THE LAKE COUNTY REPUBLICAN PARTY 2017 PLATFORM

 

THE LAKE COUNTY REPUBLICAN PARTY 2017 PLATFORM PREAMBLE

This Platform was written by members of the Republican Party and citizens of Lake County. It was developed by consensus after considerable research, discussion and debate.

We believe that the ideas and positions stated in the Platform reflect not only the ideals of the Republican Party but also of the vast majority of Americans as well as those of our Founding Fathers. Listed below are the values adopted by those who established the Republican Party:

• Family first
• Equal justice for all
• Fiscal discipline
• Limited government
• Strong defense
• Lower taxes
• Moral integrity
• Free enterprise
• Personal responsibility

We are proud to present this Lake County Republican Party Platform to our friends, neighbors, relatives and fellow citizens of Lake County, Ohio, on this 12th day of September in the year of our Lord, 2017.

We offer this Platform with optimism and the courage to stand united behind the positions stated herein. We also stand behind these insightful words written in 1916 by the Reverend William J. H. Boetcker.

“You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging the weak or by weakening the strong. You cannot help the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer. You cannot further the brotherhood of man by encouraging class hatred. You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich. You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than you earn. You cannot build character and courage by taking away man’s initiative and independence. You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves.”

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. History
2. The Constitution of the United States of America
3. Health Care System Reform
4. Education
5. Immigration, National Security And the Rule of Law
6. Reform of Taxes
7. County Issues and Local Government Accountability

 

History

The Republican Party was born in 1854 as the political organization dedicated to the abolishment of slavery and to the guiding principles of our founding documents.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute a new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to affect their Safety and Happiness.”

These very words of the Declaration of Independence, our founding document, ascribed to by our Founding Fathers, laid the basis of the United States Constitution, established as our Rule of Law. It is a document in which the constraints of government and the freedom of the people are absolute.

Through the years, great conservative Republican statesmen from Lincoln to Reagan, have kept America as the “Shining City on the Hill”. It is a commitment to the ideals that individuals, not government, can make the best decisions. It is an unwavering affirmation that all people are entitled to equal rights, and that decisions are best made close to home.

The priceless gifts of freedom and liberty are ours today because of our unique history. As we enjoy these God given unalienable Rights, we must never forget that we have been given stewardship over them. Freedom and liberty are immeasurable gifts, but we must also assume the vast responsibility of defending the Constitution to retain that which the founding fathers bestowed upon America. Thus, mandated by history, we must protect and defend the freedoms of...Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness... now and for future generations.

Some people today question the wisdom of our Founding Fathers whose words resound in our United States Constitution. Yet this founding document, its Bill of Rights and subsequent amendments, clearly state the principles and values which have guided our country throughout our past, and ever relevant, they guide the direction of our great country today. They include such guiding values and principles as:

• Government officials are elected to represent the people – NOT dictate

• Limited federal government

• The principle of separation of powers

• Federalism – 9th and 10th amendments, which uphold States rights over government rights

• No taxation without representation

Throughout our history hundreds of thousands of our fellow citizens have died defending the very freedoms of this great nation. We as a Party and as a Nation face the challenge today to honor their sacrifice by preserving the Republic given to us by the Founding Fathers.

As Abraham Lincoln so eloquently put it at Gettysburg, “That we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain. That this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, and for the people shall not perish from the earth.”

 

The Constitution of the United States

“The Constitution that I interpret and apply is not living but dead, or as I prefer to call it, enduring. It means today not what current society, much less the court, thinks it ought to mean, but what it meant when it was adopted.”
 

“We the People...” are the three most powerful words in the world. It is a call to the simple fact that government derives its power from the people, not the other way around. There is no other document like our Constitution. Granted, it has been copied by other nations, but never with the success that is the United States.

The first ten amendments of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, was written by James Madison in response to a need for greater constitutional protection for individual liberties that several states believed were not being addressed. The Bill of Rights explicitly dictates what the government can NOT do, something that has been blurred by time and political agendas. The Bill of Rights set forth by Madison was strongly influenced by the Virginia Declaration of Rights written by George Mason. This document emphasized individual rights, agreed upon both in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. These are our individual rights, put forth eloquently and succinctly and granted to us by our Creator.

To this end, we support the positions outlined in the Constitution section of the 2016 Republican National Platform.

 

Health Care System Reform

In addition to agreeing with the 2016 Republican National Committee Platform, The Lake County Republican Party once again supports the positions outlined in the 2008 and 2012 National Republican Party Platform in the chapter titled Health Care Reform: Putting Patients First, with further emphasis on the following recommendations.

We believe:

• The goal must be to lower out-of-control costs, increase the quality of care, reduce illness through ‘wellness and preventive’ programs; and make health care and related insurance more affordable, accessible and tax deductible.

• The current system is broken due to excessive government intervention which has driven up costs and inefficiency. More government takeover of our health care would be disastrous. An overview of the Veterans Administrative (VA) exemplifies this statement.

• Free market solutions are necessary to achieve our goals, increase creativity and expand technology. Lasik and cosmetic surgery are prime examples of how the free market works. In both cases, neither the government nor a third party payor is involved, and the results have produced dramatic reductions in costs coupled with increased quality and technological advances. In addition, a whole array of businesses have been created.

True reform would:

• Simplify and expand Health Savings Account (HSA) and Health Reimbursement Account (HRA) rules so that every American citizen, employer or business could have this option and benefit.

• Cut health care costs by eliminating federal, state and county mandates.

• Use tax incentives or vouchers, such as easier deductibility or credits, to promote wellness and patient responsibility and allow every American citizen to choose his/her doctor and insurance plan.

• Increase implementation of tort reform! Out-of-control malpractice claims astronomically increase health care insurance costs and force doctors out of private practice. This would lead to rationing of care and a shortage of health care professionals. To control this, we call for capping rewards and imposing penalties for frivolous lawsuits.

• Reform Medicaid in Ohio so benefits for the truly needy are not compromised by abuse, waste, fraud and inefficiency.

• Reinstate the “Conscience Clause” so that no health care professional (doctor, nurse, pharmacist) or organization would ever be required to perform, provide or refer a health care service against his/her conscience for any reason.

• Improve efficiency through increased use of electronic records as long as safeguards are in place to protect personal information, and design one standardized form for all insurances.

• Promote competitiveness by allowing for interstate competition between insurance companies to lower healthcare costs.

• Encourage even more transparency and accountability by hospitals and doctors, and support the enforcement of the Ohio Health Care Cost Transparency Law.

• Enhance and prolong life at all stages of development.

• Prohibit the use of government funds for drugs and procedures that cause the destruction of human life.

• Eliminate medical device tax.

It has become obvious to most people that the promises of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) have not become reality:

• Being able to keep your insurance if you have it! - Many plans have since been eliminated or have become unaffordable.

• This act will lower healthcare costs – Most healthcare costs have risen and many substantially, which has driven up the costs of private insurance by double and even triple digit percentages.

• This will provide better healthcare for the 30 million uninsured and be an economic boom to our economy – This act is actually beginning to lower the quality of care, lessening or eliminating insurance to people with insurance, and incentivizing part-time vs. full-time employment thus hindering the economic recovery.

  We believe that this act:

  • Should have been completely written, read and vetted before being voted on.

  • Should be repealed immediately before any more damage is done to our economy, and replaced by an appropriate plan that incorporates the principals set forth here and within the 2016, 2012 and 2008 Republican Party Platforms.

  • Shows how destructive an unelected bureaucracy can be when little or no oversight is provided.

  • Is hurting the middleclass and heading America to a single payer system which must never be imposed upon the American people.

 

Education

The Education Committee supports the 2016 Republican National Committee platform and the previous platforms of the Lake County Republican Party, and wishes to submit the following in addition:

The Republican National Committee did an excellent job in their resolution against the Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSSI) in April 2013. Since the CCSSI and the two national testing consortia -- Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) and Smarter Balance Assessment Consortium (SBAC) - - have become one of the leading topics nationwide. We support this position.

Additionally, the CCSSI is part of the ongoing push from the federal government down through the State Department of Education to further the goals of “Outcome Based Education,” or performance-based education. This is the viewpoint that each child can, should, or will reach the same performance level at the same time as determined by some bureaucracy and testing company. Rather than a focus on the teacher meeting a student where they are at and helping them learn and achieve at their own unique level and pace, there is an emphasis on regurgitating information for a test as “proof” of high academic performance. This is leading to high-stakes testing in multiple grades and teacher evaluations that are tied specifically to student assessments by fifty percent, ultimately emphasizing “teaching to the test”. To quote Jeannie Fulbright, “If the purpose for learning is to score well on a test, we’ve lost sight of the real reason for learning.” The Lake County Republican Party wants to emphasize the facts that every child has unique gifts, talents, and abilities, and may learn and achieve at different paces. As such, it is also important that teachers be given the flexibility to cultivate each child’s specific abilities, their enjoyment of learning, and mastery of skills at an appropriate, individualized pace. We also support performance based evaluations of school personnel that is based on metrics that include a unique set of circumstance.

We also recognize the importance of family involvement, the parent’s right to choose the best education option for their child(ren) and the importance of education policy staying local, not coming from the Federal Government.

 

Immigration, National Security and The Rule of Law

We support the positions outlined in the 2016 Republican National Committee’s Platform under the chapter heading as shown above. We support and wholeheartedly welcome all ethnic groups and people of diverse cultures who enter, or have entered, our country legally.

We agree with President Theodore Roosevelt, who reportedly said in 1907: “In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person’s becoming in every facet an American and nothing but an American ... There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn’t an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American Flag ... We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language ... and we have room for but one sole loyalty, and that is a loyalty to the American people.”

Our Lake County Republican Party’s platform is based on principles of law and fairness. We call on Congress and the President to:

• Reform our immigration laws and bureaucracy to reflect, and work in concert with, our national security interests and concerns, including enforcement while assisting those striving to legally immigrate to or work in, the United States.

• Provide law enforcement at all levels, including our courts of law, the tools necessary to enforce all of our laws (federal, state and local) related to national security and immigration.

The RNC Platform of 2016 supports the following:

• Illegal immigration undermines our economy and our culture and adversely affects U.S. workers.

• We oppose any form of amnesty for those who, by intentionally violating the law, disadvantage those who have obeyed it. Granting amnesty only rewards and encourages more law breaking.

• We support the mandatory use of the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (S.A.V.E.) program...prior to the granting of any State or Federal entitlements or IRS refunds.

• We insist on enforcement at the workplace through verification systems so that jobs can be available to all legal workers. Use of the E-verify program...must be made mandatory nation-wide.

• We support building a wall along our southern border and protecting all ports of entry.

• We support Republican legislation to give the Department of Homeland Security long-term detention authority to keep dangerous but un-deportable aliens off our streets, expedite expulsion of criminal aliens, and make gang membership a deportable offense.

• We are grateful to the thousands of new immigrants, many of them not yet citizens, who are serving in the Armed Forces. Their patriotism should encourage us all to embrace the newcomers legally among us, assist their journey to full citizenship, and help their communities avoid isolation from the mainstream of society.

• While we encourage the retention and transmission of heritage tongues, we support English as the nation’s official language, a unifying force essential for the educational and economic advancement of—not only immigrant communities— but also our nation as a whole.

• “Sanctuary cities” violate federal law and endanger their own citizens. They should not be eligible for federal funding.

• In light of both current needs and historic practice, we urge the reform of our guest worker programs to eliminate fraud, improve efficiency and ensure they serve the national interest.

Our platform addresses the following issues for Lake County stating that:

• We applaud all the officials in Lake County who have shown their commitment to these principles outlined above on Immigration, National Security and the Rule of Law. Enforcement of our laws is essential for national, state and local security and community safety as well as the preservation of our liberty and freedom. Any lack of enforcement, coordination of enforcement or unequal enforcement of laws in Lake County should have real consequences.

• We call on our officials and fellow citizens to bring public attention to any type of discriminatory activity going on in Lake County, including security and safety concerns so that the proper officials can rectify the egregious behavior and the perpetrator(s) be held accountable.

• We encourage our schools in Lake County to provide the teaching of English to

  those who do not currently speak our language proficiently; however, this should be done at a day and/or time that does not disrupt the regular school day curriculum or compromise the resources of the school.

• State enforcement efforts in the workplace must be welcomed, not attacked. When Americans need jobs, it is absolutely essential that we protect them from illegal labor in the workplace. In addition, it is why we demand tough penalties for those who practice identity theft, deal in fraudulent documents, and traffic in human beings.

• State efforts to reduce illegal immigration must be encouraged, not attacked.

• We strongly support the prosperity of our small and large businesses in Lake

  County and recognize that there is sometimes a need for non-American workers to supplement the needs of employers. To that end, we support legal programs such as work visas and E-Verify technology that will lead to smarter enforcement at the workplace. We support the E-Verify program make it mandatory, and the passage of Ohio H.R. 184, which addresses, among other issues, the hiring of legal workers and the verifying of eligibility to work in this country.

• We support the celebration of all cultures in our wonderfully diverse country. To that end, we believe that no state or local government entity in the U.S. shall pass a law celebrating any specific cultural group unless it is to celebrate all cultural groups.

 

Reform of Taxes

We support the position of the 2016 Republican National Committee Platform and additionally wish to submit the following positions:

• Simplify the tax code

• Make tax cuts permanent

• Eliminate marriage penalty, both federal and state

• Eliminate the federal estate tax permanently

• Eliminate the alternative minimum tax

• Support education tax credits for school tuition

• Eliminate taxes on interest income, dividends and capital gains

• Minimize corporate tax

• Preserve and/or refine tax deductions for: real estate taxes and mortgage-related interest, health care expenses, education and charitable donations

• Eliminate barriers to encourage business re-investment, thus repatriating the over $13 trillion invested overseas

 

County and Local Government Accountability

The Republican Party was founded by independent thinkers who were deeply committed to individual liberty. We are still committed to that ideal. Accordingly, we welcome all, regardless of race, gender or ethnicity, whose goals are liberty and personal responsibility so that they work toward the betterment of Lake County. Achieving those goals will make Lake County a nationally recognized community of excellence and exceptional quality of life.

We cherish the diversity of the many cities, townships and villages of Lake County and Northeast Ohio and have no desire to eliminate the differences among them that define their character and their borders. We believe that there are areas of definite fiscal advantage for communities working together in certain aspects of local government within the confines of legal authority and for the safety of their citizens.

We encourage communities to work together, instead of competing, by sharing costs and resources when and where practical. We support innovative opportunities that reduce the cost of local and county government services without making those services inefficient or ineffective.

We look to the Constitution of the State of Ohio to preserve accountability at all levels of government through home rule and adherence to laws and regulations that are enacted through transparent and honest means which conform to the legislative intent of the public body proposing the legislation.

Finally, vigilance and awareness of our local sovereignty will keep our county, state and country strong and freedom safe for generations to come.

 

We unanimously approved of the 2016 Republican National Platform and added to it with our own.