The Reform Party of Wisconsin’s Essential Principles of Government
The Reform Party of Wisconsin is built upon a foundation of eighteen essential principles of government, which Thomas Jefferson urged the American people to recognize as the fundamental guide to proper administration of our government and the preservation of the peace, prosperity, and liberty of the American people.
All candidates of seeking to run as a member of The Wisconsin Reform Party will be required to sign an oath agreeing to follow the The Reform Party of Wisconsin’ Essential Principles of Government before receiving official endorsement by the party.
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Equal and exact justice to all men, of whatever state or persuasion, religious or political.
All members of The Reform Party of Wisconsin shall have the right to express their personal beliefs without condemnation of their party colleagues, but will promise to preserve equal rights to all citizens of the United States regardless of sex, race, religion, and political affiliation.
Peace
All members of The Reform Party of Wisconsin shall seek peace with all nations and peoples as a default foreign policy position and only resort to economic and military intervention as a last resort.
Commerce
All members of The Reform Party of Wisconsin shall diligently work to rescind or renegotiate the NAFTA, GATT, CAFTA, and WTO agreements to insure a level playing field for America’s producers, and merchants in the global marketplace.
All members of The Reform Party of Wisconsin shall diligently work to create a level playing field amongst American companies that allows small business entrepreneurs with start-up capital a fair chance to compete with established corporations through taxation, subsidies, and venture capital investment.
All members of The Reform Party of Wisconsin shall fight to award the same privileges and rights provided to the largest corporation to every American entrepreneur.
Honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with none
All members of The Reform Party of Wisconsin shall actively work to insure that trade agreements are based upon the creation of a mutually beneficial trade regulations that promote freedom, and liberty amongst the citizens of said countries.
All members of The Reform Party of Wisconsin shall oppose the creation of a North American Union, and NAFTA Superhighway due to the manufactured alliance and economic entanglement that such a infrastructure investment would create.
All members of The Reform Party of Wisconsin shall work to remove the United States from any and all mutual protection pacts that shall require the United States to become involved in military conflict without due deliberation by elected members of Congress and the President of the United States.
The support of the State governments in all their rights, as the most competent administrations for our domestic concerns and the surest bulwarks against (anti-republican) tendencies
All members of The Reform Party of Wisconsin shall seek to limit the role of the Federal government to the powers invested within it by the United States constitution, and shall faithfully work to insure the full constitutional rights and powers of the states and the people are preserved
The preservation of the General Government in its whole constitutional vigor, as the sheet anchor of our peace at home and safety abroad
All members of The Reform Party of Wisconsin shall base all legislative activities upon the Constitutional powers provided their elected office and diligently work to insure that all legislation provide a constitutional basis for creating said legislation at the beginning of each bill.
A jealous care of the right of election by the people
All members of The Reform Party of Wisconsin shall work to insure that every American citizen has an equal right to participate in the electoral process by removing government regulations against federal, state, and local employees, prohibiting announcements of exit polls until all voting has been completed in Hawaii, and requiring registered voters to provide the same proof of identity as would be required during a routine traffic stop.
A mild and safe corrective of abuses which are lopped by the sword of revolution where peaceable remedies are (not provided)
All members of The Reform Party of Wisconsin will respect the electoral process and dutifully work to aid the representatives chosen by the American people in promoting peace, prosperity, and freedom.
Absolute acquiescence in the decisions of the majority, the vital principle of republics, from which is no appeal but to force, the vital principle and immediate parent of despotism.
All members of The Reform Party of Wisconsin shall respect and abide by the laws set forth by our federal, state, and local governments and only seek to oppose these laws through the legal and constitutional means of fair trial, free speech, assembly, and the freedom to petition the government with grievances.
A well disciplined militia, our best reliance in peace and for the first moments of war, till regulars may relieve themAll members of The Reform Party of Wisconsin shall defend the rights of the states to create and call up of State Militias, and insure their constitutional control by the governor of said state, to protect their respective borders from attack and assist in disaster relief.
The supremacy of the civil over the military authority
All members of The Reform Party of Wisconsin shall diligently work to insure that military funding and actions are initiated and controlled by the elected representatives of the American people
Economy in the public expense, that labor may be lightly burthened
All members of The Reform Party of Wisconsin shall dedicate their available resources to provide a detailed blueprint of the federal budget and the reasons that such expenses are necessary.
All members of The Reform Party of Wisconsin shall work to insure that all expenses of the federal government shall be available to the public, or a in cases of national security, subject to an independent review by the judicial branch to insure the constitutionality of such expenses.
All members of The Reform Party of Wisconsin shall diligently work to pass a balanced budget amendment that will require a 2/3 vote by congress to supersede in times of peace, or the official declaration of war by Congress.
All members of The Reform Party of Wisconsin shall diligently work to have the federal government adopt the same Generally Accepted Accounting Principles as are required of publicly traded, privately held, and non-profit organizations.
All members of The Reform Party of Wisconsin shall diligently work to insure that any federal tax increases exceeding the annual rate of inflation, as determined by a Consumer Price Index, shall require a national referendum by the state governments.
The honest payment of our debts and sacred preservation of the public faith
All members of The Reform Party of Wisconsin shall diligently work to insure that the federal budget shall include interest and principal payments upon the national debt to completely payoff outstanding debts within 30 years. The length of an average American’s home mortgage
All members of The Reform Party of Wisconsin shall dedicate their available resources to provide an amortization schedule to the public which states the total public debt, current interest rates, and payment schedule to accomplish the full repayment of all public debt within a 30 year time period.
All members of The Reform Party of Wisconsin shall work to eliminate earmarks by providing the President of the United States with the line item veto until such time as a constitutional amendment can be passed which requires individual federal appropriations to be passed by congress and approved by the president.
All members of The Reform Party of Wisconsin shall refuse gifts, paid travel expenses, free meals, lobby positions, or other incentives from foreign or domestic lobbyists while serving in office and after their service.
All members of The Reform Party of Wisconsin shall agree to not participate in fundraising or campaigning activities while performing the duties of their respective elected offices.
All members of The Reform Party of Wisconsin shall diligently work to insure that elected officials in the state and federal government receive a reasonable wage and benefit package based upon those received by the average American worker in a comparable profession.
All members of The Reform Party of Wisconsin shall diligently work to pass legislation requiring the full disclosure of campaign donations and insure that this disclosure is completed by their own campaigns until such time as this legislation may be enacted.
Freedom of religion
All members of The Reform Party of Wisconsin shall promise to respect and abide by the constitutional freedom of religion provided to the American people through The First Amendment
Freedom of the press
All members of The Reform Party of Wisconsin shall promise to respect and abide by the constitutional freedom of the press provided to the American people through The First Amendment and to treat all members of the press with equal access to press releases, comments, and interviews.
Encouragement of agriculture, and of commerce as its handmaid
All members of The Reform Party of Wisconsin shall actively work to promote the growth of American agriculture through proper taxation, subsidies, and venture capital investment, and work to preserve our nations arable lands, improve production, and provide farmers and agricultural producers with their fair share of the profits from the sale of their produce.
All members of The Reform Party of Wisconsin shall diligently work to insure the natural formation of trade through the creation of fair trade deals which create level playing fields for domestic and foreign producers, merchants, and workers.
The diffusion of information and arraignment of all abuses at the bar of the public reason
All members of The Reform Party of Wisconsin shall actively promote an effective and easily accessible public education system.
All members of The Reform Party of Wisconsin shall actively seek to promote the diffusion of knowledge through properly managed libraries and museums.
All members of The Reform Party of Wisconsin shall actively seek to promote the advancement of science and technology through proper taxation, subsidies, and capital investment.
All members of The Reform Party of Wisconsin shall actively seek to promote science based policies of governance
Freedom of person under the protection of the habeas corpus, and trial by juries impartially selected
All members of The Reform Party of Wisconsin shall dutifully protect the American people’s right to a speedy, and fair trial by their peers.