead.
- Cap and Trade legislation will send jobs overseas. The “Climate Change/Global Warming” is a lie and a hoax whose intent is only to make the supporters rich and weaken the United States economy.
- The borders need to be closed first before any immigration reform is considered. We need immigrates who have skills that can contribute to our society, not take from it.
Employees voting in a unionization vote must be protected by the secret ballot. Federal employees must not be allowed to join or be members of an organized union.
This is excellent. My one idea would be eliminate the department of education. and you are there. I’d like to see the country adopt a consumption tax, but we can’t ask for everything immediately. I do think 12 years is too long for a Rep. I like 6.
In leiu of term limits, if we can get enough candidates to vote out pension and perks and health insurance, time in office would not be a problem, it would be true service!!! Make it an issue with all the candidates now runing, get on thier facebook and ask them in writing if they will vote out perks, it will get results. Thank you very much.
Here are several resolutions.
State level issues:
1) A State constitutional amendment that repeals Proposition 15, an State constitutional amendment that was disastrously passed by voters in November 2003. Prop 15 stipulates that government employees of local or subdivision governments in Texas may NEVER cut the pension benefits accrued by government employees. So, if a group of politicians caves in to the local government labor unions and bankrupts a City over the long run just so they can get elected, there’s nothing voters can do to get out of the trap.
http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/Texas_Proposition_15_%282003%29
2) A State constitutional amendment that bans the enactment of a state wide land use or growth management plans. Many states have this, but Texas does not. Such plans abuse property rights, and contribute to rising housing costs. In the 2009 legislature, the “Smart Growth” movement pushed through a bill that would have required urban areas to adopt growth management plans, but this was vetoed by Governor Perry.
3) Require that the state of Texas devote all of the 20 cents of the state gasoline tax be devoted to roads and road maintenance. Right now, 5 cents of the tax gets diverted towards public education.
Federal issues:
The Tea Party movement, in its lemming like concentration on Sarah Palin, Debra Medina, Obama Care, and Cap and Trade issues, while good, is completely missing some substantial legislation that is scheduled to be debated in 2010.
Congress is set to reauthorize SAFETY-LU, the six year bill where Congress funds transportation, including roads and mass transit. The 2003 bill was funded for $246 billion. The proposed reauthorization is for a whopping $500 billion, a massive increase in funding in an era of immense deficits. I propose the following:
1) That Congress be constrained to only fund U.S. roads and the Interstate highway system. The FTA (Federal Transit Administration) shall be abolished.
2) States and local governments shall be directed that they need to start planning and funding their own transportation issues. The Interstate highway system is complete, hence the Federal government shall concentrate on its maintenance, as well as that of U.S. roads.
3) The federal gasoline tax shall be reduced to 10 cents per gallon and no monies shall be diverted towards any other transportation purpose, including mass transit and bicycle paths. Monies may be permitted towards flooding mitigation issues, as long as such issues are shown to be caused by federal projects.
I propose a resolution requiring employers to enroll employees into personal savings plans, with the option that employees may opt out of such plans.
I propose a resolution raising the age of eligibility of Social Security to age 70, with a long term plan leading towards abolishing the program.
I propose that Congress abolish the medical insurance industry’s Interstate anti-trust exemptions, which would create a nation wide market for private medical insurance.
Corrections:
1) The State of Texas, via constitutional amendment, shall never enact a state wide growth management plan, nor shall the Texas Legislature ever require local or sub-governmental entities to draw up and enact a growth management plan.
2) I meant to write that Proposition 15 stipulates that local government employee pension benefits shall never be cut. I propose a constitutional amendment repealing Proposition 15, as it was passed and adopted in November 2003.
Stimlate job creation in this country by doing the following:
1 – Declare a 1 year income tax holiday.
2 – Undo the Obama/Pelosi “stimulus” bill and block spending the unspent funds
3 – Immediately end TARP and require that all funds repaid by banks be used towards retiring public debt.
4 – Create a special “Road Bond” to fund the $1.6 Trillion of infrastructure repairs and upgrades this country desperately needs
In addition to those resolutions proposed by Jan Heinricks, develop a plan to eliminate the Federal Income Tax to be replaced with a Federal Sales Tax (Consumption Tax). Abolish the IRS.
Under Create Jobs – We eliminate the corporate income Tax now and give Factories a reason to relocate here.
Under cut the size of government we eliminate the ability of government employees to unionize. We have no honest broker on the side of the government.
Make a provision to recall the Governor and Senators.
We cut FDIC insurance to $2500. If you are smart enough to save more then you can make sure your bank is going to be solvent. This program encourages bad behavior.
Remove all mandates on employers that have anything to do with health insurance. I don’t ask my employer to get my auto insurance. Make it so health insurance pools are by county or some other large division so uninsurable people can buy it and you don’t need to be employed to keep or obtain it. It would be portable and you no longer work for some place because you are scared of losing it. This would also allow companies to hire without worrying about that cost being a factor in a hire.
A Constitutional amendment to make it illegal for congress to exempt themselves from any law they pass.
Remove pensions from all elected officials Past and Present. Except President and limit theirs to 10 years. It is a position of service. Not self service.
Repeal the 16th and 17th amendments. Fix the 14th.
Repeal motor voter act.
Make voter fraud a felony if it is not. Fix Gerrymandering so that a politician has to represent all of their constituents.
And End the Fed.
The proper purpose of government is the protection of individual rights, including property rights. Until this is recognized and explicitly stated (along with everything it implies), the GOP will remain the “me too” party–agreeing with the Democrats on every important principle and reduced to bickering over details.
The “Fair” Tax is anything but! What percentage of income does a blue-collar or pink-collar worker spend on work clothes, personal hygiene, children’s clothes, school supplies, parts for his transporation? Now, what percentage of income does a white-collar worker, or idle rich person, spend on those? Sure, the rich buy more expensive items — that don’t wear out as fast! — and more expensive toys, but the rich also save and invest the way the middle class can’t. A sales tax is regressive! And a higher sales tax on rich toys drives that business elsewhere. New England used to have a yacht-building industry, and then the Feds decided that would be a good place to collect taxes. So the rich bought their yachts overseas, and the boat builders of New England went broke.
We need a flat tax, with no exempions whatsoever. And much less government, restricted to the few things allowed by the Constitution.
Here are three more for your consideration endorsed by the North Houston Tea Party Patriots:
WHEREAS, Article 2, Section 1 and Article 7 of the United States Constitution require the President and the Senators, Representatives, members of the State Legislatures and all executive and judicial officers of both the United States and the several States to take Oaths of Affirmations to support the United States Constitution.
IT IS RESOLVED, that all laws, executive orders, regulations, judicial rulings or any other documents or orders that pertain to the execution of office by any of the aforementioned individuals who are required by the United States Constitution to take Oaths or Affirmations to support the United State Constitution, include in them reference to the specific provision(s) in the United States Constitution under which such laws, executive orders, regulations, judicial rulings or any other documents or orders are authorized.
Whereas the tenth amendment of the United States Constitution states that the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people; and
Whereas in Article I, Section 8 the United States government is given defined and limited powers; and
Whereas in the modern day system of federalism the United States government funds the several states with the money coming from the citizens of the several states; now therefore
Be it resolved that all state legislatures represent the best interest of Texas, using nullification resolutions, and other appropriate and Constitutional measures, to stop the United States government from enacting unconstitutional laws in Texas, and order that rejection of any federal money from unconstitutional federal law must be given back to the citizens, who paid it, or to pay the national debt.
WHEREAS, the Republican Party of Texas conscientiously develops a Party Platform to reflect the values of its members; and
WHEREAS, officials elected as representatives of the Republican Party routinely ignore and/or violate the Party Platform positions,
RESOLVED, the Texas Republican Party, starting immediately, will undertake to monitor the performances of all Republicans elected to Federal, State and Local offices and compare such performances against the Party Platform.
IT IS FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Texas Republican Party will publish the results of the foregoing monitoring at least 90 days before the filing deadline of every election in which a position occupied by a Republican incumbent is on the ballot.
Defense of self and others, personal arms on campus
Whereas the State of Texas recognizes our unalienable right to defense of life and property; but
Whereas the State of Texas also and specifically bans effective defense of life and property in some venues and recognizes in law similar bans to effective defense promulgated by other government and private entities; and
Whereas neither the State of Texas nor any other governmental or private entity has a duty to protect and defend the lives and property of persons visiting, traversing or otherwise occupying venues where effective defense of self and property is prohibited; be it therefore
Resolved, the Legislature of the State of Texas remove all bars to possession and use of personal arms for effective self defense at all facilities of state universities and colleges for all citizens not deemed prohibited persons.
Adopted: March 2, 2010
Defense of Persons and Property
Whereas the State of Texas recognizes our unalienable right to defense of life and property; but
Whereas the State of Texas also and specifically bans effective defense of life and property in some venues and recognizes in law similar bans to effective defense promulgated by other government and private entities; and
Whereas neither the State of Texas nor any other governmental or private entity has a duty at law to protect and defend the lives and property of persons visiting, traversing or otherwise occupying venues where effective defense of self and property is prohibited; be it therefore
Resolved, the Legislature of the State of Texas enact a “Gun Free Zone Criminal Conduct Liability Act’, to provide that: Any person, organization or entity or any agency of government including any unit of local government that creates a gun-free zone is liable for all costs attorney’s fees, and treble damages resulting from criminal conduct that occurs against an individual in the gun-free zone, if a reasonable person would believe that possession of a firearm could have helped the individual defend against such conduct.
Adopted: March 2, 2010
Eminent domain in Texas
Whereas, Governments use the power of eminent domain to take property from owners not only for public use but to transfer to other private entities for reasons such as higher tax revenues: and
Whereas Texas property owners enjoy some but not sufficient protection from abusive takings: therefore be it
Resolved, that this organization supports an amendment to the Texas constitution that includes this language:
“No person’s property shall be taken, damaged, or destroyed for or applied to public use without adequate and just compensation being made, and only if the taking, damage, or destruction is necessary for the possession, occupation, and enjoyment of the property by a common carrier, by an entity providing utility service, by the public at large, by the State, or by a political subdivision of the State.”
Property Tax in Texas
Whereas the fourteenth amendment to the United States Constitution provides that no state may deprive any person of life, liberty, or property; and
Whereas a property tax limits the ability to own, use and enjoy property; therefore be it
Resolved that the Texas state legislature represent the best interests of Texas, and eliminate all use and taking of property tax from all forms of political subdivisions within the borders of the state of Texas.
Resolution Opposing Use of Public Schools for Community Organizing
in the Sovereign State of Texas
WHEREAS in his inauguration speech, President Obama promised to “transform this country,” and has budgeted more than $100 billion in taxpayer’s money for what he calls “Education;”
WHEREAS at American Taxpayer expense, his Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, mailed instructions to every school on how to participate in the September 8 political speech that was broadcast to public school children, making it clear that he has no reservations about using taxpayer money to promote his agenda;
WHEREAS Mr. Obama’s campaign Internet outreach—Obama For America—has been renamed “Organizing for America” (OFA) with the purpose of recruiting students to beome activists for his goals;
WHEREAS the application to join the OFA Internship program states its goal as, “empowering students across the country to help us bring about our agenda of change” and that “credit must be approved by your school ahead of time;”
WHEREAS OFA’s “National Intern Organizer Curriculum” includes a reading list that includes Saul Alinsky’s “Rules for Radicals;”
WHEREAS OFA’s reading list also includes Zack Exley’s “The New Organizers” in which it brags about “an insurgent generation of organizers” inside the Obama campaign that has “almost without anyone noticing … built the Progressive movement a brand new and potentially durable people’s organization, in a dozen states, rooted at the neighborhood level;”
WHEREAS on OFA’s reading list is Rinku Sen’s “Stir It Up: Lessons from Community Organizing and Advocacy;”
WHEREAS on OFA’s reading list is Obama’s “Dreams of My Father,” who is well known as a radical Marxist-Lenninist;
WHEREAS a federal government organization, the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), having a budget of $1.416 billion, oversees other taxpayer funded “service organizations;”
WHEREAS CNCS oversees Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, and Learn and Serve America, which regularly dole out millions of Dollars to radical liberal organizations;
WHEREAS the U.S. Senate has recently confirmed CNCS’s new chief executive, Patrick Corvington, who was a senior official of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, which has given over a million and one-half dollars to the Acorn network of organizations; and
WHEREAS it has become clear that the present federal administration intends to use the children of America to further
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that we urge the Texas Legislature to enact legislation requiring that neither Texas public schools nor their students be used as instruments for political agendas, such as community organization, but, rather focus on history, reading, writing, mathematics, and science.
Adopted this ____ day of _______, 20__, at the Precinct Convention of Precinct # ____ of the Republican Party of Texas.
__________________________________________
Precinct Convention Secretary
Resolution Opposing Any Implementation of Sharia Law
in the Sovereign State of Texas
WHEREAS most of the nations of the world have human beings (presidents, dictators, kings) as their ultimate legal authorities;
WHEREAS to the contrary, the United States of America is instead a “nation of laws, rather than of men;”
WHEREAS the ultimate legal authority in the United States of America is the Constitution, drawn and ratified by “We the People;”
WHEREAS even the President of the United States of America swears allegiance to and is legally bound by the Constitution of the United States of America;
WHEREAS the laws of our Constitutional Republic of Sovereign States have been part of the bedrock of and have provided the legal framework for the growth of America into the greatest country on this planet;
WHEREAS our Constitution protects every citizen’s right of assembly and of worshiping God (or no God) as he or she sees fit;
WHEREAS our military have given their lives to protect that very Constitution and our right of assembly and worship;
WHEREAS we respect the right of peaceful worship by any group within the Islamic faith, as much as the peaceful worship by those of any other faith;
WHEREAS we recognize that Islam is founded on and is comprised of both religious and legal doctrines;
WHEREAS we can clearly see the errors of Western Europe’s folly in permitting various forms of Sharia Law into various enclaves of their societies, such folly caused by failure to distinguish between the Islamic legal system and its religion;
WHEREAS we are repulsed by the many instances of the application of the Islamic legal system, weekly, in the international news, where we have observed a 13-year old girl being stoned to death because she was a rape victim; where a boy’s hand was broken under a truck’s wheel because he had stolen some food for his family; of wife beating, of beheadings, and countless other egregious examples of Sharia Law in action;
WHEREAS we willingly offer the freedom of worship to those of the Islamic faith, knowing that the same freedoms are almost invariably denied to Christians and Hebrews in Islamic states;
WHEREAS we do not wish the injustices of Sharia Law inflicted upon any American citizen, whether of Islamic or non-Islamic background; and
WHEREAS it is clear that some followers of Islam are working tirelessly toward the imposition of Sharia law in various communities within America;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that we urge the Texas Legislature to enact legislation prohibiting any Texas jurisdiction from allowing any other system of Law to be recognized or practiced which is not in accordance with the Constitution of the United States of America.
Adopted this ____ day of _______, 20__, at the Precinct Convention of Precinct # ____ of the Republican Party of Texas.
__________________________________________
Precinct Convention Secretary
Tom I’m going to try to get these posted in the other thread, but no promises – lots to do today.
Reallocate some of the Head Start education money to Technical Junior Colleges to train students in the technical field, such as plumbers, electricians, mechanics, nursing aids. Not everyone wants to go to college or may not be able to handle the coursework but should be trained in such a manner to hold a job.(How many realize that Head Start money pays for diapers, baby formula, baby food, and baby sitters—why is this coming out of education monies?)
I propose a resolution restoring funding to NASA to keep the United States in the forefront of space exploration.
I was disappointed not to see anything about the E-Verify program in either the Jobs or Borders section. This is crucial. Employers should be required to attach an E-Verify printout to eacy I-9 form and if the employee doesn’t pass, action must be taken under penalty of law. When the jobs dry up, millions of illegals will simply self deport.
Its not too late to add this. Please do. Thanks. DD
Cutting the size of the Federal Government.
#4. replace 20% with 50%… Cut the budget by 50% …they were given a 20% increase when Obama took office.
#8. Cut the salaries of administrative staff to be in line with the real world..i.e., DC office staff currently making 72K annually, while in the real world the same position makes about 42K …this is an outrage!
#9. Cut the salaries of all congressmen by 50% and repeal their retirement benefits to the same rate as social security recipients, this is not a lifetime benefit, you get it just like the taxpayers whom you work for.
#10. Cut all expense budgets including the white house 50%.
# 11. In addition to the cutting of all csars positions, cut all but 2 of the first ladies staff (currently she has 26, again, this is an outrage).
NO unionization of any federal workers.
Return ALL unused stimulus and repaid stimulus to pay down the debt as was agreed in original bill.
CONTROL BORDERS NOW.
For all the illegal criminals serving time in our prisons (currently more than 60%) send the bill to criminals’ homeland, and charge interest until it is paid in full for each and every criminal or return them home at their country’s expense without exception.
ALL documents must be printed in English only! This is the USA, we speak English. You don’t understand? Hire an interpreter! I’m tired of paying for documents to be in Spanish! Cut the waste!
ALL powers the federal government has stolen from the states must be returned to the states and the complete return to the Constitution of the United States.
REPAY all the monies borrowed from Social Security with interest from the date borrowed to make SS more solvent …then move towards privatization like Galveston County.
This is GREAT! FINALLY! Now all we need is for all federal employees to take the oath “To Protect & Defend The Constitution Againse All Enemies, Foreign & Domestic”. Then give the a copy of the Constitution.
Earmarks for EVERYBODY. Then we can all pull on the chain TOGETHER!
I saw this on another post and it made me smile
Whatever happens, ignore it all.
Nice site,i have bookmarked it for later use, thanks.
Spotted a link to this post over at Stumbleupon. Thanks for posting it. I’m sure I’ll be back one day.