BEFORE YOU VOTE LOCALLY REPUBLICAN PLATFORM 2016

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of qualified veterans as teachers in our public
schools. Their proven abilities and life experiences
will make them more successful instructors and
role models for students than would any teaching
certification.
Over-prescription of opioids has become
a nationwide problem hindering the treatment
of veterans suffering from mental health issues.
We therefore support the need to explore new
and broader ranges of options, including faithbased
programs, that will better serve the veteran
and reduce the need to rely on drugs as the sole
treatment.
America: The Indispensable Nation
For the last several generations, our country’s
two major political parties were dedicated to the
nation’s security and the advance of freedom
around the world. Both had learned from mistakes
of the past and realized that a weak America invited
aggression. Both recognized the need to stand
with friends and oppose those who wished us evil.
Whatever their disagreements, both the Republican
and Democratic parties stood for peace through
strength — and strength meant American military
superiority.
This bipartisan commitment has tragically
changed. The leadership of the Democratic Party,
both those in office and those who seek it, no longer
see America as a force for good in the world. They
do not stand by allies or stand strong against our
foes. They pander to world opinion and neglect the
national interest. They cannot be trusted to advance
either the cause of liberty or our national security in
the dangerous years in which we live.
We affirm our party’s tradition of world
leadership established by President Eisenhower
and followed by every Republican president
since. It stands for enormous power — and the
prudence to use it sparingly, precisely, and only
in grave necessity. It stands for involvement, not
intervention. It requires consultation, not permission
to act. It leads from the front — and ensures all
others do their parts as well. It embraces American
exceptionalism and rejects the false prophets of
decline and diminution. It is, in sum, the way we
will lead the world into a new century of greater
peace and prosperity — another American Century.
Challenges of a Changing Middle East
The Middle East is more dangerous now than
at any time since the Second World War. Whatever
their disagreements, presidents of both parties had
always prioritized America’s national interests, the
trust of friendly governments, and the security of
Israel. That sound consensus was replaced with
impotent grandstanding on the part of the current
President and his Secretaries of State. The results
have been ruinous for all parties except Islamic
terrorists and their Iranian and other sponsors.
We consider the Administration’s deal with Iran,
to lift international sanctions and make hundreds of
billions of dollars available to the Mullahs, a personal
agreement between the President and his negotiating
partners and non-binding on the next president.
Without a two-thirds endorsement by the Senate, it
does not have treaty status. Because of it, the defiant
and emboldened regime in Tehran continues
to sponsor terrorism across the region, develop a
nuclear weapon, test-fire ballistic missiles inscribed
with “Death to Israel,” and abuse the basic human
rights of its citizens. A Republican president will not
be bound by it. We must retain all options in dealing
with a situation that gravely threatens our security,
our interests, and the survival of our friends.
Over the last four years we have seen the rise
of a murderous fanaticism in the form of ISIS, the
so called Islamic State. Its reach now extends far
beyond the Middle East to virtually every continent.
ISIS has brought ancient butchery into the 21st
century. Nations are imploding, erasing longestablished
borders. The Obama Administration
and its Secretary of State so mishandled the Arab
Spring that it destabilized the entire region. The
hope some saw in the Arab Spring has transformed
into disappointment. The dictator of Syria, Bashar
Assad, has murdered hundreds of thousands of his
own people and created millions of refugees, and
an American president has been unable to rally the
world against him. Understandably, our allies fear
for their future in a region far more dangerous than
it was eight years ago.
A Republican administration will restore our
nation’s credibility. We must stand up for our friends,
challenge our foes, and destroy ISIS. Hezbollah,
controlling over 100,000 missiles in Lebanon, must
be isolated and Lebanon’s independence restored.
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