Preamble—A Platform For a Time Such as This
The Republican Party of Wisconsin needs a platform that clearly states the principles that make America exceptional. The Republican Party must reaffirm the timeless truths that have made this country exceptional in the past and will do so in the future.
We are One Nation,
We are one family. We care for one another, are loyal to one another, and defend one another. Those who join our family become a part of our family history, sharing our privileges and shouldering our responsibilities. We are a geographically, ethnically, and culturally diverse family, yet we are unified by a common commitment to the principles for which we stand—a nation of, by, and for the people. We welcome free speech and encourage diverse opinions, but we reject identity politics that divides us against each other. We speak many languages, but we advocate for a single, unifying common language. We welcome those who share our love of freedom and respect our laws and our borders which are our first line of defense against lawlessness from within and without. We stand for a strong national defense. We are one nation.
Under God,
We believe that God endows every person with the right to life, to liberty, and to the pursuit of happiness and that He requires us all to respect the rights of all of our fellow citizens, from the moment that they are conceived to their deaths. We are under God who has instituted the family as the basic building block of society and establishes universal laws of justice. We establish no church or religion but recognize the sanctity of every person’s conscience and defend the free exercise of all religions. We are one nation but recognize that we are under God who cares for other people and nations as well as our own. The love for our family does not mean hatred for neighboring families.
Indivisible,
Generations of Americans of all races have sacrificed their lives to defend our nation. Valley Forge, Gettysburg, Midway, Iwo Jima, Normandy, the Chosin Reservoir, Ia Drang, Fallujah, and many more places that are burned into our memories, testify to our endurance as a nation. We hold this nation in trust.
We honor this trust by keeping liberty alive in the face of those who tempt us to trade our freedom for the worn-out promise of a global, collectivist utopia. We honor the sanctity of the individual, not the state. We promise less central planning and less centralized control—more freedom, not less.
Despite attacks from without and within, we remain indivisible, bound, not by narrow promises of government handouts, but by a broad belief in freedom, in principles that bring liberty and stability through law clearly defined by our federal and state constitutions–foundational laws that mediate between the individual and group and small states and large states. We support the Electoral College that balances the rights of densely populated regions with those less populated.
With Liberty,
We stand for liberty, not the tyranny of the mob or the orders of the administrative state. We believe that it is not too late to return to a republic where the law is written by Congress which itself is limited by Constitutional law, where judges are limited by the written language of the law, where the president is limited to enforcing the law as written, and where the power of our federal government is limited to areas clearly defined by the Constitution.
We dedicate ourselves to the defense of all those rights clearly articulated in the Bill of Rights—to free speech, to a free press, to the free exercise of religion, to bear arms, to private property— rights that are under constant attack by those from within who neither understand nor share our vision of freedom through the law.
We stand for property rights and economic freedom. We envision an economy vitalized by clear, consistent rules, one where citizens can live and can start businesses free from excessive bureaucracy and can operate them without fear of private or public extortion, without frivolous lawsuits or pay-to-play bribes, fees, fines, and excessive taxes. We stand for a level playing field, free from the cronyism of subsidies, mandates, and monopolies. We stand for decentralization and free-market solutions to the serious problems in areas such as health care and education that have become so distorted by political manipulation.
And Justice for All,
We seek justice that is found in the intersection between liberty and law. We strongly advocate for limited government, federalism, and the decentralization of authority to the state and local community, but we also strongly support the strict and equal enforcement of law within each jurisdiction. Neither liberty nor justice is possible without public order.
We believe that justice must be blind to race, gender, status, political affiliation, and sexual orientation, and that law enforcement must treat everyone equally. We stand for the same due process and the same presumption of innocence for all.
We also oppose the injustice of federal borrowing that irresponsibly transfers one generation’s debts to generations not yet born. We call for the federal government to balance its budget and insist that each state continues to do likewise. We oppose “bailouts” that enable State irresponsibility.
We stand for equal treatment through the law and for equal opportunity that equal treatment brings. Outcomes will vary, but one law in defense of life, liberty, and property protects us all. Our mission, both simple and profound, really can be summarized by three words, “liberty through law.”