BEFORE YOU VOTE LOCALLY REPUBLICAN PLATFORM 2016

• R E P U B L I C A N P L A T F O R M 2 0 1 6 •
A Dangerous World
Alexander Hamilton wrote in Federalist 23
that the first of the “principal” constitutional
obligations of the federal government is to provide
for the “common defense” of the United States,
and President George Washington wisely reminded
us that “To be prepared for war is one of the most
effectual means of preserving peace.”
After nearly eight years of a Democratic
Commander-in-Chief who has frequently placed
strategic and ideological limitations and shackles
on our military, our enemies have been emboldened
and our national security is at
great risk. Our country faces a
national security crisis, and only
by electing a Republican to the
White House will we restore law
and order to our land and safety
to our citizens.
We are the party of peace
through strength. We believe
that American exceptionalism
— the notion that our ideas and
principles as a nation give us a
unique place of moral leadership
in the world — requires the
United States to retake its natural position as leader
of the free world.
Tyranny and injustice thrive when America is
weakened. The oppressed have no greater ally than
a confident and determined United States, backed
by the strongest military on the planet.
Quite simply, the Republican Party is committed
to rebuilding the U.S. military into the strongest on
earth, with vast superiority over any other nation or
group of nations in the world. We face a dangerous
world, and we believe in a resurgent America.
In all of our country’s history, there is no parallel
to what President Obama and his former Secretary
of State have done to weaken our nation. Our aging
America Resurgent
H H H H H
In all of our country’s
history, there is no
parallel to what
President Obama and
his former Secretary
of State have done to
weaken our nation.
naval capabilities are inadequate for their job.
The Air Force fields the smallest and oldest force
of combat aircraft in its history. The Marines have
only two-thirds the number of battalions they have
historically needed to meet day to day operational
demands. The Army is at its lowest troop levels
since before World War II. Our U.S. Ambassador
and American personnel were left without adequate
security or backup halfway across the world in
Benghazi. In summary, we have returned to the
hollow force days of Jimmy Carter.
Also neglected are our strategic forces,
especially the development and
deployment of ballistic missile
defenses. The Ground-Based
Midcourse Defense system has
been delayed and underfunded.
To curry favor with Russia,
defense installations in Poland
and the Czech Republic have
been neutralized and the
number of planned interceptors
in Alaska has been reduced.
A New START agreement
(Strategic Arms Reduction
Treaty), so weak in verification
and definitions that it is virtually impossible to prove
a violation, has allowed Russia to build up its nuclear
arsenal while reducing ours. Meanwhile Moscow
has repeatedly violated the Intermediate-Range
Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty (a treaty agreeing to
the elimination of land-based mid-range nuclear
missiles) with impunity, covertly testing missiles
banned under that agreement.
In the international arena, a weak Administration
has invited aggression. The results of
the Administration’s unilateral approach to
disarmament are already clear: An emboldened
China in the South China Sea, a resurgent Russia
occupying parts of Ukraine and threatening
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