PRESS RELEASE from FreedomWorks
August 13, 2012
FreedomWorks Presents
‘Freedom Platform’ For Adoption at 2012 GOP Convention
Tea party
activists petition Republicans to include ‘12 for ’12’ key policy
issues into party platform.
Washington, DC- FreedomWorks, a grassroots service
center serving more than 2 million members of the conservative
movement, today released the Freedom Platform, a crowd-source proposal
outlining 12 of the boldest, most important solutions for the nation in
2012. Grassroots activists from around the United States will petition
the Republican National Convention platform committees to include the
Freedom Platform in the GOP’s official 2012 platform.
“The
conservative grassroots movement has shown in recent years that they
are a force to be reckoned with,” said Matt Kibbe, president and CEO of
FreedomWorks. “In order to earn their support, Republicans will have to
demonstrate a strong commitment to conservative philosophy,
accountability, and the kind of bold reforms needed to save America.
Incorporating the Freedom Platform into the 2012 Republican Platform is
a great place to start.”
The Freedom Platform presents the 12
boldest, most important solutions for the nation in 2012 as judged by
the conservative grassroots through crowd sourcing and face-to-face
meetings. In June and July 2012, more than 1 million votes were cast at
www.my2012platform.com,
where
voters
were asked to choose between randomly selected pairings
from an extensive list of policy proposals. The survey’s special
technique, combined with input from on-the-ground activists across the
country, has produced an agenda that is truly reflective of grassroots
opinion.
“The 12 proposals in the Freedom Platform cover four
broad policy categories – health care, energy, taxes and spending, and
size of government – but are unified by common themes of smaller,
constitutionally limited government and more freedom,” said Russ
Walker, vice president of political and grassroots campaigns for
FreedomWorks. “These 12 proposals are sure to generate high levels of
enthusiasm from the conservative base in November.”
The “12 for ‘12” are:
1) Repeal Obamacare; Pursue
Patient-Centered Care
2) Stop the Tax Hikes
3) Reverse Obama’s Spending Increases
4) Scrap the Code; Replace It with a Flat
Tax
5) Pass a Balanced Budget Amendment
6) Reject Cap and Trade
7) Rein in the EPA
8) Unleash America’s Vast Energy Potential
9) Eliminate the Department of Education
10) Reduce the Bloated Federal Workforce
11) Curtail Excessive Federal Regulation
12) Audit the Fed
The
Freedom Platform’s commissioners, who are charged with promoting the
document among members of the RNC’s platform committees, represent a
broad cross-section of the conservative grassroots, including members
from important swing states such as Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania, as
well as states that have already felt the impact of the Tea Party in
the 2012 election cycle, including Indiana, Texas and Utah. The
commissioners are:
- Gena Bell,
Hills Community Tea Party and Our Turning Point, Ohio
- Konni Burton,
NE Tarrant Tea Party, Texas
- Ken Clark,
Loveland 9/12, Gang of 12, Colorado Liberty Group Leadership Coalition,
Colorado
- Vicki Dooling,
Las Vegas Valley Tea Party, Nevada
- Donna Driskell,
FreedomWorks, Georgia
- Laura Freed,
Bucks County Kitchen Table Patriots, Pennsylvania
- Dan Hauser,
FreedomWorks, Utah
- Joyce Krawiec,
FreedomWorks, North Carolina
- John Kuzmanich,
Oregon Tea Party
- Kristin Minor,
America Refocused, Indiana
- Debbie Wilson,
Tampa Tea Party and Tampa 9-12, Florida
- Tom Zawitowski,
Ohio Liberty Coalition, Ohio
“In
this crucial year, the Republican Party needs a bold platform that will
offer a real, fundamental alternative to President Obama’s liberal
agenda,” said Freedom Platform Commissioner Laura Freed of the Bucks
County (Pennsylvania) Kitchen Table Patriots. “The Freedom Platform
offers a bold limited government conservative vision and offers
commonsense reforms that most Americans will support.”
Freedom
Platform Commissioner Dan Hauser, who represents FreedomWorks in Ohio,
added, “The Tea Party movement grew because both political parties
failed to listen to the people and their demands for real policy change
in Washington, D.C. Our economy is crumbling and very little is being
done to effect lasting, pro-free market change. The Freedom Platform is
the next step for conservatives to save our economy and have our voices
heard.”
Copies of the Freedom Platform will be delivered to
RNC platform committee members ahead of its meetings to develop the
2012 Republican Platform, the document that guides the party’s policy
efforts for the campaign and the legislative years that follow. Freedom
Platform Commissioners will follow up directly with committee members
to discuss the merits of the “12 for ‘12” plan and urge them to include
the Freedom Platform in the official 2012 Republican Platform, which
will be unveiled at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla.,
Aug. 27-30.
About FreedomWorks
FreedomWorks
is a grassroots service center serving more than 2 million activists
nationwide, committed to advancing the principles of lower taxes, less
government, and more economic freedom.