So the Republicans met in their state convention last week, and on Friday, they approved the platform. Some highlights:
- Support for "the traditional definition of marriage as a God-ordained, legal and moral commitment only between a natural man and a natural woman."
- Support for state legislation that would make it a felony to issue a marriage license to a same-sex couple and for any civil official to perform a marriage ceremony for a same-sex couple.
- Support for protection of all "innocent human life" from fertilization until natural death; urging the reversal of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion.
- Opposition to government action to restrict, prohibit or remove from public display the Ten Commandments or other religious symbols.
- Denouncement of "any unconstitutional act of judicial tyranny that would demand removal of the words 'One Nation Under God' from the Pledge of Allegiance."
- Support for adoption of "American English" as the official language of Texas and the United States.
- Restoration of plaques honoring the Confederate Widow's Pension Fund contribution that were removed from the Texas Supreme Court and other state buildings.
- Support for legislation to allow forcible rape to be punished by the death penalty.
- Opposition to the legalization of sodomy. The platform states that sodomy "tears at the fabric of society, contributes to the breakdown of the family unit, and leads to the spread of dangerous, communicable diseases."
- Support for a state school choice policy that allows "maximum freedom of choice in public, private or parochial education for all children."
Source:
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory...olitan/2610020
Related story:
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory...olitan/2610350
The religious right took over the party in 1994 (the year W was entered politics), and they've had a firm grip ever since. I hope moderate Republicans throughout the state really look at this and think about whether this is where they want their party to head.
I can stand behind that final point. I'm horrified that there wasn't a tax bullet point, though given that we have no state income tax (and we're not getting one any time soon), and they're doing all they can to lower our property taxes, the tax issue isn't a huge rallying cry for Republicans in Texas. If we could get our act together on death penalty stuff, I'd be willing to listen on the forcible rape thing, though I think we need to get that program working properly before we expand its scope.
This is Tom Delay's platform, so don't think it only affects the wackos in Texas. This is where they want to take the Republican party.
