madfranks
19th September 2012, 10:06 AM
lewrockwell.com/vance/vance303.html
Lies, Damn Lies, Statistics – and the Republican Party Platform
At a breakfast sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor held just before the Republican National Convention began, House Speaker John Boehner, when asked about the new Republican Party Platform, said: "If it were up to me I would have the platform on one sheet of paper. Have you ever met anybody who read the party platform? I’ve not met ever anybody."
This must have been disheartening to the Republican activists from around the country who worked for months just to earn the right to attend the convention in order to have a chance of contributing to the party platform. Each state delegation assigns two of its members to a special committee that works on the platform and then presents it to the full convention for approval.
Well, I do read party platforms, and I have read the new 2012 Republican Party Platform – the preamble and every word on its 54 pages. The authors of the platform obviously think it is an important document. The preamble opens and closes with these statements:
The 2012 Republican Platform is a statement of who we are and what we believe as a Party and our vision for a stronger and freer America.
We respectfully submit this platform to the American people. It is both a vision of where we are headed and an invitation to join us in that journey.
Writing in the Washington Times, conservative Phyllis Schlafly says the new Republican Party platform "may be the best one ever adopted." It is "an excellent document written by grass-roots conservatives. It is a true reflection of American values."
But since when do American values consist of recycled clichés, pious platitudes, manifest hypocrisy, vain assurances, empty promises, and blatant lies?
After the preamble, the Republican Party platform contains six chapters:
Restoring the American Dream: Rebuilding the Economy and Creating Jobs
We The People: A Restoration of Constitutional Government
America’s Natural Resources: Energy, Agriculture and the Environment
Reforming Government to Serve the People
Renewing American Values to Build Healthy Families, Great Schools and Safe Neighborhoods
American Exceptionalism
But before looking at each of these chapters, we need to review a little Republican Party history first.
The Republicans controlled the House and Senate for the last six years of Clinton’s presidency (January 1995–January 2001). This was the first time the Republicans had controlled the entire Congress since the 83rd Congress under President Eisenhower (January 1953–January 1955). The Republicans controlled both the Congress and the presidency from the inauguration of George Bush on January 20, 2001, until May 24, 2001, when Republican senator Jim Jeffords switched from Republican to Independent. In the 2002 midterm election, the Republicans regained control of the Senate, but then lost both Houses to the Democrats in the 2006 midterm election. This means that for over four years the Republican Party was in complete control of the government like the Democratic Party was during Clinton’s first two years as president. The Republicans regained control of the House in the 2010 midterm election.
The importance of this history lesson will be evident as we go through the Republican platform section by section.
1. Restoring the American Dream: Rebuilding the Economy and Creating Jobs
The Republicans begin their first section with two of the biggest lies that have ever been told:
We are the party of maximum economic freedom.
Republicans will pursue free market policies that are the surest way to boost employment and create job growth and economic prosperity for all.
Does this mean that Americans are free to buy or sell any good or service they choose, from or to any person or business they choose, for any price that is voluntarily agreed upon? Of course not. Want to buy a Cuban cigar? Want to sell guns without a federal firearms license? Want to pay less than the minimum wage to a willing worker? Want to not pay overtime to a willing worker? Want to only rent your apartment to certain individuals? Want to charge the highest price you think you can get for gas? Sorry, you will pay a fine and/or go to jail.
The next two lies are so laughable I marvel at the audacity of Republicans for putting them in their platform:
Backed by a Republican Senate and House, our next President will propose immediate reductions in federal spending, as a down payment on the much larger task of long-range fiscal control.
Government spending and regulation must be reined in.
That’s funny. I have looked in detail at Paul Ryan’s budget plan that was passed by the Republican-controlled House earlier this year. He has spending increasing every year, the national debt increasing every year, and a budget that will not be balanced for twenty-three years. And the last time we had a Republican Senate, a Republican House, and a Republican president, the Republicans doubled the national debt, drastically increased spending, started two wars that will ultimately cost over $2 trillion dollars, didn’t cut any major regulations, increased the number of regulations, and gave us the first trillion-dollar deficit. I can’t wait to see what the Republicans will do this time.
What would a Republican platform be without talk of simplifying and reforming the tax code?
The tax system must be simplified.
We will reform the tax code to allow businesses to generate enough capital to grow and create jobs for our families, friends and neighbors all across America.
Taxes, by their very nature, reduce a citizen’s freedom. Their proper role in a free society should be to fund services that are essential and authorized by the Constitution, such as national security, and the care of those who cannot care for themselves. We reject the use of taxation to redistribute income, fund unnecessary or ineffective programs, or foster the crony capitalism that corrupts both politicians and corporations.
We oppose tax policies that divide Americans or promote class warfare.
Our goal is a tax system that is simple, transparent, flatter, and fair. In contrast, the current IRS code is like a patchwork quilt, stitched together over time from mismatched pieces, and is beyond the comprehension of the average citizen. A reformed code should promote simplicity and coherence, savings and innovation, increase American competitiveness, and recognize the burdens on families with children. To that end, we propose to:
Extend the 2001 and 2003 tax relief packages – commonly known as the Bush tax cuts – pending reform of the tax code, to keep tax rates from rising on income, interest, dividends, and capital gains;
Reform the tax code by reducing marginal tax rates by 20 percent across-the-board in a revenue-neutral manner;
Eliminate the taxes on interest, dividends, and capital gains altogether for lower and middle-income taxpayers;
End the Death Tax; and
Repeal the Alternative Minimum Tax.
Hey Republicans, when you passed the Bush tax cuts in the first place, why didn’t you make them permanent? Why didn’t you simplify and reform the tax code when you controlled the Congress for over four years with a Republican president? Why didn’t you eliminate the estate tax permanently when you had the chance? Why didn’t you eliminate taxes on interest, dividends, and capital gains altogether when you had complete control of the government? And why only for lower and middle-income taxpayers? I thought you opposed tax policies that divided Americans or promoted class warfare? And even with your Bush tax cuts, a progressive income tax by its very nature divides Americans and promotes class warfare, and especially one like we have now where half of Americans pay no income tax whatsoever. So why didn’t you reform the tax code so it wasn’t a progressive tax code as favored by Karl Marx? It is indeed strange that Republicans should say they reject the use of taxation to redistribute income and fund unnecessary programs. What do they think that 90 percent of the federal budget is spent on?
Republicans also bemoan the fact that "American businesses now face the world’s highest corporate tax rate." They call for "a reduction of the corporate rate to keep U.S. corporations competitive internationally, with a permanent research and development tax credit, and a repeal of the corporate alternative minimum tax." But the corporate tax rate didn’t go up under Obama. It has been the same for the past twenty years. Why didn’t Republicans lower the corporate tax rate when they controlled both Houses of Congress for six years under Clinton and for over four years under Bush? The only ones to blame for the high corporate tax rates are the Republicans. They are the ones who talk about cutting taxes and when given the opportunity, they blew it.
In this section, the Republicans also talk about "a federal-State-private partnership" that "must invest in the nation’s infrastructure: roads, bridges, airports, ports, and water systems," enforcing housing non-discrimination laws, and "assisting low income families and the elderly with safe and adequate shelter, especially through the use of housing vouchers." Too bad there is nothing in the Constitution that authorizes the federal government to do any of these things.
Amtrak comes under criticism in this first section of the GOP platform. "The public has to subsidize every ticket nearly $50," say the Republicans. I agree with their solution: "It is long past time for the federal government to get out of way and allow private ventures to provide passenger service to the northeast corridor. The same holds true with regard to high-speed and intercity rail across the country." So what are you Republicans waiting for? Where are the bills in the House to completely privatize Amtrak? But they wouldn’t pass a Democratic-controlled Senate or be signed into law by a Democratic president, say the Republicans. That never stopped House Republicans from passing bills to repeal Obamacare thirty-three times. And why wasn’t Amtrak sold off when the Republicans had an absolute majority under Bush?
Federal job training programs also come under condemnation in the Republican platform: "Nine federal agencies currently run 47 retraining programs at a total cost of $18 billion annually with dismal results. Both the trainees in those programs and the taxpayers who fund them deserve better." And what is the Republican solution? Is it to completely abolish the unconstitutional programs? Of course not. They must be "overhauled and made relevant for the workplace of the twenty-first century." Republicans "propose consolidation of those programs into State block grants so that training can be coordinated with local schools and employers."
The Republicans also complain about the Davis-Bacon law that "continues to drive up infrastructure construction and maintenance costs for the benefit of that party’s union stalwarts" and "costs the taxpayers billions of dollars annually in artificially high wages on government projects." They call for the law’s repeal in their platform. Fine, but instead of promising to do something about Davis-Bacon, why didn’t you actually do something about Davis-Bacon when you had the power to for over four years when Bush was the president?
2. We The People: A Restoration of Constitutional Government
The first words of section 2 are: "We are the party of the Constitution." This makes me want to either scream or throw up – or perhaps a couple hours of each. Although the Republicans claim that the Constitution is "the greatest political document ever written" and that "that sacred document shows us the path forward," anyone who looked at the Republican record – and especially when they had absolute control of the government under Bush – for more than three seconds would see instantly that they violate the Constitution every minute of every day.
Republicans have a warped view of what it means to follow the Constitution:
In the spirit of the Constitution, we consider discrimination based on sex, race, age, religion, creed, disability, or national origin unacceptable and immoral. We will strongly enforce anti-discrimination statutes and ask all to join us in rejecting the forces of hatred and bigotry and in denouncing all who practice or promote racism, anti-Semitism, ethnic prejudice, or religious intolerance.
Since when are anti-discrimination statutes authorized by the Constitution? Discrimination is essential in a free society, as I have written here.
Republicans also have a warped view of what should be in the Constitution. They propose a human life amendment and "by whatever legislative method is most feasible," legal protection against flag desecration.
Now, anyone who knows me or has read any of my articles on abortion knows that I am unabashedly opposed to abortion. But the answer is not federalizing the issue, as Ron Paul has explained so many times. But if the Republicans are so opposed to abortion and to "using public revenues to promote or perform abortion or fund organizations which perform or advocate it," then why do they vote to fund Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion provider in the United States?
Here is something in section 2 concerning the Constitution that I actually agree with the Republicans on:
Scores of entrenched federal programs violate the constitutional mandates of federalism by taking money from the States, laundering it through various federal agencies, only to return to the States shrunken grants with mandates attached.
But who is responsible for "scores of entrenched federal programs"? Who is responsible for not eliminating "scores of entrenched federal programs"? Why, it is the Republicans. To give one major example, see my "Republican Welfare State."
Here are two more true statements in the platform that Republicans don’t even begin to follow:
The only just government is one that truly governs with the consent of the governed.
In a free society, the primary role of government is to protect the God-given, inalienable, inherent rights of its citizens, including the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
When Republicans say they believe in a limited government, they only mean that they want a government limited to a government controlled by Republicans.
The Republican claim in their platform to "support the review and examination of all federal agencies to eliminate wasteful spending, operational inefficiencies, or abuse of power" is such a lie that I don’t know whether to laugh, cry, scream, or throw up.
What the Republicans say about the Second, Fourth, and Tenth Amendments in section 2 of their platform is insidious. The myriad of federal gun laws on the books shows that they don’t believe in the Second Amendment at all. They talk about how whether legislation being a state or a federal matter "must be determined in accordance with the Tenth Amendment, in conjunction with Article I, Section 8." Okay, so Republicans must believe that the legal status of marijuana should be left up to the states? Wrong again. Republicans are ardent drug warriors who don’t believe in federalism for a minute when it comes to the war on drugs. And here are the Republican creators and sustainers of the TSA on the Fourth Amendment: "All security measures and police actions should be viewed through the lens of the Fourth Amendment; for if we trade liberty for security, we shall have neither." Try reading that while TSA agents are feeling you up at the airport.
But wait a minute, the Republicans say in their platform that the procedures and much of the personnel of the TSA need to be “changed” because the agency is “now a massive bureaucracy of 65,000 employees who seem to be accountable to no one for the way they treat travelers.” They even “call for the private sector to take over airport screening wherever feasible and look toward the development of security systems that can replace the personal violation of frisking.” Republicans have never apologized for creating the agency in the first place, just like they have never done anything about “the personal violation of frisking.” And they expect us to believe that now, just before the election, they are concerned about Americans’ civil liberties? Do Republicans think we are that stupid?
3. America’s Natural Resources: Energy, Agriculture and the Environment
"We are the party of sustainable jobs and economic growth," begin the Republicans, but then they add "through American energy, agriculture, and environmental policy." But since when does the government have the authority to make energy, agriculture, and environmental policy in the first place? Certainly not in the Constitution the Republicans consider their "owner’s manual." (See my "Whither U.S. Energy Policy?")
Although the Republicans don’t mention Solyndra by name, they make a veiled reference to it: "Unlike the current Administration, we will not pick winners and losers in the energy marketplace. Instead, we will let the free market and the public’s preferences determine the industry outcomes." Solyndra was the first renewable-energy company to receive a loan guarantee under a provision to encourage "green energy" in Obama’s stimulus plan, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. But this was not the beginning of the government’s effort to encourage "green energy." For this we must go back to the Energy Policy Act of 2005, signed into law by George W. Bush on August 8 of that year. (See my "The Real Problem with Solyndra.")
Republicans want to expand nuclear energy. They lament that "no new nuclear generating plants have been licensed and constructed for thirty years." Have they forgotten that they had an absolute majority in the Congress for six years under Clinton and complete control of the government for over four year under Bush? The Republicans’ lamentation is of their own making.
Republicans try to blame Obama for high gas prices: "Since the current President took office in 2009, consumers pay approximately twice as much for gas at the pump." But if you look at gas prices for the last 30 years, it is evident that they began to drastically increase after Bush invaded Iraq in 2003. After reaching over $4 a gallon, gas prices made a sudden drop before the 2008 election (but not enough to help the Republicans win the presidency). At least Republicans in their platform did not say that gas prices would fall to a certain amount if they were put in charge of the government as did Republican buffoons Michele Bachmann ($2.00) and Newt Gingrich ($2.50).
On agriculture, the Republicans believe that "the proper federal role in agriculture" includes farm programs, crop insurance, agricultural research, food safety, food stamps, other domestic nutrition programs, and foreign food aid. They also say that the U. S. Forest Service – which controls about 193 million acres of land and employs 30,000 workers – "should be charged to use these resources to the best economic potential for the nation." According to the Constitution, there is no proper role of the federal government in agriculture. So, since the Republicans maintain that "when the Constitution is evaded, transgressed, or ignored, so are the freedoms it guarantees," they must want to abolish the Department of Agriculture and the Forest Service, right? Sorry, wrong again. (See my "Uncle Sam Is a Sugar Daddy.")
This section of the platform has a lot of criticism of the EPA:
We will end the EPA’s war on coal and encourage the increased safe development in all regions of the nation’s coal resources
We stand with growers and producers in defense of their water rights against attempts by the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers to expand jurisdiction over water, including water that is clearly not navigable.
We demand an end to the EPA’s participation in "sue and settle" lawsuits, sweetheart litigation brought by environmental groups to expand the Agency’s regulatory activities against the wishes of Congress and the public.
We oppose the EPA’s unwarranted revocation of existing permits. We also call on Congress to take quick action to prohibit the EPA from moving forward with new greenhouse gas regulations that will harm the nation’s economy and threaten millions of jobs over the next quarter century.
It almost sounds like the Republicans want to abolish the EPA. Especially since they also say:
Experience has shown that, in caring for the land and water, private ownership has been our best guarantee of conscientious stewardship, while the worst instances of environmental degradation have occurred under government control.
The most powerful environmental policy is liberty, the central organizing principle of the American Republic and its people. Liberty alone fosters scientific inquiry, technological innovation, entrepreneurship, and information exchange. Liberty must remain the core energy behind America’s environmental improvement.
Never fear, the Republicans have no plans to get rid of the EPA. They merely say: "Federal agencies charged with enforcing environmental laws must stop regulating beyond their authority." Republicans say they don’t want "activist regulators." In short, Republicans just want Republican regulations instead of Democratic regulations.
This is why we still have fuel-economy regulations (CAFE standards), which were first introduced for passenger cars in 1978. They continued under Reagan and a Republican-controlled Senate. They continued under a Republican majority in the Congress under Clinton. They continued under absolute Republican control of the government under Bush. And then in December of 2007, President Bush signed into law the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (H.R.6), which requires that automakers boost the gas mileage of their fleets to 35 mpg by the year 2020. This law was agreed to by an overwhelming majority of Republicans in the Senate and by half of the House Republicans.
Lies, Damn Lies, Statistics – and the Republican Party Platform
At a breakfast sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor held just before the Republican National Convention began, House Speaker John Boehner, when asked about the new Republican Party Platform, said: "If it were up to me I would have the platform on one sheet of paper. Have you ever met anybody who read the party platform? I’ve not met ever anybody."
This must have been disheartening to the Republican activists from around the country who worked for months just to earn the right to attend the convention in order to have a chance of contributing to the party platform. Each state delegation assigns two of its members to a special committee that works on the platform and then presents it to the full convention for approval.
Well, I do read party platforms, and I have read the new 2012 Republican Party Platform – the preamble and every word on its 54 pages. The authors of the platform obviously think it is an important document. The preamble opens and closes with these statements:
The 2012 Republican Platform is a statement of who we are and what we believe as a Party and our vision for a stronger and freer America.
We respectfully submit this platform to the American people. It is both a vision of where we are headed and an invitation to join us in that journey.
Writing in the Washington Times, conservative Phyllis Schlafly says the new Republican Party platform "may be the best one ever adopted." It is "an excellent document written by grass-roots conservatives. It is a true reflection of American values."
But since when do American values consist of recycled clichés, pious platitudes, manifest hypocrisy, vain assurances, empty promises, and blatant lies?
After the preamble, the Republican Party platform contains six chapters:
Restoring the American Dream: Rebuilding the Economy and Creating Jobs
We The People: A Restoration of Constitutional Government
America’s Natural Resources: Energy, Agriculture and the Environment
Reforming Government to Serve the People
Renewing American Values to Build Healthy Families, Great Schools and Safe Neighborhoods
American Exceptionalism
But before looking at each of these chapters, we need to review a little Republican Party history first.
The Republicans controlled the House and Senate for the last six years of Clinton’s presidency (January 1995–January 2001). This was the first time the Republicans had controlled the entire Congress since the 83rd Congress under President Eisenhower (January 1953–January 1955). The Republicans controlled both the Congress and the presidency from the inauguration of George Bush on January 20, 2001, until May 24, 2001, when Republican senator Jim Jeffords switched from Republican to Independent. In the 2002 midterm election, the Republicans regained control of the Senate, but then lost both Houses to the Democrats in the 2006 midterm election. This means that for over four years the Republican Party was in complete control of the government like the Democratic Party was during Clinton’s first two years as president. The Republicans regained control of the House in the 2010 midterm election.
The importance of this history lesson will be evident as we go through the Republican platform section by section.
1. Restoring the American Dream: Rebuilding the Economy and Creating Jobs
The Republicans begin their first section with two of the biggest lies that have ever been told:
We are the party of maximum economic freedom.
Republicans will pursue free market policies that are the surest way to boost employment and create job growth and economic prosperity for all.
Does this mean that Americans are free to buy or sell any good or service they choose, from or to any person or business they choose, for any price that is voluntarily agreed upon? Of course not. Want to buy a Cuban cigar? Want to sell guns without a federal firearms license? Want to pay less than the minimum wage to a willing worker? Want to not pay overtime to a willing worker? Want to only rent your apartment to certain individuals? Want to charge the highest price you think you can get for gas? Sorry, you will pay a fine and/or go to jail.
The next two lies are so laughable I marvel at the audacity of Republicans for putting them in their platform:
Backed by a Republican Senate and House, our next President will propose immediate reductions in federal spending, as a down payment on the much larger task of long-range fiscal control.
Government spending and regulation must be reined in.
That’s funny. I have looked in detail at Paul Ryan’s budget plan that was passed by the Republican-controlled House earlier this year. He has spending increasing every year, the national debt increasing every year, and a budget that will not be balanced for twenty-three years. And the last time we had a Republican Senate, a Republican House, and a Republican president, the Republicans doubled the national debt, drastically increased spending, started two wars that will ultimately cost over $2 trillion dollars, didn’t cut any major regulations, increased the number of regulations, and gave us the first trillion-dollar deficit. I can’t wait to see what the Republicans will do this time.
What would a Republican platform be without talk of simplifying and reforming the tax code?
The tax system must be simplified.
We will reform the tax code to allow businesses to generate enough capital to grow and create jobs for our families, friends and neighbors all across America.
Taxes, by their very nature, reduce a citizen’s freedom. Their proper role in a free society should be to fund services that are essential and authorized by the Constitution, such as national security, and the care of those who cannot care for themselves. We reject the use of taxation to redistribute income, fund unnecessary or ineffective programs, or foster the crony capitalism that corrupts both politicians and corporations.
We oppose tax policies that divide Americans or promote class warfare.
Our goal is a tax system that is simple, transparent, flatter, and fair. In contrast, the current IRS code is like a patchwork quilt, stitched together over time from mismatched pieces, and is beyond the comprehension of the average citizen. A reformed code should promote simplicity and coherence, savings and innovation, increase American competitiveness, and recognize the burdens on families with children. To that end, we propose to:
Extend the 2001 and 2003 tax relief packages – commonly known as the Bush tax cuts – pending reform of the tax code, to keep tax rates from rising on income, interest, dividends, and capital gains;
Reform the tax code by reducing marginal tax rates by 20 percent across-the-board in a revenue-neutral manner;
Eliminate the taxes on interest, dividends, and capital gains altogether for lower and middle-income taxpayers;
End the Death Tax; and
Repeal the Alternative Minimum Tax.
Hey Republicans, when you passed the Bush tax cuts in the first place, why didn’t you make them permanent? Why didn’t you simplify and reform the tax code when you controlled the Congress for over four years with a Republican president? Why didn’t you eliminate the estate tax permanently when you had the chance? Why didn’t you eliminate taxes on interest, dividends, and capital gains altogether when you had complete control of the government? And why only for lower and middle-income taxpayers? I thought you opposed tax policies that divided Americans or promoted class warfare? And even with your Bush tax cuts, a progressive income tax by its very nature divides Americans and promotes class warfare, and especially one like we have now where half of Americans pay no income tax whatsoever. So why didn’t you reform the tax code so it wasn’t a progressive tax code as favored by Karl Marx? It is indeed strange that Republicans should say they reject the use of taxation to redistribute income and fund unnecessary programs. What do they think that 90 percent of the federal budget is spent on?
Republicans also bemoan the fact that "American businesses now face the world’s highest corporate tax rate." They call for "a reduction of the corporate rate to keep U.S. corporations competitive internationally, with a permanent research and development tax credit, and a repeal of the corporate alternative minimum tax." But the corporate tax rate didn’t go up under Obama. It has been the same for the past twenty years. Why didn’t Republicans lower the corporate tax rate when they controlled both Houses of Congress for six years under Clinton and for over four years under Bush? The only ones to blame for the high corporate tax rates are the Republicans. They are the ones who talk about cutting taxes and when given the opportunity, they blew it.
In this section, the Republicans also talk about "a federal-State-private partnership" that "must invest in the nation’s infrastructure: roads, bridges, airports, ports, and water systems," enforcing housing non-discrimination laws, and "assisting low income families and the elderly with safe and adequate shelter, especially through the use of housing vouchers." Too bad there is nothing in the Constitution that authorizes the federal government to do any of these things.
Amtrak comes under criticism in this first section of the GOP platform. "The public has to subsidize every ticket nearly $50," say the Republicans. I agree with their solution: "It is long past time for the federal government to get out of way and allow private ventures to provide passenger service to the northeast corridor. The same holds true with regard to high-speed and intercity rail across the country." So what are you Republicans waiting for? Where are the bills in the House to completely privatize Amtrak? But they wouldn’t pass a Democratic-controlled Senate or be signed into law by a Democratic president, say the Republicans. That never stopped House Republicans from passing bills to repeal Obamacare thirty-three times. And why wasn’t Amtrak sold off when the Republicans had an absolute majority under Bush?
Federal job training programs also come under condemnation in the Republican platform: "Nine federal agencies currently run 47 retraining programs at a total cost of $18 billion annually with dismal results. Both the trainees in those programs and the taxpayers who fund them deserve better." And what is the Republican solution? Is it to completely abolish the unconstitutional programs? Of course not. They must be "overhauled and made relevant for the workplace of the twenty-first century." Republicans "propose consolidation of those programs into State block grants so that training can be coordinated with local schools and employers."
The Republicans also complain about the Davis-Bacon law that "continues to drive up infrastructure construction and maintenance costs for the benefit of that party’s union stalwarts" and "costs the taxpayers billions of dollars annually in artificially high wages on government projects." They call for the law’s repeal in their platform. Fine, but instead of promising to do something about Davis-Bacon, why didn’t you actually do something about Davis-Bacon when you had the power to for over four years when Bush was the president?
2. We The People: A Restoration of Constitutional Government
The first words of section 2 are: "We are the party of the Constitution." This makes me want to either scream or throw up – or perhaps a couple hours of each. Although the Republicans claim that the Constitution is "the greatest political document ever written" and that "that sacred document shows us the path forward," anyone who looked at the Republican record – and especially when they had absolute control of the government under Bush – for more than three seconds would see instantly that they violate the Constitution every minute of every day.
Republicans have a warped view of what it means to follow the Constitution:
In the spirit of the Constitution, we consider discrimination based on sex, race, age, religion, creed, disability, or national origin unacceptable and immoral. We will strongly enforce anti-discrimination statutes and ask all to join us in rejecting the forces of hatred and bigotry and in denouncing all who practice or promote racism, anti-Semitism, ethnic prejudice, or religious intolerance.
Since when are anti-discrimination statutes authorized by the Constitution? Discrimination is essential in a free society, as I have written here.
Republicans also have a warped view of what should be in the Constitution. They propose a human life amendment and "by whatever legislative method is most feasible," legal protection against flag desecration.
Now, anyone who knows me or has read any of my articles on abortion knows that I am unabashedly opposed to abortion. But the answer is not federalizing the issue, as Ron Paul has explained so many times. But if the Republicans are so opposed to abortion and to "using public revenues to promote or perform abortion or fund organizations which perform or advocate it," then why do they vote to fund Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion provider in the United States?
Here is something in section 2 concerning the Constitution that I actually agree with the Republicans on:
Scores of entrenched federal programs violate the constitutional mandates of federalism by taking money from the States, laundering it through various federal agencies, only to return to the States shrunken grants with mandates attached.
But who is responsible for "scores of entrenched federal programs"? Who is responsible for not eliminating "scores of entrenched federal programs"? Why, it is the Republicans. To give one major example, see my "Republican Welfare State."
Here are two more true statements in the platform that Republicans don’t even begin to follow:
The only just government is one that truly governs with the consent of the governed.
In a free society, the primary role of government is to protect the God-given, inalienable, inherent rights of its citizens, including the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
When Republicans say they believe in a limited government, they only mean that they want a government limited to a government controlled by Republicans.
The Republican claim in their platform to "support the review and examination of all federal agencies to eliminate wasteful spending, operational inefficiencies, or abuse of power" is such a lie that I don’t know whether to laugh, cry, scream, or throw up.
What the Republicans say about the Second, Fourth, and Tenth Amendments in section 2 of their platform is insidious. The myriad of federal gun laws on the books shows that they don’t believe in the Second Amendment at all. They talk about how whether legislation being a state or a federal matter "must be determined in accordance with the Tenth Amendment, in conjunction with Article I, Section 8." Okay, so Republicans must believe that the legal status of marijuana should be left up to the states? Wrong again. Republicans are ardent drug warriors who don’t believe in federalism for a minute when it comes to the war on drugs. And here are the Republican creators and sustainers of the TSA on the Fourth Amendment: "All security measures and police actions should be viewed through the lens of the Fourth Amendment; for if we trade liberty for security, we shall have neither." Try reading that while TSA agents are feeling you up at the airport.
But wait a minute, the Republicans say in their platform that the procedures and much of the personnel of the TSA need to be “changed” because the agency is “now a massive bureaucracy of 65,000 employees who seem to be accountable to no one for the way they treat travelers.” They even “call for the private sector to take over airport screening wherever feasible and look toward the development of security systems that can replace the personal violation of frisking.” Republicans have never apologized for creating the agency in the first place, just like they have never done anything about “the personal violation of frisking.” And they expect us to believe that now, just before the election, they are concerned about Americans’ civil liberties? Do Republicans think we are that stupid?
3. America’s Natural Resources: Energy, Agriculture and the Environment
"We are the party of sustainable jobs and economic growth," begin the Republicans, but then they add "through American energy, agriculture, and environmental policy." But since when does the government have the authority to make energy, agriculture, and environmental policy in the first place? Certainly not in the Constitution the Republicans consider their "owner’s manual." (See my "Whither U.S. Energy Policy?")
Although the Republicans don’t mention Solyndra by name, they make a veiled reference to it: "Unlike the current Administration, we will not pick winners and losers in the energy marketplace. Instead, we will let the free market and the public’s preferences determine the industry outcomes." Solyndra was the first renewable-energy company to receive a loan guarantee under a provision to encourage "green energy" in Obama’s stimulus plan, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. But this was not the beginning of the government’s effort to encourage "green energy." For this we must go back to the Energy Policy Act of 2005, signed into law by George W. Bush on August 8 of that year. (See my "The Real Problem with Solyndra.")
Republicans want to expand nuclear energy. They lament that "no new nuclear generating plants have been licensed and constructed for thirty years." Have they forgotten that they had an absolute majority in the Congress for six years under Clinton and complete control of the government for over four year under Bush? The Republicans’ lamentation is of their own making.
Republicans try to blame Obama for high gas prices: "Since the current President took office in 2009, consumers pay approximately twice as much for gas at the pump." But if you look at gas prices for the last 30 years, it is evident that they began to drastically increase after Bush invaded Iraq in 2003. After reaching over $4 a gallon, gas prices made a sudden drop before the 2008 election (but not enough to help the Republicans win the presidency). At least Republicans in their platform did not say that gas prices would fall to a certain amount if they were put in charge of the government as did Republican buffoons Michele Bachmann ($2.00) and Newt Gingrich ($2.50).
On agriculture, the Republicans believe that "the proper federal role in agriculture" includes farm programs, crop insurance, agricultural research, food safety, food stamps, other domestic nutrition programs, and foreign food aid. They also say that the U. S. Forest Service – which controls about 193 million acres of land and employs 30,000 workers – "should be charged to use these resources to the best economic potential for the nation." According to the Constitution, there is no proper role of the federal government in agriculture. So, since the Republicans maintain that "when the Constitution is evaded, transgressed, or ignored, so are the freedoms it guarantees," they must want to abolish the Department of Agriculture and the Forest Service, right? Sorry, wrong again. (See my "Uncle Sam Is a Sugar Daddy.")
This section of the platform has a lot of criticism of the EPA:
We will end the EPA’s war on coal and encourage the increased safe development in all regions of the nation’s coal resources
We stand with growers and producers in defense of their water rights against attempts by the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers to expand jurisdiction over water, including water that is clearly not navigable.
We demand an end to the EPA’s participation in "sue and settle" lawsuits, sweetheart litigation brought by environmental groups to expand the Agency’s regulatory activities against the wishes of Congress and the public.
We oppose the EPA’s unwarranted revocation of existing permits. We also call on Congress to take quick action to prohibit the EPA from moving forward with new greenhouse gas regulations that will harm the nation’s economy and threaten millions of jobs over the next quarter century.
It almost sounds like the Republicans want to abolish the EPA. Especially since they also say:
Experience has shown that, in caring for the land and water, private ownership has been our best guarantee of conscientious stewardship, while the worst instances of environmental degradation have occurred under government control.
The most powerful environmental policy is liberty, the central organizing principle of the American Republic and its people. Liberty alone fosters scientific inquiry, technological innovation, entrepreneurship, and information exchange. Liberty must remain the core energy behind America’s environmental improvement.
Never fear, the Republicans have no plans to get rid of the EPA. They merely say: "Federal agencies charged with enforcing environmental laws must stop regulating beyond their authority." Republicans say they don’t want "activist regulators." In short, Republicans just want Republican regulations instead of Democratic regulations.
This is why we still have fuel-economy regulations (CAFE standards), which were first introduced for passenger cars in 1978. They continued under Reagan and a Republican-controlled Senate. They continued under a Republican majority in the Congress under Clinton. They continued under absolute Republican control of the government under Bush. And then in December of 2007, President Bush signed into law the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (H.R.6), which requires that automakers boost the gas mileage of their fleets to 35 mpg by the year 2020. This law was agreed to by an overwhelming majority of Republicans in the Senate and by half of the House Republicans.