BEFORE YOU VOTE LOCALLY REPUBLICAN PLATFORM 2016
Please read the party ideal We affirm — as did the Declaration of Independence: that all are created equal, endowed by their Creator with inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Our standing in world affairs has declined significantly — our enemies no longer fear us and our friends no longer trust us. the current President of the United States — to impose a social and cultural revolution upon the American people by wrongly redefining sex discrimination to include sexual orientation or other categories.
Please read the party ideal We affirm — as did the Declaration of
Independence: that all are created equal, endowed
by their Creator with inalienable rights of life, liberty,
and the pursuit of happiness.
Our standing in world affairs has declined
significantly — our enemies no longer fear us and
our friends no longer trust us.
the
current President of the United States — to impose
a social and cultural revolution upon the American
people by wrongly redefining sex discrimination
to include sexual orientation or other categories.
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• R E P U B L I C A N P L A T F O R M 2 0 1 6 •<br />
cultural values that encourage selfless service and<br />
superiority in battle, and we oppose anything which<br />
might divide or weaken team cohesion, including<br />
intra-military special interest demonstrations.<br />
In particular, we warn against modification or<br />
lessening of standards in order to satisfy a nonmilitary<br />
agenda imposed by the White House.<br />
We call for an objective review of the impact on<br />
readiness of the current Administration’s ideologybased<br />
personnel policies, and<br />
will correct problems with<br />
appropriate administrative,<br />
legal, or legislative action. We<br />
reject the use of the military<br />
as a platform for social<br />
experimentation and will not<br />
accept or continue attempts<br />
to undermine military priorities<br />
and mission readiness. We<br />
believe that our nation is most<br />
secure when the president and<br />
the administration prioritize<br />
readiness, recruitment, and<br />
retention rather than using the<br />
military to advance a social<br />
or political agenda. Military<br />
readiness should not be sacrificed on the altar<br />
of political correctness. We oppose legislative<br />
attempts to modify the system of military justice<br />
that would undermine its fairness and due process<br />
rights for all concerned, both the accuser and the<br />
accused.<br />
Citizen Soldiers:<br />
National Guard and Reserves<br />
Our Reserve and National Guard forces are<br />
national assets that must be nurtured in a manner<br />
commensurate with their role as America’s sentinels.<br />
Their historic mission as citizen-soldiers is a proud<br />
tradition linking every town and city across America<br />
to liberty’s cause. Since September 11, 2001, the<br />
National Guard has transformed from a strategic<br />
reserve to a fully integrated operational fighting<br />
force. The Guard has bled on missions in Iraq,<br />
Afghanistan, the Balkans, and the Sinai. Today, more<br />
than fifty percent of our Guardsmen have combat<br />
experience. The Guard has demonstrated its value<br />
to the nation not only in war but during emergencies<br />
America has a<br />
sacred trust with our<br />
veterans, and we are<br />
committed to ensuring<br />
them and their families’<br />
care and dignity.<br />
here at home such as Hurricane Katrina and Super<br />
Storm Sandy.<br />
To avoid the overextension of our military,<br />
we support a larger active force and oppose the<br />
current Administration’s cuts to the National Guard<br />
and Reserves. Those reductions are dangerous and<br />
counter-productive because the men and women of<br />
the Guard and Reserve tend to be older and more<br />
experienced than their active duty counterparts.<br />
Guard and Reserve<br />
forces are currently deployed at<br />
historically high rates. The Army<br />
Reserve alone has soldiers<br />
in 30 countries. To its credit,<br />
the Republican Congress, by<br />
passing the National Defense<br />
Authorization Act, has moved<br />
to ensure these troops have<br />
what they need. That provision<br />
has triggered another veto<br />
threat from the Commanderin-Chief,<br />
even though the bill<br />
passed with overwhelming<br />
bipartisan support in both the<br />
House and Senate. He would<br />
have the members of the<br />
Reserve and Guard train on, and potentially be<br />
deployed with, equipment that is no longer used by<br />
their active duty comrades. We cannot tolerate this<br />
endangerment of both our troops and our national<br />
security. Therefore, we recommend a permanent<br />
line item for National Guard affairs, one that is<br />
not eliminated by the President and reinstated by<br />
Congress. The guard is too essential to our national<br />
defense to be a secondary decision.<br />
Honoring and Supporting Our Veterans:<br />
A Sacred Obligation<br />
Our nation’s veterans have been our nation’s<br />
strength and remain a national resource. Their<br />
service to their country — as community leaders,<br />
volunteers, mentors, educators, problem solvers,<br />
and public officials — continues long after they<br />
leave the military. In the same way, our obligation<br />
to the one percent who defend the other ninetynine<br />
percent does not end when they take off<br />
the uniform. America has a sacred trust with our<br />
veterans, and we are committed to ensuring them<br />
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