IT'S NOT NECESSARILY WHO YOU VOTE FOR, BUT WHAT . . .

I'm continuing my series today and now I'm going to highlight the Republican Party platform.  For those of you that may be new to my journal, I'm putting this out in the open so that hopefully voters can make an informed vote this fall.  This Presidential election is one of the most critical if not THE most critical I've seen in my lifetime.  You may ask why the party platform, and what it has to do with your candidate of choice.  The answer is very simple.  Each candidate MUST commit to their particular political party and what IT stands for in order to receive its endorsement and campaign funds.  What you hear the candidates saying during their election runs sometimes lines up with the party platform and sometimes doesn't.  When it doesn't, don't count on it happening if that candidate is elected.  They MUST follow the party platform, and once elected, that will be what they will be committed to accomplishing.  To see what a particular candidate REALLY stands for, check out their party's platform and that will be it.

If you haven't done so, I would urge you to see my other posts with the same title to review the Democratic Party's platform.  I apologize for it being so scattered throughout my journal, but the platform was too lengthy for one entry, and most people would have become frustrated with it if I had thrown it out there all at once.  I also do posts on other items in between that I think are of current interest.

For this series, I am again using ON THE ISSUES.  Their postings are concise and easy to read.  They also have an excellent analysis of the voting records of the particular party or officeholder.  The analysis shows on an easy to read graph where the party or officeholder stands based on the voting record, liberal or conservative.  Again, I hope you find this informative and enlightening.

REPUBLICAN PARTY ON CRIME

• Support the death penalty. (Sep 2004)
• Best way to deter crime is to enforce existing laws. (Sep 2004)
• More victims rights and harsher penalties for certain crimes. (Aug 2000)
• Death penalty is an effective deterrent. (Aug 2000)

REPUBLICAN PARTY ON DRUGS

• Jail time and school drug testing deters drug use. (Sep 2004)
• Clinton surrendered Drug War; cry out for drug-free schools. (Aug 2000)
• Aggressively pursue drug kingpins; include death penalty. (Aug 2000)

REPUBLICAN PARTY ON EDUCATION

• Promote school choice and home-schooling. (Sep 2004)
• Support voluntary student-initiated prayer in school. (Sep 2004)
• Limit role of federal government in education. (Aug 2000)(I think the Federal government's massive role in public education is the primary reason why the U.S. is ranked #18 out of 24 industrialized nations in education - that's not far from being dead last.) 
• Increase access to higher education with savings accounts. (Aug 2000)
• Strongly support voluntary student-initiated prayer. (Aug 2000)
• Achievement is basis for access to college. (Aug 2000)

REPUBLICAN PARTY ON ENERGY & OIL

• No Kyoto, no mandatory carbon emissions controls. (Sep 2004)(When Bill Clinton was president, even he saw the problems with this and did not sign the Kyoto Accords.  Two main problems is that it would have seriously damaged the U.S. economy, and exempted the very countries that produce the majority of the so-called "greenhouse gases.") 
• Provide tax incentives for energy production. (Aug 2000)

REPUBLICAN PARTY ON ENVIRONMENT

• Private property ownership key to environmental agenda. (Sep 2004)
• Cap-and-trade market-based air pollution reductions. (Sep 2004)
• Encourage market-based solutions to environmental problems. (Aug 2000)

REPUBLICAN PARTY ON FAMILIES & CHILDREN

• Families are the cornerstone of our culture. (Sep 2004)
• Support abstinence and fatherhood. (Aug 2000)
• Reduce child welfare caseloads & encourage adoption. (Aug 2000)

REPBULICAN PARTY ON FOREIGN POLICY

• Nations that support terrorism are just as guilty. (Sep 2004)
• A global coalition has broken al Qaeda cells. (Sep 2004)
• The Pakistan government working with US to fight terror. (Sep 2004)
• Saudi Arabia has joined the War on Terror. (Sep 2004)
• Iraq is now becoming an example of reform. (Sep 2004)
• Libya's munitions have been destroyed. (Sep 2004)
• Iraqi government has gained broad international support. (Sep 2004)
• Pursue a comprehensive strategy against WMD proliferation. (Sep 2004) (We need to check out Syria on this one.  That's where Saddam Hussein shipped his WMD's as soon our troops hit the border.  Captured documents that are still being translated reveal not only the existence of WMD's, but where they went.  I think President Bush has made a big mistake by not making the translated documents public).
• Provide new strategies to help poor nations. (Sep 2004)
• Applaud the success in mobilizing international cooperation. (Sep 2004)
• The Broader Middle East Initiative spreads democracy. (Sep 2004)
• Objectives of assistance and the strategies must change. (Sep 2004)
• Look to Latin American countries as key partners. (Aug 2000)
• Strengthen ties to Asia and promote democracy there. (Aug 2000)(Except for Red China - they are our sworn enemy and I strongly opposed Clinton's granting them Most Favored Nation status). 
• NATO has shared responsibility for peacekeeping. (Aug 2000)
• Help Africa with private sector and charitable investment. (Aug 2000)
• Reform U.N. to end abuse, unfairness, and abortion funding. (Aug 2000) (I really don't know how this is expected to be done since the U.N. and all key commissions are made up mostly of our enemies).
• Will not allow China to attack Taiwan. (Aug 2000) (I don't think any of our politicians have the guts to do this, but Red China understands only one kind of deterrent - attack Taiwan, expect a military response . . . period).

REPUBLICAN PARTY ON FREE TRADE

• U.S. should position itself to dominate trade. (Aug 2000)
• Promote free trade with America setting the standards. (Aug 2000)(This is one of the key things on which I disagree with the Republican Party.  Free trade is one of the things that has gotten us into such trouble with lost manufacturing jobs in the U.S.  It's hard to find anything made in the U.S. anymore which means Americans are making the goods).

I will be making future entries with more of the Republican Party Platform.  As before, I may make other entries as current issues arise or as I discover in my research.  Thank you all for your comments, whether you agree with me or not.  As I've said before, I welcome differing viewpoints most of which I repost and rebut.  If you have a comment for any of my earlier posts, please feel free to leave a comment.  I have my comments on alert, so I will get them no matter how far back they are.  If it's a differing opinion on an issue, I will do a rebuttal entry.  I believe open discussions such as this are vital to maintaining our First Amendment rights.  "If you don't use it, you'll lose it" certainly applies.  If we don't exercise our rights, we may lose them.

Tags: Republican Party Platform, Presidential Election