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bad precedent

These destroy useful customs or start us down slippery slopes.

Birthright Citizenship

Restoring American Sovereignty and Leadership > Domestic > Birthright Citizenship
We call on the Legislative, Executive and Judicial branches of these United States to clarify Section 1 of the 14th amendment to limit citizenship by birth to those born to a citizen of the United States: with no exceptions.
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Immigration problems need to be solved by sealing the border, not by shredding the Constitution.

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Illegal Immigration

Restoring American Sovereignty and Leadership > Domestic > Illegal Immigration
We oppose illegal immigration. We call for continued progress on sealing our porous borders, including completion of a fence to block off our entire southern border and increased border patrols. We demand rapid resolution to the status of millions of illegal aliens living in the United States. We support expeditious deportation of violent or habitually criminal illegal aliens.No amnesty! No how. No way. Illegal aliens have committed a criminal act. We oppose illegal immigration, amnesty in any form, or legal status for illegal immigrants. We support an end to the "catch and release" policy; criminal penalties and aggressive enforcement for those who knowingly employ illegal workers; expeditious hearings on deporting non-violent illegal immigrants; suspending automatic U.S. citizenship to children born to illegal immigrants; elimination of federal funding to cities with "sanctuary" laws; empowering state and local law enforcement agencies with authority and resources to detain illegal immigrants; rejection of non-verifiable foreign-issued cards as valid identification; strict prosecution of any entity involved in phony identification documents; elimination of day labor work centers; elimination of laws requiring hospitals to give non-emergency care to illegals; elimination of social security benefits or government funding to illegals for education, housing or business loans; preventing any foreign entity from using our judicial system to enter the United States; strong document verification prior to issuance of a Texas drivers license; withholding federal highway funds from any state issuing drivers licenses to illegal aliens; and aggressive prosecution of persons smuggling humans across our borders.

Cliches do not belong in a serious platform document. "No amnesty! No how. No way." is a gibberish cliche.

Republicans must oppose illegal immigration and should support strong measures to seal porous borders. However, we have to be realistic: by failing to meaningfully secure the borders for many years, we left the welcome mat out for illegal aliens.

A sane immigration policy cannot only be deportation and punishment. That is unrealistic, inhumane, and economically destructive. It fuels critics who see Republicans as narrow and rigid, it hurts our relevancy, and it destroys our credibility with Hispanic voters.

Republicans must combine firmness on illegal immigration with acknowledgement of our current situation. That means we have to look beyond punitive measures and ripping up longstanding legal traditions. We have to be pragmatic and realistic.

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Faith-Based Charities

Strengthening the Economy > Government Spending > Faith-Based Charities
We oppose any restrictions by the IRS or any other government rules on taxpayer contributions to faith-based charities. We support new incentives to encourage more faith-based charitable contributions from all taxpayers.
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There is no credible movement to restrict contributions to faith-based charities.

Government should not promote any particular kind of charity.

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Sexual Assault

Promoting Individual Freedom and Personal Safety > Protecting Citizens From Crime > Sexual Assault
Punishment options for rape should include death. AdultsAdults convicted of sexual molestation of a minor should receive mandatory prison sentences without probation or parole. We support increasing the penalty for failure to report child sexual assault cases, and we urge vigorous prosecution of such failure. We urge the Legislature to eliminate from the child sexual assault law the "affirmative defense" when there is less than 36 months of age difference.

Rape is serious, but it is unclear why it deserves equivalent punishment to capital murder. Why just rape? How about all the other serious crimes that leave lasting harm on their victims?

It is likely this is just advancing a limited religious viewpoint.

The 3 year boundary is arbitrary and imperfect, but it is not clear why it is the wrong boundary or why a different (or no?) boundary is better. There is no popular movement to change this law.

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Addictive Behaviors

Promoting Individual Freedom and Personal Safety > Protecting Citizens From Crime > Addictive Behaviors
We encourage state and federal governments to severely prosecute illegal dealers and manufacturers of addictive substances and pornography. We urge Congress to discourage export of such substances into our country. Faith based rehabilitation programs should be emphasized. We oppose legalizationlegalizing recreational use of illegalillicit drugs. We support an effective abstinence-based educationaldrug avoidance education program for children. We oppose any "needle exchange" program. We urge vigorous enforcement of our DUI laws but only in ways that do not hassle innocent motorists.

Pornography is protected free speech.

The government is already fighting multilateral wars to prevent importation of illicit drugs.

Rehabilitation programs that are effective should be emphasized. It is neither legal or wise to promote a program just because it is affiliated with a religious movement; otherwise the government would have to promote programs like Narcanon, a front for the Scientology cult.

Needle exchange programs are a local issue.

"Abstinence" is strongly associated with sex education and should not be used in this context.

We DUI enforcement support must be qualified. Current trends are ensnaring innocent citizens with spurious citations, pointless arrests, and roadblocks.

Need to be clear that it's the recreational use of drugs that is proscribed. Some otherwise illicit drugs have valid clinical uses.

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Capital Punishment

Promoting Individual Freedom and Personal Safety > Protecting Citizens From Crime > Capital Punishment
Properly applied capital punishment is a legitimate, is an effective, effective deterrent, and should be swift and unencumbered.

"swift and unencumbered" is how tyrannical regimes execute people after poor quality trials. This is a human life. Emphasis should be on clearing all doubt about guilt, and that is not compatible with swift or unencumbered executions.

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Freedom of Access Act

Promoting Individual Freedom and Personal Safety > Individual Freedom > Freedom of Access Act
We urge repeal of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Law. Those who assault peaceful protesters acting under the Constitution should be vigorously prosecuted. Picketing and literature distribution do not fall under the RICO Act.
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The US Supreme Court has twice ruled that the RICO Act or Hobbs Act cannot be used against abortion protectors. (source)

The Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act prevents use of intimidation or physical force and protects more than abortion clinic customers. It is dangerous and absurd to suggest that it's OK to use these tactics against law-abiding citizens.

Assault is already illegal.

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Religious Freedom in Public Schools

Educating Our Children > Religious Freedom in Public Schools
We urge school administrators and officials to inform Texas school students specifically of their First Amendment rights to pray and engage in religious speech, individually or in groups, on school property without government interference. We support and strongly urge Congress to pass a Religious Freedom Amendment, which provides: "Neither the United States nor any State shall prohibit student-sponsored prayer in public schools, nor compose any official student prayer or compel joining therein." We urge the Legislature to end censorship of discussion of religion in our founding documents, and encourage discussing those documents.
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It is wildly inappropriate to push "school administrators and officials" into a role traditionally held by parents and churches.

Courts have consistently upheld personal or student-initiatied right to prayer. What is unconstitutional is when student-initiated prayer becomes de facto policy, such as what brought about Santa Fe Independent School Dist. v. Doe.

The proposed amendment is dangerous. It would tacitly endorse public schooling on a federal level, creating a "gateway drug" to enhancing federal oversight of schools. Also, contemporary interpretaion of the First Amendment strongly defends most student-initiated prayer as free speech and defends against compulsory prayer.

Key founding documents in fact have minimal references to religion. There is no evidence of censorship.

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Protection of Women's Health

Strengthening Families, Protecting Life and Promoting Health > Protecting Innocent Human Life > Protection of Women's Health
Because of the personal and social pain caused by abortions, we call for the protection of both women and their unborn children from pressure for unwanted abortions. We commend the Texas Legislature for the passage of the Woman's Right to Know Act, a law requiring abortion providers, prior to an abortion, to provide women full knowledge of the physical and psychological risks of abortion, the characteristics of the unborn child, and abortion alternatives. We urge the state government and the Department of State Health Services to ensure that all abortion providers are in compliance with this informed consent law and to ensure that all pregnancy centers and other entities assisting women in crisis pregnancies have equal access to the informational brochures created by the Department of State Health Services.
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It is a Constitutionally-protected free speech right to convince mothers either way on abortions. We should not take the Democrat option of reducing fundamental rights.

The Legislature in 2003 already required certain information be made available to mothers. See the actual material. We are dangerously close to contradicting Republican opposition to socialized medicine, where bureaucrats will get in the way of doctor-patient relationships.

It is simply a basic expectation that agencies enforce the laws they are required to uphold. Commonsense statements do not need to be written in the platform.

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Partial Birth Abortion

Strengthening Families, Protecting Life and Promoting Health > Protecting Innocent Human Life > Partial Birth Abortion
We oppose partial birth abortion. We recommend that Congress eliminate from all federal court jurisdictions all cases involving challenges to banning Partial Birth Abortion.
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There is no need to single out partial birth abortions when we have a comprehensive abortion statement in the Right To Life plank.

We should not get into the slippery slope of cherrypicking valid subjects for judicial review.

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Random plank

Restoring American Sovereignty and Leadership > Domestic > Homeland Security
We urge the Homeland Security Department to strengthen intelligence gathering, enhance inter-agency intelligence sharing, protect high profile targets from terrorists, enhance airport and port-of-entry security, use random selection and terrorist profiling in searching individuals, and authorize the Navy and Coast Guard to board and search vessels entering U.S. waters from foreign ports.We urge the Homeland Security Department to strengthen our national intelligence gathering; further enhance inter-agency coordination of intelligence; pass critical information on to local and state agencies; protect constitutional rights of all citizens; provide adequate protection of high profile targets for terrorists; enhance airport and port-of-entry security; use random selection and terrorist profiling in searching individuals; provide for armed guards and pilots on commercial aircraft; authorize the Navy and Coast Guard to board and search vessels entering U.S. waters from foreign ports. We further urge Congress to provide expert training of airline pilots for protection against terrorist attack.
Reason:

Armed guards and pilots on aircraft is a statutory issue.

"Expert" connotes an insurpassible level of experience; airline pilots can and do have some training, but expertise is too much, especially in the limited context of what pilots can accomplish midair. Pilots need to be experts at flying; security needs to be experts at stopping terrorism.

Protecting Constitutional rights is an inherent duty of all government officials, not just Homeland Security.

wordy, misinformed, extreme, pointless

Problems

Show problem parts of the platform:
Platforms promote principles and policies. Planks must not push particular polymorphic political proposals, including bills.about a specific bill (6)
Parts of these were recently implemented.accomplished (11)
Parts of these only promote limited religious viewpoints.advances religious doctrine (8)
Too many positions already overwhelm voters. We cannot add more without a plan to cut ballot complexity.another elected office (6)
The GOP should not be a virulent, anti-homosexual crusade.anti-homosexual crusade (6)
These destroy useful customs or start us down slippery slopes.bad precedent (17)
Cliches belong on the playground, not in serious platforms.cliche (5)
These contradict other planks.contradictory (13)
These simply go too far, overshooting a rational remedy.extreme (25)
These have factual errors.incorrect (11)
These planks advanced contemporary liberal causes or expand government.leftist (22)
These planks require belief in something that is untrue.misinformed (18)
These are not appropriate for a platform document.misuse of platform (6)
These planks have minor punctuation or grammatical errors.needs copyedit (8)
These problems were fixed before the 2008 platform was published.no longer relevant (3)
"Black helicopters" and paranoid conspiracy have no place in our party.paranoid (15)
Parts of these do nothing useful.pointless (61)
These proposals would make our kids stupider.reduces education quality (3)
These planks are internally redundant or repeat other parts of the platform.redundant (41)
These planks should propose a more general solution.too specific (6)
These planks are unclear or unfocused.vague (19)
Puffy prose, hackneyed phrases, and obscure words create pinheaded, unfocused, and inaccessible platforms. Platforms must be simple and direct.wordy (47)

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