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2008 Platform (filtered to contradictory)

This is a plank-by-plank review of the 2008 platform. Use the links at right to narrow it down, or explore alternate views:

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Showing only planks with contradictory fault: These contradict other planks. (show all planks)
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Annexation

Preserving American Freedom > Limiting the Expanse of Government Power > Annexation
Residents of an area to be annexed into a city may vote on annexation.All parties in annexation proceedings should be guaranteed these referenda: Residents of an area to be annexed may vote on annexation, and voters of the jurisdiction proposing annexation must authorize the proposal.

An earlier plank calls for preservation of representative democracy. Forcing a city vote on annexation usurps this model.

It is appropriate for "annex-ees" to have a voice through a direct vote since they had no representative in the jurisdiction into which they are being annexed.

Need to clarify that this is for cities only. This stems from controversy from Houston's annexation of areas to its north.

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Voter Registration

Preserving American Freedom > Restoring Integrity to Our Elections > Voter Registration
We support restoring integrity to the voter registration rolls and to reducing voter fraud. We support repeal of all Motor Voter laws; re-registering voters every four years; requiring photo ID of first time registrants; proof of residency and citizenship, along with voter registration application; retention of the 30-day registration deadline.
(plank deleted)

This plank is hypocritical. Our preamble states: "We are the party of ideas, of innovation, the party of the Information Age. We are the bottom-to-top party of the people, not the top-to-bottom party of the state." That conflicts with a plank that calls for adding red tape for the sake of increasing hassle.

Voter ID is sufficient to root out fraud and is covered in the Fair Election Procedures plank.

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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.
(plank deleted)

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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State Board of Education

Educating Our Children > State Board of Education
We support an elected State Board of Education (SBOE) with authority over the Texas Education Agency, selection and termination of the Commissioner of Education, and textbook adoption. The SBOE must retain constitutional authority over the Permanent School Fund. TheThe state should offer subject-area teacher certification without additional educational requirements for individuals who hold a baccalaureate in their field or professionals who have equivalent life experience in a field. We urge that the Legislature repeal Education Code 28.008 and 28.009; and that the legislature instead work within the established framework of the Texas Education code and the authority of the State Board of Education.

There is no reason to have yet more elected officials.

People without college degrees should not teach in public schools.

Texas Education Code sections 28.008 and 28.009 force districts to take college preparation seriously. This is good. Proposing their removal contradicts with the Knowledge-Based Education plank that opposes "job training" in public schools.

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Textbooks and Curricula

Educating Our Children > Textbooks and Curricula
The SBOE must have sole authority over textbook content and state adoption, and this process must include public hearings. We urge the Legislature to give the State Board of Education authority to establish textbook adoption standards. We oppose the replacement of textbooks by laptops. We support competitive pricing as part of the textbook selection process by independent school districts and oppose standard maximum pricing schemes.
(plank deleted)

Textbook content adoption must have checks and balances. Otherwise textbook standards will entirely be created by an unelected committee.

The anti-technology provision is silly and contradicts other parts of the platform that affirm technology.

Furthermore, by limiting textbook authority to the SBOE, this plank contradicts other planks that call for local control.

Let's be frank about what this is about: some see the SBOE as the best hope for replacing science with religious doctrine or presenting a politically-biased, revisionist view of history. They keep trying but always fail.

Textbook pricing problems can be greatly alleviated by eliminating Texas's unusual, centralized control of textbook adoption and purchasing. Let the free market work, let local control work, let local districts purchase their textbooks like the rest of the nation. Fortunately that has already started.

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Sex Education

Educating Our Children > Sex Education
We recognize parental responsibility and authority regarding sex education. We support policies that mandate parental notification and consent before any sex education program is presented to their child. Parents must be given an opportunity to review the material prior to giving their consent. We oppose any sex education other than abstinence until heterosexual marriage.
(plank deleted)

Acceptance of comprehensive sexual education is almost universal. Therefore, prior written consent is usually meaningless red tape. We should not take the Democrat route and keep adding more bureaucratic hassles for parents.

Existing open records laws already allow interested parents access to sexual education curriculum and materials if a district is not forthcoming.

This contradicts other planks that call for maximizing local control.

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Classroom Discipline

Educating Our Children > Classroom Discipline
We recommend that local school boards and classroom teachers be given more authority to deal with disciplinary problems. We urge the Legislature, Governor, Commissioner of Education and State Board of Education to remind administrators and school boards that corporal punishment is effective and legal in Texas.
(plank deleted)

The first sentence is vague. It is unclear what state-given authority teachers lack, and the Support for Classroom Teachers plank already calls for increased powers to deal with misbehaving students. Any lack of authority is a district-level policy or procedural problem.

Supposely the platform is for "maximizing" local control elsewhere, but yet we want the state to tell the districts what to do?

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Knowledge-Based Education

Educating Our Children > Knowledge-Based Education
The primary purpose of publicPublic schools isare to teach critical thinking skills, reading, writing, arithmetic, phonics, history, science, and character as well as knowledge-based education, not job training. We support knowledge-based curriculum standards and tests. We support successful career and technology programs, but oppose mandatory career training. We oppose Outcome-Based Education (OBE) and similar programs. Further, because of an aging U.S. population and global competition, and because much of today's education teaches children to be employees or perhaps at best managers for employers, we encourage the teaching of entrepreneurial skills and investment skills.

Phonics is a method to learn reading and is not a basic skill.

"Career and technology programs" are in fact "job training." You cannot decry it and then support it.

There is no credible movement to have mandatory job training.

Outcome-based education is largely misconstrued. It was a lightning rod in the '80s and early '90s because in some cases it was accompanied by reduced standards. OBE is normative in public schools today and has resulted in increased standards.

"Entrepreneurial skills and investment skills" are not basic skills that need to be mandatory parts of public education.

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School Health Care

Educating Our Children > School Health Care
We urge legislators to prohibit reproductive health care services, including counseling, referrals, and distribution of condoms and contraception through public schools. We support the parents' right to choose, without penalty, which medications are administered to their minor children. We oppose medical clinics on school property except higher education and health care for students without parental consent.
(plank deleted)

This is a valid local control issue, and it contradicts with other planks that call for "maximizing" local control.

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Tax Deduction for Private and Home school

Strengthening the Economy > Tax Burden > Tax Deduction for Private and Home school
We support a federal tax deduction for expenses incurred for all private and home schooling.
(plank deleted)

In the prior plank, we asked for a drastically simpler tax reform. That will necessarily exclude niche deductions like this.

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Appraisal Cap

Strengthening the Economy > Tax Burden > Appraisal Cap
We support capping the annual increase in real property appraisals at 3% and strongly support a reduction in the margin of error in the property value study to 90% in place of the current 95%. We call upon the Texas Leg to eliminate the property value study
(plank deleted)

This plank calls for adjustment to a program and also calls for its elimination? Huh?

The Property Value Study is a valid tool to monitor appraisal district accuracy. Certainly Republicans don't want less accuracy?

A 3% cap in Dallas County, for example, would have in fact shifted the net tax burden away from the wealthiest inhabitants. That makes no sense.

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Foreign Control of US Interests

Restoring American Sovereignty and Leadership > Domestic > Foreign Control of US Interests
We oppose sale, transfer, management or ownership of critical U.S. interests by foreign or international entities. Foreign owned properties and income shall be subject to all US laws.
(plank deleted)

This is vague without better definition of what constitutes "critical U.S. interests." Also, if we are going to play the free trade and globalization game, we cannot use different rules for ourselves.

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NASA

Restoring American Sovereignty and Leadership > Domestic > NASA
We support appropriate funding for NASA and the Texas Aerospace Commission. We also support private sector research and development of space technology.
(plank deleted)

This contradicts other planks that call for elimination of all federal programs not in the Constitution's enumerated powers. NASA is not such a power.

It is difficult to place NASA in a platform document for a fiscally conservative Texas party. The greater Houston area clearly benefits from NASA's presence. However, far too much of NASA's work either has no direct or even near-term application that will possibly benefit humanity, and even the parts that do benefit humanity are so collosally expensive to be a grossly inefficient way to develop useful technology. Therefore, much of NASA is a make-work program for nerds. If NASA must be in the platform, the plank must oppose much of NASA's current allocation.

The Texas Aerospace Commission should have been decommissioned per the Texas Sunset Commission because it "is not an efficient use of the State’s limited resources." It is ironic for a platform plank to directly support wasteful spending.

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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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