Posted on 07/24/2002 3:47:01 PM PDT by Jim Robinson
REPUBLICAN LIBERTY CAUCUS
POSITION STATEMENT
As adopted by the General Membership of the Republican Liberty Caucus at its Biannual Meeting held December 8, 2000.
WHEREAS we believe that government has no money nor power not derived from the consent of the people;
WHEREAS we believe that people have the right to keep the fruits of their labor; and
WHEREAS we believe in upholding the U. S. Constitution as the supreme law of the land;
BE IT RESOLVED that the Republican Liberty Caucus endorses the following principles:
1.0 FEDERALISM
1.1 The power of the federal government should be limited, as per the tenth amendment to the U. S. Constitution.
2.0 EDUCATION
2.1 The U. S. Department of Education should be abolished, leaving education decision making at the state, local or personal level.
2.2 Parents have the right to spend their money on the school or method of schooling they deem appropriate for their children.3.0 HEALTH CARE
3.1 Free market health care alternatives, such as medical savings accounts, should be available to everyone, including senior citizens.
3.2 The federal entitlement to Medicare should be abolished, leaving health care decision making regarding the elderly at the state, local, or personal level.4.0 TAXATION
4.1 The tax system of the United States should be overhauled.
4.2 There should be a national debate discussing various alternative means of taxation including but not limited to a single flat income tax, repealing the income tax and replacing it with a national sales tax, and reducing spending to the point where the income tax can be repealed without the need to replace it with a national sales tax or any other form of taxation.
4.3 The capital gains tax should be *eliminated*.
4.4 The inheritance tax should be *eliminated*.
4.5 The new tax system should be implemented *promptly*.5.0 WELFARE
5.1 The U. S. Department of Health and Human Services should be abolished, leaving decision making on welfare and related matters at the state, local or personal level. All Americans have the right to keep the fruits of their labor to support themselves, their families and whatever charities they so choose, without interference from the federal government.
5.2 All able-bodied Americans have the responsibility to support themselves and their families.6.0 CRIMINAL JUSTICE
6.1 Every American has the right to keep and bear arms. We affirm our support for the second amendment of the U. S. Constitution.
6.2 All people, regardless of position in the public or private sector, should be held equally accountable under the law.
6.3 The *only* litmus test for Supreme Court or other judges should be their determination to accurately interpret, not amend, the Constitution. Judges have *no* authority to make new law.7.0 CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM
7.1 Election campaigns should not be subsidized by tax payers.
7.2 No individual should be compelled to support a political candidate he or she does not support. Government should not empower trade unions to collect funds from their members for use as political contributions without their members' expressed consent.
7.3 All limits on campaign contributions should be eliminated.
7.4 There should be full and timely public disclosure of all the sources and amounts of all campaign contributions upon their receipt.8.0 FEDERAL BUDGET
8.1 There should be an amendment to the U. S. Constitution to require a balanced budget, provided it includes a supermajority requirement to raise taxes and provided it does not empower the judiciary to unilaterally raise taxes.
8.2 Honest accounting dictates that all federal expenditures should be on budget.
8.3 Each budget should be derived based upon the justification for and needs of each program, with no program being either budgeted for or increased automatically.9.0 GOVERNMENT REFORM
9.1 The U. S. Department of Commerce should be abolished, per the tenth amendment of the U. S. Constitution.
9.2 The National Endowment for the Arts should be abolished, per the tenth amendment of the U. S. Constitution.
9.3 The National Endowment for the Humanities should be abolished, per the tenth amendment of the U. S. Constitution.
9.4 The U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development should be abolished, per the tenth amendment of the U. S. Constitution.
9.5 Subsidies to agricultural and other businesses should be eliminated.
9.6 Corporate taxes should be eliminated simultaneously and proportionally with the elimination of subsidies to businesses.
9.7 Recommendations by the Grace Commission and the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) should be reviewed and implemented, where possible, beginning immediately.
9.8 Privatization of government assets, management and services should be implemented for cost-effectiveness wherever applicable.10.0 TRADE
10.1 The U. S. government should inhibit neither the exportation of U. S. goods and services worldwide, nor the importation of goods and services.
10.2 The United States should not be answerable to any governing body outside the United States for its trade policy.11.0 DEFENSE
11.1 U. S. military should be deployed only where there is a clear threat to vital U. S. interests and only with the consent of the U. S. Congress.
11.2 It is the duty of the federal government to provide a system to defend against missile attacks.
11.3 No branch of the military should be put in harm's way without a clear entrance and exit strategy and a goal, which when achieved, constitutes victory.
11.4 U. S military personnel should always be under U. S. command.
11.5 U. S. armed forces should be all-volunteer.
11.6 Military draft registration should be eliminated.
11.7 Foreign aid is often more harmful than helpful and should be curtailed.12.0 PROPERTY RIGHTS
12.1 The government should not take private property without just compensation.
12.2 All unconstitutional regulation of private property should be repealed.13.0 DRUGS
13.1 While recognizing the harm that drug abuse causes society, we also recognize that government drug policy has been ineffective and has led to frightening abuses of the Bill of Rights which could affect the personal freedom of any American. We, therefore, support alternatives to the War on Drugs.
13.2 Per the tenth amendment to the U. S. Constitution, matters such as drugs should be handled at the state or personal level.
13.3 All laws which give license to violate the Bill of Rights should be repealed.
Entered into the record December 8, 2000
I'm ROTF, LMFBO at you!
When your "moral" Republicans stop forcing me to hand over part of my paycheck to support Planned Parenthood, et al, then you can talk.
When "pro-life" President George Walker Bush directs HHS Director Tommy Thompson to investigate the use of taxpayer money to fund organizations who violate state laws mandating the reporting of suspected child molestation, then you can talk. When your "moral" Republicans do that, you ping me. OK?
I see you aren't enthused about the Ohio governor's race either Taft (RINO) v. Hagan (Demo-Marxist) are there any third parties running, this is are rare case where I will waste my vote on one.
This thread is reminding me of the thread "How Many FReepers Does It Take To Change A Lightbulb."
All of us have different opinions, but we have to stop fighting amongst ourselves and unify to bring our Republic back to the way our Founding Fathers had intended our Republic to be. < /rant >
ps- Take my advice, take a nap. Get rested. Relax. lol
The Militia is, by definition, the voluntarily armed citizenry.
The Quakers have abdicated their Fatherly responsibility before God in their refusal to take up Arms in defense of their Families, but I tend to feel that they should have to answer to God for that, not the Government. The Government should not enjoy the Power to contravene the Quakers' "religious freedom" to behave like godless pacifists.
Rather, the Militia is itself a Voluntary institution, composed only of those who Volunteer to undertake their Godly Responsibilities to defend home and hearth -- and it is this "militia" which Congress constitutionally enjoys the Power to call up in time of War.
Of course, this would make it very difficult to wage Offensive Foreign Wars, as perhaps 90% of the USA's potential Military manpower might well refuse to Volunteer to "defend" Kosovo Albanian Islamofascists. By contrast, Defensive Domestic Wars would likely enjoy a 90% Volunteer ratio -- 9 out of 10 Citizens might not volunteer to defend Albania, but only perhaps 1 out of 10 Citizens would not volunteer to defend against a direct assault on their own Homeland.
Art 2 (executive), Sec 2: The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States;
The issue for me isn't what should be. The issue for me is the above language in the constitution.
I'm no constitutional scholar, but I don't see anything about the militia being voluntary in the language. While I might want it there, I don't see it there. That absence of language seems to grant definitional power to the several states from whom the militias will be called out.
Here are the other appearances of "militia" in the constitution. Again, I see no language that says the militia is voluntary.
The fifth amendment says no one can be deprived arbitrarily of "liberty." All that's required to actually deprive one of liberty is "due process of law." The clause indicates it's speaking of criminal proceedings, however.
Art. 2, Sec 8 -- To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;
Amendment II - Right to bear arms. Ratified 12/15/1791. Note A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
Amendment V - Trial and Punishment, Compensation for Takings. Ratified 12/15/1791. No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
I think we should follow the constitution. The language you point out, as you mention, probably will be interpreted to relate to a bygone slavery/servitude economic system.
It is POSSIBLE that it could be interpreted to cover involuntary military conscription, but it hasn't been used that way up to this point, even though it could have been.
My point is that to get the language you want, you will probably have to amend the constitution regarding the selective service draft.
There is no language currently in the Constitution that MUST MEAN that a draft is inappropriate.
At best, then, it's an issue for State Law as to whether or not Militias should be Compulsory, not a Federal prerogative (in fact, it seems to me this would be closer to Original Intent by far). The Federals can call out the "Militia", but the definition thereof is left to the States.
The Commandment is, "Thou Shalt Not Murder". Bad Translations do not Good Theology make.
Defense of Family is not Murder, it is Duty.
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