Posted on 12/22/2015 7:15:07 PM PST by Teacher317
Meeting America's Challenges, Protecting America's Values
Introduction
Our vision is simple. We want an America that gives all Americans the chance to live out their dreams and achieve their God-given potential. We want an America that is still the world's strongest force for peace and freedom. And we want an America that is coming together around our enduring values, instead of drifting apart. We are determined to renew America's most basic bargain: Opportunity to every American, and responsibility from every American. Opportunity. Responsibility. Community. These are the values that made America strong. These are the values that must guide us into the future.
We are living in an age of enormous possibility, and we are working to make sure that all Americans can make the most of it. Now we must move forward, and we know the course we must follow. We need a smaller, more effective, more efficient, less bureaucratic government that reflects our time-honored values. The American people do not want big government solutions and they do not want empty promises. They want a government that is for them, not against them; that doesn't interfere with their lives but enhances their quality of life. They want a course that is reasonable, help that is realistic, and solutions that can be delivered -- a moderate, achievable, common-sense agenda that will improve people's daily lives and not increase the size of government.
That is what we offer: the end of the era of big government and a final rejection of the misguided call to leave our citizens to fend for themselves -- and bold leadership into the future: To meet America's challenges, protect America's values, and fulfill American dreams.
Opportunity
For 220 years, America has been defined by a single ideal: Opportunity for all who take the responsibility to seize it. Our mission is to ensure that the great American Dream of opportunity for all is within reach for all, and that it travels with us, whole and intact, as we walk together into tomorrow.
Economic growth. We know that the private sector is the engine of economic growth, and we fought to put America's economic house in order so private business could prosper. We will work tap the full potential of a new global economy through open and fair trade. We fought to invest in the American people so they would have the capacity to meet the demands of the new economy. And we have invested in the roads, bridges, and highways that are the lifelines of American commerce.
We will be working on cutting the deficit, expanding trade, and investing in our people. In the next four years we have to make the new economy work for all Americans: balancing the budget, creating more jobs, making sure all families can count on good health care and a secure retirement, and, most of all, expanding educational opportunities so all Americans can learn the skills they need to build the best possible future.
We believe that all children should have the opportunity and the education to make the most of their own lives. We believe that schools should be run by teachers and principals, not by Washington. We believe that we have a duty to preserve God's earth and American quality of life for future generations. We are committed to reform, so we protect our environment but we do not trap business in a tangle of red tape. We believe that working people should not be taxed into poverty. We believe that America must put our families first. We believe in a government that works better and costs less. We know that government workers are good people trapped in bad systems, and we are committed to reinventing government to reform those systems. We believe that public servants have suffered too long from unfair politically based criticism destroying their morale and hampering their ability to perform duties which the private sector will not undertake. Tax relief for working families and small businesses. We are committed to targeted tax cuts that help working Americans invest in their future, and we insist that any tax cuts are completely paid for, because we are determined to balance the budget.
We want to strengthen middle-class families by providing a tax cut for children. We want to cut taxes to help families pay for education after high school and to guarantee the first two years of college. We want people to be able to use their IRA's to buy a first home, deal with a medical emergency, or provide for education. We want to cut taxes for small businesses that invest in the future and set up pensions for their workers. And we want to cut taxes for people who are self-employed and self-insured so their health care is more affordable.
We support government policies that encourage private sector investment and innovation to create a pro-growth economic climate. We want technology to create jobs and improve the quality of life for American workers. We recognize that our system of research colleges and universities is the bedrock of American leadership in science and technology. When we invest in our research institutions we are literally investing in our future by helping to train the next brilliant generation of American scientists and engineers. We will continue to invest in world-class research and development, advanced technologies in transportation, information, and other industries, and agricultural and environmental research in partnership with American business. We are working to reinvent the national laboratories and revitalize America's space program, including support for the space station.
Creating jobs through trade. We believe that if we want the American economy to continue strong growth, we must continue to expand trade, and not retreat from the world. America's markets are open to the world, so America has a right to demand that the world's markets are open to our products. American products are the best in the world. When American workers and American companies have the chance to compete around the world, we do not take second place.
We must continue to work to lower foreign trade barriers; insist that foreign companies play by fair rules at home and abroad; strengthen rules that protect the global economy from fraud and dangerous instability; advance American commercial interests abroad; and ensure that the new global economy is directly beneficial to American working families. As we work to open new markets, we must negotiate to guarantee that all trade agreements include standards to protect children, workers, public safety, and the environment. We must ensure adequate trade adjustment assistance and education and training programs to help working families compete and win in the global economy.
Education. We know that education is the key to opportunity. In the new global economy, it is more important than ever before. Today, education is the fault line that separates those who will prosper from those who cannot. We need to improve the quality of American education and expand the opportunity for all Americans to get the education they need to succeed.
We must hold students, teachers, and schools to the highest standards. Every child should be able to read by the end of the third grade. Students should be required to demonstrate competency and achievement for promotion or graduation. Teachers in this country are among the most talented professionals we have. They should be required to meet high standards for professional performance and be rewarded for the good jobs they do. For the few who don't measure up to those high standards, there should be a fair process to get them out of the classroom and the profession. And we should get rid of the barriers that discourage talented young people from becoming teachers in the first place. We should not bash teachers. We should applaud them, and find ways to keep the best teachers in the classroom. Schools should be held accountable for results. We should redesign or overhaul schools that fail. We should promote public charter schools that are held to the highest standards of accountability and access. And we should continue to ensure that America provides quality education to children with disabilities, because high-quality public education is the key to opportunity for all children. Teaching values in schools. We know our children's education is not complete unless they learn good values. Teaching good values, strong character, and the responsibilities of citizenship must be an essential part of American education.
If young people do not have the freedom to learn in safety, they do not have the freedom to learn at all. Now, we must work together at every level of government to launch a major rebuilding effort to make sure our children go to school in high-quality facilities where they can learn. We must help schools set the highest standards for good behavior and discipline in our schools. Children cannot learn -- and teachers cannot teach -- without order in the classroom.
We want to keep working with the private sector, to encourage community partnerships that build the bridge between a good education and a good job.
Clean, affordable energy. Clean, abundant, and reliable energy is essential to a strong American economy. We support investment in research and development to spur domestic energy production and enhance efficiency. New technologies -- natural gas, energy efficiency, renewable energy -- developed in partnership with American industries and scientists are increasing productivity and creating jobs. We believe America should reduce its dependence on foreign energy sources. Corporate citizenship. Employers have a responsibility to do their part as well. We believe that values like loyalty, fairness, and responsibility are not inconsistent with the bottom line.
Responsibility
The era of big government is over. Big bureaucracies and Washington solutions are not the real answers to today's challenges. We need a smaller government . . . and we must have a larger national spirit. Government's job should be to give people the tools they need to make the most of their own lives. Americans must take the responsibility to use them, to build good lives for themselves and their families. Personal responsibility is the most powerful force we have to meet our challenges and shape the future we want for ourselves, for our children, and for America.
Fighting crime. The first responsibility of government is law and order. Nothing is more effective in the fight against crime than police officers on the beat, engaged in community policing. We pledge to stand up for our communities and stand with our police officers. But we know that community policing only works when the community works with the police.
We oppose efforts to restrict weapons used for legitimate sporting purposes, and we are proud that not one hunter or sportsman was forced to change guns because of the assault weapons ban. We stand with America's police officers.
Tough punishment. We believe that people who break the law should be punished, and people who commit violent crimes should be punished severely. We support new funding to help states build new prison cells so violent offenders serve their full sentences. We call on the states to guarantee that serious violent criminals serve at least 85 percent of their sentence. The American people deserve a criminal justice system in which criminals are caught, the guilty are convicted, and the convicted serve their time.
Fighting youth violence and preventing youth crime. Nothing we do to fight crime is more important than fighting the crime and violence that threatens our children. We have to protect them from criminals who prey on them -- and we have to teach them good values and give them something to say yes to, so they stay away from crime and trouble in the first place.
We understand what the police have been saying for years: The best way to fight crime is to prevent it. We support well thought out, well organized, highly supervised youth programs to provide young people with a safe and healthy alternative to hanging out on the streets. At the same time, when young people cross the line, they must be punished. When young people commit serious violent crimes, they should be prosecuted like adults. We want parents to bring order to their children's lives and teach them right from wrong, and we want to make it easier for them to take that responsibility. We support schools that adopt school uniform policies, to promote discipline and respect. We support community-based curfews to keep kids off the street after a certain time, so they're safe from harm and away from trouble. We urge schools and communities to enforce truancy laws: Young people belong in school, not on the street. We also know that we must do everything we can to help families protect their children.
Battling illegal drugs. We must keep drugs off our streets and out of our schools. We tell those who commit crimes and peddle drugs in public housing: You will get no second chance to threaten your neighbors; it is one strike and you're out. Unfortunately casual drug use by young people continues to climb. We must redouble our efforts against drug abuse everywhere, especially among our children.
We have an aggressive four part strategy to reach young children and prevent drug use in the first place; to catch and punish drug users and dealers; to provide treatment to those who need help; and to cut drugs off at the source before they cross the border and pollute our neighborhoods. But every adult in America must take responsibility to set a good example, and to teach children that drugs are wrong, they are illegal, and they are deadly.
Ending domestic violence. When it strikes, nothing is a more dangerous threat to the safety of our families than domestic violence, because it is a threat from within. Unfortunately, violence against women is no stranger to America, but a dangerous intruder we must work together to drive from our homes. We know that domestic violence is not a "family problem" or a "women's problem." It is America's problem, and we must all fight it. Every American must take the responsibility to stop this terrible scourge. As we fight it, we must remember that the victims are not to blame. This is a crime to be punished, not a secret to be concealed.
We must do everything we can to make sure that the victims of violent crime are treated with the respect and the dignity they deserve. Immigration. We are a nation of immigrants. We support a legal immigration policy that is pro-family, pro-work, pro-responsibility, and pro-citizenship, and we deplore those who blame immigrants for economic and social problems.
We know that citizenship is the cornerstone of full participation in American life. We must remain a nation of laws. We cannot tolerate illegal immigration and we must stop it. In the past four years, our borders might as well not have existed. The border was under-patrolled, and what patrols there were, were under-equipped. Drugs flowed freely. Illegal immigration was rampant. Criminal immigrants, deported after committing crimes in America, returned the very next day to commit crimes again.
We support making our border a place where the law is respected and drugs and illegal immigrants are turned away. We have removed thousands of illegal workers from jobs across the country. As we work to stop illegal immigration, we call on all Americans to avoid the temptation to use this issue to divide people from each other. We deplore those who use the need to stop illegal immigration as a pretext for discrimination. We want to protect American jobs by increasing criminal and civil sanctions against employers who hire illegal workers. We continue to firmly oppose welfare benefits for illegal immigrants. We believe family members who sponsor immigrants into this country should take financial responsibility for them, and be held legally responsible for supporting them.
Welfare reform. We know there is no greater gap between mainstream American values and modern American government than our failed welfare system. The welfare system should reflect those values: we want to help people who want to help themselves and their children. Now, national welfare reform is going to make work and responsibility the law of the land. Our new welfare bill imposes time limits and real work requirements -- so anyone who can work, does work, and so that no one who can work can stay on welfare forever. The new welfare bill cracks down on deadbeat parents and requires minor mothers to live at home with their parents or with another responsible adult.
Legal immigrants work hard, pay their taxes, and serve America. We pledge to make sure that legal immigrant families with children who fall on hard times through no fault of their own can get help when they need it. And we are committed to continuing efforts to make it easier for legal immigrants who are prepared to accept the responsibilities of citizenship to do so.
Our job now is to make sure this welfare reform plan succeeds, transforming a broken system that holds people down into a working system that lifts people up and gives them a real chance to build a better life. States asked for this responsibility -- now we have to make sure they shoulder it. We must make sure as many people as possible move from welfare to work. We challenge states to ensure that hard-earned, federal taxpayer dollars are spent effectively and fraud and abuse are prevented. We challenge the business community to provide more of the private sector jobs people on welfare need to build good lives and strong families. We know that passing legislation is not enough; we must make sure people get the skills they need to get jobs, and that there are jobs for them to go to so they leave welfare and stay off. We want to make sure welfare reform will put more people to work and move them into the economic mainstream, not take jobs away from working families.
We call on all Americans to make the most of this opportunity -- never to use welfare reform as an excuse to demonize or demean people, but rather as a chance to bring all our people fully into the economic mainstream, to have a chance to share in the prosperity and the promise of American life.
Teen pregnancy. For the first time in years, the teen pregnancy rate has leveled off and begun to drop. But we all know it is still far too high. Government alone cannot solve this problem. We must send the strongest possible signal to young people that it is wrong to get pregnant or father a child until they are married and ready to support that child and raise that child.
We also know that half of all underage mothers were made pregnant by a man in his twenties, or even older. Statutory rape is a crime, but unfortunately the laws that protect young women from it are almost never enforced. We echo the call to America's prosecutors: Enforce the statutory rape laws vigorously against men who prey on underage women.
We believe it is a fundamental constitutional liberty that individual Americans -- not government -- can best take responsibility for making the most difficult and intensely personal decisions regarding reproduction.
Our goal is to make abortion less necessary and more rare, not more difficult and more dangerous. We support contraceptive research, family planning, comprehensive family life education, and policies that support healthy childbearing. The abortion rate is dropping. Now we must continue to support efforts to reduce unintended pregnancies, and we call on all Americans to take personal responsibility to meet this important goal.
Reinventing government. The American people have a right to demand that responsibility is the order of the day in Washington. The mission is to expand opportunity, not bureaucracy. We must work hard to rein in big government, slash burdensome regulations, eliminate wasteful programs, and shift problem-solving out of Washington and back to people and communities who understand their situations best. Partisan threats are no way to run a government. Nobody should ever shut down the government again.
We will make responsibility the rule in Washington: cutting bureaucracy, improving customer service, demanding better performance, holding people and agencies accountable for producing the best results, ensuring all Americans have access to high quality public services, whether they reside in inner cities, suburbs, or rural communities, and forging new partnerships with the private sector, and with state and local governments to enhance opportunities for all Americans from technology to transportation to travel and tourism. Political reform. We know we have a responsibility to make our democracy work better for America, by limiting the influence of special interests and expanding the influence of the American people. Special interests have too much power in the halls of government. They often operate in secret and have special privileges ordinary Americans do not even know exist. Elections have become so expensive that big money can sometimes drown out the voices of ordinary voters -- who should always speak the loudest.
We call on representatives to stop taking gifts, meals, and trips from lobbyists; to bring lobbyists out from dark rooms and into the bright light of public scrutiny by requiring full disclosure; and to apply to itself the laws that apply to the rest of the country.
But we must take further strong action, and limit campaign spending, curb the influence of PACs and lobbyists, and end the soft money system. It is time to take the reins of democracy away from big money and put them back in the hands of the American people, where they belong.
Security, Freedom, and Peace
The firm, sustained use of American might and diplomacy helped win the greatest victory for freedom in this half of the century -- the end of the Cold War. But to meet the challenges of this new era of promise and peril, America needs leadership that is able to see the contours of the new world -- and willing to act with steadiness, strength, and flexibility in the face of change to make the most of it.
We believe the only way to ensure America's security and prosperity over the long run is to continue exerting American leadership across a range of military, diplomatic, and humanitarian, challenges around the world. We will set a far reaching agenda to strengthen our security, and promote peace and freedom.
Strengthening our security. The highest imperative for our security is the protection of our people, our territory, and our key interests abroad. We are committed to strengthening our military and adapting it to new challenges; reducing the threat of weapons of mass destruction; and meeting new challenges to our security such as terrorism, international crime, and drug trafficking.
Strengthening our military. We must ensure that America is prepared to fight alongside others when we can, and alone when we must. We will continue our work to ensure that the men and women who wear American uniforms receive adequate pay and support. We should also work to increase our efforts to convert unnecessary or obsolete military facilities to serve important economic needs of local communities and, while maintaining military readiness, to continue our initiatives to make our defense industrial base and products applicable to domestic commercial markets.
Repeatedly during the recent past… our men and women in uniform have proven they are the best trained, best equipped, best prepared fighting force in the world. We are committed to finding new ways for our service branches to work jointly to increase our war fighting capabilities; and ensuring that our troops can dominate the battlefield of the future.
We honor America's veterans; they put their lives on the line to protect our way of life and promote our values around the world. We will stand by America's duty to our veterans. We have fought hard to protect veterans' benefits; promoting veterans employment; and improving and strengthening the medical system of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Reducing the threat of weapons of mass destruction. Strengthening our security also requires an aggressive effort against weapons of mass destruction -- nuclear, chemical, and biological -- and their means of delivery. From the nuclear weapons programs in Iraq and North Korea… our nation has seen that this threat is clear and present. To meet it, we must seize the opportunities presented by the end of the Cold War to cut weapons of mass destruction stockpiles while working to prevent lethal weapons and materials from falling into the wrong hands.
We support vigorous efforts to prevent Iraq, Iran, and other dangerous states from acquiring or developing weapons of mass destruction. We are committed to a strong and balanced National Missile Defense (NMD) program. The Administration is spending $3 billion a year on six different systems to protect our troops in the field and our allies from short and medium range missiles. To prepare for the possibility of a long range missile attack on American soil by a rogue state. Meeting new challenges. We know that stronger security requires vigorous efforts to address the new dangers of this era. Chief among these are the interwoven threats of terrorism, drug trafficking, and international crime.
Our three front war on terrorism -- abroad, through greater cooperation with our allies; at home, by giving law enforcement the most powerful tools available to fight terrorism; and in our airports and on airplanes, through tough air travel security measures -- is producing results. We will work to increase the security of our air travel system, the safety of our airplanes, and the safety and security of our air traffic control system.
We are determined to keep the war on global terrorism, narcotics, and crime at the center of our security agenda. We will seek increased cooperation from our allies and friends abroad in fighting these threats. We will continue to work aggressively to shut off foreign drug flows, eradicate foreign drug crops, and assist countries that demonstrate active cooperation.
Promoting peace and democracy. We know that peace and democracy are products of decisive strength and active diplomacy. That diplomacy must protect our interests while also projecting our values. We are committed to promoting democracy in regions and countries important to America's security, and to standing with all those willing to take risks for peace, and we are committed to doing it with all the tools we have: with diplomacy where possible, with force where necessary, and working with others where appropriate, to share the risks and costs of our leadership.
We remain committed to America's long-standing special relationship with Israel, based on shared values, a mutual commitment to democracy and a strategic alliance that benefits both nations. The United States should continue to help Israel maintain its qualitative edge. Jerusalem is the capital of Israel and should remain an undivided city accessible to people of all faiths.
We are committed to further consolidating democracy, stability, and open markets throughout the hemisphere.
Promoting democracy. America remains a beacon of hope to all who cherish democracy and human rights, and America's security benefits from the enlargement of the community of market democracies. We actively promoted the consolidation and spread of democracy and human rights: in Russia and throughout the former Soviet Union, Central Europe, Latin America, Asia and Africa. We support the aspirations of all those who seek to strengthen civil society and accountable governance. We are committed to the human rights and well-being of Jewish people and other minorities in the countries of the former Soviet Union.
Resources for diplomacy. There is a price to be paid for America's security and its leadership in world affairs… Even though less than one percent of the federal budget goes to foreign policy spending, we are committed to strengthen our security and express our values, by strongly supporting work to ensure adequate resources for American foreign policy.
Community
Across America, in far too many places, the bonds of community that tie us together and remind us that we rise or fall together, have too often frayed. We must reawaken the strong sense of community that has helped America to prosper for 220 years. America is uniquely suited to lead the world into the 21st century because of our shared values. We must never let our differences divide us from each other; instead we must come together on a new common ground, based on the enduring values we share. When Americans work together -- in our homes, our schools, our houses of worship, our civic groups, our businesses, and professional associations -- we can meet any challenge, and realize every dream.
Putting families first. The first and most sacred responsibility of every parent is to cherish our children and strengthen our families. The family is the foundation of American life… We support the fundamental themes of the Families First Agenda – promoting… personal security; creating greater educational and economic opportunity; and requiring greater responsibility from individuals, businesses, and government. Responsible entertainment. We want to lead the fight to help parents control what their children see on television. When parents control the remote, it is not censorship, it is personal responsibility for their children's upbringing.
Parents' responsibility. Governments do not raise children, parents do. We need to make sure everything government does for children promotes responsibility from all parents, fathers as well as mothers. Now we challenge every parent to put their children first: to help them with their homework, to read to them, to know their teachers, and above all, to teach their children right from wrong, set the best example, and teach children how to make responsible decisions. We cannot rebuild our poorest communities by imposing cookie-cutter solutions from Washington. …
We know that the best way to bring jobs and growth back to our poorest neighborhoods is to harness the job-creating power of the private sector. …
We have … shifted focus from temporary shelters toward permanent solutions designed to move people back into the mainstream, into jobs and a home of their own.
We believe everyone in America should learn English so they can fully share in our daily life…
Religious freedom -
All Americans have a right to express their faith. The Constitution prohibits the state establishment of religion, and it protects the free exercise of religion. The President fought for and signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, to reaffirm the great protection the Constitution gives to religious expression, and to recognize the historic role people of faith have played in America. Americans have a right to express their love of God in public, and we applaud the President's work to ensure that children are not denied private religious expression in school. Whenever the religious rights of our children -- or any American -- are threatened, we will stand against it. …
As we balance the budget, we must work even harder in our own lives to live up to the duties we owe one another. We must shrink the government, but we cannot shrink from our challenges. …
If we do our job, we will make the next American century as great as each one that has come before it. We will enter the 21st century with the American Dream alive for all, with America still the world's strongest force for peace and freedom, and with the American community coming together, enriched by our diversity and stronger than ever. America's best days lie ahead, as we renew our historic pledge to uphold and advance the promise of America -- One nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
This appears to be the 1996 Democrat Party Platform.
Are you promoting it?
But can you imagine how Dems would HOWL about this today?
I deleted many paragraphs and all references that would give it away (other than "220 years" as opposed to 230), but otherwise, that is all as-is... just after Bill Clinton's 1st-term. Amazing how far Left they have gone in less than 20 years, isn't it?
Murdering babies or other children is never "necessary." Therefore, it can never be made "less necessary."
Since abortion is murder, it should be prohibited by law, and made as unavailable as possible. When it happens, it should be punished.
The federal government has been wholly illegitimate since January 22, 1973. What we have been watching over the past 42 years is the playing out of the logical consequences of that fact.
In fact, the U.S. government lost a great deal of its legitimacy when it did not expel from the Union the several states that "legalized" abortion before 1973.
Contraception LEADS to abortion, because it conditions people to believe they can engage in sexual intercourse and simultaneously have a "right" not to be pregnant. Contraception conditions parents to look upon their children as intruders and enemies. And what does any reasonable person do to an intruder and enemy? Kill him!
I don't see "repeal the 16th, 17th, and 19th amendments" anywhere in this "platform."
I don't see the word "gold" in this document.
My first thought was that John Kasich wrote it.
I noticed the old Democrat shell-game trick: “X (hunger/child abuse/sadness/bedwetting) is not a state problem, it’s a NATIONAL (or America’s) problem. Therefore: it’s a job for the federal government.”
LOL! Mr. 1%, “My father was a mailman”.
Dead giveaway of libtardism.
I was struck by the “era of big gov’t is over”, several mentions of God, calls to balance the budget, etc etc etc. Today, they’d claim that each was offensive and hateful.
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