King County Republican Central Committee2010 Platform
Preamble
The United States of America was founded upon the principles of Limited Government, Personal Liberty and IndividualResponsibility under God. As Republicans, we believe that the role of government is to defend these principles and secure therights of its citizens. We agree that government should
“establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the commonDefense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity.”
We reject the notionthat government can, or should attempt to, guarantee or limit individual achievement. We affirm that all rights are God-given, andthat the first ten Amendments to the U.S. Constitution affirm those rights for all citizens. We believe that from freedom comesopportunity; from opportunity comes growth; and from growth comes progress and prosperity.
Citizens’ Rights
Government has no power or authority of its own except for that which is delegated by the people. All power and authority notexplicitly delegated to government is retained by the people. We declare that:
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The will of the people must be respected. Those rights guaranteed to the Washington citizenry of initiative, referendum,and recall are necessary protections against an unresponsive government and must not be abridged. The Legislatureshould only be permitted to repeal or amend an initiative with a 2/3 vote in both houses;
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The fundamental right to own property must never be impinged upon;
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Freedom of speech, as guaranteed in the Constitution, includes religious and political speech in the public forum;
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Given that a moral and informed citizenry is essential to our republican form of limited government, we support the repealof legislation that limits the free speech of religious organizations;
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The use of quotas or preferences to favor one person or group over another violates the right to be treated equally under the law; and
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Both the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Washington protect the right of eachindividual citizen to possess firearms. Citizens have the right to concealed-carry firearms without penalty, fee, or registration.
Election Integrity
Fair and open elections are vital to retaining our liberties and preventing our republic from becoming a tyranny. We believe it is theduty of government to provide valid elections by ensuring only legally registered citizens vote, only legal ballots are cast, everyvoter has the ability to cast their ballot in absolute secrecy as guaranteed by our state constitution,
all legally-cast ballots areproperly and impartially counted, and all voters and elections officials adhere to the letter of the law. We also believe that citizenshave the right to actively monitor all aspects of the elections process and challenge irregularities. In order to further improve theintegrity of our elections, we believe it is necessary to:
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Require proof of U.S. citizenship and residency in King County to register to vote;
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Ensure that only legitimately registered voters mark their own ballot;
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Use balloting techniques and technologies which are secure and verifiable, preserving the constitutionally guaranteedright of a secret ballot, including the ballots of overseas and military voters;
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Support the return to paper ballots counted at the precinct level;
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Ensure that the original, unaltered paper ballot as submitted by the voter remains the official record throughout the entirevoting, canvassing, and certification process; and
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Investigate and prosecute all credible cases of voter registration and election fraud.
Government
Our three-branch form of government with its system of checks and balances, as established by the Constitutions of the UnitedStates and the State of Washington, is the best in the world. We believe in a strict constructionist interpretation of the two foundingdocuments with full consideration of original intent. Both are inspired documents designed to protect us from those who seekpower and control over us. Just as the temptations of man to control his neighbor survives the ages, so must the Constitution’schecks and balances. We must be wary of those who seek to weaken the Constitution by declaring it obsolete or contorting itsplain meaning.
Our federal government was created by the states with powers limited to those in Article I, Section 8, of the U.S. Constitution andemphasized those limits in the Bill of Rights. The states and the people bear the responsibility to enforce those limits upon thecentral government.
We believe that government exists to serve the people, and not the other way around. But above all, webelieve in limited government. We support:
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Less government interference so that individuals can have more choice in how they lead their lives and spend their money;
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Free market solutions for such current issues as the environment, healthcare, transportation, housing, and education;and we favor private initiatives to provide social services rather than relying on the government;
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Regular, independent performance and fiscal audits of government agencies by the State Auditor; and we call uponthese agencies to make public the findings and, with full cooperation of the Legislature, give serious consideration to fullyimplementing each audit recommendation;
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Federal budget spending limits with the force of law;
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Full government compliance with all public disclosure laws and open public meeting acts and we condemn attempts bygovernment officials to withhold information about their activities from the public by such tactics as claiming “attorney-client privilege” or otherwise violating the intent of these laws;
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The Federal government protecting our Constitution by providing for the national defense, defending our borders,preserving our sovereignty and protecting the private property rights of citizens;
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Enforcement of criminal laws with stringent sentences coupled with strict parole supervision;
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Term limits for state and national senators and representatives; and
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That all elected officials be held accountable for violations of state and federal laws and any elected official convicted of a felony shall lose his or her government pension.
Property Rights
We believe that increasingly onerous and unjustified land-use regulations are affecting our ability to maintain a sustainableeconomy. Washington State and local governments have responded to rapid population growth by devising a GrowthManagement Act that violates the property rights guaranteed to state citizens under its Constitution. The implementation of thisact, such as the Critical Areas Ordinance in King County, has taken property and violated usage rights without just compensation.The resulting regulations and fees are reducing the housing and land use choices for homeowners and renters at all economiclevels. We support:
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Repealing the Growth Management Act and replacing it with sensible legislation that balances property rights andresponsible stewardship of the environment;
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The respect and protection of individual property rights, including restriction of eminent domain to public works projects,as opposed to the U.S. Supreme Court decision, Kelo v. New London;
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Requiring notice of proposed condemnation be published in print media and be presented to the owner by registeredmail or other verifiable means;
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Full market compensation by the government and tax reassessment for reduction in use rights;
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Property tax reform that protects people from losing their homes and property due to spiraling property tax increases;and
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Preservation of historic water rights.
Economy & Jobs
We believe that free enterprise is the foundation of our country’s economic system. Protecting merit encourages entrepreneurship.The wealth of a nation rises as labor and capital is put to productive use. Jobs are created when capital is invested in a neweconomic activity. Government can have ‘payrolls’ but it cannot create any ‘job’ because it has no capital of its own. It can only taxand borrow. The current government’s spending and borrowing policy is redirecting investment capital toward government, bymonopolizing credit. Private sector growth is being starved of working capital, and the ability to create jobs.
Savings at all levels of society, personal and business, is the seed corn of an expanding economy. Our national tax andentitlement policies discourage savings. We believe in allowing people to keep more of what they earn.Foreign trade is essential. It expands our economy, creates job opportunities, and improves our competitive innovations. Freemarkets allow our economy to respond to foreign competition. Protectionist rules and tariffs impede our exports as well as our imports. We support bilateral trade agreements that open markets for our trade, and establish fair ground rules. Enforcing existingproduct safety rules can ensure the well-being of American consumers for imported goods. We believe economic opportunity isbest achieved by:
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Reducing taxes and fees on businesses, especially the B & O tax on gross revenues without regard to any net profit;
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Promoting policies that encourage the creation and success of new businesses, which is the growth engine of theAmerican economy;
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Reducing excessive regulatory barriers that discourage expansion of a venture; and
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Rejecting carbon tariffs and “Cap and Trade” legislation. The tangled mess of mandates, loopholes, and subsidiesthreatens our economy and trade relations.
Education
It is the duty of the state to make ample provision for the education of all children residing within its borders, without distinction or preference on account of race, color, caste, or sex. We acknowledge that families have primary responsibility for making their besteducational choice. Families must be given the options to oversee the students’ education. Local school districts must be giventhe freedom from bureaucracy to provide education as directed by the local community and elected school boards. Schools willmeet basic standards outlined by the state with an emphasis on the U.S Constitution, the Washington State Constitution, theDeclaration of Independence, reading, writing, history, U.S. history, mathematics and the sciences. Basic state standards must notbe accompanied by onerous directives and unfunded mandates. Specific policy changes will lead to reform and success for our students. For example:
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Grant ultimate education responsibility to families by providing appropriately funded public schools, charter schools andtax exemptions for other choices, whether private or home-based.
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Recognize through funding, procedure and program responsibility that ultimate control of a school district resides in theelected school board and local community.
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Require annual academic and fiscal performance audits of each public school.
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Require that all children learn the English language. Provide and adequately fund language programs focused onintegrating non-English speaking students as quickly as possible.
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Protect home-schooling from government interference.
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Encourage conservative leaders to be activists on school issues and run for local boards.
Family
The traditional family is the cornerstone of a free society. Strong caring families with both a father and mother provide the idealenvironment for raising and preparing children to become positive, contributing members of their community. We recognize thatnot all families have both parents in the home. We commend the many single parents, grandparents, and others, such asextended family members and adoptive parents, who accept the responsibility of preserving families. It is the right andresponsibility of parents to provide for and direct all matters concerning the health, welfare, education and moral training of their minor children.In custody disputes, the government must not limit a child or children to one parent when both are equally capable and desire totake an active part in their children’s upbringing; except when there is proven criminal wrongdoing, abuse or neglect. Our lawsmust strengthen and sustain family rights and the traditional family structure. We support protecting the institution of marriage andits benefits to society by defining marriage as between one man and one woman.
Life
We believe human life, from conception to natural death, is precious and must be respected in our culture and our laws. We standwith the Founders in declaring that everyone has a fundamental, unalienable right to life. We support:
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Protection of innocent human life, pre-born or born, through all stages of life, illness and disability;
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Stem cell research which does not rely on human embryonic tissue; and
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Legislative prohibitions on human cloning, infanticide, euthanasia, abortion, research on human embryonic tissue, andassisted suicide.
National Security
We believe in a strong and free America, a nation that leads the world in demonstrating the values of peace, freedom, and humanrights. We recognize that there are masses of people that want to enjoy our freedoms, but we must gain control of our borders,prevent proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and win the war on terrorism. We believe in working with all nations topromote freedom, but under no circumstances should the sovereignty of the United States of America be subordinated to anyforeign or international body. We believe:
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Continuing to honor all past and current obligations to our troops and veterans is our duty;
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