2020-2024 Thurston County Republican Platform

Adopted: May 09, 2020

Thurston County Republican Party 2020 Platform

Thurston County Republicans believe The United States of America is an exceptional nation where free enterprise flourishes and personal responsibility is rewarded. We take our inspiration from the Founding Fathers who set our nation on a providential course based on the principle that “all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.

This platform expresses our unshakeable optimism for a brighter future where liberty reigns and these God-given rights embodied in the Declaration of Independence are allowed to thrive.

Government

WE BELIEVE the purpose of Government is to protect and preserve the God-given unalienable rights of the individual through limited governance. We believe in the rule of law and separation of powers as originally intended in the Constitution.

WE SUPPORT the initiative process as outlined in the state constitution as a means for the people to be heard when their representatives are not heeding their input.

Education

WE BELIEVE that parents are primarily responsible for the education of their children and have the right to choose the form of education that best suits their children, whether that be at a public school, private school, charter school, or home school. The best way parents can ensure a quality education for their children is through a locally run educational system with high standards that demand accountability.

We SUPPORT school vouchers as a system that would increase competition between and among schools, leading to higher quality institutions overall.

WE OPPOSE the Comprehensive Sex Education (CSE) mandate, which sexualizes public school children at the K-12 level without reducing teen risk.

WE SUPPORT teaching sexual education that includes sexual risk avoidance and abstinence methods and is not pleasure-based.

WE OPPOSE Common Core standards.

 Tax and Economic Policy

WE BELIEVE that the free market is unequaled in providing prosperity and alleviating poverty. Free enterprise, not the government, produces jobs and innovation. We further recognize that mounting government debt looms as a threat to our national security.

WE SUPPORT limited taxation that funds essential public needs and a simplified tax code.

WE SUPPORT federal laws or constitutional amendments requiring sustainable and balanced budgets.

WE SUPPORT eliminating the Washington state business and occupation tax as an outdated and unfair scheme that punishes small businesses.

WE OPPOSE a Washington state income tax, capital gains tax, head tax, carbon tax, mileage tax, and an inheritance tax.

Freedom of Religion

WE BELIEVE that First Amendment protections of religious expression and practice are foundational to a free republic. The government should not compel citizens or legal entities to violate their religious beliefs, consciences, or practices.

WE SUPPORT the free expression of religious and political beliefs in public spaces.

WE SUPPORT the federal Fairness for All Act as a way to balance accommodating LGBT rights and the rights of those with sincerely held religious beliefs at a national level.

Family Values

WE BELIEVE that families are the foundation of our society; the disintegration of the family is a major cause of the social issues of our day, which have led to bloated social programs and high taxes.

WE SUPPORT measures that protect all life including the unborn, disabled, and elderly.

WE OPPOSE the use of public funds for abortion as an affront to the unalienable right to life endowed by our Creator.

Right to Bear Arms

WE BELIEVE in responsible gun ownership and that increased gun control measures do not reduce gun related crimes and, in fact, result only in infringing the 2nd Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens.

Foreign Policy & Defense

WE BELIEVE our peace and freedom are best secured through maintaining the strongest and best equipped military in the world.

WE BELIEVE the United States must not engage protracted foreign military conflicts.

WE SUPPORT foreign policy that protects our national interests, provides leadership that engenders trust and respect from our allies, and deters enemies of liberty from threatening our way of life.

Immigration

WE BELIEVE the United States is an unparalleled nation built by immigrants and that legal immigration is an integral tool in continuing to strengthen this nation.

WE SUPPORT the enforcement of current immigration laws including securing our borders, requiring employer verification of employee’s legal residency, verifying citizenship before providing government services, denying unlawful entry to non-citizens, and deporting illegal aliens.

WE SUPPORT improving our current immigration system to make the path to US citizenship more efficient.

WE OPPOSE sanctuary cities and states for illegal immigrants.

Public Health and Health Care

WE BELIEVE that the best way to provide affordable, accessible healthcare is through a market-driven system where the patient has financial responsibility and can be a discerning consumer thus dictating costs by supply and demand.

WE ACKNOWLEDGE that pornography addiction is a public health crisis that must be addressed to protect the public from pornography exposure and addiction.

WE SUPPORT responsible tort reform, elimination of Certificates of Need, expansion of health savings accounts, direct primary care providers, portable health insurance across state lines, cost transparency of services for patients, the shifting of financial responsibility to the patient, and the repeal of the Affordable Care Act as a means to fix our broken healthcare system.

Human Services & Welfare

WE BELIEVE we have a responsibility to care for those in need, which is best accomplished through private charity rather than government.

WE SUPPORT welfare programs that require able-bodied, mentally capable participants to work, and programs that foster self-reliance as the best method to help those in need.

WE SUPPORT enforcing drug and vagrancy laws.

Property Rights

WE BELIEVE that private property rights are fundamental to our personal freedom.

WE SUPPORT government policies that do not infringe on this freedom.

WE OPPOSE burdensome regulations that render private property unusable without just compensation.

Energy

WE BELIEVE that energy independence is a national security interest.

We RECOGNIZE that carbon-based fuels are currently the best way to efficiently and cost effectively fuel our energy needs.

We SUPPORT evolving energy technologies as they become economically viable.

WE SUPPORT a market driven approach to new and experimental energy sources that do not rely on government subsidies.

WE SUPPORT treating hydroelectric power as a renewable resource under Washington state law.

Environment

WE BELIEVE Washington is a state blessed with vast forests, beautiful natural sites, and inherently valuable populations of wildlife.

WE SUPPORT protecting these natural assets by using active forest management, market based environmental policies, private-public partnerships, and wildlife conservation plans.