2010 WASHINGTON STATE REPUBLICAN PARTY PLATFORM
VANCOUVER, WA – June 11th, 2010
Click here to view the resolutions passed at the convention
Platform Committee Chair: Dr. Mathew Manweller
Platform Committee Vice-Chair: Tony Benegas
Washington State Republican Party
Luke Esser, Chairman
PREAMBLE
The Washington State Republican Party is dedicated to preserving a constitutional republic. We believe that active participation by citizens is absolutely necessary to protect and preserve conservative values which include preserving a free society, free markets, free trade, the sanctity of human life, limited government, low taxes, a minimal bureaucracy, a strong national defense, private property rights, and the concept that government should do for individuals only those things they cannot do for themselves.
Washington State Republicans believe that good government is based on respect for, and trust in, the ability of individuals to chart the course of their own lives. We believe that respect for each person’s ability, dignity, and liberty is the foundation for a free and prosperous civic body politic. Good citizenship begins with protected rights and ends with accompanying responsibilities.
We believe individuals are more enlightened than governments, that markets are more efficient than bureaucracies, and that the citizen is more visionary than the collective. To this end, we reaffirm the words in the Declaration of Independence, “That all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness -That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed.”
To each generation falls the responsibility to uphold the values that have made the United States the most free, wealthy, compassionate and successful civilization in history. As we confront security threats from international terrorism, economic threats from ever-increasing state intervention, and social threats from liberal cultural elites, we must also see these times as an opportunity to move society in the right direction. We are committed to ensuring that the two-centuries-old experiment that is America never fails.
It has been over two centuries since our Founders established the American creed — government under God and accountable to the people. We believe their vision is best preserved by supporting the policies outlined below.
SECTION 1: We believe CIVIL and RELIGIOUS LIBERTY protect the sovereignty of the individual citizen.
All the civil liberties in the U.S. Constitution are God-given and therefore unalienable. These fundamental rights are guaranteed in the Bill of Rights and reaffirmed in Article I of the Washington State Constitution. It is the obligation of every government to perpetually observe and respect those rights. The role of the judiciary is not to craft new constitutional rights, but to uphold the law in a manner faithful to the original intent of the state and federal constitutions. It is essential that the judiciary honor legislative intent and understand that the power to write law is vested in the legislature or the people.
We applaud the decisions of the United States and Washington State Supreme Courts to emphatically declare that the right to keep and bear arms is an individual right to be respected by all entities of our federal, state, and local governments.
SECTION 2: We believe LIMITED GOVERNMENT is the foundation of a free society.
It was the intention of our founders to create a constitution of limited and enumerated powers. As expressed in Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution, the states delegated to the federal government 17 powers. All other powers are reserved for the states and/or the people. We believe the willful misinterpretation of the Commerce Clause has expanded federal power to such an extent that the principle of limited government has been undermined. We believe the exercise of unconstitutional plenary power has allowed Congress to legislate in areas the founders never intended our federal government to control. In an era of endless bailouts of failing industries, the government take-over of auto companies, the seizure of the healthcare industry, and the perpetual redistribution of income, we see the detrimental results that occur when governments exceed the powers they were initially granted.
We emphatically support a comprehensive, recurring and independent audit of the Federal Reserve.
SECTION 3: We believe ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY ensures that each generation is better off than the one before it.
Republicans support policies that encourage private-sector jobs, respect free trade, encourage entrepreneurship, and protect our economic base while minimizing the need to seize the wealth of its people. The power to tax and regulate are some of the most dangerous powers held by the state. Because governments spend other people’s money, the state should practice fiscal responsibility. Assurance that money is being spent efficiently can only be achieved through practical performance measures, regular performance audits of administrative agencies, and the enforcement of audit recommendations.
As a national community, we believe that all citizens have a responsibility to contribute to our national endeavor. When entire segments of society are exempted from the responsibility that self-governance carries, we create populations that have no incentive to limit the size or costs of government. The moral hazard created by an environment of “representation without taxation” leads to a government that exploits politically-vulnerable minorities. Economic growth would benefit from a balanced budget, simplified tax code, the abolishment of the death tax, and the prevention of a state income tax.
We support the privacy and individual rights of every worker. Therefore, we oppose the use of “card check” labor elections and “prevailing wage” laws. We believe government shall be neutral in regard to union affiliation and employment contracts.
SECTION 4: We believe FEDERALISM is vital to maintaining LOCAL CONTROL over government policies.
Our founders believed that the free and independent states created the federal government and all powers not expressly delegated to the federal government were reserved for the states. The 10th Amendment clearly prohibits unfunded mandates and establishes a limited role for the federal government; we call on all branches of the United States Federal Government to respect the limits placed upon it by the Constitution and particularly the 10th Amendment.
In that same spirit, we call on the State of Washington to respect the authority of county and city governments. We believe that local government control is more responsive to the people and essential for understanding the diverse needs of citizens across the state. In the past decade, the Washington State Department of Ecology, Department of Labor and Industries, and the Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council have become increasingly dismissive of local input and control. A state government that understands and respects the unique needs of various counties will best facilitate the needs of its citizens. We call for repeal of the Growth Management Act.
We strongly support the Washington State Attorney General’s legal action to challenge the constitutionality of the heathcare mandate, thus defending the fundamental notion of local control and limited government.
SECTION 5: We believe a STRONG AMERICA is a free America.
A strong America is a force for good at home and abroad. Republicans support and honor the past and continuing service of all veterans and members of the United States’ armed forces and the Washington State National Guard. At a time when the United States faces a variety of external threats ranging from Jihadist terrorism, the proliferation of nuclear weapons, and emerging regional powers, it is important to endorse policies that will ensure peace through strength. National security is best preserved when America’s national sovereignty is never abdicated to any foreign or international organization.
The safety of the United States is undermined when the President unilaterally weakens our deterrence posture by announcing that he will not use our nuclear arsenal to deter attacks from chemical and biological weapons by other nations.
SECTION 6: We believe our BORDERS are best protected by a fair IMMIGRATION policy consistently enforced.
We believe it is important to preserve the values that make immigrants want to come to America. The individual rights, political stability, economic opportunity and prosperity we enjoy which attracts legal immigrants from all over the world are only possible because of our system of law and order. We welcome those who wish to build a new and better life in America and Washington State, and who recognize that the price of such opportunity is their willingness to embrace our language, culture, and legal system, beginning at our national borders. Legal immigration can best be facilitated by a transparent, traceable, and enforceable guest-worker program that excludes amnesty.
SECTION 7: We believe the FAMILY is the first and most important institution which preserves a free society.
The family unit is the cornerstone of a free and moral society. It is the responsibility of parents, not the state, to guide their children to be good citizens. Government’s responsibility is to uphold and respect traditional institutions, such as marriage between one man and one woman, protect the elderly and children from the harmful elements of society, and defend the unalienable right of human life from conception to natural death.
SECTION 8: We believe the EDUCATION children receive today will determine the success of our nation tomorrow.
It is the paramount duty of the State to make ample provision for the education of all children living within its borders while acknowledging that families have the primary authority for educating their children. School boards and parents should be free to determine priorities, emphasizing basic skills and ensuring students learn the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, history, and economics, and have opportunities for vocational and technical training.
As public teachers and professors are in a position of power and paid by taxpayers, it is important that instructors educate but do not indoctrinate their students. We believe that competition in education such as vouchers, tax credits and charter schools will result in wider choices, higher quality, more innovation, and lower costs. We believe that innovation will be hindered by recently-adopted government policies to federalize all student loans and prohibit internships within private businesses. We support the right of parents to homeschool their children without government interference.
A strong, higher-education system is the backbone of any economic recovery. We reject the current administration's practice of shouldering job cuts onto higher education. We fully support continued access for Washington State students, and reject efforts to balance budgets by increasing numbers of out-of-state and foreign students.
The Washington State Republican Party strongly encourages every legislative district committee to actively seek out and support candidates for local school boards. Meaningful change will only come about when conservative, compassionate, intelligent citizens manage our local districts on behalf of our families.
SECTION 9: We believe the greatest HEALTHCARE system in the world is best preserved by minimizing the government’s control over it.
Washington State Republicans care for the health of Washington citizens. It is because of our deep compassion for those who are ill or injured that we believe individuals and families should have the freedom and opportunity to make healthcare decisions that are best for them. Our healthcare system should be focused on individual responsibility and healthy living that encourages preventive care. Citizens should have the ability to choose an affordable healthcare plan to meet individual needs and the ability to choose their own doctor. Citizens can best accomplish these goals when the state allows competition among healthcare providers within and across state borders, implements tort reform, adopts health savings accounts and avoids healthcare insurance mandates.
We believe that the adoption of a national healthcare plan does not accomplish any of these stated goals. Instead, the encroachment of government into the healthcare realm will ultimately increase costs, limit choice and result in rationing. Recently-adopted heathcare reform ignores the third-party-payer dilemma, which is the primary driver of cost, places too much power over medical decisions within the hands of government bureaucrats, potentially regulates private insurance to the point of extinction, and unconstitutionally mandates people to buy health care. As the federal government faces $1.8 trillion deficits in the foreseeable future, we believe that the addition of another entitlement program further burdens our children and grandchildren with debts they cannot afford. We call for the repeal of the recently-passed national healthcare plan.
We support the right of physicians, healthcare providers, and healthcare organizations to practice their right of conscience free from coercion or mandates to practice in a manner they believe is unethical.
SECTION 10: We believe PROPERTY RIGHTS are civil rights.
As John Locke observed, the proper role of government is to protect “life, liberty and property.” Washington Republicans believe there is a fundamental relationship between free societies and the protection of private property rights. When governments expand the amount of land they own and abuse the power of eminent domain and regulatory takings, everyone’s freedom is at risk. Thus, we favor strong federal and state legislation to clarify and reinforce the Fifth Amendment limitation that private property may be taken only for public use, with just compensation paid when property is taken or devalued by regulation.
SECTION 11: We believe upholding the RULE OF LAW and promoting JUSTICE and INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITY protects the safety of American citizens.
We believe laws should reduce and deter crime through strong and appropriate punishment. Accordingly, we believe that an effective criminal justice system should include the appropriate use of the death penalty, strict punishment of sexual predators, deter recidivism and, whenever possible, require criminals to fully compensate those they have harmed.
SECTION 12: We believe America must balance our need for ENERGY with the preservation of our ENVIRONMENT.
Republicans believe that prosperity and environmental stewardship go hand-in-hand. As Washington’s economy has grown, our air quality has improved, we have become more energy-efficient and the overall environmental quality of our state has improved. Regulations and government programs that hurt Washington’s economy make it more difficult for families and businesses to continue those positive environmental trends.
We also believe that creativity and technology offer the best solutions to improve energy-efficiency and to protect clean air. This market-based approach is superior to a top-down approach that emphasizes limits on personal freedom, burdensome regulation of the economy, and expensive government programs. We also believe that market-driven improvements in efficiency are the best solution to reducing harmful pollutants.
We oppose Cap and Trade as a means of promoting environmental health. As proposed, this mechanism will impose billions of dollars in new taxes, require a sizable and expensive bureaucracy to enforce, encourage capital flight to nations not participating in the system, and harm America’s economic competitiveness. History has shown that Europe’s decision to adopt such a system did nothing to help the environment, but added massive costs to businesses across the continent.
Environmental science has the potential to impact every citizen of Washington. We believe that the science of climate change should take place among independent researchers, free of political, economic and academic pressure, and that climate scientists should be free to debate and dissent without fear of retribution to their reputations or careers.
SECTION 13: We believe a vibrant AGRICULTURE and NATURAL RESOURCES industries are critical to the health of the Washington economy and environment.
A nation’s security and prosperity depends on its ability to supply the food and fiber needs of its population. Agriculture is Washington’s number-one industry in a trade-dependent economy. Sustainable harvesting of our timber resources supports rural families and healthy forests. Our agriculture and natural resource industries create new wealth and are vital to the economic well-being of the state. They are threatened by overzealous environmental regulation, biased interpretation and application of the Growth Management Act, and loss of agriculture and natural resource lands resulting from state tax policy and through conversion to government ownership.
SECTION 14: We believe an effective and efficient TRANSPORTATION system is important to our economic survival and quality of life.
An effective transportation system is critical to our economy and quality of life. Roads, rail, air, and water transportation, as well as our ports and ferries, play important roles in moving people and products in Washington. Government transportation policies should be responsive to the needs of the people and should improve the freedom of citizens to live and work where they choose. Washington taxpayers deserve accountability for the money they provide to transportation agencies. Assurance that money is being spent efficiently can only be achieved through practical performance measures, regular performance audits of transportation agencies, and the enforcement of audit recommendations.
SECTION 15: We believe the INITIATIVE PROCESS is essential to providing a legislative voice for all the citizens of Washington State.
The Washington State Constitution provides, "The first power reserved by the people is the initiative," and, "The second power reserved by the people is the referendum." We believe that these fundamental rights of initiative and referendum should be free from unnecessary and burdensome regulation imposed by the state. Given the recent suspension of I-960 by the State Legislature, we call for initiative reform that requires a permanent 2/3 vote to amend state initiatives. We further support prohibiting legislative abuse of emergency clauses to circumvent the people’s power of initiative and referendum.