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We, the representatives of the Prohibition
Party, assembled in National Convention at Mandan, North Dakota, June
22-24, 1983, recognizing Almighty God as the Source of all just government
and with faith in the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ, promise that,
if our party is chosen to administer the affairs of our nation, we will,
with earnest dedication to the principles of righteousness, seek to serve
the needs and to preserve the rights, the prerogatives, and the basic
freedoms of the people of the United States of America. For the realization
of these ends, we propose the following program of government: Constitutional
Government We affirm our loyalty to the Constitution of
the United States of America. We will resist all attempts to violate it
by legislation, by means of evasion or through judicial interpretation.
We support our system of representative government by this plan of checks
and balances. We support Constitutional means to end the present situation
in which the judicial branch is usurping legislative and executive authority. Communism
- Totalitarianism Communism seeks to overthrow our present form
of government by means of subversion and violence. We oppose Communism
and all other totalitarian economic and political systems. Governmental
Economy and Taxation America today faces mounting unemployment,
runaway inflation and a tax system which takes about 45% of our earnings
to operate our government. Unwise fiscal policies of our government are
the chief cause of our economic plight.
Foreign
Affairs We favor a foreign policy whose chief objectives
are the preservation of American liberty and independence and the promotion
of justice and freedom throughout the world. We believe foreign aid should
usually be in the form of loans at commercial rates of interest and should
be extended only to those nations who are friendly to the United States
and share our devotion to freedom. A
Free Economy We believe free enterprise is threatened by
(1) Excessive government regulation, (2) growth of public or private
monopoly, and (3) unethical practices of both management and labor. We
will act to prevent both monopoly and excessive regulation and to protect
the consuming public from irresponsible or deceptive business practices. Labor
and Management Management and labor must be held accountable
for their economic behavior. Neither must dominate at the expense of the
other or of the common good. Anti-trust laws must be applied to both business
and labor. We will end governmental discrimination in favor of union members
in the awarding of contracts. We will vigorously enforce laws against
strikes by federal employees. States
Rights Our Founding Fathers stressed both individual
and states rights by adopting the Bill of Rights. For many years the Federal
Government has been usurping many of the states' Constitutional Rights.
The states which created the Federal Government are now often dominated
by their creature. We will take whatever action is needed to preserve
and, where necessary restore, states' Constitutional Rights. We reject
'regional government' or un-elected layers of government between the states
and the federal government and between the states and county and local
governmental units. Un-elected governments are unresponsive to the will
of the electorate. Individual
Rights All Americans, regardless of race, sex, religion
or national origin are guaranteed equality of treatment before the law
by our Constitution. We condemn violent, anarchistic behavior or arbitrary
pressure tactics as means of resolving differences among our citizens.
We oppose all discrminatory measures such as quotas in employment, education,
and housing whether such discrimination is directed against a minority
or the majority. Public
Morality We deplore the low level of morality culminating
in recent shocking revelations of crime and of political and economic
corruption. We will strengthen and enforce laws against gambling, narcotics
and commercialized vice and seek to provide the moral leadership so sadly
lacking in both the Democrat and Republican parties today. We oppose the
promotion of un-natural life styles. Right-to-Life The God-given Right to Life is being denied
by governmental action which permits the massive destruction of unborn
infants. Many who support this morally indefensible crime of abortion
also advocate euthanasia (so-called mercy killing) for many of our handicapped
and senior citizens. Our courts and legislatures have proven they cannot
be trusted to protect the gift of Life. Only by enshrining this principle
in our Constitution can we avoid a continuing American holocaust. We favor
a Constitutional Amendment to protect all human life from the moment of
conception until the time of natural death. Military
Preparedness Since eternal vigilance is the price of liberty
we favor a sound program of military preparedness. We pray for peace but
we cannot ignore potential threats to our nation. We still strongly support
a peacetime voluntary armed force which was first advocated by our party. National
Sovereignty We believe in national sovereignty and oppose
full or partial surrender of this sovereignty to any international organization. Welfare Our party has pioneered in social reform and
favors assistance to the handicapped, the aged, the chronically ill and
families without a breadwinner. However, action must be taken to remove
the undeserving now on our welfare rolls and to encourage more recipients
to become self-supporting. Unless the crushing tax burden is eased soon
a taxpayers revolt may doom the whole welfare program. Marriage
and Divorce Ordained
of God, the family is a sacred institution and the basic unit on which
our society is built. To protect and preserve that institution we favor:
(1) More stringent uniform marriage and divorce laws; (2) An end to all
present tax structures which discriminate against married people; and
(3) A deliberate governmental policy which disallows any legal benefits
of marriage to persons living together in an unmarried state. We oppose
any laws or governmental regulations which conflict with traditional parental
authority and cohesion of the family unit. Church
and State We
support the separation of Church and State. We favor tax exemptions for
non-profit religious institutions, including church publishing houses
and religious schools. We favor taxation of all profits received by any
tax exempt group from business operations which compete with tax-paying
businesses. We oppose the appropriation of tax money for private religious
or sectarian purposes. Religious
Liberty We belive in the freedom of the individual
to believe, fellowship, worship, evangelize, educate and establish educational
institutions in accordance with his beliefs. The notion that American
Religious Institutions must endorse all national government policies or
be taxed is a new and dangerous idea. Christian schools, broadcasters
and other religious groups and individuals have suffered religious discrimination
at the hands of the Internal Revenue Service, the Federal Communications
Commission, the U.S. Supreme Court and other federal, state and local
agencies and officials. We pledge to safeguard the precious right of religious
liberty. Ballot
Law Reform In most states Republicans and Democrats have
enacted laws which deny other political parties fair access to the ballot.
We will pass laws to end this un-Constitutional two-party monopoly and
restore to all legitimate political parties and to Independents their
Constitutional rights. Ballot status should not be accorded any person
or group which advocates the violent overthrow of our government. Education Under the Tenth Amendment, public education
is clearly under the jurisdiction of the states and the people. We will
end all direct federal aid to and control over education. We protest the
efforts of I.R.S., state and federal officials to interfere with the operation
of private Christian schools. These privately financed institutions should
not be subject to governmental interference. Their tax-free status is
a matter of right under our law and not a gift which can be removed by
arbitrary governmental action. (sic)
The present Social Security system is discriminatory, actuarially unsound
and destructive of individual initiative. We will reform the system by:
(1) Allowing workers the option of enrolling in private insurance and
retirement programs in lieu of Social Security, and (2) Placing the system
of taxes and payments on a sound actuarial basis which is fair to payers
and to recipients, and (3) Restoring to religious organizations their
traditional exemption from the payment of Social Security taxes. Agriculture Those
engaged in agricultural pursuits should be free from authoritarian control
and coercion by the government. Consumers should not pay artificially
contrived higher food prices. We therefore propose a return to the free
market and the elimination of all governmental controls and subsidies. Public
Health and Our Environment We favor legal bans against harmful drugs such
as marijuana, L.S.D., heroin, cocaine etc. Since tobacco is the prime
cause of lung cancer and many other health problems we oppose promotional
advertising and governmental subsidies for tobacco products. We favor
laws by the state and federal governments to protect the right of non-smokers
to breathe air which is uncontaminated by poisonous tobacco smoke. Mis-Use
of Fire-Arms We favor the imposition of long-term prison
sentences for those convicted of using fire-arms in the commission of
a crime. Illegal
Immigration Massive illegal immigration, tolerated by both
Republican and Democratic parties and our federal government, is causing
severe economic, political and social problems for our nation and her
people. We favor strict enforcement of present immigration laws and the
prompt deportation of all illegal aliens now residing in the United States.
Repeat offenders should be given non-paroleable jail sentences to deter
future illegal entry. We oppose the granting of 'amnesty' to millions
of illegal aliens as a reward for their evasion of our immigration laws
for many years. The
Alcohol Problem Beverage alcohol is the chief cause of poverty,
broken homes, juvenile delinquency, vice, crime, political corruption,
wasted manpower and highway accidents in America. By very conservative
estimates some 26 million Americans are now alcoholics or problem drinkers.
The liquor traffic admits that bootlegging is a big business estimated
by that traffic to be producing one-third of all alcoholic beverages consumed
in America today. An estimated 400,000 Americans die yearly because of
highway deaths, homicides and health problems which can be traced directly
to beverage alcohol. Included in this estimate are the many who die prematurely
because alcohol has damaged or destroyed vital organs such as the liver. Challenge Voters
concerned about the wide-spread corruption and erosion of our freedoms
and the low level of morality in government should cease supporting the
two political parties which created these problems. Our party, with a
clean record of over one hundred and fourteen years of service to America,
invites the support of all citizens who believe in our program of good
government. |