U.S. Political Parties: The Republican Party

The Republican Party was founded in 1854 in Ripon, WI by anti-slavery activists. It was referred to as the Grand Old Party, hence the “GOP.” Abraham Lincoln became the first Republican President in 1860.

During the Civil War, “Republican of the day worked to pass the Thirteenth Amendment, which outlawed slavery, the Fourteenth, which guaranteed equal protection under the laws, and the Fifteenth, which helped secure voting rights for African-Americans.” The Republicans “also played a leading role in securing women the right to vote.” (GOP)

When FDR enacted the “Second New Deal, “it was heavily criticized by the Republicans in Congress, who likened it to class warfare & socialism. The volume of legislation, & the inability of the Republicans to block it, soon made the oppositions to Roosevelt develop into bitterness. Conservative Democrats, mostly from the South, joined with Republicans lead by Senator Robert Taft to create the conservative coalition, which dominated domestic issues in Congress until 1964.” (Wikipedia)

Main Platforms

National Security:

• Homeland Security: “We must continue to remove barriers to cooperation and information sharing. Modernized 9-1-1 services must be made universally available and be adequately funded. We must be able to thwart cyber attacks that could cripple our economy, monitor terrorist activities while respecting Americans’ civil liberties, and protect against military and industrial espionage and sabotage.”
• Terrorism and Nuclear Proliferation: “The U.S. should lead that effort [nuclear arsenal reduction] by reducing the size of our nuclear arsenal to the lowest number consistent with our security requirements and working with other nuclear powers to do the same.” “We must develop and deploy both national and theater missile defenses to protect the American homeland, our people, our Armed Forces abroad, and our allies.”
• Better Intelligence: “We must increase the ranks and resources of our human intelligence capabilities, integrate technical and human sources, and get that information more quickly to the war fighter and the policy maker. The multi-jurisdictional arrangements that now prevail on Capitol Hill should be replaced by a shingle Joint Committee on Intelligence.”
• Immigration, National Security, and the Rule of Law: “Our commitment to the rule of law means smarter enforcement at the workplace, against illegal workers and lawbreaking employers alike, along with those who practice identity theft and traffic in fraudulent documents.” “The rule of law means guaranteeing to law enforcement the tools and coordination to deport criminal aliens without delay -- and correcting court decisions that have made deportation so difficult. It means enforcing the law against those who overstay their visas,” “denial of federal funds for self-described sanctuary cities,” “it does not mean diver’s licenses for illegal aliens, nor does it mean that states should be allowed to flout the federal law barring them from giving in-state tuition rates to illegal aliens, nor does it mean that illegal aliens should receive social security benefits, or other public benefits” “We oppose amnesty.” “We celebrate the industry [legal immigration] & love of liberty of these fellow Americans.” “In our multiethnic nation, everyone -- immigrants and native-born alike -- must embrace our core values of liberty, equality, meritocracy, and respect for human dignity and the rights of women.” “We support English as the official language in our nation”
• Providing for the Armed Forces: “They and their families must have the pay, health care, housing, education, & overall support they need. We must significantly increase the size of our Armed Forces” “Injured military personnel deserve the best medical care our country has to offer.” “We oppose reinstituting the draft, whether directly or through compulsory national service.” “To protect our servicemen & women and ensure that America’s Armed Forces remain the best in the world, we affirm the timelessness of those values, the benefits of traditional military culture, and the incompatibility of homosexuality with military service.”
• Fulfilling our Commitment to our Veterans: “We want to build on the bipartisan expansion of the GI Bill by encouraging private colleges to bridge the gap between GI Bill education benefits and tuition costs.” “The VA’s current disability compensation formulas need to be restructured and modernized.” “There must be adequate counseling when veterans return home”
• Israel: “We reaffirm America’s commitment to Israel’s security and will ensure that Israel maintains a qualitative edge in military technology over any potential adversaries.”

Economy:

• Republican Tax Policy: Protecting Hardworking Americans: “We believe government should tax only to raise money for its essential functions.” “doubling the exemption for dependents,” “permanently ban internet access taxes and stop all new cell phone taxes,” “continue our fight against the federal death tax,” “The Alternative Minimum Tax, a stealth levy on the middle-class that unduly targets large families, must be repealed.” “We support a major reduction on the corporate tax rate” “we support giving all taxpayers the option of filing under the current rules or under a two-rate flat tax with generous deductions for families.”
• Small Business: the Engine of Job Growth: “Republicans will advance a multi pronged plan to support small business & growth of good-paying jobs.”
• Free & Fair Trade: “we need to be at the table when trade rules are written to make sure that free trade is indeed a two-way street.”
• Supporting our Agricultural Communities: “We advocated the creation of Farm Savings Accounts to help growers manage risks brought on by turbulence in global markets & nature itself.” “we affirm our fight against the death tax.” “We reaffirm traditional state supremacy over water allocations and will continue to make available renewable rangeland under sound environmental conditions.” “The U.S. government should end mandates for ethanol and let the free market work.”

Health Care Reform: Putting Patients First: “Republicans believe the key to real reform is to give control of the health care system to patients & their health care providers, not bureaucrats in government or business.”

• “We will protect citizens against any & all risky restructuring efforts that would complicate or ration health care.”
• “We will encourage health promotion & disease prevention.”
• “We will facilitate cooperation, not confrontation, among patients, providers, payers, & all stakeholders in the healthy care system.”
• “We will not put government between patients & their health care providers.”
• “We will not put the system on a path that empowers Washington bureaucrats at the expense of patients.”
• “We will not raise taxes instead of reducing health care costs.”
• “We will not replace the current system with the staggering inefficiency, maddening irrationality, & uncontrollable costs of a government monopoly.”

Education:

• “Education is a parental right, a state & local responsibility, & a national strategic interest.”
  
• “We advocate policies & methods that are proven & effective: building on the basics, especially phonics; ending social promotion; merit pay for good teachers; classroom discipline; parental involvement; & strong leadership by principals. We reject a one-size-fits-all approach & support parental options, including home schooling, & local innovations such as schools or classes for boys only or for girls only & alternative & innovative school schedules.”
  
• “we support the English First approach”

Crime: Protecting Our Families:

• “Republicans remain the party of vigorous action against crime & the party that empowers the law-abiding by protecting their right to keep & bear arms for self-protection.”
  
• “We support the law prohibiting gambling over the Internet.”
  
• “Illegal alien gang members must be removed from the United States immediately upon arrest or after the completion of any sentence imposed.”
  
• “Courts must have the option of imposing the death penalty in capital murder cases & other instances of heinous crime”
  
• “We support the right of off-duty & retired officers to carry firearms. Criminals should be barred from seeking monetary damages for injuries they incur while committing a crime.”

Preserving Our Values:

• “We uphold the right of individual Americans to own firearms”
  
• “We condemn decisions by activists judges to deny children the opportunity to say the Pledge of Allegiance in public school.”
  
• “We support freedom of speech & freedom of the press & oppose attempts to violate or weaken those rights, such as reinstatement of the so-called Fairness Doctrine.”
  
• “we assert the inherent dignity & sanctity of all human life & affirm that the unborn child has a fundamental individual right to life which cannot be infringed.”
  
• “We oppose using public revenues to promote or perform abortion & will not fund organizations which advocate it. We support the appointment of judges who respect traditional family values & the sanctity of dignity of innocent human life.”
  
• “we oppose the non-consensual withholding of care or treatment from people with disabilities, was well as the elderly & infirm, just as we oppose euthanasia & assisted suicide”
  
• “we call for a constitutional amendment that fully protects marriage as a union of a man & a woman”
  
• “The public display of the Ten Commandments does not violate the U.S. Constitution & accurately reflects the Judeo-Christian heritage of our country. We support the right of students to engage in student-initiated, student-led prayer in public schools, athletic events, & graduation ceremonies, when done in conformity with constitutional standards.”
  
• “We affirm every citizen’s right to apply religious values to public policy & the right of faith-based organizations to participate fully in public programs without renouncing their beliefs, removing religious objects or symbols, or becoming subject to government-imposing hiring practices.”

For the full most recent platform, click here.

Websites to check out:

• Wikipedia: The Republican Party
• GOP
• Republican National Convention