The Texas Republican Party released its 2012 platform this month, and according to the 22-page document, the Texas Republicans support repealing the minimum wage, eliminating the Department of Education and the Department of Energy.
Below are the highlights from the party's platform.
1. Repeal the Voting Rights Act of 1965."We urge that the Voter Rights Act of 1965 codified and updated in 1973 be repealed and not reauthorized."
2. Oppose the "Morning After Pill.""We oppose sale and use of the dangerous “Morning After Pill.”
3. Make extra clear that Sharia Law won't be enacted. "We also urge the Texas Legislature and the U.S. Congress to enact legislation prohibiting any judicial jurisdiction from allowing any substitute or parallel system of Law, specifically foreign Law (including Sharia Law), which is not in accordance with the U.S. or Texas Constitutions."
4. Oppose teaching critical thinking skills. "We oppose the teaching of Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) (values clarification), critical thinking skills and similar programs that are simply a relabeling of Outcome-Based Education (OBE) (mastery learning) which focus on behavior modification and have the purpose of challenging the student’s fixed beliefs and undermining parental authority."
5. Return to the Gold Standard. "We support the return to the time tested precious metal standard for the U.S. dollar."
6. The Supreme Court can't rule on cases involving the Bill of Rights. "Further, we urge Congress to withhold Supreme Court jurisdiction in cases involving abortion, religious freedom, and the Bill of Rights."
7. Withdraw from the United Nations. "We support the withdrawal of the United States from the United Nations and the removal of U.N. headquarters from U.S. soil."
8. They love mothers. We strongly support women who choose to devote their lives to their families and raising their children. We recognize their sacrifice and deplore the liberal assault on the family.
9. Immunizations aren't required. "All adult citizens should have the legal right to conscientiously choose which vaccines are administered to themselves or their minor children without penalty for refusing a vaccine."
10. Corporal punishment can be effective. "We recommend that local school boards and classroom teachers be given more authority to deal with disciplinary problems. Corporal punishment is effective and legal in Texas."
11. Abolish the IRS. "We recommend repeal of the Sixteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, with the goal of abolishing the I.R.S and replacing it with a national sales tax collected by the States."
12. Protection from Extreme Environmentalists and abolish the Enviromental Protection Agency."We strongly oppose all efforts of the extreme environmental groups that stymie legitimate business interests. We strongly oppose those efforts that attempt to use the environmental causes to purposefully disrupt and stop those interests within the oil and gas industry. We strongly support the immediate repeal of the Endangered Species Act....We believe the Environmental Protection Agency should be abolished."
13. Supporting "Traditional Marriage""We support the definition of marriage as a God-ordained, legal and moral commitment only between a natural man and a natural woman, which is the foundational unit of a healthy society, and we oppose the assault on marriage by judicial activists."
14. Support "traditional Judeo-Christian" values."We support the affirmation of traditional Judeo-Christian family values and oppose the continued assault on those values."
15. Homosexuality is bad. "We affirm that the practice of homosexuality tears at the fabric of society and contributes to the breakdown of the family unit. Homosexual behavior is contrary to the fundamental, unchanging truths that have been ordained by God, recognized by our country’s founders, and shared by the majority of Texans."
16. Evolution is a controversial theory. "We support objective teaching and equal treatment of all sides of scientific theories. We believe theories such as life origins and environmental change should be taught as challengeable scientific theories subject to change as new data is produced."