Posted on 02/20/2010 11:43:56 AM PST by dagogo redux
With the tension brewing between the Tea Party movement and the Progessive/statist RINOs, and given the fact that out best chances may require working for change within the GOP, I would like to hear the ideas of fellow FReepers in the form of four proposed federal-level planks for the GOP.
I'll offer mine, based on my limited understanding of the original intent of our Founding Fathers, and how that might fit with our current mess, but I'm hoping to hear the thoughts of greater minds and deeper thinkers here. Thanks.
Top Four Federal-level Planks for the Republican Party
1. Fiscal - Flat Tax. Abolish all other federal taxes. Balanced Budget Amendment. Abolish the Federal Reserve. Gold Standard.
2. Security - Declared wars only, and only if fought to complete and unconditional surrender of the entities involved. Borders and ports of entry tightly secured. Immigration and visitation tightly controlled. Constitutional rights limited to citizens. Quit the United Nations, and remove them from our soil. Enter no treaties limiting the freedoms or sovereignty of our citizens.
3. Corruption - Strict term limits and recycle laws on elected federal officials. Abolish federal-level lobbying. Strict limits on Executive Orders & “Czars”. Cabinets/Departments returned to Constitutional limits (Four). No separate laws or privileges, and no unions, for federal government servants. Limit extra-military federal employees to 0.1-0.2% of voting age citizens. Mandate strict voter ID enforcement to all states for federal elections. Eliminate special tax status and federal grants or awards for foundations and NGOs. Reign in the activist and tyrannical tendencies of the federal judiciary.
4. Cultural - English as official language.
Everything else is left to the states, the private sector, and We the People.
Great answers. Lots of general “concensus”. Thanks.
Seems far away from what any of the RINOs and power brokers in the GOP really want, though :) I understand “the perfect is the enemy of the good”, but what good can we really expect from aligning ourselves with the likes of CPAC and such? Long road ahead of us in that direction, it seems to me, but perhaps it is the only feasible road ahead. Don’t know.
I think bacon and chocolate - and Dogfish Head IPA 90 - should be left to the states, however. :)
Freedom, small government, low taxes, constitution.
2. Secure borders and strictly enforce ALL laws! (Repeal bad ones)
3. Constitution as written (no implications or penumbras) is the law of the land. Get rid of all Unconstitutional departments and agencies.
4. American English is the official language of the United States.
I am tried of living in the nanny state, I want to be LEFT THE HELL ALONE.
I want the government to stop telling me what to do with my body, my children, my land, or anything else. It's MY health, my life, my property and I don't need some bureaucrat in Washington telling me what to do.
Excellent idea.
1. If you were in Washington in 2007, you shouldn’t be there in 2011.
(We can fix the rest if we can fix that).
1. Win the war
a. Home front
b. Iranian front
c. Afghan front
d. Iraqi Front
2. Shrink government
a. Privatize Social Security, Medicare. Medicaid
b. Eliminate Dept. of Education, Dept of Labor, FEMA, EPA, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Welfare for able bodied adults,etc. etc. (anything created after ~1859 is suspect)
c. Balance budget to eliminate deficit and ultimately debt.
d. create incentives for remaining agencies to eliminate regulations.
3. Defend the border
a. build fence
b. create workable means of citizenship verification
c. fine the snot out of anyone employing an illegal
4. Lower taxes
a. eliminate capital gains tax
b. mandatory 5% tax rate on all adults
and finally:
No Representation without Taxation!
1. strong national defense
2. less taxes, less spending, less government
3. Life and Liberty
4. pro-borders/anti-amnesty
1. Constitutional Amendment banning Abortion. Abortion is the ultimate “I will do anything I want” act. Abortion is morally reprehensible and morally indefensible.
2. Repeal the 17th Amendment and Pass New Amendment.
- Senators returned to be appointed by State Legislatures. Term limited to 3 terms.
- House representation set at 1 per 50,000 citizens. Term limited to 5 terms. The ONLY campaign funds accepted are from registered voters living in their district. ALL left over campaign funds to be given to charities for military families who lost loved ones in battle.
- President limited to 4 terms.
No Federal Retirement Plans for Elected or Appointed Officials, except Federal Judges.
3. Constitutional Amendment to Balance the Budget. Deficit spending allowed only by:
- Presidental Declaration of State of Emergency
AND
- 5/6 vote of the Congress.
Violation is mandatory 5 year prison sentence
4. Abolish the entire tax code. 10% Flat tax on all income, no deductions. Eliminate all business taxes.
5. Remove ALL entitlement spending by the Federal Government. No Welfare, foodstamps, no federal spending on individuals. Enact 30 year plan to phase out Social Security, year by year.
6. National SECURE ID Act.
- Secure Photo ID Card for ALL Citizens.
- Secure the Borders by whatever means necessary.
- All Visitors enter through Secure Visitors Picture ID.
- Violators permanently banned from entry.
7. Secure Energy Act
- 100% Nuclear/Hydro/Solar/Wind on the Power Grid by 2030.
- Remove all barriers to drilling ANWR/Oil Shale/Oil Sands.
- Remove all barrier to drilling up to 12 miles from shore on the US Coasts.
I really like your list, except for the prohibition on lobbying. I dont think it would be constitutional.
I also dont consider lobbying a sin. It has both good and bad outcomes.
Otherwise your list is dynamite.
Top Four Federal-level Planks for the Republican Party
1. Fiscal - Flat Tax. Abolish all other federal taxes. Balanced Budget Amendment. Abolish the Federal Reserve. Gold Standard.
2. Security - Declared wars only, and only if fought to complete and unconditional surrender of the entities involved. Borders and ports of entry tightly secured. Immigration and visitation tightly controlled. Constitutional rights limited to citizens. Quit the United Nations, and remove them from our soil. Enter no treaties limiting the freedoms or sovereignty of our citizens.
3. Corruption - Strict term limits and recycle laws on elected federal officials. Abolish federal-level lobbying. Strict limits on Executive Orders & “Czars”. Cabinets/Departments returned to Constitutional limits (Four). No separate laws or privileges, and no unions, for federal government servants. Limit extra-military federal employees to 0.1-0.2% of voting age citizens. Mandate strict voter ID enforcement to all states for federal elections. Eliminate special tax status and federal grants or awards for foundations and NGOs. Reign in the activist and tyrannical tendencies of the federal judiciary.
4. Cultural - English as official language.
Everything else is left to the states, the private sector, and We the People.
I agree with all of that except term limits.
Protect innocent human life from conception to natural death.
That would raise the size of the House from 435 to about 6,200.
Correct. Do you think 435 people accurately represent the will of 300,000,000? I don’t.
Yeah, 6,200 will SLOOOOOOOOW DOOOOOOOWN the Congress. And that is NOT a bad thing.
One each at the port and starboard bow and aft. There’s lots of progressives on board the GOP scow that need to walk the plank. The ship is infested with RATS.
It would be a lot harder to bribe and/or threaten 6200 people, that’s for sure. Man, would the lobbyists and powerful Congress Critters be against that.
My list:
1. Build a border wall with Mexico. Manned by troops of a new military group—The Border Guard.
2. English only—that’s in printed news, radio, TV, etc...
If we have any second language its Spanish and only in the states acquired from Mexico. No other languages!
3. No more progressive Income tax all pay %15 of income. If you make a buck a year you will have to pay 15 cents to Uncle Sam.
4. No UN—pull out and send them packing to Europe.
5. No more illegal aliens—anyone who hires them should be sentenced to five years of hard labor.
6. Universal Draft for everyone who hits 18 years of age. They must serve 18 months of National Service BUT only within the National borders. Foreign wars to be fought with volunteers (unless its a declared war then all bets are off).
Especially if that means the states can outlaw murdering children in the womb.
Limited government - Regulation should be limited to the protection of general public health safety and morals from substantial injury. Public benefit or public goals may be accomplished through education and voluntary incentive-based programs. Most regulation should be local. Government and elected officials should be close to the people and
Individual liberties - government is limited in order to protect individual freedom from encroachment by majority will. Government power is divided and fractionalized in order to protect individual liberty. Lets stick with the Constitutional frame of limited enumerated federal powers and a representative (republican) elected body that makes laws, not bureaucratic agencies who pop out a new regulation ever 10 minutes.
The integrity of private property - The bundle of sticks that go along with ownership of private property include exclusive use, enjoyment and disposal of private property. Regulation should not be used to erode the concept or value of ownership. If the government wants the property for a legitimate public use, then it needs to pay just compensation for it.
Cut taxes and control spending. Programs should be for the benefit of the general public - not certain interest groups or classes. Huge bureaucracies should be jetisoned. Limited social programs can be accomplished cheaper and better through community-based organizations and private enterprise.
“Everything else is left to the states, the private sector, and We the People.
Especially if that means the states can outlaw murdering children in the womb.”
That was my intent, along with other such issues as same-sex marriage.
The government just grows and grows. Duplication, triplication, of functions is standard operating procedure for the federal government. It is common for each agency to become a mini government onto itself.
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