Iowa's Republican Party Platform

Gilbert Cranberg, a former editor of the Des Moines Register's editorial pages, thinks Iowa should be knocked down a few notches.

With just seven electoral votes, Iowa ought to be a minor player in presidential politics.

Instead, presidential candidates and the press flock here because of the skillful way Iowa manages to keep its idiosyncratic precinct caucuses in the leadoff spot. Now, with at least six Republican U.S. senators eyeing the White House, Iowa GOP conservatives are leveraging the caucuses to give them even greater clout. Never mind that the caucuses won't even convene until nearly three years from now. [...]

Republican presidential candidates have to pay attention when the right wing speaks in Iowa because the sparsely attended party caucuses give the highly motivated and well-organized groups who do attend a major edge.

Gilbert Cranberg think Iowa GOP platform is scary and an example of extremism.

Iowa GOP will play a major role in the next Republican Presidential nominee in 2008. Each Republican candidates should be ask if you support the Iowa GOP platform.

Preamble

We, the Republican Party of the State of Iowa, meeting in Convention on June 12th, 2004, share these common and believe they provide the best framework for guiding this State and Nation into the future:

We believe in retaining the moral absolutes that our Founding Fathers drew from the Holy Scripture as the principal foundation for our Constitution. We acknowledge God’s blessing on our country and our continued dependence upon God for the preservation of our nation.

We support and encourage those leaders who uphold the principles of individual responsibility, adherence to traditional moral standards, a strong national defense, a free enterprise system, and respect for the sanctity of human life. We believe that
these are the foundation of the Republican Party. We encourage the proliferation
of these principles and their passage to future generations.

We believe that since government does not create wealth, but only redistributes it, that the proper function of government is to do for the people only those things that
cannot be done individually, and that the most effective government is the
government closest to the people. To that end, we believe that the United States
must maintain a strong military force to secure our borders, enforce government
policies, and protect our national interests.

Howard Dean was criticize over his comments about the GOP as "pretty much a white, Christian party" but in the preamble of Iowa GOP platform it state ‘We believe in retaining the moral absolutes that our Founding Fathers drew from the Holy Scripture’. Howard Dean was right again about the GOP.

Here is a small sample of planks of state party platform.

"We believe the United States should withdraw from the United Nations and the UN headquarters should be removed from U.S. soil.

"We believe that health care is a privilege and not a right.

"We assert that the phrase, `the separation of church and state,' as is commonly
used, contradicts the original intent and practice of the framers of the Constitution.

"We believe in the eventual privatization of Social Security.

"We oppose balancing budgets by raising taxes.

"We believe that the local choice to teach creation science, or intelligent design
science, should be allowed in government schools.

"We favor posting the 10Commandments in public schools.

"We believe that the marketplace and not the government should set the minimum wage."

Iowa GOP platform continues the national GOP platform of hatred of homosexuals.

“We support a landlord’s right to refuse leasing property to cohabiting
homosexuals based on moral grounds.”

“We oppose the teaching of homosexual behavior as a normal, acceptable or alternative lifestyle, and believe that sex education must emphasize traditional heterosexual lifestyles. “

“We oppose Governor Vilsack's scholarship program for self-declared homosexual students.”

“We believe no group or individual should be accorded "minority" or protected class status, or given the existing statutory benefits that come with the designation, based solely on sexual behavior or so called “sexual orientation.”

“We oppose any legislation or executive order granting rights, privileges, or status for persons based on sexual orientation.”

“We favor spousal benefits for legal, heterosexual marriages only.”

Go read the whole GOP platform.

This platform should be tied around the neck of every single Republican who visit Iowa and ask for the support of extremist in the Iowa caucuses.