Pottawatomie County Republican Party Platform

Preface

The life of every individual is a gift from God. Neither man, society, or government can create life. This gift must be cherished, treasured, and respected as a precious gift. There are many  activities of life that are natural and reasonable when conducted without force or deceit. Among those are the pursuit of liberty, the quest for spirituality, the acquisition of knowledge, the accumulation of property, the joining of free associations, and the opposition to force and deceit. These activities and any others conducted peacefully and honestly, must be cherished, treasured, and protected as much as life itself. The society of the United States of America arose from various free associations between individuals, each of which arose for a separate purpose. Many of these interactions arose from the individual pursuit of happiness in life. Among these are marriages, families, churches, charities, and commerce. We believe every honest and peaceful citizen of these United States of America must be allowed to freely join or leave these free associations in the pursuit of a happy and fulfilling lifestyle. Government arose as the protective force in society. This force must be limited to prevent the protective force from becoming a controlling force upon the lives, liberties, properties, and free associations of society. It must act as the protector and guarantor of life and its natural, reasonable, peaceful, and honest activities. It must be strictly confined to the respective Constitutions, which represent the sum and total of authorities and duties given by the people to those governments.

Natural Rights of Individuals
We believe that all individuals have the natural right to life, from its natural beginning to its conclusion. We believe individuals have the natural right to act without oversight from other individuals, society, or government so long as they do not apply force or deceit to control others. We believe all individuals have the natural right to privacy in their property, their communications, and their activities. We believe all individuals have the natural right to defend themselves, their families, their properties, and their liberties from aggression, using the tools and skills of their choosing. We believe all individuals have the natural right to communicate freely. We believe all individuals have the natural right to worship freely. We believe all individuals have the natural right to pursue, accumulate, own and dispose of property. We believe all individuals have the natural right to assemble freely. We believe all individuals have the natural right to travel freely. We believe all individuals have the natural right to organize themselves for the purpose of protecting their natural rights. We believe all individuals have the natural right to pursue other interests and engage in other activities, that are honest and peaceful and do not infringe upon the natural rights of others. We believe these natural rights must only be forfeit when used to harm others through force or deceit; that the forfeiture must be proven in a lawful court to a jury of peers, and that the forfeiture must be reasonable and relative to the harm caused.

Rights of Free Association
We believe free associations are fundamental to a healthy society. They should not be defined, regulated, restrained, encouraged, discouraged, or funded by any forceful entity. All free associations are not well chosen and good but are self-regulating when held equally to standards that prevent force and deceit. We believe marriage is the foundation of our free associations and must never be revised to mean anything other than the joining of one man and one woman. After the marriage is the family. That family is composed of the offspring of the marriage and those freely adopted into it. We believe that belief in God, churches, and religion are necessary to a healthy society. They provide society with guidelines for morality and ethical interactions through free association. We believe charities based on the free association are necessary to a healthy society. They provide support for those in need without using force against those that have, which is complementary to a free society. We believe enterprises created to trade goods and services by mutual agreement between producers and consumers are the basis for the creation of wealth and improving lifestyles. So long as all trades can be freely accepted or declined, society's overall health and wealth will improve. We believe the government is the only forced association, and therefore must be restrained from expanding into the aspects of society that are based on free association. As well, a free individual must have the right to accept the government of his/her geography by staying within its jurisdiction or denying the same by leaving.

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Government Purpose
We believe the government must protect the peaceful and honest interactions between individuals by coming to the aid of those facing forceful or deceitful aggression against their natural rights. We believe the government must preserve the free associations between individuals, first by not involving itself in those associations, and second by protecting those associations from interference by others. We believe the government must create, execute, and judge all laws as if all people are equal, with no distinctions based on race, religion, creed, sex, physical or mental state, or any other grouping which makes people different in the eyes of the government. Doing otherwise subverts true individual liberty. We believe it is the duty of the federal government to minimize obstacles that impede commerce between the states, Indian tribes, and foreign entities. We believe it is the duty of the states and Indian tribes to minimize obstacles that impede commerce within their jurisdictions.

Government Structure
We believe that each elected office must be filled by a person that received the majority of votes in elections that are open and easily available to all eligible and properly registered citizens within the district of that office. Any persons caught tampering with these elections must be seriously punished for an offense against the very bedrock of our governing system. We believe the functions of legislation, administration, and adjudication in governments must be conducted by separate bodies who have equal and autonomous authorities, specifically: We believe Legislators are elected to create or delete laws that will aid all citizens and their families in the protection and pursuit of their individual liberties. And all legislation, before it becomes law, must; First, be written only by those elected to the legislative branch of governments. Second, be compliant with the authority given to that legislative body, under the United States Constitution and relevant state constitutions. Third, be specifically written to address a single issue, and Fourth, receive acceptance by a majority of all the officials elected to each of the legislative branches, by public and recorded votes, and it must be approved by the elected executive. Fifth, be equally enjoining to all persons who are citizens of or residents within the geography of the legislative body. We believe Executives are elected to fully execute all laws that fall within the realm of their authority. They must ensure those employed within their administration are held to the highest standards of compliance with the laws in the execution of their duties. They must not be allowed to use executive authority to create or modify laws. They must not be allowed to create rules and regulations affecting any person or entity outside the executive department. We believe the Judiciary is appointed to judge the adherence of governments to their respective Constitutions and to judge all citizens and residents of their respective districts equally by those laws. Those judgments must adhere strictly to the words of the Constitutions and laws. Any interpretations must be based solely on the difference in definitions of words and phrases that may have changed over time. Government Duties and Authorities We believe the duties of the government are limited to those specifically defined by the respective Constitutions. We believe the government cannot incur duties not specified in their respective Constitutions by popular vote, legislative actions, executive declarations, or judicial decisions; but only by lawfully amending those Constitutions. We believe any attempt by those elected, appointed, or employed by the government to perform duties not specifically defined by the respective Constitutions must be considered to be a breach of the oath of office and a felony crime, punishable by an immediate and permanent removal from office and civil action. We believe it is the duty of the government to prove that all legislation conforms to their respective Constitutions.