Washington,
DC- August 21, 2012 – FreedomWorks, a grassroots service center serving
more than 2 million members of the conservative movement, today
announced that the Republican Platform Committee has adopted 11.5 of
the 12 proposals outlined in the “Freedom Platform,” the grassroots
conservative platform released earlier this month by
FreedomWorks-supported activists.
“FreedomWorks applauds the
GOP for demonstrating a commitment to conservative philosophy,
accountability, and the kind of bold reforms our country needs,” said
Matt Kibbe, president and CEO of FreedomWorks. “The 2012 GOP platform
isn’t perfect, but the inclusion of 95 percent of the Freedom Platform
is sure to create enthusiasm among the limited government conservative
base come November.”
The innovative Freedom Platform was
developed through crowd sourcing and face-to-face meetings with
conservative activists around the United States. In June and July 2012,
more than 1.2 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, produced an agenda truly reflective of grassroots opinion.
Most
of the Freedom Platform’s 12 planks are being included in the 2012 GOP
platform, which will guide the Republican Party for the campaign and
the legislative years that follow. The original 12 proposals were:
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 should forever put to rest the ridiculous notion that
the Tea Party is incapable of engaging in the political arena without
compromising its principles,” said Kibbe. “The Freedom Platform’s
concise, articulate and fundamentally conservative proposal was
well-received by the RNC’s platform committee, and multiple people very
familiar with the process called it ‘a primer for other organizations
to follow.’”
Copies of the Freedom Platform were delivered to
RNC platform committee members ahead of its meetings, and 12 Freedom
Platform commissioners representing a broad cross-section of the
conservative grassroots, including members from important swing states
such as Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania, followed up with platform
committee members as they drafted the 2012 Republican Platform. The
final document will be unveiled at the RNC Convention in Tampa, Fla.,
Aug. 27-30.
The GOP’s official platform includes clear,
specific language rejecting Cap and Trade, endorsing a strong Balanced
Budget Amendment coupled with a two-thirds majority to raise taxes, and
committing to an annual audit of the Federal Reserve as “the first step
to achieving transparency.” The platform endorses full repeal of
Obamacare and a solid list of patient-centered health care reforms
including Health Savings Accounts interstate purchase of health
insurance, and equalized tax treatment of group and individual
insurance. Major reforms of Medicare and Medicaid are also included.
The
platform committee also included support for a “flatter” tax to the tax
reform section, softening the Freedom Platform’s language calling for a
completely Flat Tax. “Our online survey told us the grassroots want a
single-rate tax system,” FreedomWorks Vice President Dean Clancy
commented. “With the addition of the word ‘flatter,’ the GOP platform
opens the door to a Flat Tax.”
The only element of the Freedom
Platform not adopted was the proposal to “Eliminate the Department of
Education.” Clancy explained: “We did not secure approval for
‘Eliminate the Department of Education’ – which, to be honest, was
always the plank we regarded as most difficult to achieve. But the
document’s education section does contain good language on the need for
local control and a very strong endorsement of school choice, including
vouchers. So we rate this section as a partial victory.”