2022 Iowa 2nd District Republican Platform
2022 Iowa 2nd District Republican Platform
PREAMBLE
As Republicans, we uphold the principles of individual responsibility and liberty, adherence to traditional moral standards, a strong national defense, a free enterprise system and equal rights for all. Respect for the sanctity of human life, and freedom of religion and the free exercise thereof. We believe in retaining the original intent of our Constitution. We believe high moral character is a necessity for public servants. The highest standard of character should be embodied in both private and public life. We encourage the proliferation of these principles and their passage to future generations.
PLATFORM PRINCIPLES
The following are the fundamental principles that make up the platform of the Republican Party of Iowa.
I. Our nation is a Constitutional Republic whose Foundation is the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
We acknowledge our rights derive from God, our Creator, and are therefore unalienable and include Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness (e.g. private property). Further, the Right to Life shall be understood to include all people from conception to natural death. We are a nation governed by people elected to public office that are sent to represent us, the citizens. Our Constitution provides limits to governmental power, explicitly details our fundamental rights and insures that only the enumerated powers contained within the Constitution are executed by the federal government. All other functions of government are left to the state and local governments.
II. We are a Sovereign Nation.
We are a Sovereign Nation with defined borders, governed by a set of laws determined by our representatives, guided by our Constitution and protected by a military strong enough to defend our nation and its interests.
III. The Oath of Office of all civil servants, elected and employed, should guide their actions.
As citizens, we demand that our elected officials take their office and its duties and responsibilities to us, our country and our Constitution seriously and act in accordance with their individual Oaths of Office.
IV. Fiscal Responsibility is a fundamental function of any local, state or federal entity.
It is a fundamental expectation that government entities act in a financially responsible manner; it follows that limiting the size and scope of government is a necessary component of achieving this end.
V. Personal Responsibility is the primary duty of all citizens.
We are a nation of individuals held together by a common vision. We are not servants of the government; we are not dependent on the benevolence of society for our survival. Our possibilities are limitless where a free market is allowed to operate without government distortion; they should not be limited by our local, state and federal government. We are citizens of our country. We as individuals are responsible for our successes and failures.
LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES
This section enumerates what we Republicans of Iowa identify as the legislative priorities and stances for our elected representatives.
Life
1. We move the Iowa Republican party aggressively support a “life begins at conception” bill without exceptions. We believe that all human beings, from conception to natural death, have a God given and constitutionally protected right to life, which cannot be infringed. We believe all such issues belong under the constitutional authority of the state, not federal government.
2. We oppose using public revenues for abortion or funding organizations which advocate it. We commend those who provide alternatives to abortion by meeting the needs of mothers and offering adoption services.
3. We reaffirm our support for appointment of judges who respect tradition family values and the sanctity of life.
4. We oppose the non-consensual withholding or withdrawal of care or treatment, including food and water, from people with disabilities, including newborns, as well as the elderly and infirmed, just as we oppose active and passive euthanasia and assisted suicide.
5. We believe that traditional, two parent (one natural male and one natural female), marriage based families are the foundation to a stable, enduring, and healthy civilization. Therefore, public policy must always be pro-family in nature, encouraging marital and family commitment, and supportive of the parental rights and responsibilities.
6. We support non-embryonic stem cell research, such as promoting the use of adult stem cells, while opposing human cloning and research using fetal tissue from abortions.
7. We believe the selling, brokering or marketing of aborted fetal and perinatal tissue should be illegal.
8. We support adequate funding for state mental health facilities dedicated to inpatient services and outpatient mental health facilities and services. We support an increase in trained mental health professionals and staff sufficient to meet the needs of our state.
9. We support the Life Amendment to the Iowa constitution.
10. We support providing the father legal standing to intervene and advocate of behalf of his unborn child.
Liberty
1. We support the 1st Amendment to allow prayer in Public Schools and Public Places.
2. We believe that parents are responsible for their children, and we support the rights of parents to be the ultimate authority for the discipline, protection, and education of their children.
3. We believe money should follow the child in education – whether that child attends public, private, parochial or home school- to assist parents financially in educating their children using the option best suited to their family’s educational needs. We call on the General Assembly to provide for tuition vouchers, tax deductions, or tax credits to permit parents’ choice in educating their children- without government intervention in the school curriculum.
4. We strongly believe in the constitutionally protected natural right of individuals to keep and bear arms, as recognized and protected by the Second Amendment, and we support the repeal of existing laws that infringe upon those rights. We support maintaining the “castle doctrine” provisions of Iowa law.
5. We support “Conscience Clause” legislation so that no person, business, or organization can be penalized for its exercise of religious freedom by not providing services that violates their religious beliefs.
6. We support legislation that would prohibit any organization, (in example, Planned Parenthood), from entering public school properties for the purpose of promoting promiscuous behavior and abortion products, videos, or printed material.
7. The actions of national intelligence agencies must not infringe upon American citizens’ Constitutional rights.
8. We call for the repeal of sexual orientation and gender identity as a protected class in the Iowa Civil Rights Code and reject any additional similar legislation to Local, State or National Code.
9. We support full local control in schools and therefore oppose any forced national education standard.
10. We support authorized personnel with the proper training, being allowed to carry firearms in our schools.
11. We support teaching Iowa and US Constitutions in depth in our schools.
12. We believe that voting rights be restored statutorily rather than by Executive determination.
13. We support the elimination of Gun-free zones.
14. We demand that all Iowa DNR game wardens respect landowners and hunters 4th amendment constitutional rights. They shall have legal probable cause and/or search warrant to be on private property.
15. We oppose Red Flag laws as they are a violation of the U.S. Constitution.
16. We believe that athletes should compete in their sport according to their birth sex.
17. We support the removal of all sexually explicit and pornographic content from public school.
18. We support legislation school curriculum should be made available to parents.
19. Individuals have the sovereignty to make decisions about their and their child’s healthcare.
20. We oppose mandates of all kinds on private business, individuals, and communities.
21. We support medical doctors and demand they are allowed to practice medicine freely and to prescribe any FDA approved drug or therapy for the treatment of any illness or disease. We further demand that pharmacists honor the medical doctor’s orders and provide the drugs or therapies as prescribed to the consumer/patient.
22. We oppose electronic surveillance of private financial transactions by any government or non-government entity unless a non-FISA warrant is issued.
Property
1. We support legislation requiring all regulations by all government agencies (e.g. EPA, Dept. of Ag, Dept. of Interior, etc.) relating to private property and the public good receive congressional authorization prior to their implementation.
2. We support the right of United States citizen property owners to vote on bond issues in any district where they pay property tax whether a resident of the district or not.
3. We support laws that prohibit ownership of United States farmland, property, and other assets by foreign governments or entities controlled by such government.
4. We believe anyone moving into or already living in areas zoned previously for a particular use be prohibited from filing “nuisance lawsuits” which are antagonistic to such zoning if defendants are in compliance with all governing laws.
5. All government fees assessed must be passed by the duly elected governmental body.
6. We oppose federal or state government taking private property away from the owner for the use of another private party. Eminent domain should be used only for public use.
7. We support elimination of all state and federal “estate” taxes, but support retaining the stepped-up basis for estates to ensure heirs inherit assets with no additional tax burden.
National Sovereignty & Defense
1. We believe the United States should never sacrifice its sovereignty or relinquish control of its soil to the United Nations or any other international body.
2. We support legal immigration based on the merit System, common sense improvements to our immigration process (including ending chain migration and the lottery visa), strict enforcement of our current immigration laws, no government benefits for illegal aliens (except for emergency medical care), securing of our borders including a wall where needed
3. We reaffirm our commitment to the State of Israel.
4. Agreements with foreign nations should only be done by treaty and subject to the approval of Congress.
5. We assert that bequeathing citizenship to babies born to non-citizens in the United States is a misinterpretation of the 14th amendment.
6. We believe our servicemen should serve only the United States, our Constitution, and the American Flag. We are adamantly opposed to United Nations oversight of our military units, ceding national sovereignty to any foreign body, or to the establishment of a one-world government.
7. We call for the government to support “veteran’s issues”. We believe military veterans should be treated with dignity and respect, and that “veterans services” should be consistent and delivered with equality and expedience.
8. We oppose any non-US government-based initiatives which restrict or destroy the property rights of Americans.
9. It shall be deemed illegal for any individual, person, establishment, entity, and government sub-division to enable or aid and abet illegal immigrants to have sanctuary from immigration officials and laws. We support prosecution of those having sanctuary cities or States and the withholding of Federal or State funds from these cities or States.
10. We support restoration of the previous congressional EMP commission and the appropriation of money to harden the U.S. electrical grid to protect it from being destroyed by either natural or nuclear weapon induced EMP and cyber attacks.
11. We oppose amnesty for any illegal aliens.
12. We support a free and open choice healthcare and medication voucher system for veterans.
13. The State of Iowa should develop its own strategic fuel reserve for emergencies that occur within the State of Iowa.
Commerce
1. We oppose government distortion of the free market through subsidies, bailouts and mandates.
2. We believe energy independence must be the goal of our public policy.
3. We call for legislation that would eliminate all public sector unions.
4. We oppose all mandates associated with alleged global warming, or climate control.
5. We support a full and exhaustive annual audit of the Federal Reserve.
6. We support the ban of traffic control cameras.
7. We support legislation providing for tax deductibility of child support paid by the non-custodial parent.
8. We support amending current law to exempt agricultural commodity hauling vehicles from excessive electronic logbook regulations.
9. We support transparency for the cost of medical services.
10. We support strident country of origin labeling on all products offered for sale and on-line in the United States.
11. We reject any movement toward a cashless society.
12. We oppose the use of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) rating system and support legislation restricting its use.
Government
1. We support the requirement that legislation should pertain to one topic and that unrelated amendments to bills should be prohibited. Additionally, omnibus bills should be broken up topically in order to increase oversight and accountability in the legislative and accounting processes.
2. We support the principles of free-enterprise, accountability and competition in healthcare, we therefore call for the repeal of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) and auditing all federal health related programs in order to eliminate waste and seek improved ways of delivering needed services.
3. We support lowering taxes and reducing the size, scope and scale of government – toward this end, we advocate a Balanced Budget Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. We also support a systematic reduction of the national debt.
4. We support replacing the current complex progressive income tax system with either a consumption-based tax, or a flat tax.
5. We support legislation that all absentee ballots be requested by one voter.
6. We reject any action to alter election law originating outside the state legislature.
7. We support a complete paper record for all ballots. We reject all digital and internet connected voting system.
8. WE believe that only US Citizens bearing proper photo ID should be allowed to vote.
9. We believe legislation should never exempt legislators.
10. We support the Federal Legislative Branch Members to turn control of their stock investments into a Trust.
11. We support the adoption of English as the official language of the United States of America to strengthen and unite us as a nation.
12. We support an audit of Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid to establish policies that would promote the future viability of benefits to potential recipients.
13. We support legislation designed to enact Tort Reform.
14. We call for the repeal of the 17th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
15. We support retaining the Electoral College. We oppose the National Popular Vote Compact.
16. We support the elimination of the following abusive and unconstitutional federal agencies: the IRS, the EPA, the ATF, the TSA, the BLM, the Department of Labor, and the Department of Education.
17. We acknowledge that judges and courts do not have law making authority or the powers to repeal or strike down existing laws. Only legislatures have this power. Judges and courts can only give opinion.
18. An Iowa driver’s license should only be issued to US citizens and legal residents.
19. We support drug testing for welfare, food stamps and Medicaid recipients.
20. We oppose legalizing the recreational use of marijuana.
21. We support Social Security income not be taxable at the Federal Level.
22. We oppose increasing the number of Supreme Court Justices.
23. We support convening an Article V Convention of States to produce a Balance Budget Amendment and a Congressional term limit amendment.
24. We support laws that limit and restrain the Governor’s Authority to act by Executive Action during a medical or other emergency without the guidance or input of the Legislative council after being under emergency order for 30 days.
25. We support mandating the immediate cessation of operations of the Corporations for Public Broadcasting, National Public Radio, Inc., Public Broadcasting Service, and print, and all their broadcast and/or related corporate affiliates, including, but not limited, to all radio and television broadcast stations owned or controlled by of the foregoing.
26. We support the need to reform the Communications Decency Act (Section 230) and oppose ideological censorship by large social media platforms.