Posted by
Rich from Paso on Saturday, March 01, 2008 11:08:49 AM
I have been perplexed by this field of Republican candidates. I wish that I could build my own Frankenstein's monster with bits and pieces of each candidate to build the perfect Republican candidate. I liked the Chief Executive experience of Giuliani, Huckabee and Romney. I like the pro-military support that McCain brings. I like the Conservative philosophy that Thompson brought to the table. The tax cutting of Giuliani, the eloquence of Huckabee, the ability of Romney to bring liberals and conservatives together to get things done. As much as I like each of the traits and more from the candidates, not one candidate is speaking to me. So below is the platform I think that a true Republican candidate should have to get all Republicans and Democrats together and solve the problems of the United States.
Campaign Reform
- Federally Financed Elections for all Federal elected officials. This would be capped at $1 million per Congressional candidate and $3 million per Senatorial candidate and $30 million per presidential candidate in the primaries). If any "third-party candidate" is on the ballot in 30 states (60%), they too qualify for federal money.
- Term Limits for Senators and Congressmen
- Resign if you run for President
- Paper receipt with electronic voting machines
- If you are impeached or expelled from Congress, the Federal bench or the Presidency, you lose your pension.
- Every senator and congressman must post their income tax return on their .gov website within 60 days after their return has been completed by the IRS. (of course, with the next item, the "10 and 10" tax code, this point will no longer be relevant)
Monetary Reform
SIGNATURE ITEM: The "10 and 10" tax code
- Replace current code with 10% flat tax and a 10% national sales tax; no deductions or exemptions. Food would be exempt from sales tax.
- Eliminate all other fees and taxes on the individual, except Social Security, to include the capital gains tax, all sin taxes, death tax, excise tax, gasoline tax,
- Lower the Corporate tax rate to a 10% tax on revenues. Businesses with less than $500,000 in revenues would be exempt. Businesses could deduct 50% of tax bill (or 5% of revenues) on valid expenditures on Research and Development, health care benefits, capital improvements, education benefits, and environmental stewardship. (10% each)
- Freeze U.S. budget at $2.5 trillion for two years
- Cap the National Debt at $2 trillion; Utilize a 5% surcharge on individual and corporate incomes until debt is paid down
- Implement a national lottery which would pay $1 million tax free to 50 Americans; Proceeds would go to paying down debt. Once debt was at $2 trillion cap, surcharge would be eliminated and the lottery proceeds would go into a $500 billion contingency fund to be used only in the event of presidential declared states of emergency or disaster areas or if Congress declares war
- Pass Line-item veto for all spending bills. Once line-item is vetoed, all line-items go back to Congress to be voted on individually with a 3/5ths majority.
- All pork barrel spending projects must be published with the names of the Senator or Congressman attached to them, regardless if they are enacted or struck down by line-item veto
- End the blackmail of the States with Federal mandates and Federal money for projects. Instead, allow states to pass state and local taxes to perform the projects within their states.
- Dissolve the Department of Housing and Urban Development and roll those function into the Commerce and Treasury Departments
- Have the Commerce Department, in concert with the other cabinet departments, develop regional commerce development programs for third-world regions around the globe.
National Defense
- if the "10 and 10" tax code does not pass (and it will), soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines on federal active duty status tax exempt regardless of where they are serving in the world
- Increase size of Army by 12 combat brigades
- Streamline National Guard command structure to become a regional support command to better respond to domestic crisis (hurricanes, earthquakes, forest fires, WMD attacks, etc) with new compact between the Federal Government and Governors
- Implement a bottom up review of all contracts, contractors and DA Civilians to ensure that all positions and contracts are necessary and implemented properly to eliminate duplication of effort, fraud, waste and abuse.
- Create a new branch of military service: the United States Space Force. All branches of service would cede the servicemembers and infrastructure that deals with U.S. assets that are outside of the Earth's atmosphere. Includes satellite management, anti-satellite warfare, space-based defense and reconnaissance, and military rocket launches to this branch.
- KEY REFORM: Any military service that receives a traumatic injury during combat would automatically receive TRICARE Prime Remote for Life, where these wounded warriors, whether active, guard, reserve, retired or who simply end their service, would be enabled to go to any hospital anywhere with the promise that their medical bills would be covered regardless of location of service.
National Security
- Build a three layer fence all along the Southern U.S. border utilizing electronic sensors, ground surveillance radar, aerial sensors, and the issue of uparmored HMMWVs to the Border Patrol
- Transform Border Patrol into the U.S. Border Security Force, giving them real-time data connectivity to process all illegal aliens captured within minutes
- Build four illegal alien repatriation centers at Fort Bliss, TX, Fort Huachuca, AZ, Yuma Proving Grounds, and El Centro NAS, CA
- Beef up security at every port to create secure quarantine areas to search for human traffiking, radiological and biological materials
- Increase Border Security Force presence along Canadian border and Coast Guard presence on all U.S coastlines, including the Great Lakes
Entitlement Reform
- Do a comprehensive review of all entitlement programs with the goals of consolidating programs into four categories: Nutrition, Medicine, Housing, Income
- Pass legislation to streamline existing programs into four new agencies that would administer care for all ages within the scope of their purview and eliminate duplicative programs
- Set total of entitlements to 10% above U.S. poverty level and limited to 8 years
- Allow all people to opt out of 50% of Social Security taxes so long as the taxpayer demonstrates equivalent level of 401(k)/ IRA investment
Health care Reform
- Allow nation-wide shopping of insurance by people of all states
- Allow doctors to opt out of National Medical Program (formerly Medicare) and all insurance in order to take cash
- Pay 100% of all National Medical Program coverage to prevent transference of costs to insurance holders
- Create a federally subsidized insurance pool for the 30 million without insurance to participate in. Participants would have to be below the federal poverty line to qualify for subsidy.
Judicial issues
- Publicly endorse Janice Rogers Brown as the first Supreme Court nominee to fill any vacancy
- Propose a term-limit of 75 years of age for all U.S. judges to include Supreme Court justices
- Create 12th Circuit Court of Appeals to split 9th Circuit. 12th Circuit would be seated in Seattle, WA and would cover WA, ID, OR, MT, and AL
- Allow for the removal of Supreme Court justices with 3/4th vote in both houses and with presidential signature in the case of infirmity or severe medical illness
- Ensure legislation is passed to forbid the Senate filibuster of any judicial nominee
- Support the move of Roe Vs Wade back to the states for voting on by citizens or legislature if the ruling was overturned by the US Supreme Court
-KEY REFORM: Create a civil grand jury of 12 jurors that would hear all civil cases before the case goes to trial. The civil grand jury would determine if the accusor has "prima facia" (in the face of it) standing with their case and it merits going to trial. If the grand jury determines that the case does not have "prima facia" standing, the cases goes immediately to the Court of Appeals. If the Appellate courts overturn the civil grand jury, the case goes to trial. The Federal Government would encourage the States to enact similar legislation. This one act will significantly reduce the frivolous, slanderous and junk science lawsuits that come before the courts every year.
Immigration Reform
- Border Agents Ramos and Campean would receive an immediate pardon from me on inauguration day for all crimes related to their inprisonment.
- Once southern border state governors have certified that the border is sealed, all those illegally in the United States would have 1 year to turn themselves in. Those arrested would be sent back to Mexico. Those that turn themselves would have the opportunity to plead "no contest" to the crime of illegal entry into the United States, which would have a five-year prison term and a $5000 fine. The charges would be suspended for five years once a background check came back clear. If they commit a felony during those five years, they are deported and may never return.
- The Federal government would set up employment offices on the Mexican side of the border to act as brokers between US companies needing workers and the Mexicans that want to work in the US.
- Businesses employing illegal aliens would face a $100,000 fine per employee
- Businesses would also have to pay any worker on a work visa not less than minimum wage minus two dollars. The two dollars would go into a state fund to offset the costs of public services the migrant workers use.
- Any city with ordnance proclaiming themselves a "sanctuary city" would not receive any Federal money to any zip code within the city limits so long as the ordnance remained on the books
- Every university would have an ICE agent on campus to ensure that those on student visas were actively engaged in studies. Any student found in violation of their visa would be immediately deported.
- The same ICE agents would submit to a national database the names of those with student visas that graduate from their university. This database would be open to all businesses seeking foreign-born, college educated individuals.
Environmental Stewardship and Energy
- Businesses would be able to receive up to a 2% of revenues deduction on tax bill for expenses that enhance environmental stewardship. Such programs could be, but not limited to, the follwoing: recycling, renewable energy usage, toxic waste disposal (not remediation), sponsorship of environmental programs, etc.
- Invest $5 billion in Renewable Energy Innovation Grants to American universities for reseach and development of new technologies that are independant of fossil fuels
- Build 7 new nuclear power plants. These plants should be built on or near U.S. military installations to address security concerns.
- Subisidize the production of sugar cane for the produciton of ethanol. This removes the need to turn other AG products used for food to use for fuel and will keep both food and fuel prices low.
-Provide funding to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to develop the means to take the U.S. military off of fossil fuels without degradation of capabilites.
- Research and build toxic waste disposal facilities utilizing plasma incineration with the goal of a minimum of one facility per state. Plasma incineration reduces materials to their base elements and can have zero environmental impact.
- Reduce the area of that states control of U.S. territorial waters down to 2 miles. Open the other 10 miles to oil and gas exploration immediately.
- For any governor that would endorse the building of oil refineries in their state, the Federal government would fast track all environmental processes adn quicken the certification for the refinery. The oil company that builds the refinery would receive 0% interest loans with the promise that the gasoline produced in the state stays in the state.
- Only have one formulation for gasoline
- By Executive Order, open ANWAR to oil exploration immediately
- Build a national Mag-lev bullet rail system with four north-south lines and four east-west lines to take pressure off of the airline industry. Fares on the bullet rail system would be subsidized to keep the fares low and encourage ridership.
Labor Reform
-With the implementation of federally financed elections, unions and businesses would be forbidden from donating any thing of manetary value to our elected officials.
- Encourage the practice of binding arbitration to resolve labor issues. The panel conducting the arbitration would be a 7 person panel of appointed officials, 3 from the Democratic members of Congress and 3 from the Republican Party. The seventh member would be the chair of the panel and selected from candidates approved of by both sides of the aisle in Congress.
- End the Davis Bacon practice of determining contract wage rates.
- Enforce the $100,000 per illegal alien penalty on business as outlined above as well as the law prohibiting paying foreign labor less than minimum wage.
Education Reform
- With the "10 and 10" tax code, college tuition will no longer be subsidized by the U.S. taxpayers. This will end the enticement of universities to set tuition rates against the rise in tuition deductions.
- Offer all high school graduates wikth a 3.0 or higher GPA, a $5000 per semester/quarter loan with a 2% interest rate. After the first semester/quarter of college, students will have to maintain a 3.0 or higher GPA to continue receiving the loan.
- Endorse the school voucher system of school choice to enable parents to place their children the parents feel are successful.