When the Texas Republican Party army came toFort Worth last month for its state convention, someone should have warned themnot to drink the water from the Trinity River. Without warning, however, a caseof mass insanity broke out in the ranks like Mad Cow Disease. How else could they come up with such as poppycockpolitical platform? And worse, how could all these Republican officeholders andcandidates mindlessly bind themselves to this covenant by blind oath of partyloyalty?
Just when we thought idiocy had reached itsall-time high-water mark, here comes the 2012 Republican Party of Texaspolitical platform. [excerpts italicized]
We oppose the teaching of Higher OrderThinking Skills (HOTS) (values clarification), critical thinking skills and similar programs that are simply arelabeling of Outcome-Based Education (OBE) (mastery learning) which focus onbehavior modification and have the purpose of challenging the student’s fixedbeliefs and undermining parental authority. (p.12)
Did the Texas Republicansjust say that they oppose “critical thinking skills”? Is the Party so devoid ofcritical thinking skills that it would oppose teaching such skills to schoolchildren for fear that it would dislodge their little fixed beliefs?
Oops! It was a mistake says RepublicanParty of Texas (RPT) Communications Director Chris Elam.
“[The chairman of the Education Subcommittee] indicated that it was anoversight of the committee, that the plank should not have included ‘criticalthinking skills’ after ‘values clarification,’” Elam said. “And it was not theintent of the subcommittee to present a plank that would have indicated thatthe RPT in any way opposed the development of critical thinking skills.”
The TexasRepublicans are stuck with the plank until the next state convention in 2014.Accident or not, ignorance is bliss for the state GOP.
· We support reducingtaxpayer funding to all levels of education institutions. (p.17)
This plank makes it clear that the GOP-dominated statelegislature last session cuts in school funding was not due to fiscalconstraints, but a purposeful act of undermining the education systemthroughout the state, except for private and charter schools.
· Weurge Congress to repealgovernment-sponsored programs that deal with early childhood development.(p.12)
· Webelieve the Department of Education (DOE)should be abolished (p.13)
Footnote:Texas is 49th in verbal SAT scores in the nation, 46th inaverage math SAT scores, and 36th in high school graduation rates(68%). It ranks 44th in average per pupil expenditures and dead last(51st) in the percentage of adults with high school diplomas. Maybethis bespeaks the fact that Texas is now a minority-majority state.
· Weencourage legislation that prohibitsenrollment in free public schools of non-citizens unlawfully present in theUnited States. (p.12)
· Weencourage non-English speaking studentsto transition to English within three years.(p.11)
· Wesupport adoption of American English asthe official language of Texas and of the United States(p.7)
We call on theLegislative, Executive, and Judicial branches of the United States to clarifySection 1 of the 14th amendment to limitcitizenship by birth to those born to a citizen of the United States withno exceptions. (p.21)
· Applicants(for citizenship) must waive any and allrights to apply for financial assistance from any public entitlement programs;
· Applicantmust show a proficiency in the Englishlanguage and complete an American civic class;
Under the Republican Platform, it would no longer be enoughto simply be born in the United States to become a U.S. citizen. A child bornto an undocumented immigrant would not be allowed to receive an education inthe public school system. And though their parents would be obligated to payincome and sales taxes, they would not be entitled to any of public benefits orsocial services of a regular taxpayer.
· We believe the current teaching of a multicultural curriculum is divisive.We favor strengthening our common American identity and loyalty instead ofpolitical correctness that nurtures alienation among racial and ethnic groups. (p.11)
· We support school subjects withemphasis on the Judeo-Christian principles upon which America was founded and which form the basis ofAmerica’s legal, political and economic systems. We support curricula that areheavily weighted on original founding documents, including the Declaration ofIndependence, the US Constitution, and Founders’ writings.(p.13)
What is “a multicultural curriculum”? And, how would it be “divisive”?There is enough ambiguity here for plausible denial. But using the GOP “Judeo-Christian”principle, all other cultural inclusions are negated by implication. In otherwords, if the curriculum does not fall within the guidelines of Judeo-Christianprinciples, then it is part of the multicultural curriculum; and, therefore,divisive.
Does that mean teaching a Black History Month lesson in theclassroom is divisive? If so, then from who’s perspective? Note: political correctness that nurturesalienation among racial and ethnic groups. If it fosters alienation among racial and ethnic groups, it is NOTpolitically correct. If it were politically correct, it would be unbiased and inclusive.
Education is not a Judeo-Christian monopoly. In a globalizedsociety, multiculturalism is an asset.
· Webelieve the Minimum Wage Law should berepealed.(p.19)
· Weurge the Legislature to resist makingWorkers’ Compensation mandatory for all Texas employers(p.19)
· We urge the Congress to repeal the Prevailing Wage Law and theDavis Bacon Act. (p.19)
· Weoppose affirmative action.(p.3)
· We urge that theVoter Rights Act of 1965 codified and updated in 1973 be repealed and notreauthorized. (p.5)
The Texas Republican agendacreates a servile class, with no minimum wage guarantees and protections. Theremust be, however, protection for the worker against illegal exploitation.
Every worker is entitled to,at least, livable wages. Without affirmative action, equal opportunity throughhiring and promotion would not exist. The proof is in the courts. As long asthere is discriminatory hiring and promotion, there will be a need foraffirmative action.
Selective hiring is reflectedin the disparity in unemployment rates. Were it not for affirmative action EEOC,the defense industry would still be Lilly White.
Killing affirmative actionwould be like killing a baby before it is born.
· We support the repealof the Community Reinvestment Act.(p.20)
The Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) was enacted becauseof the discriminatory practice of “redlining”. When bank deposits come out ofa community, instead of lending back to the businesses in that community, the banks would take minority funds and lend to Lilly White developers in another part of town.One side of town flourish, while the other side languish.
The CRA has since been almost amended out of its existence. Then also, there was a turn forthe worse in housing lending by banks on over-inflated priced housing. Therefore, instead of abolishing CRA, the Act needs to bestrengthened.
We support afavorable business climate of low taxes and deregulation to encourage capitalinvestment, ensuring retention and creation of American jobs. (p.19)
· We recommend repealof the Sixteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, with the goal ofabolishing the I.R.S and replacing it with a national sales tax collectedby the States (p.17)
· We urge repeal of the Texas business tax.
· Abolishing property taxes
· Shifting the tax burden to a consumption-based tax
· Weurge outright repeal of property taxes on inventory.
· Oppose all professional licensing fees and real estateand similar transaction fees or taxes
· OpposeCreation of a state income tax or state property tax
· Weurge the income tax, capital gains tax, estate tax, and all other taxreductions be made permanent. The death tax is immoral and should be abolishedforever.
· Webelieve Congress should repeal the Federal Reserve Act of 1913(p.19)
The aim here is clearly to abolish the federal government by strangulationon taxes. The Texas Republicans have been gradually eliminating, not onlylegitimate sources of federal tax revenue, but undermining federal taxing authorityitself. This proposal to eliminate the IRS and impose a sales tax upon allconsumers is merely another shifting of the tax burden more upon the backs ofthe middle-income and poor consumers.
Eliminating the monetary system and returning to the goldstandard, as alluded to in this document, is a regressive step backwards. Doingaway with the Federal Reserve System would cut off the circulation ofgovernment IOUs, known as Federal Reserve notes or simply greenback dollars.
What would we have in its place? Gold bonds? And, how would moneycirculate, from bank to bank, without the Federal Reserve central banking system.The economy needs an arbiter of value and a pipeline for liquidity.
We support abolishingall federal agencies whose activities are not specifically enumerated in theConstitution; including the Departments of Education and Energy.(p.16)
· We believe the EnvironmentalProtection Agency should be abolished. (p.3)
· We call for the disbandingof the TSA and place airport security into the more accountable and capablehands of the state and local law enforcement. (p.14)
· We demand the immediate repeal of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which webelieve to be unconstitutional.(p.11)
Environmental pollution almost brought us to our knees before conceded the need forair and water quality monitoring. EPA came into being as a long-range survival agency for a short-sighted generation.
On the other hand, airport security, with its Interstate Commerce range and regulations,cannot be overseen and managed by any single state or through local law enforcement.State and local governments do not have the intelligence capacity.
· We support the withdrawalof the United States from the United Nations and the removal of U.N.headquarters from U.S. soil. (p.20)
· We unequivocally oppose the United States Senate’sratification of the UnitedNations Convention on the Rights of the Child. (p.10)
· We support U.S. withdrawalfrom the International Monetary Fund, the World Trade Organization and the WorldBank. (p.22)
· We oppose theinfluence, promotion and implementation of nongovernmental organizations,metropolitan and/or regional planning organizations, Councils of Government, andInternational Council for Local Environmental initiatives and the use ofAmerican (Texas) citizen’s taxes to promote these programs. (p.20)
The Texas Republicans take an isolationist perspectiveon the global community. It would disassociate itself from every world body. Itwould refuse to ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which rightswould also be protected in the United States.
The universal acceptance of Children’s Rights leavesthe United States as one of only two countries who have not ratified it. Thisshows how alienated our country is from the rest of the world.
Note also that the GOP lists of disassociations wouldalso include Councils of Government, such as the North Central Texas Council ofGovernments. This notion goes against regional planning and collaboration onthe local, state, national, and global scale.
This myopic perception impedes our broader view of our relative place in the global community.
We oppose theabusive use of class action lawsuits.(p.19)
Parties who pay greater fines, penalties, and awardsare the greater culprit. Lawsuits are a necessary arrest to illegal and harmfulpractices. It is the check in Checks-and-Balances.
The size of the award should not be an incentive tocontinue violating. It must be a deterrent.
We call for truckersworking within the state of Texas to enjoy the full benefits of the TexasConcealed Handgun License law irrespective of unreasonable and intrusivefederal regulations. (p.14)
Only in Texas.
We reaffirm Texas’ state sovereignty, as reservedunder the 10th Amendment. Texas retains its sovereignty, freedoms,independence, power, jurisdiction and rights which are not delegated to thefederal government by the U. S. Constitution. (p.20)
· Weoppose all unfunded mandates by the federal and state governments.(p.16)
Every Republican is responsible forimplementing this platform. Party candidates should indicate their positions onplatform planks before their acceptance on the ticket and suchinformation should be available on the Party website. (p.6)
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