About Maryland Grassroots Republicans
GOP Principles
The Republican Party has great appreciation and reverence for the wisdom of the Framers of the United States Constitution, who gave us a Republic, as Benjamin Franklin cautioned, if we can keep it. The party platform incorporates these GOP Principles which are embedded in the fundamental rights as set forth in the US Constitution and Delcaration of Independence, the founding operating documents of our country. In Maryland, the state Republican Party adheres to these principles as set forth in the national party platform, whose text is available in full on the web at https://cdn.gop.com/docs/2012GOPPlatform.pdf
LIST OF ISSUES
Security
At the international level, a foremost GOP principle is national security based on the concept of "peace through strength". Following this principle means to assure a strong and effective armed forces, capable of countering any potential foreign threat, whether through armed attack to any vital national interests in the world or indirectly through the danger of open borders and a policy of lax enforcement of immigration laws. In this area, vigilent border security if vital, as well as measures to protect against cyber attacks and the danger of international drug cartel incursions into our country.
At home, security means to protect American citizens from the threat of crime in their normal and ordinary activity. For this, the GOP supports a strong and well-trained police force, and a competent judicial and prison system to assure public safety. A commitment to security also includes protecting citizens in their right to keep and bear firearms in accordance with the second amendment to the US Constitution.
Prosperity
The GOP views prosperity as the abudance of individual wealth, which is the result of personal responibility, inventive genius, productive labor, savings, and individual investment. Such prosperity is the key to indpendence and a self-governing, free society.
The Republican party supports a robust, growing free market economy, which each person can easily gain access to prosperity through their own personal efforts. To achieve this growing free-market economy, the party opposes expanding dependency on government such as through more entitlements, guarantees, new, expensive special interest programs and any form of "bail-outs" to private businesses that are judged "too big to fail". Achieving progress in this prosperity for all, the GOP supports economic growth through lowering taxes, especially those that penalize savings and investments, such as taxes on interest, dividends, capital gains and corporations. In addition, government should simplify the tax system and reduce excessives and wasteful government spending. In addition, the GOP favors a sound, stable currency, balancing the federal budget, repeal of Obamacare, and reducing the national debt through support of small business competition and job growth in the private economy.
Freedom
Protecting indivdiual liberty is the fundamental purpose of American government. The Republican Party therefore recognizes freedom as a fundamental right of all which government must actively protect. At the federal level, protecting freedom is primarily assured through the limited, essential powers enumerated in the Constitution, such as to provide for the national defense, a sound monetary policy, and suitable international relations that support the expansion of freedom, peace, and human rights throughout the world.
Outside of these limited functions, the Constitution establishes the states as the primary instruments of self-government to protect freedom of the people. The GOP therefore stands against interfering with the freedom of states and individual citizens to decide how best to manage such areas of social concern as education, housing, welfare, land use, health care, banking, and other areas of the economy. At the federal level, the Republican party supports freedom by supporting the principle of separation of powers, such as by opposing any tyrannical and lawless actions by the executive branch of government that works to override congress in the area of immigration and health care under the guise of "executive orders".
Securing economic freedom means to support a healthy free-market system that allows each citizen to participate in normal and ordinary industry and commerce, with the aid of a fair and impartial judicial system, and the enforcement of minimum regulation by government that apply the same to all.