Here would be my ideas of some things that should be in place:
1) No statewide government welfare of any kind provided. Would be a disincentive for lazy liberals or illegals to move here. With very low taxes and a great business environment, and a strong base of Christians, the poor could be helped in a way that is on a smaller, more personal scale and that holds them accountable to quickly get back to work.Should be mostly church or private charity based. Individual cities or counties could come up with their own systems (work fare or something) if they wish, but there would be no statewide “program” of benefits . This would allow different cities to try different things but not burden the rest of the state if their ideas are impractical or if they run up debt. They would have to bear the consequences of their local decisions, no bailouts from the state level.
2)Dismantle public education in favor of vouchers, charter schools, etc.Clean out the university system and all teacher training colleges. (You really don’t need teacher training colleges for elementary and middle school - if students are taught very well and are self governed themselves, they should be capable of teaching younger kids basic math, English, etc by the time they are 19. See Laura Ingalls Wilder books) Think through ways of promoting higher education but eliminating the socialist indoctrination going on. If not, the infection of those ideas continues.
Mandatory courses on constitutional government and historical foundations of government should be required.
3) I agree with the previous poster who said there needs to be some requirements on the right to vote. Either proof that you worked or own a business, or possibly if you take any locally provided welfare you are not allowed to vote for 5 years, something like that. Also strict voter registration, voter ID required, stiff penalties for vote fraud, etc.
Those are all very sensible policies.
My (random) thoughts are as follows:
Things we can do NOW:
Start weaning ourselves off of FedGov handouts. The FedGov holds the handouts over the States’ heads and threatens to cut them off if the States don’t do what they want. Texas needs to get to the place where we can say, “Go ahead and withhold the funds.” That will also get us to the place where we can say, “And by the way, we will not be sending you (the FedGov) any more money.” States sending the FedGov money and then having the FedGov dole it back out is already “re-distribution.” Time to stop it! In addition, stop all welfare programs. Let the churches and private entities take up the slack. When the moochers quit getting hand-outs, they will re-locate.
Seal the border with Mexico, with whatever method will be the most effective. If the FedGov doesn’t like it, too bad so sad. What are they going to do to stop us? File another lawsuit? We must always remember that the County Sheriff is the ultimate law enforcement and that trespassers can be arrested. For that matter, we should probably begin setting up border fencing around all borders of the State in preparation for the day when we declare Independence.
If sealing the border with Mexico proves to be too difficult, a fence should be erected between the blue border counties and the surrounding red counties. That border would not be the U.S. - Mexico border, but would be the Texas border. The blue counties would end up being the no-man’s land – kind of a DMZ.
Texas has a Constitution in place. Article 1, Section 1 states: “FREEDOM AND SOVEREIGNTY OF STATE. Texas is a free and independent State, subject only to the Constitution of the United States, and the maintenance of our free institutions and the perpetuity of the Union depend upon the preservation of the right of local self-government, unimpaired to all the States.” Texas is subject only to the CONSTITUTION of the U.S., not to the pResident or FedGov. There would be no need to re-write it if we are re-established as a Republic. We can merely amend it, as has always been done. The first amendment should be the requirements for voting, which should include, at a minimum, proof of citizenship and voter registration card. A voter registration card should be issued only when the person (or family) can produce one year’s worth of utility bills to prove that they have been living in the State for at least a year.
As other posters have mentioned, Texas is a state of mind. All like-minded conservatives should make every effort to move here. Texas has been a Republic in the past, and we can do it again. We have the natural resources (oil, timber, etc.), shipping and harbors, manufacturing (including defense mfg.), agriculture and livestock farming and ranching, banking, universities and research, advanced medical centers, highways and railroads, an international airport, cultural centers with state of the art facilities, and virtually any type of industry that is needed for a successful economy. Texas is what the U.S. used to be and we will carry the torch forward. I agree that we should move the Statue of Liberty to Galveston Island (which was as big an immigration center as New York at one time). If we roll back immigration laws to require those who enter to have a strong desire to assimilate to our culture – rather than take it over – they would be welcome as productive members of our society.
As a symbol of my commitment to the Republic of Texas, I intend to fly the “deZavala” Flag. The deZavala flag is blue with a white lone star in the middle, with the letters T-E-X-A-S between the points. It thus has two layers of meaning: 1) it was one of the first flags of Texas Independence and 2) it closely resembles the Bonnie Blue Flag (States’ Rights!).