The GOP’s final language for their 2012 platform, that the Republican National Committee delegates will be voting on this week, can be read in full here. The platform, which runs 62 pages, is a testament to 19th century thinking while taking not one ounce of responsibility for the current state of affairs. It’s also filled with lies. And it also calls same-sex marriage “an assault on the foundations of our society.”
So much for “big tent.”
Here’s a look at some of the more interesting examples of GOP thinking on government, taxes, and social issues like families, abortion, and same-sex marriage.
“Many Americans have experienced the burdenof lost jobs, lost homes, and lost hopes,” the preamble states. “Our middle class has felt that burden most acutely. Meanwhile, the federal government has expanded its size and scope, its borrowing and spending, its debt and deficit. Federalism is threatened and liberty retreats.”
Meanwhile, as The New York Times reported, the “government sector of the economy shrank during the first three years of the Obama administration, but the private sector grew more rapidly than it did during the first three years of either of George W. Bush’s terms in office.”
And meanwhile, the Republicans have controlled the House for how many years during the past decade? The House, which is responsible for spending your tax dollars. Do the math, Republicans.
Of course, the GOP platform begins with “jobs, jobs, jobs!” despite the fact that the GOP has obstructed practically every effort President Obama has attempted to create jobs.
And then, of course, there is the GOP view on taxes:
“We oppose retroactive taxation; and we condemn attempts by activist judges, at any level of gov-ernment, to seize the power of the purse by orderinghigher taxes. We oppose tax policies that divide Americans or promote class warfare.”
A section in the draft is titled: “Reining in Out-of-Control Spending, Balancing the Budget, and Ensuring Sound Monetary Policy.” Again, the GOP, ignoring who’s been in control of government spending for the better part of the past decade.
The draft has idiotic, anti-union, corporatism statements like, “The current Administration has chosen a different path with regard to labor, clinging to antiquated notions of confrontation and concentrating power in the Washington offices of union elites.”
And, “Ultimately, we support the enactment of a National Right-to-Work law to promote worker freedom and to promote greater economic liberty.” But certainly not an inclusive ENDA, right, GOP?
And, “We salute Republican Members of the House of Representatives for enshrining in the Rules of theHouse the requirement that every bill must cite the provision of the Constitution which permits its introduction.” Which, they stopped.
And, “The first provision of the First Amendment concerns freedom of religion. That guarantee reflected Thomas Jefferson’s Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, which declared that no one should ‘suffer on account of his religious opinion or belief, but thatall men shall be free to profess, and by argument tomaintain, their opinion in matters of religion….’ That assurance has never been more needed than it is today, as liberal elites try to drive religious beliefs—and religious believers—out of the public square.”
Actually, it’s the first (religious) estate that been mangling the first amendment the past few years…
Then, this:
We uphold the right of individuals to keep and bear arms, a right which antedated the Constitution and was solemnly confirmed by the Second Amendment. We acknowledge, support, and defend the law-abiding citizen’s God-given right of self-defense.
And, this:
We are the party of the Constitution, the solemn compact which confirms our God-given individual rights and assures that all Americans stand equal before the law.
And since rights come from God, the GOP is only interested in Christian-based rights. So, gay folks, minorities, and women, you can forget it. Same-sex marriage — no way. Abortion — out. Apparently, eating shellfish will be out as well. Of course, God gave man the right to bear arms. Just not to wrap them around another man, right?
Then comes marriage…
Defending Marriage Against An Activist Judiciary
A serious threat to our country’s constitutional order, perhaps even more dangerous than presidential malfeasance, is an activist judiciary, in which some judges usurp the powers reserved to other branches of government. A blatant example has been the court-ordered redefinition of marriage in several States. This is more than a matter of warring legal concepts and ideals. It is an assault on the foundations of our society, challenging the institution which, for thousands of years in virtually every civilization, has been entrusted with the rearing of children and the transmission of cultural values.A Sacred Contract: Defense of MarriageThat is why Congressional Republicans took the lead in enacting the Defense of Marriage Act, affirming the right of States and the federal government not to recognize same-sex relationships licensed in other jurisdictions. The current Administration’s open defiance of this constitutional principle—in its handling of immigration cases, in federal personnel benefits, in allowing a same-sex marriage at a military base, and in refusing to defend DOMA in the courts—makes a mockery of the President’s inaugural oath. We commend the United States House of Representatives and State Attorneys General who have de-ended these laws when they have been attacked inthe courts. We reaffirm our support for a Constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman. We applaud the citizens of the majority of States which have enshrined in their constitutions the traditional concept of marriage, and we support the campaigns underway in several other States to do so.
Then comes a baby carriage (amendment):
Faithful to the “self-evident†truths enshrined inthe Declaration of Independence, we assert the sanc-tity of human life and affirm that the unborn child has a fundamental individual right to life which can-not be infringed. We support a human life amend-ment to the Constitution and endorse legislation to make clear that the Fourteenth Amendment’s protections apply to unborn children.
Remember, the 14th Amendment, which guarantees same-sex marriage, can be applied to the unborn — but not the gay-born. Got it?
Â