Posted on 03/28/2014 1:51:29 PM PDT by thetallguy24
It is a sad and unfortunate fact that the vast majority of Americans haven’t read our Constitution. Including the amendments, the Constitution is not a long read being only about 7,400 words long. However, the Republican Party, “the party of the Constitution”, has a 2012 platform that is over FOUR times longer than the Constitution at 30,693 words. This fact begs the question, if Americans haven’t read the Constitution, how many have actually read the GOP platform and know what Republicans believe?
From the creation of the party in 1856 through 1952, the GOP platform only exceeded the Constitution’s length once (barely). That was in 1932 at 7,832 words during the Herbert Hoover, big government years. The shortest platform was in 1864 at only 895 words. However, since 1952, a platform of 5,988 words, the GOP platform has grown like the Federal government, massively.
The great architect, Frank Lloyd Wright, once said, “In character, in manner, in style, in all things, the supreme excellence is simplicity.” The modern-day GOP platforms are anything but simple, having evolved from lean, readable, and distributable documents into corpulent, complex, and overly pedantic beasts that would take the average scholar weeks to dissect. With the attention of the average American being much shorter, shouldn’t the GOP platform accommodate?
Not only has the length of the Republican platform changed, but so has the semantics. The rhetoric against the opposing Democrats has become much more tame and subdued. In 1980, the platform specifically named Jimmy Carter 125 times and the Democrat Party 63 times. In contrast, the combined 2008 and 2012 platforms specifically named Obama ONE time and the Democrat Party 31 times. The 2012 platform, instead of specifically attacking Obama, used the neutered term “current administration” 70 times. Interestingly enough in the 2008 and 2012 platforms, Carter and Clinton beat Obama in the name drop competition with three and two, respectively.
Additionally, recent GOP platforms show an attempt to declare an opinion on even the most minor of details in American politics. While the first GOP platform in 1856 dedicates 90% of its 952 words to declaring a desire for the reestablishment of Constitutional rights and liberty, the 2012 GOP platform especially pours out verbiage on issues most Republicans and even most Americans have little connection too or knowledge of. Have you ever heard of “retroactive taxation”, the “brand new C-27” cargo aircraft, the “Lacey Act of 1900”, “presidential Trade Promotion Authority”, or the “Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act”? The overzealous, creative writing class taking, committee members who wrote the platform seem to have forgotten its purpose. It’s the foundation upon which to build, like the Ten Commandments. Now, it’s a skyscraper of minutiae, the Levitical Code.
The party platform also used to be a marketing tool for the GOP. Similar to the pocket –sized Constitutions, you could pick up a platform pamphlet at your local party headquarters with the entire platform printed on just a few pages. It was economical and practical to distribute to anyone and everyone. One fact is certain, as the government has grown, so has the platform, for it’s now a 60-page behemoth that is inaccessible, except on the internet, to the everyday voter. Besides, what Joe Blow, who holds a job and raises a family, has the time to read it all?
Ironically, the longest platform, the 2004 platform at 41,763 words, protests the Federal tax code as “needlessly complex” instead “being simple” (you have to scroll through the first 21,000 words to find it). GOP leaders, if they truly want to expand their audience and give voters the ability to learn what the Republican Party stands for, should seriously give this strategy some consideration when creating the 2016 platform. Remember that the platform is a set of principles, not a deluge of all-encompassing policies. As the 1896 GOP platform properly states, “By these principles we will apply it to those policies and put them into execution.”
It’s time to get back to basics, and, in the spirit of this article, Hardhatters has created a draft platform composed almost entirely of past GOP platform principles that covers most, if not all, of the principles the Party claims to represent. It’s perhaps even more inclusive and is almost 10 times shorter in length at just under 3,500 words (7 pages). Thus, it is a document that anyone and everyone could read in a short amount of time and be economically, mass produced and distributed to the whole country in pamphlet form. Mark Levin would be proud. Read it below (or download it here) and tell us what you think.
I think its crazy they only used Obama's name once in either 2008 or 2012, but its proof of the validity of the accusation that the establishment was afraid to criticize Obama directly. They wouldn't even write his name down.
Even though we let the democrats do whatever they want, and don't try to do what we say we will do (e.g. government accountability), at least we're not Democrats!It's all explained in the brochure The Tao of Republican Orthodoxy linked below:
IN THE GRIM DARKNESS OF THE FAR FUTURE THERE IS ONLY GOVERNMENT.
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| The Tao of Republican Orthodoxy [Direct Link] |
The Modern Democratic Party & You [Direct Link] |
They could do it in one word. “Ditto”
I have been and continue to be in support of a Statement of Principles, no more than 15, of one to two line sentences on various issues. The Platform thing is ridiculous.
The GOP DOES NOTHING except Give.Obama.Power (=GOP).
They have not removed ObamaCARE, nor even substantively
investigated either the IRS or benghazi issues.
Instead, they have ASSENTED to more harassment of
Americans because THEY ARE EXEMPT.
2016? Where are they in 2014?
What difference would it make? Not a damn one of them pays any attention to the thing.
On planet Biden? 
2014 REPUBLICAN PARTY PLATFORM
Plank 1. We will assist Democrats at all levels of government in enacting their agenda while pretending to oppose it.
Plank 2. We will defend our platform at every turn, but only against conservatives.
Plank 3. In the event of any confusion, see Plank 1.
Bills proposed must be single issue only and contain no riders or earmarks
Bills proposed MUST contain the names of the true authors
Members of congress must do their won taxes and sign a sworn affidavit with each return
Felony convictions cancel perks, benefits and pensions.
Leni
Yes, but it would probably be something like this, aimed towards their base.
(To include poor editing.)
"The GOP will do exactly what the 'Rats are planning to do -- but we will do it more slowly."
Mitt Romney came out against the pro-life portion of the platform, and Rand Paul has come out for dropping the social conservative portion of the platform, and join the left in that area.
Sorry they’re too busy trying to figure out how to eliminate all conservatives and tea party activists from the ranks to do that.
I’d settle for siting the Constitutional authority....
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