Posted on 07/24/2002 3:47:01 PM PDT by Jim Robinson
REPUBLICAN LIBERTY CAUCUS
POSITION STATEMENT
As adopted by the General Membership of the Republican Liberty Caucus at its Biannual Meeting held December 8, 2000.
WHEREAS we believe that government has no money nor power not derived from the consent of the people;
WHEREAS we believe that people have the right to keep the fruits of their labor; and
WHEREAS we believe in upholding the U. S. Constitution as the supreme law of the land;
BE IT RESOLVED that the Republican Liberty Caucus endorses the following principles:
1.0 FEDERALISM
1.1 The power of the federal government should be limited, as per the tenth amendment to the U. S. Constitution.
2.0 EDUCATION
2.1 The U. S. Department of Education should be abolished, leaving education decision making at the state, local or personal level.
2.2 Parents have the right to spend their money on the school or method of schooling they deem appropriate for their children.3.0 HEALTH CARE
3.1 Free market health care alternatives, such as medical savings accounts, should be available to everyone, including senior citizens.
3.2 The federal entitlement to Medicare should be abolished, leaving health care decision making regarding the elderly at the state, local, or personal level.4.0 TAXATION
4.1 The tax system of the United States should be overhauled.
4.2 There should be a national debate discussing various alternative means of taxation including but not limited to a single flat income tax, repealing the income tax and replacing it with a national sales tax, and reducing spending to the point where the income tax can be repealed without the need to replace it with a national sales tax or any other form of taxation.
4.3 The capital gains tax should be *eliminated*.
4.4 The inheritance tax should be *eliminated*.
4.5 The new tax system should be implemented *promptly*.5.0 WELFARE
5.1 The U. S. Department of Health and Human Services should be abolished, leaving decision making on welfare and related matters at the state, local or personal level. All Americans have the right to keep the fruits of their labor to support themselves, their families and whatever charities they so choose, without interference from the federal government.
5.2 All able-bodied Americans have the responsibility to support themselves and their families.6.0 CRIMINAL JUSTICE
6.1 Every American has the right to keep and bear arms. We affirm our support for the second amendment of the U. S. Constitution.
6.2 All people, regardless of position in the public or private sector, should be held equally accountable under the law.
6.3 The *only* litmus test for Supreme Court or other judges should be their determination to accurately interpret, not amend, the Constitution. Judges have *no* authority to make new law.7.0 CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM
7.1 Election campaigns should not be subsidized by tax payers.
7.2 No individual should be compelled to support a political candidate he or she does not support. Government should not empower trade unions to collect funds from their members for use as political contributions without their members' expressed consent.
7.3 All limits on campaign contributions should be eliminated.
7.4 There should be full and timely public disclosure of all the sources and amounts of all campaign contributions upon their receipt.8.0 FEDERAL BUDGET
8.1 There should be an amendment to the U. S. Constitution to require a balanced budget, provided it includes a supermajority requirement to raise taxes and provided it does not empower the judiciary to unilaterally raise taxes.
8.2 Honest accounting dictates that all federal expenditures should be on budget.
8.3 Each budget should be derived based upon the justification for and needs of each program, with no program being either budgeted for or increased automatically.9.0 GOVERNMENT REFORM
9.1 The U. S. Department of Commerce should be abolished, per the tenth amendment of the U. S. Constitution.
9.2 The National Endowment for the Arts should be abolished, per the tenth amendment of the U. S. Constitution.
9.3 The National Endowment for the Humanities should be abolished, per the tenth amendment of the U. S. Constitution.
9.4 The U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development should be abolished, per the tenth amendment of the U. S. Constitution.
9.5 Subsidies to agricultural and other businesses should be eliminated.
9.6 Corporate taxes should be eliminated simultaneously and proportionally with the elimination of subsidies to businesses.
9.7 Recommendations by the Grace Commission and the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) should be reviewed and implemented, where possible, beginning immediately.
9.8 Privatization of government assets, management and services should be implemented for cost-effectiveness wherever applicable.10.0 TRADE
10.1 The U. S. government should inhibit neither the exportation of U. S. goods and services worldwide, nor the importation of goods and services.
10.2 The United States should not be answerable to any governing body outside the United States for its trade policy.11.0 DEFENSE
11.1 U. S. military should be deployed only where there is a clear threat to vital U. S. interests and only with the consent of the U. S. Congress.
11.2 It is the duty of the federal government to provide a system to defend against missile attacks.
11.3 No branch of the military should be put in harm's way without a clear entrance and exit strategy and a goal, which when achieved, constitutes victory.
11.4 U. S military personnel should always be under U. S. command.
11.5 U. S. armed forces should be all-volunteer.
11.6 Military draft registration should be eliminated.
11.7 Foreign aid is often more harmful than helpful and should be curtailed.12.0 PROPERTY RIGHTS
12.1 The government should not take private property without just compensation.
12.2 All unconstitutional regulation of private property should be repealed.13.0 DRUGS
13.1 While recognizing the harm that drug abuse causes society, we also recognize that government drug policy has been ineffective and has led to frightening abuses of the Bill of Rights which could affect the personal freedom of any American. We, therefore, support alternatives to the War on Drugs.
13.2 Per the tenth amendment to the U. S. Constitution, matters such as drugs should be handled at the state or personal level.
13.3 All laws which give license to violate the Bill of Rights should be repealed.
Entered into the record December 8, 2000
As for abortion, I agree, I wish the RLC was prolife, but they should acknowledge that it (murder) is a state issue and that Roe Vs Wade is an example of judicial activism at its worst. However, I'm not a one issue person, and still support 99% of the RLC platform.
Most people would say our founding father's were fringe extremists. Funny that their government looked far far closer to the RLC's position than yours on almost every issue.
Enjoy it.
That doesn't mean ideas like tax reform and cutting waste, fraud and abuse in the federal government, aren't something to fight for. You just have to realize what you're up against and understand the limitations that todays political world presents.
As far as the RLC goes, I'll repeat my opening remarks.
"The Republican Liberty Caucus makes some excellent points. In fact, many of their political positions, mirror the positions conservatives, like myself, have championed for many years now.
However, there are some downsides to the RLC and they should be discussed openly."
As I've told you before, you can either get involved in the political fight to elect more conservative Republicans to public office, or you can stand on the sidelines and whine and complain. The choice is entirely yours.
And at the moment I hardly have time or money to campaign for anyone. I'm 20, I work full time and go to college almost full time and pay for my own way, my own place, car, etc. But I've said it a million times on here. I will vote for any candidate regardless of party affiliation if they have a chance at winning who will decrease the size and scope of the federal government. Bush, etc is not doing that. Therefore, I wont vote for them. I dont expect the US ever to become libertarian-like again but I do expect it to move in the right direction.
Those are your words, not mine and they won't win you any arguments either. Typical libertarian hogwash.
What you seem to forget, is that the US Constitution isn't holy scripture, carved in granite and handed down to the people by prophets or gods. There is an existing procedure for amending any portion of the Constitution. At the same time, the Congress can legislate and make law in accordance with the specific powers granted to it, as one branch of the federal government. If that wasn't true, the Founding Fathers would never have created a Congress to start with. The fact is, America has changed since the late 1700`s and has grown from a population of 4 million cititzens to over 285 million. This is the 21st century. Things change and man is the most adaptable creature on the planet. This ability to adapt to all manner of change, is what makes our civilized society and our very existence so remarkable and so profound.
As a conservative, I don't agree with many of the laws enacted by past Congresses, especially those passed by Democratic controlled Congresses. Therefore, I will continue to work to elect more conservative Republicans to positions of public trust.
>>>A conservative and libertarian should have very little differences when it comes to federal government.
Libertarians, or libertarians have little in common with the politics of the modern conservative movement. The sooner you understand that, the better off you'll be. The Libertarian Platform is impractical idealism, that blindly advocates adherence to an unrealistic philosophy, which has a miniscule political following and a future that leads down a dead end road.
On matters that involve fiscal responsibility of the federal government, conservatives have always advocated real tax reform. The best way to stop excessive spending and excessive growth of the federal government, is to stop feeding the "beltway bureaucracy" that has funded liberal socialist programs for the last forty years. Politics is a slow process and one must have patience to see real change come about.
libertarians may have little in common with the politics of YOUR view of conservatives but I can guarantee that if we were to do a poll of most conservatives saying are you
1)In favor of really reducing government (not just increase it less than the other guy)
2)Are you in favor of real tax reform
3)Should we decrease the size and power of the federal government and let the states decide on issues not mentioned in the Constitution
4)Do you like a nanny state?
Answering yes, yes, yes, no doesn't make you liberatarian of course but it means that there is a lot of common ground.
Vouchers, privatization of SS are both liberatarian ideas. I'm sure there are others.
Politics is a slow process and one must have patience to see real change come about.
I understand this but you seem to be missing the point. I expect it to move in the right direction. Increasing government year after year does not make elected 'conservatives' do any favors for their lip service on smaller government and real tax reform. I have no problem pulling the trigger for a Republican as long as they will vote to decrease our federal government ANY amount. Bush, etc are not doing that, they are just slightly less socialistic than Gore. That is hardly a ringing endorsement. For example just 20 years ago, the RP platform wanted to get rid of the NEA. Bush increased its spending by almost 10% this past year.
There is the rub. The RLC says all the right things but they have little or no influence on the national Republican Party. The only party that openly accepts those principles is the Libertarian Party. So what is a good freedom loving patriot to do?
Hunger can make people do the unexpected:
http://www.boston.com/dailynews/242/economy/North_Korea_agrees_to_reconnec%3A.shtml
I would say that the constitution would be better served if the restriction would be for American born or Naturalized Citizens.
Lets face it, contributing is voting.
That archaic political philosophy is personal liberty. If we don't have that, then we have tyranny. Are you really saying that the freedom protected by a strict interpretation of the constitution is no longer possible.
A living/breathing constitution is no constitution at all. We are seeing the results of interpreting it away as current conditions change. We have proceeded down that slippery slope to the point that a nominally conservative Republican President and his chosen Attorney General have decided that it is OK to arrest people, call them illegal combatants and keep them in jail indefinitely without any judicial review or possibility of recourse for error.
Do you understand that is all the tools necessary to "disappear" anyone, any time for no reason at all.
You may trust Bush to not abuse that authority, but he will not be President forever. What if a future Pres. Hillary Clinton gets to decide who is an illegal combatant?
The word "abortion" is not in the Constitution, but the Constitution is dependent upon an affirmation of the "right to life." The right to life is a federal issue and always has been, whatever courts have said. Government that does not grant the People's declared right to life clearly denies all other rights to those killed.
We're in total agreement. It was my point, however, that Roe v. Wade turned the Constitution on it's head, and if we're ever to return to government under the Constitution as intended we need to take some affirmative action to correct the error.
As horrendous and immoral and absolutely evil as the deaths attributed to Roe v. Wade are, the assault upon our Constitutional government by that decision is just as horrendous and immoral and absolutely evil.
Bullfeathers...IMHO, the Founding Fathers intended the Federal Government to be neutral toward religion (with the basic understanding that most of the people in the US are Christian, of course). Otherwise, they would have simply declared Christianity to be the official state religion. Instead, they saw fit to give us this:
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof...
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