GAGE COUNTY GOP PLATFORM

We, the Gage County Republican Party, do affirm our belief in God, and hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men and women are created in the image of God and that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.

We affirm that the principles set forth below should be the basis for our policy.

AGRICULTURE

We recognize agriculture in all its many facets, including farming, ranching and agribusiness as the cornerstone of Nebraska’s economy.

We believe in a free and open marketplace functioning in fairness to family farms, ranches, and independent agribusiness operations and we encourage the enforcement of state and federal antitrust laws to their benefit.

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

CRIME AND PUBLIC PROTECTION

We strongly support our Nebraska Law Enforcement Officers, First Responders and formally extend our gratitude for the invaluable job of keeping our neighborhoods safe.

We urge strict enforcement of laws to control and punish those who deal in illegal drugs while recognizing the need to increase the availability of drug and alcohol prevention and rehabilitation. We encourage our citizens, our elected officials, and the courts to fight the growing tragedies of domestic violence and child abuse.

We support the development of protective legislation, programs and reforms within state protective services organizations. The Judicial system must impose swift and fair punishment for all crimes, violent and non-violent.

We support capital punishment for the most heinous crimes, sparingly applied.

We support the 2nd Amendment of the United States Constitution and the statement of rights under the Nebraska State Constitution, both of which guarantee the individual right to bear arms.

We call upon federal officials to adopt policies to prevent social media and technology companies functioning as public forums from limiting access to services on the basis of ideology.

DEFENSE

We believe the policy of “peace through strength” is essential for both the preservation of America and the promotion of freedom and self-government.

We support the continuous strengthening of our military and funding of development of any national defense system which helps preserve and protect the United States and its citizens. Violent radical Islamic Jihad presents a clear and present danger to the peace and stability of our nation and to the world at large. Islamic Jihad is committed to the destruction of Western civilization, the denial of religious freedom, and the subjugation of women.

We are committed to defending our freedom and defeating Islamic terrorists.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

We are dedicated to the principles of full employment and the creation of economic opportunity for all citizens of Nebraska through the free enterprise system.

We oppose any effort to transform our economic system from one of free enterprise to one of socialism.

We oppose burdensome taxes and regulations that unduly interfere with and impede the free market.

We support maintaining necessary infrastructure that would include quality roads, bridges and highways, among other essential services, as imperative in fostering economic growth, interstate commerce, international competitiveness and national security.

We encourage the promotion of electronic commerce as it facilitates opportunities for economic expansion, especially in rural communities.

EDUCATION

We believe the role of education is important in the development of effective and responsible citizens.

We encourage patriotism, respect for the American flag and an understanding of our nation’s ideals which make our form of government the best in the world. We believe that the decisions regarding the education of children properly belong to the parents and guardians. We believe that control of all aspects of public education should rest with local school boards, not state or federal agencies.

We believe moral training based on principles established by God, under whom we profess to be a nation, should be returned to its proper and traditional place in the public schools. We support parental choice in education based on a program of vouchers or tax credits, thus creating better education through the principles of free market competition. These alternatives should include private, parochial and home schools. We strongly support the teaching of the scientific, biologically verifiable X and Y chromosomal definition of male and female at birth, and the use of locker rooms, sports team qualifications, and restrooms based on the same definition.

We oppose the instruction of foreign customs and culture, as well as revisionist history, including Sharia law, the 1619 Project and Critical Race Theory in our education system, and call on school board members and university regents to strongly resist the use of public schools and finances to teach principles hostile to the founding principles, native customs and legitimate history of the United States.

ELECTIONS

We believe electoral integrity is essential to the functioning of a constitutional republic and the move to mail-in and drop-box voting in Nebraska has undermined the integrity of our electoral process. We support requiring government issued photo ID for voting and proof of citizenship at the time of voter registration.

ENERGY

We believe in affordable prices for gasoline, diesel fuel, propane, home heating oil, and natural gas. We recognize and support the efforts to open domestic market for energy exploration and production. We support and acknowledge the importance of coal in the production of electricity in our state. We support the development and production of alternative fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel and the expansion of energy security within our nation.

We oppose actions by Congress that would increase the cost of energy to US consumers in the absence of clear proof that the current climate has been substantially changed by the activities of man and that any proposed solutions would be both science-based and cost-effective.

ENVIRONMENT

We affirm our continuing commitment to clean air and water, productive lands, forests, abundant wildlife and responsible stewardship of our God-given heritage.

We believe that Nebraska’s water is a resource vital to economic development and maintaining a high quality of life. Its preservation and management should occur on local and state levels and should address the potential of future water shortage.

We oppose the Waters of the US regulation as yet another overreach of the EPA and oppose its re-imposition. We support the return of control of public land within the states to the state level whenever possible. We support policies which protect the rights of hunters, fishermen and other sportsmen on public lands.

Policies concerning wetlands and endangered species must be balanced between environment and economic concerns and should not threaten individual property rights.

FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY

We call upon Congress to reduce the size of federal government, operate with balanced budgets and reduce public debt.

FLAG

We support a Federal Constitutional amendment to ban the desecration of the American Flag.

HEALTH CARE

We believe that all citizens should have access to necessary, quality and affordable health care. We support the repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act-Obamacare. We support policies that would afford citizens the opportunity to purchase health care as they choose appropriate using free market.

HOMELAND SECURITY

We believe that the primary purpose of government is to provide for the safety and security of its citizens. We support efforts to defend the United States and the State of Nebraska from acts of terrorism and support the allocation of resources to fund this priority. We affirm that violent race-based organizations are terrorist groups that constitute a clear and present danger to the peace and stability of our community, nation and world. We condemn all actions and messages with these terrorist groups, both foreign and domestic, and will not welcome their support or court the vote of their members.

HUMAN RIGHTS

We are committed to the principle that all people have the inalienable right to human dignity and equal treatment under the law. We believe in the freedoms of religion and speech guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States.

IMMIGRATION

We support, encourage and welcome the assimilation of all legal immigrants who are here pursuant to due process and are productive, law-abiding citizens. In fairness to legal immigrants and all citizens, we support stringent federal, state and local efforts to stem the tide of foreign nationals violating our immigration laws.

We oppose providing taxpayer-funded benefits for illegal immigrants and encourage Legislation to repeal such benefits. We oppose sanctuary status for cities or other government entities and call on federal and state officials to collaborate on the enforcement of existing immigration laws.

JUDGES

We support the appointment and confirmation of judges who will follow the Constitution as it is written and not legislate their personal preferences from the bench. We oppose efforts to expand the federal Supreme Court to include new justices.

OFFICIAL LANGUAGE

We support a United States Constitutional amendment and legislation establishing English as the official language of the United States. We support the Constitution of Nebraska (1-27) as English to be the official language.

SENIOR AMERICANS

We believe that our senior citizens deserve to live their lives with dignity and continued confidence in the integrity of the Social Security System.

We believe that solvency of Social Security and Medicare must be a continuing concern of our elected officials. We support senior citizen exemption from Federal and state income tax for Social Security benefits.

SOCIAL SERVICES

We believe that those who cannot provide for themselves should be assisted by both government and society, but that every effort should be made to help them become self-supporting, productive citizens. We support welfare reform policies to prevent abuse of welfare programs that lead to multi-generational dependency.

STATE GOVERNMENT

We believe in a partisan legislature as an efficient and accountable branch of government. We support the return to a bicameral legislature in order to balance rural, urban and suburban interests in our state legislature. We support a bicameral legislature whereby the upper house has fewer members but larger territorial areas to include a more diverse set of interests in the legislative process.

VETERANS

The Gage County Republican Party thanks all those who have served and are currently serving as well as their families. We believe those who have worn the uniform of our armed forces and served with honor deserve the full care and benefits they were promised. These promises constitute a solemn pledge that must be honored.

We support federal policies granting veterans greater flexibility and access to rightfully earned medical care.

We believe that the Republican Party is the best vehicle for translating these ideals into positive and successful principles of government.