Thursday, August 30, 2012

2012 Republican Party Platform: The Preamble


In annotated bits and pieces.
  • The American Dream is a dream of equal opportunity for all. And the Republican Party is the party of opportunity.  [But curiously, not the party of equal opportunity.]
  • Our nation faces unprecedented uncertainty.....
  • ......four years of lost American leadership.....
  • Put simply: The times call for trustworthy leadership and honest talk  ["Ignored factchecks and the media’s crisis of confidence."  Columbia Journalism Review, 8/30/2012] about the challenges we face.
  • Providence has put us at the fork in the road......
  • .....or a positive, optimistic view of an opportunity society ["The Not-So-Much Opportunity Society, The New York Times, 3/19/2012], where any American who works hard, dreams big and follows the rules can achieve anything he or she wants.
  • [The American people] are the most generous people on earth, giving sacrificially of their time, talent, and treasure.  [U.S. ranks 1st on World Giving Index 2011.]
  • ....if we return government to its proper role, making it smaller and smarter.  ["National debt graph by President.  zFacts.]
  • As President Reagan ["10 Things Conservatives Don't Want You to Know About Ronald Reagan".  ThinkProgress, 2/5/2011] issued the clarion call to “tear down this Wall,” so must we always stand against tyranny and oppression.
  • We possess an owner’s manual: the Constitution of the United States, the greatest political document ever written. That sacred document shows us the path forward. 
    • Trust the people. ["Rule changes makes way for special interests."  Daily Iowan, 8/30/2012]
    • Limit government.    ["America's Peculiar Amnesia:   People have already forgotten how George W. Bush and the Republican Congress expanded government spending."  Slate, 8/2/2010.] 
    • Respect federalism. 
    • Guarantee opportunity, not outcomes. ["The Conscience of a Liberal:  Economics and Morality.  Paul Krugman in The New York Times, 1/18/2011]
    • Adhere to the rule of law.  ["Iowa View: State's GOP leaders undermine rule of law.  Altoona Herald-Index, 8/25/2012]   
    • Reaffirm that our rights come from God, are protected by government, and that the only just government is one that truly governs with the consent of the governed.

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