2008 Platform (filtered to misinformed)

There is no credible movement to mandate tagging of non-commerical animals like pets.

HB 1361 refers to the 79th Legislature's HB 1361 by Texas Representative Rick Hardcastle (R-Vernon). This allows the state to enact the US Department of Agriculture's National Animal Identification System. Some have criticized this program for unfairly burdening smaller agriculture operations. Until the disproportionate costs are worked out, the program should not be mandatory.

GPS is a red herring. For the purposes of this program, GPS coordinates only refer to the location of animal husbandry operations, not tracking of people or animal. It is merely an alternate representation of address or property records already in the public domain.

Texas or the United States government have no provisions to license or ordain clergy. That would be an obvious First Amendment violation.

Kindergarten has been a productive part of K-12 public education for decades.

There is no mandatory preschool in Texas, and there is no movement to create such a program.

There is nothing about early childhood development programs that justifies special mention. More generic planks adequately address opposition to government expansionism.

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.

There is in fact no special Congressional retirement system. They are just members of the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), although they are eligible for the older Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) if they were in Congress before 1984.

The problem is that Congress requires FERS to calculate its own retirement benefits much more generously than for typical federal employees.

The problem is abuse of earmarks, not the earmarks themselves.

"Carve out" earmarks do not increase spending; those earmarks are a critical Congressional check against intransigent bureaucracies. Certainly our motto is not "in bureaucrats we trust"! Trusting bureaucrats is Democrat policy.

This proposal distracts from the underlying problem: unending government expansion. Arresting runaway spending is the only effective way to end the abuse of earmarks.

Earmarks are like money. Neither are evil; how they are used is the issue.

This is a terrible, unfocused plank that is a grab bag of random wishes and left-wing government expansionism.

Wages are an economic issue in every industry, including the military. If wages are too low, they will show up in poor recruitment and retention numbers. Given good recruiting numbers, there is little evidence of insufficient wages.

There is no credible movement to:

• Reassign commandment of the armed forces away from the President.
• Move away from a volunteer force.
• Recruit to fill ranks with unqualified people.

The issue of women in combat roles is an internal issue for the military and does not deserve mention here. If it comes down to it, women may decline to serve in the military if they do not want a combat role.

These are in fact left-wing and remarkably expensive policies:

• Removing disability pay offset: A lack of an offset for other disability pay is unfair: you collect twice for one disability!
• Full health benefits for National Guard and reservists: U.S. health benefits are typically a function of employment. National Guard and reservists do not work when they are not on duty, so it makes little sense to extend health coverage to off-duty times.
• Lifetime health benefits: Just like with any other employer-sponsored health plan, military health plan should terminate upon end of employment.

It is counterproductive and pointless to have a witch hunt for homosexuals.

There is zero evidence that the military is mishandling HIV.

Separation of men and women in basic training is counterproductive. They will have to work together in the field. Why create artificial barriers?

The G.I. Bill provision is accomplished. The current bill pays up to $47,556 in educational benefits over a maximum of 36 months.

This plank is wordy. For example:

• "Upgrading" and "modernizing" are the same thing.
• Vehicles are a type of equipment.
• Something that is safe and efficient is also effective.

It is wholly unclear how free trade is hurting our sovereignty.

Withdrawal from the WTO and FTAA would be counterproductive.