The Texas Republican Party recently came out with its platform. It had what you would pretty much expect on issues like abortion, (advocating the reversal of Roe v. Wade), and opposing Affirmative Action, and opposing same sex marriage.
On the positive side there were some surprises. They support a law that would force politicians to subject to all the laws that they pass (you may have received an email about this); revising sections of the Patriot Act that have eroded rights and liberties of citizens; repeal of the War Powers Act; limiting eminent domain to exclude the taking of private property for economic development; limiting the ability of politicians to move into lobbying, requiring a 25% voter turnout for bond elections to carry, and banning red light cameras. I think everyone can agree with those ideas.
On the other hand the bulk of it, for me at least, is downright scary. There are some planks of the platform that would eliminate government programs that we have all become accustomed to and view as vital. Social Security, minimum wage, the U.S. Department of Education, the Endangered Species Act, and the United Nations would all be eliminated. Water districts would be eliminated in favor of putting all of our water in the hands of private corporations. That is just plain scary to me. Can you imagine a corporation like Enron or BP having control of your water?
They also want to eliminate the Department of Energy. Since its inception during the Carter administration we haven't seen a comprehensive or coherent energy policy so I could go along with that one.
In addition to making all abortions illegal and making all same-sex unions illegal there are many provisions of the platform that put big government directly in your lives. For example, they would: urge the repeal of no-fault divorces; force sonograms on women seeking abortions; make the "morning-after" pill illegal; prevent homosexuals from adopting or having custody of a child; prohibiting "gun-free" zones; and making a certain sex act illegal even between consenting adults.
Then there are those things which I don't think are very well thought out. They oppose the use of a Constitutional Convention but that's probably the only way a law forcing politicians to abide by all the laws that they create would ever pass. They affirm the right to own property without governmental interference and yet that would prevent the building of the "Border Wall" along the Mexican border.
They support the display of The Ten Commandments and "other religious symbols" on public land and yet that would allow a Koran, or quotes from it, to be openly displayed in government buildings. (Not that there's anything wrong with that.) They support having absolutely no restrictions on the ownership of any kind of gun and yet that would allow convicted felons, the mentally insane, and would-be terrorists to obtain guns legally and openly.
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