| Year | Pres. | House | Senate | Democrats | Republicans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | R | R | R | ||
| 1904 | R | R | R | We demand the extermination of polygamy within the jurisdiction of the United States, and the complete separation of Church and State in political affairs. | |
| 1908 | R | R | R | We pledge ourselves to legislation under which the national banks shall be required to establish a guarantee fund for the prompt payment of the depositors of any insolvent national bank, under an equitable system which shall be available to all State banking institutions wishing to use it. | Great Britain has gathered but $60,000,000,000 in five hundred years. The United States now owns one-fourth of the world’s wealth and makes one-third of all modern manufactured products. In the great necessities of civilization, such as coal, the motive power of all activity; iron, the chief basis of all industry; cotton, the staple foundation of all fabrics; wheat, corn and all the agricultural products that feed mankind, America’s supremacy is undisputed. |
| 1908 | R | R | R | The present tendencies of the two parties are even more marked by inherent differences. The trend of Democracy is toward socialism, while the Republican party stands for a wise and regulated individualism. Socialism would destroy wealth, Republicanism would prevent its abuse. Socialism would give to each an equal right to take; Republicanism would give to each an equal right to earn. |
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| 1912 | R | D | R | Believing that the most efficient results under our system of government are to be attained by the full exercise by the States of their reserved sovereign powers, we denounce as usurpation the efforts of our opponents to deprive the States of any of the rights reserved to them, and to enlarge and magnify by indirection the powers of the Federal government. | |
| 1920 | D | R | R | We reaffirm our respect for the great principles of free speech and a free press, but assert as an indisputable proposition that they afford no toleration of enemy propaganda or the advocacy of the overthrow of the government of the state or nation by force or violence. | We condemn President Wilson for asking Congress to empower him to accept a mandate for Armenia. We commend the Republican Senate for refusing the President’s request to empower him to accept the mandate for Armenia. |
| 1920 | D | R | R | We express our deep and earnest sympathy for the unfortunate people of Armenia, and we believe that our government, consistent with its Constitution and principles, should render every possible and proper aid to them in their efforts to establish and maintain a government of their own. | We demand that every American citizen shall enjoy the ancient and constitutional right of free speech, free press and free assembly and the no less sacred right of the qualified voted [sic] to be represented by his duly chosen representatives; but no man may advocate resistance to the law, and no man may advocate violent overthrow of the government. |
| 1924 | R | R | R | Never before in our history has the government been so tainted by corruption and never has an administration so utterly failed. | |
| 1924 | R | R | R | To retain in power an administration of this character would inevitably result in four years more of continued disorder, internal dissension and governmental inefficiency. A vote for Coolidge is a vote for chaos. | |
| 1924 | R | R | R | We condemn the efforts of the republican party to nationalize the functions and duties of the states. | |
| 1924 | R | R | R | We favor a sustained development of aviation by both the government and commercially. | We advocate the early enactment of such legislation and the taking of such steps by the government as will tend to promote commercial aviation. |
| 1924 | R | R | R | We favor the immediate passage of such legislation as may be necessary to enable the states efficiently to enforce their laws relating to the gradual financial strangling of innocent investors, workers and consumers, caused by the indiscriminate promotion, refinancing and reorganizing of corporations on an inflated and over-capitalized basis, resulting already in the undermining and collapse of many railroads, public service and industrial corporations, manifesting itself in unemployment, irreparable loss and waste and which constitute a serious menace to the stability of our economic system. | |
| 1928 | R | R | R | We demand that the constitutional rights and powers of the states shall be preserved in their full vigor and virtue. These constitute a bulwark against centralization and the destructive tendencies of the Republican Party. | Today all these major financial problems have been solved. |
| 1928 | R | R | R | Today all these major financial problems have been solved. | |
| 1928 | R | R | R | Government supervision must secure to all the people the advantage of radio communication and likewise guarantee the right of free speech. | We stand for the administration of the radio facilities of the United States under wise and expert government supervision |
| 1928 | R | R | R | The development of a system of aircraft registration, inspection and control is a credit to the Republican Administration, which, quick to appreciate the importance of this new transportation development, created machinery for its safeguarding. |
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| 1928 | R | R | R | There is a real need of restoring the individual and local sense principles; there is a real need of restoring the individual and local sense of responsibility and self-reliance; there is a real need for the people once more to grasp the fundamental fact that under our system of government they are expected to solve many problems themselves through their municipal and State governments, and to combat the tendency that is all too common to turn to the Federal Government as the easiest and least burdensome method of lightening their own responsibilities. |
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| 1932 | R | D | R | The removal of government from all fields of private enterprise except where necessary to develop public works and natural resources in the common interest. | |
| 1932 | R | D | R | We advocate protection of the investing public by requiring to be filed with the government and carried in advertisements of all offerings of foreign and domestic stocks and bonds true information as to bonuses, commissions, principal invested, and interests of the sellers. | |
| 1932 | R | D | R | We advocate the repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment. | |
| 1936 | D | D | D | The Republican platform proposes to meet many pressing national problems solely by action of the separate States. . . We have sought and will continue to seek to meet these problems through legislation within the Constitution. | |
| 1940 | D | D | D | We will not participate in foreign wars, and we will not send our army, naval or air forces to fight in foreign lands outside of the Americas, except in case of attack. We favor and shall rigorously enforce and defend the Monroe Doctrine. | The Republican Party is firmly opposed to involving this Nation in foreign war. |
| 1940 | D | D | D | Radio has become an integral part of the democratically accepted doctrine of freedom of speech, press, assembly and religion. We urge such legislative steps as may be required to afford the same protection from censorship that is now afforded the press under the Constitution of the United States. | The principles of a free press and free speech, as established by the Constitution, should apply to the radio. Federal regulation of radio is necessary in view of the natural limitations of wave lengths, but this gives no excuse for censorship. |
| 1944 | D | D | D | We shall devote ourselves to re-establishing liberty at home. . . The measures we propose shall avoid federalization of government activities, to the end that our States, schools and cities shall be freed; shall avoid delegation of legislative and judicial power to administrative agencies | |
| 1948 | D | R | R | We pledge the early establishment of a national science foundation under principles which will guarantee the most effective utilization of public and private research facilities. | |
| 1948 | D | R | R | We condemn Communism and other forms of totalitarianism and their destructive activity overseas and at home. | |
| 1952 | D | D | D | The return of the Democratic Party to power in 1933 marked the end of a tragic era of isolationism fostered by Republican Administrations which had deliberately and callously rejected the golden opportunity created by Woodrow Wilson for collective action to secure the peace. | There are no Communists in the Republican Party. We have always recognized Communism to be a world conspiracy against freedom and religion. We never compromised with Communism and we have fought to expose it and to eliminate it in government and American life. |
| 1952 | D | D | D | We hail the Schuman Plan to pool the basic resources of industrial Western Europe, and the European Defense Community. | |
| 1952 | D | D | D | In an era when the “satellite state” symbolizes both the tyranny of the aggressor nations and the extinction of liberty in small nations, the Democratic Party reasserts and reaffirms the Wilsonian principle of the right of national self- determination. | |
| 1952 | D | D | D | Democratic Administrations have placed upon the statute books during the last twenty years a multitude of measures which testify to our belief in the Jeffersonian principle of local control, even in general legislation involving nation-wide programs. Selective service, Social Security, Agricultural Adjustment, Low Rent Housing, Hospital, and many other legislative programs have placed major responsibilities in States and counties and provide fine examples of how benefits can be extended through Federal-State cooperation. | |
| 1956 | R | D | D | We are opposed to colonialism and Communist imperialism. | We firmly believe in the right of peoples everywhere to determine their form of government, their leaders, their destiny, in peace. Where needed, in order to promote peace and freedom throughout the world, we shall within the prudent limits of our resources, assist friendly countries in their determined efforts to strengthen their economies. |
| 1956 | R | D | D | Substituting deceptive slogans and dismal deeds for the Democratic program, the Republicans have been telling the American people that “we are now more prosperous than ever before in peacetime.” For the American farmer, the small businessman and the low-income worker, the old people living on a pittance, the young people seeking an American standard of education, and the minority groups seeking full employment opportunity at adequate wages, this tall tale of Republican prosperity has been an illusion. | Based on that principle we will continue a security program to make certain that all people employed by our Government are of unquestioned loyalty and trustworthiness. |
| 1956 | R | D | D | We have supported the distribution of free vaccine to protect millions of children against dreaded polio. |
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| 1956 | R | D | D | Democratic Administrations placed upon the statute books during their last 20 years a multitude of measures which testify to our belief in the Jeffersonian principle of local control even in general legislation involving Nation-wide programs. | We hold that the strict division of powers and the primary responsibility of State and local governments must be maintained, and that the centralization of powers in the national Government leads to expansion of the mastery of our lives, |
| 1960 | R | D | D | We must quicken the pace of our economic growth to prove the power of American free enterprise to meet growing and urgent demands: to sustain our military posture, to provide jobs for a growing labor force in a time of rapid technological change, to improve living standards, to serve all the needs of an expanding population. |
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| 1960 | R | D | D | The Democratic Party believes that state and local governments are strengthened—not weakened—by financial assistance from the Federal Government. | |
| 1964 | D | D | D | Our task is to make the national purpose serve the human purpose: that every person shall have the opportunity to become all that he or she is capable of becoming. | Much of today’s moral decline and drift—much of the prevailing preoccupation with physical and material comforts of life—much of today’s crass political appeals to the appetites of the citizenry—can be traced to a leadership grown demagogic and materialistic through indifference to national ideals rounded in devoutly held religious faith. |
| 1964 | D | D | D | Since then, in 42 months of uninterrupted expansion under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson, we have achieved the longest and strongest peace-time prosperity in modern history | enactment of legislation, despite Democratic opposition, to curb the flow through the mails of obscene materials which has flourished into a multimillion dollar obscenity racket |
| 1964 | D | D | D | Radical changes in technology and automation contribute to increased productivity and a higher standard of living. They must not penalize the few while benefiting the many. We maintain that any man or woman displaced by a machine or by technological change should have the opportunity, without penalty, to another job. Our common responsibility is to see that this right is fulfilled. | |
| 1964 | D | D | D | We Republicans shall insist that the Federal Government have effective but limited powers, that it be frugal and efficient, and that it fully meet its Constitutional responsibilities to all the American people |
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| 1968 | D | D | D | In the Democratic years since 1961, under the leadership of Presidents Kennedy and Johnson, we managed the national economy in ways that kept the best aspirations of people in clear view, and brought them closer to fulfillment. | America has adequate peaceful and lawful means for achieving even fundamental social change if the people wish it. We will not tolerate violence! |
| 1968 | D | D | D | So, under the leadership of President Johnson, this nation declared war on poverty—a war in which the government is again working in close cooperation with leaders of the free enterprise system. | The inability of the poor to cope meaningfully with their environment is compounded by problems which blunt opportunity—inadequate income, inferior education, inadequate health care, slum housing, limited job opportunities, discrimination, and crime. |
| 1968 | D | D | D | We are particularly determined to revise the grant-in-aid system and substitute bloc grants wherever possible. It is also important that state and local governments retain the historic right to raise funds by issuing tax-exempt securities. | |
| 1968 | D | D | D | Clearly we must think anew about the relationship of man and his government, of man and his fellow-man. We must act anew to enlarge the opportunity and autonomy of the individual and the range of his choice. |
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| 1972 | R | D | D | The theme of this Doctrine is that America will remain fully involved in world affairs, and yet do this in ways that will elicit greater effort by other nations and the sustaining support of our people. |
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| 1972 | R | D | D | Right now, with plaintive cries of “come home America” echoing a new isolationism, the Republican Party states its firm belief that no nation can be an island or a fortress unto itself. Now, more than ever, there is need for interdependence among proven friends and old allies. |
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| 1972 | R | D | D | The Nixon policy of intimidation of the media and Administration efforts to use government power to block access to media by dissenters must end, if free speech is to he preserved. | We reaffirm our support for the basic principles of capitalism which underlie the private enterprise system of the United States. At a time when a small but dominant faction of the opposition Party is pressing for radical economic schemes which so often have failed around the world, we hold that nothing has done more to help the American people achieve their unmatched standard of living than the free-enterprise system. |
| 1972 | R | D | D | Since the 1930’s it has been illegal for United States citizens to own gold. We believe it is time to reconsider that policy. The right of American citizens to buy, hold, or sell gold should be re established as soon as this is feasible. |
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| 1972 | R | D | D | Abolishing capital punishment, recognized as an ineffective deterrent to crime, unequally applied and cruel and excessive punishment. | We flatly oppose programs or policies which embrace the principle of a government-guaranteed income, We reject as unconscionable the idea that all citizens have the right to be supported by the government, regardless of their ability or desire to support themselves and their families. |
| 1972 | R | D | D | The cultural diversity of America’s heritage groups has always been a source of strength for our society and our Party. We reaffirm our commitment to the basic American values which have made this Nation the land of opportunity for these groups, originating from all sectors of the world, from Asia to Africa to Europe to Latin America. We will continue our Party’s open-door policy and work to assure all minorities full opportunity for participation in the political process. We pledge vigorous support of the Bilingual Act and the Ethnic Studies Heritage Act. |
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| 1976 | R | D | D | As a further step in this direction, the Republicans in Congress promoted the new concept of federal block grants to localities for much greater flexibility. Under block grants, federal funds can be tailored by the states and localities to the wishes of each community. |
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| 1976 | R | D | D | We will seek restrictions on “revolving door” careerism—the shuttling back and forth of officials between jobs in regulatory or procurement agencies and in regulated industries and government contractors. | |
| 1976 | R | D | D | There is a need for a new blueprint for the public sector, one which identifies and responds to national problems, and recognizes the proper point of administration for both new and existing programs. In shifting administrative responsibility, such programs must meet minimum federal standards. | |
| 1976 | R | D | D | the declaration of the birthday of the great civil rights leader, Martin Luther King, Jr., as a national holiday. | |
| 1976 | R | D | D | The Democratic Party also reaffirms the role of state and general purpose local governments as the principal governments in the orderly administration of federal aid and revenue sharing programs. | International cooperation and collaboration is required because we can achieve neither our most important objectives nor even our own security in the type of “splendid isolation” which is urged upon us by so many strident voices. The regrettable emergence of neo-isolationism often expressed in Congress and elsewhere is detrimental, we believe, to a sound foreign policy. |
| 1976 | R | D | D | Current world population growth is a threat to the long-range well-being of mankind. We pledge to support effective voluntary family planning around the world, as well as at home, and to recognize officially the link between social and economic development and the willingness of the individual to limit family size. | The economic strength of western Europe has increased to the point where our NATO partners can now assume a larger share of the common defense; in response to our urging, our allies are demonstrating a greater willingness to do so. |
| 1980 | D | D | D | In all of our economic programs, the one overriding principle must be fairness. All Americans must bear a fair share of our economic burdens and reap a fair share of our economic benefits. | We Republicans pledge ourselves to work with farmers, ranchers, and our friends and neighbors to make America great again. |
| 1980 | D | D | D | We do not claim that government has all the answers to our problems, but we do believe that government has a legitimate role to play in searching for those answers and in applying those answers. | The intent of the Founders, embraced and reflected by succeeding generations of Americans, was that the Central government should perform only those functions which are necessary concomitants of nationality, preserve order, and do for people only those things which they cannot do for themselves. The durability of our system lies in its flexibility and its accommodation to diversity and changing circumstance. It is notable as much for what it permits as for what it proscribes. Government must ever be the servant of the nation, not its master. |
| 1980 | D | D | D | In 1980, the people must decide whether our country will continue that progress, or whether we will allow the federal government to revert to four years of Republicanism—which means neglect of the poor and disadvantaged, disdain for working men and women, and compassion only for the rich and the privileged. | Against the prevailing trend toward increased Centralization of government under the Democrats, Republicans succeeded in the 1970s in initiating large scale revenue sharing and block grant programs to disperse the power of the federal government and share it with the states and localities. |
| 1980 | D | D | D | To honor this outstanding national leader, we must enact legislation that will commemorate his birthday as a national holiday. | In pledging renewed United States leadership, cooperation, and consultation, Republicans assert their expectation that each of the allies will bear a fair share of the common defense effort and that they will work closely together in support of common Alliance goals. Defense budgets, weapons acquisition, force readiness, and diplomatic coordination need to be substantially increased and improved. |
| 1980 | D | D | D | We will seek a North America Accord designed to foster close cooperation and mutual benefit between the United States, Canada, and Mexico. |
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| 1984 | R | D | R | Free enterprise is fundamental to the American way of life. It is inseparable from the social, religious, political, and judicial institutions which form the bedrock of a nation dedicated to individual freedom and human rights. |
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| 1984 | R | R | R | New technologies, shifting economics and deregulation have opened up dozens of new careers both in traditional industrial concerns and in new businesses. Many of them did not exist at all only a few years ago. | The Republican Party reaffirms its support of the pluralism and freedom that have been part and parcel of this great country. In so doing, it repudiates and completely disassociates itself from people, organizations, publications, and entities which promulgate the practice of any form of bigotry, racism, anti- semitism, or religious intolerance. |
| 1984 | R | D | R | Mr. Reagan denies government’s critical role in our economy. Government cannot, and should not, dominate our free enterprise economy. But American prosperity has been most pronounced when the government played a supportive or catalytic role in the nation’s economic fortunes. | We and the vast majority of Americans are repulsed by pornography. We will vigorously enforce constitutional laws to control obscene materials which degrade everyone, particularly women, and depict the exploitation of children. We commend the Reagan Administration for creating a commission on pornography and the President for signing the new law to eliminate child pornography. We stand with our President in his determination to solve the problem. |
| 1984 | R | D | R | We commend the President for the bold initiatives of his “New Federalism.” The enacted block grants discussed elsewhere in this Platform are a positive step. But the job of making government more accountable to the people has just begun. We strongly favor the expansion of block-grant funding and other means to restore our nation’s federal foundation. | |
| 1984 | R | D | R | The Americans coming of age today face a future less secure and less prosperous than their parents did—unless we change course. We have an obligation to our children and to their children. We Democrats have a different vision of our future. | The Republican Party commends President Reagan for accepting the Honorary Chairmanship of the campaign to erect a U.S. Holocaust Memorial in Washington, D.C. and supports the efforts of the U.S. Holocaust Council in erecting such a museum and educational center. The museum will bear witness to the victims and survivors of the Holocaust. |
| 1984 | R | D | R | Press our European allies to increase their contributions to NATO defense to levels of effort comparable to our own—an approach that the Administration undercut by abandoning the NATO-wide agreement concluded by its Democratic predecessor—and pursue improved trans-Atlantic economic cooperation and coordination of arms procurement. | |
| 1988 | R | D | D | The restoration of our country’s tradition of democratic capitalism has ushered in a new age of optimistic expansion. Based on free enterprise, free markets, and limited government, that tradition regards people as a resource, not a problem. And it works. |
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| 1988 | R | D | D | The family’s most important function is to raise the next generation of Americans, handing on to them the Judeo- Christian values of Western civilization and our ideals of liberty. |
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| 1988 | R | D | D | Republicans are determined to cut through red tape to facilitate the adoption process for those who can offer strong family life based on traditional values. |
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| 1988 | R | D | D | America’s children deserve to be free from pornography. We applaud Republicans in the 100th Congress who took the lead to ban interstate dial-a-porn. |
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| 1988 | R | D | D | We will vigorously fight against AIDS, recognizing that the enemy is one of the deadliest diseases to challenge medical research. Continued research on the virus is vital. We will continue as well to provide experimental drugs that may prolong life. We will establish within the Food and Drug Administration a process for expedited review of drugs which may benefit AIDS patients. We will allow supervised usage of experimental treatments. |
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| 1988 | R | D | D | Homelessness demonstrates the failure of liberalism. It is the result of Democrat policies in the 1960s and 1970s that disrupted mental health care, family stability, low-cost housing, and the authority of towns and cities to deal with people in need. |
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| 1988 | R | D | D | We will protect the Pledge of Allegiance in all schools as a reminder of the values which must be at the core of learning for a free society. |
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| 1988 | R | D | D | Republicans know that free nations are peace loving and do not threaten other democracies. To the extent, therefore, that democracies are established in the world, America will be safer. Consequently, our nation has a compelling interest to encourage and help actively to build the conditions of democracy wherever people strive for freedom. |
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| 1988 | R | D | D | The Soviet retreat from Afghanistan is not the result of luck or the need of the Kremlin to save a few rubles. It is a direct result of a Republican policy known as the Reagan Doctrine: our determination to provide meaningful aid to people who would rather die on their feet than live on their knees under the yoke of Soviet-supported oppression. Support for freedom- fighters, coupled with an openness to negotiate, will be the model for our resistance to Marxist expansionism elsewhere. | |
| 1988 | R | D | D | American aid and European industriousness have restored West Europe to a position of global strength. In accord with this, the Republican Party believes that all members of NATO should bear their fair share of the defense burden. |
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| 1988 | R | D | D | We believe men and women veterans have earned the right to be heard at the highest levels of government. With the personal support of President Reagan, America’s veterans will now have a seat in the president’s Cabinet. |
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| 1992 | R | D | D | We believe in the Constitution and its guarantee of color-blind equal opportunity. We believe in free markets. We believe in constructive change, in both true conservatism and true reform. We believe government has a legitimate role to play in our national life, but government must never dominate that life. |
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| 1992 | R | D | D | We favor a third way beyond the old approaches—to put government back on the side of citizens who play by the rules. We believe that by what it says and how it conducts its business, government must once again make responsibility an instrument of national purpose. | This is the ultimate agenda of contemporary socialism under all its masks: to liberate youth from traditional family values by replacing family functions with bureaucratic social services. That is why today’s liberal Democrats are hostile toward any institution government cannot control, like private childcare or religious schools. |
| 1992 | R | D | D | Elements within the media, the entertainment industry, academia, and the Democrat Party are waging a guerrilla war against American values. They deny personal responsibility, disparage traditional morality, denigrate religion, and promote hostility toward the family’s way of life. | |
| 1992 | R | D | D | We also stand united with those private organizations, such as the Boy Scouts of America, who are defending decency in fulfillment of their own moral responsibilities. We reject the irresponsible position of those corporations that have cut off contributions to such organizations because of their courageous stand for family values. Moreover, we oppose efforts by the Democrat Party to include sexual preference as a protected minority receiving preferential status under civil rights statutes at the federal, State, and local level. . . We oppose any legislation or law which legally recognizes same- sex marriages and allows such couples to adopt children or provide foster care. |
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| 1992 | R | D | D | Explosive population growth must be controlled by working closely with other industrialized and developing nations and private organizations to fund greater family planning efforts. | We must recognize that the time has come for a national crusade against pornography. . . we propose a computerized federal registry to track persons convicted of molesting children. |
| 1992 | R | D | D | We support the Fairness Rule, to allow the winning party to a lawsuit to recover the costs of litigation from the losing party. This will discourage needless suits, freeing legal resources for people with genuine cases. |
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| 1992 | R | D | D | We oppose any attempt to impose a carbon tax as proposed by liberal Democrats. . . We endorse major national projects, like the Super Conducting Super Collider, which offer the promise of developing more efficient ways to store, transport, and use energy. |
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| 1992 | R | D | D | That is why Republicans want America to shape the international future: Because we put America first. |
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| 1992 | R | D | D | The President charted a path that wrecked Saddam Hussein’s dreams of conquest and nuclear aggression while keeping America from the quagmire of indefinite military occupation of Iraq. |
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| 1992 | R | D | D | Unlike the Democrat Party and its candidate, we support the continued exclusion of homosexuals from the military as a matter of good order and discipline. |
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| 1992 | R | D | D | The test of international leadership is on the field, not in a playbook. The Oval Office is no place for on-the-job training—not in carrying out the Presidential duty to protect and defend our Nation, not in managing the arsenal of the supreme nuclear power. There are those who talk and those who perform. George Bush has clearly performed for America, making the right calls in a series of tough decisions that helped transform the world. |
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| 1996 | D | R | R | Today’s Democratic Party knows that the private sector is the engine of economic growth, and we fought to put America’s economic house in order so private business could prosper. | Our formula for growth, opportunity, and a better family life is simple: Trust the people, cut their taxes, scale back the size and scope of government, foster job creation, and get out of the way. We’ve done it before, we can do it again. |
| 1996 | D | R | R | Our goal is to empower the American people by using the benefits of advanced science to improve their quality of life without undue restraint from government. Our bottom line is more jobs, better jobs, and a higher standard of living for the families of America. |
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| 1996 | D | R | R | we support elimination of the Departments of Commerce, Housing and Urban Development, Education, and Energy, and the elimination, defunding or privatization of agencies which are obsolete, redundant, of limited value, or too regional in focus. |
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| 1996 | D | R | R | As we approach the start of a new century, the Republican Party is more dedicated than ever to strengthening the social, cultural, and political ties that bind us together as a free people, the greatest force for good the world has ever seen. While our party remains steadfast in its commitment to advancing its historic principles and ideals, we also recognize that members of our party have deeply held and sometimes differing views. We view this diversity of views as a source of strength, not as a sign of weakness, and we welcome into our ranks all Americans who may hold differing positions. | |
| 1996 | D | R | R | Americans should not have to tolerate the decline of ethical standards and the collapse of behavioral norms. Most important, they should not have to doubt the truthfulness of their elected leaders. |
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| 1996 | D | R | R | We support vigilant efforts, in cooperation with the Republic of Korea, Japan, and others, to ensure North Korea fully abides by its agreements to dismantle its nuclear program, and we support the Administration’s vigorous efforts to prevent Iraq, Iran, and other dangerous states from acquiring or developing weapons of mass destruction. | Foremost among those is the flag. Its deliberate desecration is not “free speech,” but an assault against our history and our hopes. We support a constitutional amendment that will restore to the people, through their elected representatives, their right to safeguard Old Glory. We condemn Bill Clinton’s refusal, once again, to protect and preserve the most precious symbol of our Republic. |
| 1996 | D | R | R | We support the official recognition of English as the nation’s common language. |
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| 1996 | D | R | R | We are committed to preserving the planet’s biodiversity, repairing the depleted ozone layer, and working with other nations to stabilize population growth. | Only Republican resolve can prepare our nation to deal with the four deadly threats facing us in the early years of the 21st Century: violent crime, drugs, terrorism, and international organized crime. Those perils are interlocked – and all are escalating. This is no time for excuses. It’s time for a change. |
| 1996 | D | R | R | To reinforce our American heritage, we believe our nation’s Governors, State legislators, and local school boards should support requiring our public schools to dedicate one full day each year solely to studying the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. |
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| 1996 | D | R | R | We oppose Bill Clinton’s assault on the culture and traditions of the Armed Forces, especially his attempt to lift the ban on homosexuals in the military. We affirm that homosexuality is incompatible with military service. |
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| 1996 | D | R | R | We will not tolerate sexual harassment or misconduct toward anyone in the uniform, but we oppose politically motivated witch-hunts that smear the innocent and destroy honorable careers. To promote the dignity of all members of the Armed Forces and their families, we endorse the efforts of congressional Republicans to halt the sale, in military facilities, of pornographic materials. |
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| 1996 | D | R | R | The U.S. Constitution, the finest document for human governance ever devised, establishes the mission of providing for the common defense as a chief purpose of the federal government, in order to secure the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity. |
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| 2000 | D | R | R | We recommit ourselves to the values that strengthen our culture and sustain our nation: family, faith, personal responsibility, and a belief in the dignity of every human life. | |
| 2000 | D | R | R | Our common civic culture – one grounded in the values most Americans share: work, family, personal responsibility, individual liberty, and faith – ties us together. | To all Americans, particularly immigrants and minorities, we send a clear message: this is the party of freedom and progress, and it is your home. |
| 2000 | D | R | R | Globalization is transforming the international order that defined the 20th century. Today, for both good and ill, our destiny and the destinies of billions of people around the world are increasingly intertwined, and our domestic and international challenges are bound together as never before. | Inspired by Presidents Reagan and Bush, Republicans hammered into place the framework for today’s prosperity and surpluses. We cut tax rates, simplified the tax code, deregulated industries, and opened world markets to American enterprise. The result was the tremendous growth in the 1980s that created the venture capital to launch the technology revolution of the 1990s. |
| 2000 | D | R | R | But today America also faces a new set of international issues. Technology’s unprecedented power means that lawlessness, diseases, and ecological disruptions – which once were localized – now land on America’s doorstep even as they also threaten the stability and security of nations all over the world. | The innovation at the heart of our New Economy has become the greatest force for change all over the world. With information technology, people in bondage can taste freedom, and people in freedom can bond more securely with each other. People who used to work for others are now independent entrepreneurs. And citizens are drilling through layers of entrenched bureaucracy to directly access information and transact business. |
| 2000 | D | R | R | Its deliberate desecration is not “free speech” but an assault against both our proud history and our greatest hopes. We therefore support a constitutional amendment that will restore to the people, through their elected representatives, their right to safeguard Old Glory. |
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| 2000 | D | R | R | We support the recognition of English as the nation’s common language. |
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| 2000 | D | R | R | Therefore, in our effort to shift power from Washington back to the states, we must acknowledge as a general matter of course that the federal government’s role should be to set high standards and expectations in policies, then get out of the way and let the states implement and operate those policies as they best know how. |
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| 2000 | D | R | R | The Republican party is committed to democracy in Burma, and to Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and other democratic leaders whose election in 1990 was brutally suppressed and who have been arrested and imprisoned for their belief in freedom and democracy. We share with her the view that the basic principles of human freedom and dignity are universal. We are committed to working with our allies in Europe and Asia to maintain a firm and resolute opposition to the military junta in Rangoon. |
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| 2000 | D | R | R | A new Republican government will work closely with our international partners and the private sector to conceive and implement a viable strategy for reducing America’s vulnerability to the spectrum of cyber threats, from the adolescent hacker launching a contagious computer virus to the most advanced threat of strategic information warfare. |
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| 2004 | R | R | R | To protect our people, President Bush is leading America, staying on the offensive against threats within our own country. He worked with Congress to establish the Department of Homeland Security in the most significant reorganization of the federal government since 1947. |
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| 2004 | R | R | R | Democracy will not blossom overnight, but America should speed its growth by sustaining the forces of democracy against repressive regimes and by rewarding governments that work toward this end. | We will extend the peace by supporting the rise of democracy, and the hope and progress that democracy brings, as the alternative to hatred and terror in the broader Middle East. In democratic societies, men and women do not swear allegiance to malcontents and murderers; they turn their hearts and labor to building better lives. Democratic governments do not shelter terrorist camps or attack their neighbors. When justice and democracy advance, so does the hope of lasting peace. |
| 2004 | R | R | R | Today, because America and our coalition helped to end the violent regime of Saddam Hussein, and because we are helping to raise a peaceful democracy in its place, 25 million Iraqis are free and the American people are safer. . . As Republicans, we do not equivocate, as others have done, about whether America should have gone to war in Iraq. The best intelligence available at the time indicated that Saddam Hussein was a threat. On that point, President Bush, members of both parties in Congress, and the United Nations agreed. While the stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction we expected to find in Iraq have not yet materialized, we have confirmed that Saddam Hussein had the capability to reconstitute his weapons programs and the desire to do so. Our nation did the right thing, and the American people are now safer because we and our allies ended the brutal dictatorship of Saddam Hussein, halting his decades-long pursuit of chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons. President Bush had a choice to make: Trust a madman or defend America. He chose defending America. | |
| 2004 | R | R | R | And a strong global public health system is essential to effectively combating bio-terror threats. Our global health policy will bring the best of our scientific knowledge, financial resources, management skills, and compassion to the challenge of improving health conditions around the world. And we will restore America’s leadership in global health by rejecting policies driven by ideology instead of science. | |
| 2004 | R | R | R | We have made some progress since the terrible attacks of September 11th. We have taken steps to secure our airports. After resisting Democratic efforts for months, the Administration finally agreed to create the Department of Homeland Security. | We agree with President Bush that the United States must use this moment of opportunity to extend the benefits of freedom across the globe – by actively working to bring the hope of democracy, development, free markets, and free trade to every corner of the world. |
| 2004 | R | R | R | When states are the thrust into a fiscal crisis due to a national economic downturn, we should support Federal fiscal relief to states as an effective tool to jumpstart growth and job creation, and to prevent harmful tuition and tax increases, as well as painful cuts to vital education, health, homeland security, and other critical services; and to prevent underfunded mandates. | The Republican Party is committed to democracy in Burma, and to Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and other democratic leaders whose election in 1990 was brutally suppressed and who have been arrested and imprisoned for their belief in freedom and democracy. Republicans share with her the view that the basic principles of human freedom and dignity are universal. We are committed to working with our allies in Europe and Asia to maintain a firm and resolute opposition to the military junta in Rangoon. |
| 2004 | R | R | R | President Bush and the Republicans in Congress have ignored the middle class since day one of this Administration. They have catered to the wealth of the richest instead of honoring the work of the rest of us. They have promised almost everything and paid for almost nothing. | President Bush is forging a new relationship with Russia based on the central reality that the United States and Russia are no longer strategic adversaries. |
| 2004 | R | R | R | We will offer these Americans a ladder to the middle class. That means raising the minimum wage to $7.00, increasing the Earned Income Tax Credit and extending child credits so that parents who work full-time don’t have to raise their children in poverty. | It is important to reaffirm that the war we wage against terrorists is not a battle of faiths. As the home to millions of Muslim believers, America welcomes the valuable role of Muslim leaders in promoting peace. We recognize that acts of violence against innocents violate the fundamental tenets of the Islamic faith. |
| 2004 | R | R | R | Despite enduring the after-effects of the stock market’s irrational exuberance in the late 1990s, terrorist attacks on our nation, and corporate scandals that bubbled to the surface after years of inattention, the U.S. economy has now grown for 33 straight months. And unlike four years ago, there are no signs of an end to the current economic growth. | |
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| 2008 | R | D | D | Republican leadership has made religious liberty a central element of U.S. foreign policy. |
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| 2008 | R | D | R | Our manufacturing communities need immediate relief. And we will help states and localities whose budgets are strained in times of need. We will modernize and expand Trade Adjustment Assistance. | |
| 2008 | R | D | D | We will encourage diversity in the ownership of broadcast media, promote the development of new media outlets for expression of diverse viewpoints, and clarify the public interest obligations of broadcasters who occupy the nation’s spectrum. | That is why Republicans advocate lower taxes, reasonable regulation, and smaller, smarter government. That agenda translates to more opportunity for more people. |
| 2008 | R | D | D | Because extremely poor societies and weak states provide optimal breeding grounds for terrorism, disease, and conflict, the United States has a direct national security interest in dramatically reducing global poverty and joining with our allies in sharing more of our riches to help those most in need. | The simple step of modernizing record-keeping will mean faster, more accurate treatment, fewer medical errors, and lower costs. |
| 2008 | R | D | D | We support freedom of speech and freedom of the press and oppose attempts to violate or weaken those rights, such as reinstatement of the so-called Fairness Doctrine. |
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| 2012 | D | R | D | We are the party of the Constitution, the solemn compact which confirms our God-given individual rights and assures that all Americans stand equal before the law. Perhaps the greatest political document ever written, it defines the purposes and limits of government and is the blueprint for ordered liberty that makes the U.S. the world’s freest, most stable, and most prosperous nation. Its Constitutional ideals have been emulated around the world, and with them has come unprecedented prosperity for billions of people. |
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| 2012 | D | R | D | We want to cut tax breaks for companies that are shipping jobs overseas and for special interests, and instead offer tax breaks to companies that are investing right here in the United States of America, betting on American workers who are making American products we sell to the world that are stamped with three proud words: Made in America. . . We Democrats support lowering the corporate tax rate while closing unnecessary loopholes, and lowering rates even further for manufacturers who create good jobs at home. | In a free society, the primary role of government is to protect the God-given, inalienable, inherent rights of its citizens, including the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Merit, ability, aptitude, and results should be the factors that determine advancement in our society. |
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| 2012 | D | R | D | We propose wherever feasible to leave resources where they originate: in the homes and neighborhoods of the taxpayers. We call on the federal government to do a systematic analysis of laws and regulations to eliminate costly bureaucratic mandates on the States and the people. |
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| 2012 | D | R | D | By whatever legislative method is most feasible, Old Glory should be given legal protection against desecration |
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| 2012 | D | R | D | The President’s “reset” policy toward Russia has produced significant cooperation in these areas, as well as in Russian support for the Northern Distribution Network that supplies our troops in Afghanistan. We support establishing permanent, normal trade relations with Russia because it would be good for the U.S. economy, for U.S. businesses, and for U.S. workers if we do. | |
| 2012 | D | R | D | That is why President Obama has worked to methodically strengthen our alliances there, while pressing our allies to bear a greater share of the burden for tackling regional and global challenges. | We call for the private sector to take over airport screening wherever feasible and look toward the development of security systems that can replace the personal violation of frisking. |
| 2012 | D | R | D | For example, in Burma, we successfully employed a combination of sanctions and engagement to encourage the government to open up political space and release political prisoners. Our historic opening to Burma will continue to incentivize a democratic transition, a deeper engagement with the United States, and national reconciliation among Burma’s many different ethnic groups. | We call on State officials to ensure that our public colleges and universities be places of learning and the exchange of ideas, not zones of intellectual intolerance favoring the Left. |
| 2012 | D | R | D | The current Administration’s leaks of classified information have imperiled intelligence assets which are vital to American security. This conduct is contemptible. It betrays our national interest. It compromises our men and women in the field. | |
| 2012 | D | R | D | We give the current President credit for maintaining his predecessor’s quiet determination and planning to bring to justice the man behind the 9/11 attack on America |
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| 2016 | D | R | R | Corporate profits are at near-record highs, but workers have not shared through rising wages. Profit-sharing is linked to higher pay and productivity. That is why, working with business, labor, and other stakeholders, we will incentivize companies to share profits with their employees on top of wages and pay increases, while targeting the workers and businesses that need profit-sharing the most. | |
| 2016 | D | R | R | Democrats in Congress have enabled, supported, and defended each of these breaches. They have applauded the President’s efforts to do an end-run around Congress and stymied Republican efforts to restrain executive lawlessness. | |
| 2016 | D | R | R | We affirm that all legislation, regulation, and official actions must conform to the Constitution’s original meaning as understood at the time the language was adopted. |
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| 2016 | D | R | R | We reaffirm our commitment to eliminate poverty. Democrats will develop a national strategy, coordinated across all levels of government, to combat poverty. We will direct more federal resources to lifting up communities that have been left out and left behind, such as the 10-20-30 model, which directs 10 percent of program funds to communities where at least 20 percent of the population has been living below the poverty line for 30 years or more. | Our most urgent task as a Party is to restore the American people’s faith in their government by electing a president who will enforce duly enacted laws, honor constitutional limits on executive authority, and return credibility to the Oval Office. We need a Republican president who will end abuses of power by departments and agencies, like the IRS and the EPA, and by the White House itself. Safeguarding our liberties requires a president who will respect the Constitution’s separation of powers, including the authority of Congress to write legislation and define agency authority. |
| 2016 | D | R | R | We condemn the Supreme Court’s ruling in United States v. Windsor , which wrongly removed the ability of Congress to define marriage policy in federal law. . . We, therefore, support the appointment of justices and judges who respect the constitutional limits on their power and respect the authority of the states to decide such fundamental social questions. |
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| 2016 | D | R | R | We likewise call for an end to the so-called Fairness Doctrine, and support free-market approaches to free speech unregulated by government. |
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| 2016 | D | R | R | Yet Donald Trump praises North Korea’s dictator; threatens to abandon our treaty allies, Japan and South Korea; and encourages the proliferation of nuclear weapons in the region. This approach is incoherent and rather than solving a global crisis, would create a new one. Democrats will protect America and our allies, press China to restrain North Korea, and sharpen the choices for Pyongyang to compel it to abandon its illegal nuclear and missile programs. | Big government undermines federalism through more than 1,100 grants-in-aid programs that consume more than one- sixth of the federal budget for matters that should be the exclusive responsibility of the states. Through these programs, money originating from state taxpayers is returned to the states, usually greatly reduced, with myriad strings attached. These grants turn state and local elected officials into agents of the federal government. |
| 2016 | D | R | R | While the Republican Party refuses to fund important measures that could contain and address the Zika pandemic, Democrats are ready to limit the reach of Zika—just as we did with Ebola—and support funding for diagnostic tests for the virus, vaccine, and treatment. We will also prepare for potential pandemics, like avian influenza and H1N1, by working with first responders and health officials to reduce the risks associated with unintentional or deliberate outbreaks of infectious diseases. | We support maintaining and, if warranted, increasing sanctions, together with our allies, against Russia unless and until Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity are fully restored. We also support providing appropriate assistance to the armed forces of Ukraine and greater coordination with NATO defense planning. . . We will not accept any territorial change in Eastern Europe imposed by force, in Ukraine, Georgia, or elsewhere, and will use all appropriate constitutional measures to bring to justice the practitioners of aggression and assassination. |
| 2016 | D | R | R | The United States will continue to demand the complete, verifiable, and irreversible dismantlement of North Korea’s nuclear weapons program with full accounting of its proliferation activities. We also pledge to counter any threats from the North Korean regime. |
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| 2016 | D | R | R | We congratulate the people of Burma on their emergence from authoritarian rule and urge their respect for the rights of their country’s minority populations. |
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| 2016 | D | R | R | With the American people spending on defense, per capita, four times the amount spent by Europeans, we demand, as we have in the past, that our fellow members of NATO fulfill their commitments and meet their need for greater investment in their armed forces. |
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| 2020 | R | D | R | Make no mistake: President Trump’s abject failure to respond forcefully and capably to the COVID-19 pandemic—his failure to lead—makes him responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of Americans. . . Democrats will save lives by using every available tool to beat back this pandemic, which continues to sicken and kill hundreds of Americans per day, and lead a global effort to prevent, detect, and respond to future pandemic threats. | |
| 2020 | R | D | R | We will support the 10-20-30 funding approach, to direct at least 10 percent of federal funding to communities where 20 percent or more of the population has been living below the poverty line for 30 years or longer. Directing more federal investment to the communities most in need will help create jobs; improve and expand housing; modernize and expand transportation, clean water, wastewater, energy, and broadband infrastructure; and promote shared prosperity. | |
| 2020 | R | D | R | And we will support federal and state legislative efforts to make “revenge porn” and other unauthorized disclosures of intimate images a civil and criminal offense. | |
| 2020 | R | D | R | President Trump promised he would put “America First”—but Trump’s America stands alone. Under his leadership, America’s reputation and influence are in tatters. Our country is less safe, our economy more fragile, and our democracy, values, and unity endangered. | |
| 2020 | R | D | R | We will revitalize and expand the Obama-Biden Administration’s Global Health Security Agenda, and we will immediately restore the White House National Security Council Directorate for Global Health Security and Biodefense. | |
| 2020 | R | D | R | Together with our allies—and through diplomacy with North Korea — we will constrain and contain the threat posed by North Korea’s nuclear program and its regional belligerence. We will build a sustained, coordinated diplomatic campaign to advance the longer-term goal of denuclearization. | |
| 2024 | D | R | D | No one should be in jail just for using or possessing marijuana. Sending people to prison for possession has upended too many lives and incarcerated people for conduct that many states no longer prohibit. Those criminal records impose needless barriers to employment, housing, and educational opportunities, disproportionately affecting Black and brown people. | Like the Heroes who built and defended this Nation before us, we will never give up. We will restore our Nation of, by, and for the People. We will Make America Great Again. |
| 2024 | D | R | D | Democrats will end state-level use of private prisons and detention centers, and we will restrict state and local practices like solitary confinement, chokeholds, and restraints on pregnant inmates. We will guarantee access to medical care in prison and will eliminate profiteering from diversion, bail, electronic monitoring, commissaries, and reentry programs. | Republicans will end Democrats’ unlawful and unAmerican Crypto crackdown and oppose the creation of a Central Bank Digital Currency. We will defend the right to mine Bitcoin, and ensure every American has the right to self-custody of their Digital Assets, and transact free from Government Surveillance and Control. |
| 2024 | D | R | D | President Biden signed the Electoral Count Reform Act to preserve the will of the people and to protect against the type of attempts to overturn our elections that led to the January 6 insurrection. | We will repeal Joe Biden’s dangerous Executive Order that hinders AI Innovation, and imposes Radical Leftwing ideas on the development of this technology. In its place, Republicans support AI Development rooted in Free Speech and Human Flourishing. |
| 2024 | D | R | D | President Biden has been a strong and unequivocal voice speaking out against rising antisemitism in America. The Administration released the first-ever National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism, outlining a whole-of-society effort, including unprecedented, coordinated, and bold actions across government agencies, and calls to action for Congress, state and local governments, companies, technology platforms, and others. | Republicans condemn antisemitism, and support revoking Visas of Foreign Nationals who support terrorism and jihadism. We will hold accountable those who perpetrate violence against Jewish people. |
| 2024 | D | R | D | And, the Administration has strengthened legal protections for survivors and victims of non-consensual intimate imagery, including those generated by AI, building on the federal civil cause of action established under the Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization of 2022. | Republicans celebrate our Great American Heroes and are proud that the Story of America makes everyone free. We will organize a National Celebration to mark the 250th Anniversary of the Founding of the United States of America. |
| 2024 | D | R | D | We must also fundamentally reform Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which shields tech platforms from liability even when they host or disseminate violent or illegal content, to ensure that platforms take responsibility for the content they share. | We will keep men out of women’s sports, ban Taxpayer funding for sex change surgeries, and stop Taxpayer-funded Schools from promoting gender transition, reverse Biden’s radical rewrite of Title IX Education Regulations, and restore protections for women and girls. |
| 2024 | D | R | D | We need to act now and act fast to realize the promise of AI and manage its risks to ensure that AI serves the public interest. Democrats are finding solutions to make sure that as AI’s capabilities grow, we can manage the implications for Americans’ rights, safety and security. | We will implement measures to secure our Elections, including Voter ID, highly sophisticated paper ballots, proof of Citizenship, and same day Voting. We will not allow the Democrats to give Voting Rights to illegal Aliens. |
| 2024 | D | R | D | When Vladimir Putin launched his reckless war of aggression against Ukraine, he sought to shake the very foundations of the free world. He thought he could roll into Ukraine and that Ukraine and the world would roll over. He was wrong. Instead, he met the determination of the Ukrainian people. He also enhanced the resolve of NATO, the greatest military alliance in the history of the world, led by the United States. Under President Biden’s leadership, the United States has been steadfast in standing alongside our European allies to defend principles of sovereignty, deter further Russian aggression, protect our shared values, and make critical investments to ensure the security of the United States and our transatlantic allies in the years to come. | |
| 2024 | D | R | D | President Biden has also been willing to lead where other Presidents have not, becoming the first President to recognize the Armenian genocide. |