The RPT Platform Committee

For most of the last two days, the Temporary Platform Committee (the Permanent Platform Committee won’t be elected formally until the individual Senate Districts meet on Thursday) of the Republican Party of Texas has worked as separate Sub-Committees dealing with the broad outlines of the 2010 Platform. As the representative from SD 25 appointed by the SREC to the Temporary Committee, I was on the “Strengthening Families, Preserving Life and Promoting Health” Sub-Committee which worked from 1 PM until after 10 PM on Monday and from 9:30 until 6:30 PM on Tuesday.

The first decision of the Committee was to proceed using the 2010 Platform as a place to start. Our Committee spent the first long day going over the wording of the Section of the 2010 platform. On the second day, we re-evaluated the language we decided on the first day and reviewed the pertinent resolutions that came from this year’s County Conventions.

The Platform Committee agreed on the goal to consolidate and streamline the Platform of the RPT to a more concise document stating our core values rather than a long document consisting of wish lists and editorials from every special interest group in the Party. In fact, we received proposed resolutions from County and SD’s. (Since some Counties have more than one Senate District, so there were 164 files to review, some with poorly handwritten resolutions.) Today, we met as the whole Committee, beginning at 9 AM. We will review the previous two day’s work by the Subcommittees and the 2010 Platform Preamble and Principles. In order to print the proposed 2012 Platform for Thursday’s Convention meeting, we must cover all of the reports by 11 PM Wednesday night.

Wednesday morning, we began with a hearing to decide whether or not to allow video and audio recording of our meetings. The Committee agreed to allowing both live streaming and archive recording. We then heard two hours of testimony from Delegates and Alternate Delegates who had concerns about the Platform. As of 5:30 PM, we had spent 3+ hours discussing the first 1/3 of the proposed platform, indicating that the Committee has little or no chance of reviewing everything.

The full Committee voted to re-criminalize sodomy, apparently unaware that the legal definition (look it up) does not only address homosexual acts between men. And then — under pressure from people (who should probably be elected to a permanent Permanent Committee for a life term) substituted the entire 2010 form of the “Protecting Innocent Human Life” (p. 14) section for the two day’s of work of the 2012 Temporary Sub-Committee (my Committee), although that 2010 section is poorly worded, rambling and required removal of two or three planks where the objective (Sonogram Law and the “Choose Life” license plate) had been achieved.

From there, the process deteriorated. As of at 8:15 PM last night the various special interests are inserting proposals promoting the expansion of government, rather than limited government.

I’m beginning to understand Ron Paul’s “No” votes. More tomorrow! (Unless I decide to become a Libertarian in the meantime.) 


Related Content: RPT 2012 Immigration Platform: The Texas Solution

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