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The Prohibition Party Platform - 2000 Members of the 1999 Platform Committee: Dean Watkins, Chairman (AZ), Don Webb (AL), Paul B. Scott (CA), Earl F. Dodge (CO), Lee Kennicut (OK), Lee McKenzie (UT), Sarah Ward, and Margaret Kaltenbach. Former Vice Presidential candidate George Ormsby invited himself to the table and did a great deal of talking. Presidential almost-candidate Gary Van Horne (UT) contributed to the discussion, and Jim Hedges also had a few comments. Dodge left very early, saying he felt tired. All of the above except Ward, Kaltenbaugh, and Hedges are members of the National Committee. The Platform Committee is a committee of the convention, not a sub-committee of the National Committee. It is not necessary to be an official delegate to the convention in order to serve on the Platform Committee. The Platform Committee meeting began about 2030 Tuesday the 29th of June and continued until about 0030 Wednesday. Watkins and McKenzie both arrived carrying proposed drafts, and the resulting 2000 platform is largely an amalgam of their work. Preamble We, the delegates to the Prohibition National Convention, assembled in Bird-in-Hand, PA, June 29-30, 1999, 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 nominees are chosen to administer the affairs of our nation, states, or communities, we will seek to serve the needs and to preserve the prerogatives and guaranteed Constitutional freedoms of the citizens of the United States of America. Constitutional Government We affirm our loyalty to the Constitution of the United States of America. We will protect it from violation by legislation, by bureaucratic regulation, by evasion, by international treaty, or through judicial usurpation of those rights which belong to the executive and legislative branches of government, to the states, and to the people. Foreign Affairs We will conduct foreign affairs with the preservation of American liberty and independence as our chief objective. America cannot continue to borrow money to subsidize other nations. Except for emergency humanitarian help, foreign aid should be ended. We oppose government-insured loans to foreign nations for the purpose of bolstering or supporting their weak monetary systems. We favor free trade only on a truly reciprocal basis. We oppose 'most favored nation' status for nations with a history of human rights violations, especially in regard to forced abortions, as in China. Constitutional rights shall not be abrogated by international treaty. Taxation and Spending Some 40% of Americans' earnings are taken by government taxation, yet the federal government is still adding hundreds of billions of dollars to our national debt each year. We favor:
A Free Economy We will protect the free enterprise system by preventing both monopoly and excessive government regulation. We will seek to protect the consuming public from irresponsible and deceptive business practices. Monetary Policy The Constitution provides that Congress shall have the power to coin money and to regulate its value. Therefore, we call upon Congress to terminate the Federal Reserve System for the purpose of reducing the national debt and to withdraw the United States from the World Bank. Labor and Management Anti-trust laws must be applied to both business and labor. We will enforce laws against strikes by federal employees. We acknowledge the contributions of workers to the American way of life and will protect their right to join or not to join a union. We will cease goverment interference in the collective bargaining process and in management's employment decisions. States' Rights The several states which created the federal government have had many of their rights usurped by all three branches of that government. We will take strong action to preserve and/or restore the states' Constitutional rights. Individual Rights We support the equality of treatment of all American citizens before the law. We call upon Congress to take action to end all discriminatory quotas in employment, education, and housing. All political subdivisions should be apportioned without reference to the race or religion of the citizenry. We will abolish those districts which are established on the basis of race. Right-to-Life Over 1,500,000 Americans are killed each year by abortion, infanticide, and euthanasia. Both the dominant parties have placed pro-abortion judges on the bench, thereby perpetuating this holocaust. We recognize that according to the Constitution, 'no person' (including the unborn) 'shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.' If necessary, we will enact a human life amendment to restore the right to life which the signers of the Declaration of Independence said was our gift from the Creator. We advocate emphasis on adoption rather than abortion. Military Preparedness We pray for peace and abhor the prospects of Americans going to war under the banner of the United Nations. We do not favor using military force to stop human rights violations by other countries upon their citizenry. We favor a sound program of military preparedness based upon well-paid, highly motivated, volunteer armed forces. American military personnel should be withdrawn from wealthy nations such as Japan and Germany, which can well afford to maintain their own defense. Immigration We will end the massive immigration now tolerated by our government. We will provide for prompt deportation of first-time illegal entrants and jail terms followed by prompt deportation for repeat offenders. We propose to apply diplomatic pressure on those nations to our south to improve the economic and social conditions which are the root of this mass migration. Law Enforcement We recognize that good laws make men free. However, without adequate enforcement and punishment, violation of the law is encouraged. Law enforcement officials at all levels, from local policemen to federal agents, should be empowered and encouraged to support the entire Constitution. National Sovereignty We believe in the preservation and restoration of all aspects of national sovereignty and oppose any surrender of this sovereignty to any other country or international organization, including the United Nations. We object to the placement of American soldiers under the command of foreign officers. We warn against treaties which undermine the basic Constitutional rights of American citizens. We are opposed to the interference of America in the sovereignty of other nations. Welfare The Prohibition Party pioneered in offering assistance to the handicapped, the aged, the chronically ill, and families without a breadwinner. We favor retraining programs and public service work for the truly deserving who can work. We will stop payments to the undeserving who look on welfare as a lifetime right. We oppose welfare payments to illegal aliens. The Family To protect and preserve marriage, an institution ordained by God, we favor:
We oppose the proselytizing actions of the homosexual community which are detrimental to the American family and to the stability of society. Homosexual behavior should not enjoy governmental protection through anti-discrimination laws. Education The 10th Amendment reserves education to the states and to the people. We will end all federal interference in education and abolish the federal education establishment. Tax dollars spent at the state and local level will go much farther than those that lose 50% in DC and that carry many controls for those who accept them. We support full freedom for private schools and home schooling. Religious Liberty We believe in the right of individuals to believe, fellowship, worship, evangelize, educate, and establish religious institutions in accordance with their beliefs. We will end the discrimination suffered by religious schools, broadcasters, and other religious groups and individuals at the hands of the federal, state, and local branches of government. Church and State Like America's great George Washington and other founders, we believe that 'it is impossible to govern the universe without God and the Bible.' We believe that God should not be separated from America's public life. We oppose the use of tax money for sectarian purposes. We support the restoration of our traditional rights to prayer and Bible reading in schools and other public institutions. We favor tax-exemption for all non-profit religious institutions including parsonages, church publishing houses, and religious schools. Public Morality We will strengthen and enforce laws against the sale of alcoholic beverages and tobacco products, against gambling, illegal drugs, pornography, and commercialized vice, and will seek to provide moral leadership. We oppose the promotion of unnatural lifestyles. We oppose state lotteries and other legalized gambling. Gambling hurts the poor most of all and inculcates the deceptive 'something for nothing' philosophy in young minds. Ballot Law Reform Republicans and Democrats have created a two-party monopoly by enacting increasingly repressive laws that keep most independent and third-party candidates off the ballot in most states. We will enact a federal law to restore all legitimate political rights to all third-party and independent persons or groups. We support term limits for all members of Congress. We favor legislation allowing all ballot-positioned independent and third-party candidates to equally participate in public debates which are sponsored in whole or in part by public funding. We favor legislation opposing campaign contributions by foreign entities in any U.S. election. Social Security We will reform the present discriminatory and actuarially unsound Social Security system by:
Agriculture We propose a return to the free market and an end to all government production controls and subsidies. This will free farmers from governmental coercion and will spare consumers from paying artificially higher food prices. We favor repeal of predatory tax levies and artificially inflated land values placed on farms adjacent to urban areas which tend to drive the farmer off his land. Public Health We favor continued prohibition of such harmful drugs as heroin, LSD, cocaine, and marijuana. Because of the well-documented deadly effects of tobacco products, we oppose advertising and subsidies for this industry. We oppose our government coercing other countries to accept our tobacco products. We favor government action to facilitate medical answers to AIDS. We urge the government to combat the immoral sexual conduct and illegal drug usage responsible for most American AIDS cases. Until the liquor traffic is eradicated, we call for the alcoholic beverage industry and its products to be placed under the jurisdiction of the Food and Drug Administration. Such a change will speed up the investigation of health problems related to alcohol. The Environment Since God has given Man dominion over the Earth, we believe that individuals and local and state governments should do all within their power to protect the environment and safeguard the air and water that we must share. We reject extremist views which assign equal value to people, animals, and trees. Remedies for pollution must be carefully crafted to avoid widespread unemployment and large increases in the prices of economic necessities. Second Amendment Rights We recognize the fundamental need of Second Amendment rights to guard against a tyrannical government and for personal protection against violent crime. We support the Constitutional right of law-abiding citizens to own and use guns. We favor imposition of long-term prison terms for those convicted of using a firearm to commit a crime. The Alcohol Problem Alcohol is still the number one drug problem in the United States. It is a major cause of poverty,
traffic crashes, broken homes, juvenile and adult crime, physical and
sexual abuse, political corruption, wasted manpower, disability, and premature
death. We favor maintaining the nation-wide legal drinking age of 21.
Historically, the Prohibition Party has led in offering programs of publicity, education, and legislation leading to the prohibition of the manufacturing, distribution, and sale of all alcoholic beverages. We continue to support this stand. Our society already practices prohibition in the form of enacting laws which promote the safety and well being of the society members. We will help Americans to realize that alcohol's harmful effects far outweigh those of all illegal drugs combined. We advocate that all tax monies collected from the sale of alcohol be used in aggressive media and educational campaigns to teach the American public the truth about alcohol. We support local option. We advocate the enactment and enforcement of strong drunk driving laws. Presidential Qualifications The qualifications for President stated in the Constitution have to do with age and citizenship. We call attention to the fact that of greater importance are those not so stated referring to moral, intellectual, and spiritual endowments. The President of the United States in his daily life, his home and family relationships, and his official career is expected to typify the finest and best the country can produce. He is the leader of the nation. The moral force and power of his example are immeasurable. |