Confirmed: RPI State Central Committee oblivious to platform

• Based on implications of testimony of one member who is just as oblivious

We responded in our last post to a Republican Party of Iowa  (RPI) State Central Committee (SCC)  member.  That person responded to our criticisms of the RPI -SCC letter calling on Texas Senator Ted Cruz to release his hold on the appointment of Iowa Ag Secretary Bill Northey to a position in the Federal policy making/implementing bureaucracy.

The same member responded in the comment section to that post.  We display it below.

But first, to reiterate our position: We think that a letter better in keeping with the RPI platform would have been first addressed to various personages asking them to agree to Cruz’s insistence on a meeting intended to seek adjustments to RFS requirements that are said to harm gasoline refinery capabilities, employment, and increase costs to consumers across the nation. Agree to hold the hearing, presumably regardless of outcome, and Cruz would release the hold on Northey.

Wouldn’t have agreeing to the hearing Cruz wants without commitment to an outcome have moved Northey’s appointment along quicker?  This controversy has been going on since at least this past November. We have read that elements within the administration have insisted that they will not submit to “hostage taking.” That is a bit overripe given that they “bargain” all the time.  How often was fealty to RFS required before the administration willingly or unwillingly made appointments?

Sure Cruz is playing hardball to some extent but no less than the implications of tactics Iowa’s current Republican Senators have used, or supported, successfully or unsuccessfully, according to reports. And how is it an abuse of Senatorial privilege to exercise a privilege?  If the privilege is inappropriate then specifically limit it or get rid of it, Senators Grassley and Ernst.  Or is it just some PR gamesmanship afforded Senators?  Either way, end it or don’t call it an abuse.

If Cruz does not release the Northey hold after his reasonable request is met,  then such a letter directed to him would be in order. But the RPI SCC should show fidelity to the platform and take seriously that Cruz’s position against mandates that arguably harm consumers / taxpayers is more in keeping with the RPI platform than support for mandates as championed by Bill Northey et al.

Respondent, a member of the RI-SCC disagrees. Here is his latest comment directed to V’PAC.  Bold our emphasis as it is the crux of the matter:

The SCC member’s first statement is indeed a point of disagreement.  He does not elaborate as to whether any use of Senatorial holds is appropriate to foster conservative ends such as something to relieve industry and consumers of the effects of mandates, something supported in the RPI platform.  If the RPI SCC disagrees with the use of holds they should address the matter as well to Senator Grassley and other Republican leadership to remove the so-called privilege for all.

Respondent’s second statement is to belabor what we specified in the beginning as a presumption on our part — that it was a unanimous vote.  Indeed at the time of our first commentary we had no knowledge that the meeting did not include everyone in attendance at least physically. We presumed a full compliment, but that there was not was relayed to us by another in attendance.

We are well aware that there are individuals who supported Cruz for President in 2016 on the RPI-CC .  That they supported the letter as written we think was ill-considered, perhaps perfunctory but according to respondent was not due to any pressure because they disagree on other stuff all the time. So we dispose of the thought of even subtle felt pressure was present to show some sort of solidarity or to not displeasure Big Ethanol.  It was primarily disregard for the platform  . . .  perhaps because it seemed such a small thing they just wished good ol’ Cruz would lighten up about or figure he would dismiss the letter anyway as some parochial necessity.  Having been corrected by respondent we remove such small human failings from any consideration and accept that everyone is foursquare in support of RFS mandates in spite of Cruz.  This mea culpa on our part also applies to respondent’s fourth admonition.

But what about respondent’s statement “To suggest the RPI platform more favors Cruz’s big oil stand than Iowa agriculture is laughable.” ?  In that regard we think the platform speaks for itself, and might be chuckling at respondent.  We post it in its entirety below.  Bold emphasis imparted by us on areas we feel speak at least to the spirit of the matter as RPI platforms have been reduced to mostly platitudes anyway. With two exceptions we forebear any annotating alongside the as-passed text with reference to RFS and other mandates.  For the most part the implications of individual planks should be obvious, except perhaps to respondent.  Taking the platform as a whole, the idea that Big Ethanol is protected by the RPI platform as written is not merely laughable, it is hilarious.

Funny, but readers will note that the Republican Party of Iowa 2016 platform does not even have a section devoted to agriculture. Ethanol and RFS are not mentioned. Subsidies and bailouts are, but in opposition. Respondent must believe that in conservative thought Iowa agriculture / Big Ethanol enjoys grand unstated exemptions.* We post the entire platform lest someone thing we are trying to be funny.

Platform

2016 Republican Party of Iowa Platform

This platform was adopted by the 2016 Iowa GOP State Convention on May 21st, 2016.

Click here to download a PDF of the platform in tri-fold version: 2016 Iowa GOP Platform Brochure KalGraphics (1)

PREAMBLE

As Republicans we uphold the principles of individual responsibility and liberty, adherence to traditional moral standards, a strong national defense, a free enterprise system, respect for the sanctity of human life, and freedom of religion and the free exercise thereof. We believe in retaining the original intent of our Constitution. We believe high moral character is a necessity for public servants. The highest standard of character should be embodied in both private and public life. We encourage the proliferation of these principles and their passage to future generations.

PLATFORM PRINCIPLES

The following are the fundamental principles that make up the platform of the Republican Party of Iowa.

I. Our nation is a Constitutional Republic whose Foundation is the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.

We acknowledge our rights derive from God, our creator, and are therefore unalienable and include Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness (e.g. private property). Further, the Right to Life shall be understood to include all people from conception to natural death. We are a nation governed by people elected to public office that are sent to represent us, the citizens. Our Constitution provides limits to governmental power, explicitly details our fundamental rights and insures that only the enumerated powers contained within the Constitution are executed by the federal government. All other functions of government are left to the state and local governments.

II. We are a Sovereign Nation.

We are a Sovereign Nation with defined borders, governed by a set of laws determined by our representatives, guided by our Constitution and protected by a military strong enough to defend our nation and its interests.

III. The Oath of Office of all civil servants, elected and employed, should guide their actions.

As citizens, we demand that our elected officials take their office and its duties and responsibilities to us, our country and our Constitution seriously and act in accordance with their individual Oaths of Office.

IV. Fiscal Responsibility is a fundamental function of any local, state or federal entity.

It is a fundamental expectation that government entities act in a financially responsible manner; it follows that limiting the size and scope of government is a necessary component of achieving this end.

V. Personal Responsibility is the primary duty of all citizens.

We are a nation of individuals held together by a common vision. We are not servants of the government; we are not dependent on the benevolence of society for our survival. Our possibilities are limitless where a free market is allowed to operate without government distortion; they should not be limited by our local, state and federal government. We are citizens of our country. We as individuals are responsible for our successes and failures.

PLANKS

This section enumerates what we Republicans of Iowa identify as the legislative priorities and stances for our elected representatives.

Life

We move the Iowa Republican Party aggressively support a Life Begins at Conception Bill without exceptions. We believe that all human beings, from conception to natural death, have a God-given and constitutionally protected right to life, which cannot be infringed. We believe all such issues belong under the constitutional authority of the state, not federal, government. We oppose using public revenues for abortion or funding organizations which advocate it. We commend those who provide alternatives to abortion by meeting the needs of mothers and offering adoption services. We reaffirm our support for appointment of judges who respect traditional family values and the sanctity of life. We oppose the non-consensual withholding or withdrawal of care or treatment, including food and water, from people with disabilities, including newborns, as well as the elderly and infirmed, just as we oppose active and passive euthanasia and assisted suicide.

We support an amendment to both the U.S. and the Iowa Constitutions defining and supporting the honored institution of marriage as the legal union between one natural man and one natural woman.

We encourage the repeal of any laws allowing any marriage that is not between one natural man and one natural woman.

We support non-embryonic stem cell research, such as promoting the use of adult stem cells, while opposing human cloning and research using fetal tissue from abortions.

We believe the selling, brokering or marketing of aborted fetal tissue should be illegal.

Liberty

We support the 1st Amendment to allow prayer in Public Schools and Public Places.

We believe that parents are responsible for their children, and we support the rights of parents to be the ultimate authority for the discipline, protection, and education of their children.

We believe money should follow the child in education – whether that child attends public, private, parochial or home school- to assist parents financially in educating their children using the option best suited to their family’s educational needs. We call on the General Assembly to provide for tuition vouchers, tax deductions, or tax credits to permit parents’ choice in educating their children- without government intervention in the school curriculum.

We strongly believe in the constitutionally protected natural right of individuals to keep and bear arms, as recognized and protected by the Second Amendment, and we support the repeal of existing laws that infringe upon those rights. We support the addition of “stand your ground” and “castle doctrine” provisions to Iowa law.

We support “Conscience Clause” legislation so that no person, business, or organization can be penalized for its exercise of religious freedom by not providing services that violates their religious beliefs.

We support legislation that would prohibit any organization, (in example, Planned Parenthood), from entering public school properties for the purpose of promoting promiscuous behavior and abortion products, videos, or printed material.

The actions of national intelligence agencies must not infringe upon American citizens’ Constitutional rights.

We call for the repeal of sexual orientation in the Iowa Civil Rights Code and reject any additional similar legislation to Local, State or National Code.

We support full local control in schools and therefore oppose any forced national education standard such as the Common Core (now called Iowa Core) and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). We also call for a halt to the public funding of any of their supportive components (i.e. bandwidth expansion to support online nationalized testing, collection and transfer of academic and non-academic student data to third parties, and contractual agreements with out-of-state testing consortiums).

Property

We support legislation requiring all regulations by all government agencies (e.g. EPA, Dept. of Ag, Dept. of Interior, etc.) relating to private property and the public good receive congressional authorization prior to their implementation.   The spirit of this seems to be to limit “rule making” a big rub impacting industry and consumers.

We support the right of property owners to vote on bond issues in any district where they pay property tax whether a resident of the district or not.

We support laws that prohibit ownership of United States farmland, property, and other assets by foreign governments or entities controlled by such government.

We believe anyone moving into or already living in areas zoned previously for a particular use be prohibited from filing “nuisance lawsuits” which are antagonistic to such zoning if defendants are in compliance with all governing laws.

We support eliminating all death taxes.

All government fees assessed must be passed by the duly elected governmental body.

We oppose federal or state government taking private property away from the owner for the use of another private party. Eminent domain should be used only for public use.

We support retaining the step-up in basis on assets transferred from a decedent.

National Sovereignty & Defense

We believe the United States should never sacrifice its sovereignty or relinquish control of its soil to the United Nations or any other international body.

We support: legal immigration, common sense improvements to our immigration process, strict enforcement of our current immigration laws, securing of our borders and punishing employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants.

We reaffirm our commitment to the State of Israel.

Agreements with foreign nations should only be done by treaty and subject to the approval of congress.

We assert that bequeathing citizenship to babies born to illegal immigrants in the United States is a misinterpretation of the 14th amendment.

We believe our servicemen should serve only the United States, our Constitution, and the American Flag.

We call for the government to support “veteran’s issues”. We believe military veterans should be treated with dignity and respect, and that “veterans services” should be consistent and delivered with equality and expedience.

We oppose the United Nations’ Agenda 21 plan, which restricts or destroys the property rights of Americans under the guise of environmentalist initiatives.

Commerce

We oppose government distortion of the free market through subsidies and bailouts.

We believe energy independence must be the goal of our public policy at both the National and State level. Energy independence entails efficiency, ethanol mandates are not

We call for legislation that would eliminate all public sector unions.

We oppose all mandates associated with alleged global warming, or climate control.

We support legalizing cannabis oil for medical use and industrial hemp for commercial use.

We support a full and exhaustive annual audit of the Federal Reserve.

Government

We support term limits for elected officials, appointed officials, and judges.

We support the requirement that legislation should pertain to one topic and that unrelated amendments to bills should be prohibited. Additionally, omnibus bills should be broken up topically in order to increase oversight and accountability in the legislative and accounting processes.

We support the principles of free-enterprise, accountability and competition in healthcare, we therefore call for the repeal of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) and auditing all federal health related programs in order to eliminate waste and seek improved ways of delivering needed services.

We support lowering taxes and reducing the size, scope and scale of government – toward this end, we advocate a Balanced Budget Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. We also support a systematic reduction of the national debt.

We support the repeal of the 16th (Federal Income Tax) Amendment and replacing the current complex progressive income tax system with either a consumption-based tax, or a flat tax.

We believe legislation should never exempt legislators.

We support the adoption of English as the official language of the United States of America to strengthen and unite us as a nation of immigrants.

We support a responsible audit of Social Security and evaluating ALL options that would promote the future viability of benefits to potential recipients.

We support legislation designed to enact Tort Reform.

We believe that only US citizens bearing proper photo ID should be allowed to vote.

We support the convening of a Convention of the States according to Article V of the United States Constitution for the purpose of limiting the Federal Government.

We call for the repeal of the 17th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

We support retaining the Electoral College. We oppose the National Popular Vote Compact.

We support the elimination of the following abusive and unconstitutional federal agencies: the IRS, the EPA, the ATF, the TSA, the BLM, the Department of Labor, and the Department of Education.

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R Mall

*much  resentment is built toward Iowa’s first in the nation caucus status because of Big Ethanol politics here. The RPI SCC letter aggravates resentment and validates criticism of  that status,  inviting agitation for alternative formulations. Instead of dealing with that the RPI RCC seeks to control the process of national convention delegate nominations to better insure they are in tune with Big Ethanol prerogatives, or a shadow platform all are expected to pay homage to.