Massachusetts Republicans
edited by Zachary Greenblatt
Massachusetts Republicans
edited by Zachary Greenblatt
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From west to east the mainland of Massachusetts extends 145 miles (233
kilometers). The peninsula of Cape Cod measures 65 miles (105 kilometers)
to its curved tip. The width, north to south, of the western part of the
state is 47 miles (76 kilometers). At its eastern end the width is 100
miles (161 kilometers). Massachusetts is 8,257 square miles (21,386 square
kilometers) in area, including 431 square miles (1,116 square kilometers)
of inland water surface.
Most of the Bay State has a continental climate, with warm summers and cold winters. The Coastal Plain region, tempered by the ocean and the nearness of the Gulf Stream, has the mildest climate. At Boston, average monthly temperatures vary from 30°F (-1°C) in January to 74°F (23°C) in July. Although winters are quite severe in the western part of the state, the weather is especially fine in late summer and autumn. At Pittsfield, which receives an average of nearly 80 inches (203 centimeters) of snow a year, average monthly temperatures range from 22°F (-6°C) in January to 68°F (20°C) in July. Today about 9 percent of its people are foreign born. Of the total foreign population, the largest groups had their origins in Canada, Portugal, Italy, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. African Americans make up about 5 percent of the state's population. The chief executive officer is the governor, elected for a four-year term. The legislature, called the General Court, consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Heading the judiciary is the Supreme Judicial Court of seven justices. The MRP 1998 Platform Preamble Abraham Lincoln, the founder of the Republican Party, noted that government ought not to do for the people those things which they can do for themselves. While government may promote opportunities for all, the Republican Party believes it is the individual who can best determine his or her own destiny. Government does not create wealth: only productive private enterprise can do that. The activity of government must be supported by the wealth created by private enterprise and individuals. When bureaucracy grows, a large government sector has to be funded by the productivity of a small private sector, and less wealth is created for the society as a whole. Thus the competitiveness and prosperity of the entire society suffer. It is the Republican view that good jobs are created by private business small and large - while jobs created by government programs only redistribute tax dollars taken from the productivity of private business. It should be the role of government to stimulate job creation by the private sector, through policies conducive to business activity, and to preserve precious taxpayer dollars to do only those things which people cannot do for themselves. The Republican Party believes that the way to a prosperous Massachusetts is through limited government, limited taxes, limited government spending and an emphasis on individual freedom and personal responsibility. It is this vision which the Republican Party again offers the people of the Commonwealth now, to provide leadership into further prosperity for the next four years. ECONOMICS Massachusetts residents are enjoying the best of times. Businesses are growing, more people are working in this state than ever before, and unemployment is now under 4 percent. Cutting taxes, balancing budgets, creating business incentives, and slashing red tape, has produced a vibrant economy and helped create 400,000 new jobs since the last recession. By reducing the size of state government, eliminating needless regulations, and balancing eight budgets in a row, the state is fiscally fit and in the black. Republican administrations have created a business-friendly environment by reducing the non-tax burden: reforming unemployment insurance and workers' compensation. The Republican Party believes that raising taxes is the wrong way to create jobs. The citizens of Massachusetts are subject to some of the highest tax rates in the nation. The Republican Party firmly believes that lower taxes, less spending and a state budget that is balanced should be the core of sound fiscal management. BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED, the Massachusetts Republican Party insists on the reduction of the state Income Tax to 5%, which is a return to the pre-Dukakis tax rate; and reducing the state's highest in the nation Savings and Investment Tax by conforming to the income tax rate. We support the pending bill and the tax cut referenda, designed to attain the aforementioned tax reductions. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the Massachusetts Republican Party ardently opposes the Finneran Tax increase on long term Capital Gains recently passed by the House of Representatives. HEALTH CARE REFORM The challenge of beneficial health care reform is to provide the availability of affordable health insurance to all Americans, while maintaining consumer choice and the excellent quality of medical care offered by our current health care system The Massachusetts Republican Party believes that everyone, especially senior citizens, must have access to health coverage, without exclusions for pre- existing conditions and without fear of insurance loss in the event of job change or loss. The Republican Party also believes that those goals can only be obtained through market-based incentives, without raising taxes, rather than through the creation of a huge, inefficient government bureaucracy. Reforms supported by the Republican Party have reduced the rate of growth in Medicaid expenditures while providing improved care for the Medicaid population through enrolled primary care physicians. BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED, that the Massachusetts Republican Party advocates achieving health care reform through instituting competitive options including privately-run managed care; encouraging competition among health care providers and among insurers; achieving cost reduction through tort reform, reduction of administrative costs, paperwork reduction, and emphasis on preventative medicine; and providing tax incentives to businesses and individuals to purchase health insurance, as well as financial assistance to the working poor to obtain insurance. Massachusetts is an internationally renowned leader in medical care, research, and medical education. The Massachusetts Republican Party opposes any health care initiative that will negatively impact our state's health care industry and jeopardize the thousands of health-related jobs in the Commonwealth. WELFARE REFORM Proper implementation of welfare reform is critical for the future of our society as we head into the 2lst century. While hard-working parents deserve our support, and our admiration, the single greatest determinant of poverty for children is whether there are two parents in the household. Children born into single-parent families do not have the same opportunities to succeed as those born into two-parent families. Government must not subsidize the single-parent Lifestyle. We must also end generational dependence on welfare. Although legislation cannot solve every problem associated with breakdown of the American family, we must hold current fathers and mothers, as well as potential parents, accountable for their behavior. The Republican Party supports the welfare reform law that requires all able-bodied recipients with school-age children to work, imposes a mandatory two-year limit for benefits and a family-cap to discourage out-of-wedlock births. This law has produced dramatic and lasting results. Continued welfare reform in Massachusetts will help more parents work their way off the rolls, find hope in their lives and unexpected promise in themselves. The welfare rolls have dropped every single month - by over 35,000- since welfare reform legislation was signed into law over three years ago. The state is spending almost $200 million less on welfare per year than It did a few years ago. Massachusetts has tough and innovative welfare reform policy that has become a model for the nation. BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED, that the Republican Party continues to support changing the welfare system to encourage the values of work, self-sufficiency, and two~parent families. The Republican Party supports eliminating the traditional cash grants to able-bodied welfare recipients and instead providing work-supporting day care and health care. The Republican Party also supports strict enforcement of child support orders to ensure that both parents fullfill their responsibilities. The Republican Party believes that private and community-based organizations are often better suited to help people than government. Government should provide the proper incentives to help these organizations fullfill their missions to help people. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Republican Party supports the continued implementation of welfare reform, and WOULD REJECT ANY LEGISLATIVE EFFORTS TO WEAKEN IT. EDUCATION The Republican Party affirms its belief that excellence in education and continued education reform are essential to our state's social, economic and political future. The Republican Party, since its inception, has stood for the worth of every person and we believe that access to quality education is key to unlocking the potential to achieve that exists within individuals. In turn, an educated, informed, and active citizenry is fundamental to any other efforts to improve and revitalize our state. The Republican Party reaffirms its beliefs that parents are entrusted with the primary right and responsibility for educating their children; we also recognize that in today's increasingly complex society, responsibility for developing and delivering quality education has extended far beyond family. BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED, that the Republican Party supports reforms that will fundamental change the way our schools operate. We support programs and reforms that promote choice, access, opportunity, competition and accountability in education for all citizens, regardless of race, ethnic origin or gender. Our party supports school choice because it empowers every parent and child regardless of income, to choose the best school We also support creating more charter schools, which allow enterprising teachers, organizations and individuals from all walks of life to open a new generation of public schools which will promote innovation and accelerate the drive for improvement in every school As long as there is one child on a waiting list to enter a charter school, then we need to have more charter schools For over three centuries our state has served as a leader in both education and educational reform The Republican Party believes that by developing and implementing meaningful and comprehensive educational reforms our state can lead the nation into a new century. Today, only four out of every 10 public school employees are teachers. The Republican Party supports initiatives to change this ratio and dedicate more public school resources to teaching students. CRIME Government has no greater role to play than upholding the public safety. The ability to maintain peace and safety is the primary purpose of government and without it, all the other freedoms we enjoy are meaningless. The Massachusetts Republican Party is committed to supporting laws cracking down on criminals including truth-in-sentencing, a tough Juvenile Justice Bill that punishes those who commit adult crimes with adult sentences and bail reform. The focus of the state's efforts to combat crime must be a tougher response to persons who commit crime Tougher sentences and a no-nonsense attitude toward repeat offenders will in the long run save money as well as life and property. The Massachusetts Republican Party is committed to combatting domestic violence having become the first state to have a computerized domestic violence registry, passing a stalking law, implementing model guidelines including mandatory arrest for violation of a restraining order, and now, pushing legislation to keep batterers from getting custody of their children. The Massachusetts Republican Party believes that there are criminals in Massachusetts for whom punishment and incarceration or the death penalty are the appropriate responses. The people of Massachusetts want a death penalty, and the Republican Party speaks for them in supporting it wholeheartedly. BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED, that the Massachusetts Republican Party supports capital punishment for convicted first-degree murderers, killers of law enforcement personnel, and major drug traffickers. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Republican Party does not support the proposed Sentencing Commission guidelines, such as lifting mandatory, minimum sentences for drug dealers, that would undercut all the progress made in this state to stiffen penalties and reduce crime in our state. The Republican Party also believes that we have a moral obligation to all citizens of Massachusetts to respond forcefully and swiftly to all wrongdoing, so that crimes against the public safety are duly punished. PARTIAL BIRTH ABORTION The medical procedure known as "Partial-Birth Abortion" goes beyond the basic debate on abortion. Organizations such as the American Medical Association and the Physicians Ad Hoc Committee for Truth including former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop have stated that the procedure is never medically necessary. Accordingly, the Massachusetts Republican Party strongly supports and urges a ban of "partial-birth abortion" at both the state and federal levels. BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED, that the Massachusetts Republican Party strongly opposes the procedure known as "Partial-Birth Abortion" at both the State and Federal levels and &rtlier supports tile bill passed by Congress and vetoed by President Clinton which prohibits "Partial-Birth Abortion" except to save the life of the mother. GOVERNMENT REFORM: TERM LIMITS The Democrats have controlled both houses of the Massachusetts Legislature for nearly forty years - longer than Castro has controlled Cuba. Their entrenched power has produced a Legislature which is arrogant and out of touch, hopelessly entangled with lobbyists wielding undue influence and certain individual legislators enjoying perks and privileges of elected office. Too often, public service has become a perpetual run for relection. Incentives for office holders to exercise fiscal restraint are disappearing, while the pressure to erect wasteful pork barrel projects to ensure re-election increases. As a result, a lack of choice in our elections has become too common. BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED, that the Republican Party reaffirms its support to restore accountability to Massachusetts representative democracy; that among the changes needed are a legal limit on the number of terms served by elected officials. We decry the flawed decision by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court to void the people's right to vote to reinstate term limits via the 1998 ballot. ABORTION Because of the non-partisan and highly personal nature of the abortion issue, there is no uniform Republican position, any more than there is a uniform Democrat position. BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED, that the Republican Party of Massachusetts leaves it to individuals, and individual candidates, to form and clearly articulate their own position on the issue of abortion. INCLUSION RESOLUTION Whereas, at the last National Republican Party Convention, the Party, in accordance with an earlier resolution of the Massachusetts Republican Party State Convention, eliminated non-voting "auxiliaries" from the Republican National Committee; and Whereas, the National Republican Party has filed to eliminate a pattern of "bonus" delegates to the Republican National Convention that skew the apportionment of delegates to less populous states at the expense of the more populous states; and Whereas, the new Rule 34(f) of the National Republican Party Rules calls into question the Massachusetts Presidential Primary System, stating, that '~o state law... shall be observed... if state law.. provides for the selection of the nominee of the Republican Party in violation of this rule..., unless a state party rule provides specifically to the contrary". BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED, that in accordance with The Republican National Party's Rule 34(1), the Massachusetts Republican Party affirms the right of Massachusetts Voters to select their Presidential Nominees though our state Presidential Primary laws. This affirmation shall be considered and have the effect of a "state party rule" under said Rule 34(f). BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Massachusetts Republican Party calls for elimination of National Rule 34(1) as inconsistent with Republican desires for respect of the rights of states to determine their own Presidential Primary process. BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED, that the Massachusetts Republican Party calls for the elimination of the "bonus" delegate selection system that skews the ratio of apportionment of a state's delegates to the National Convention in favor of less populous states and insists on a return to the apportionment of delegates based solely on the Federal Constitution. |