As President Obama thunders ahead with his liberal agenda, unencumbered by any significant opposition in either chamber of Congress, the focus for the Right has been on how to re-invent the Republican Party so as to be competitive in the 2010 and 2012 election cycles. This renewed and urgent focus is more akin to a meeting of rival mafia families, each faction unwilling to cede influence, power, control or status to another, than it is a quorum of individuals dedicated to true and original Republican principles. In light of this it is appropriate to revisit the founding platform of the party.
In the immediate aftermath of the inaugural 1856 Republican Convention in Jackson, Michigan (the party was founded in Ripon, WI, in 1854), the Republican Party declared as their founding platform commitments and allegiances to:
The Charters of Freedom and States’ Rights
An anti-slavery doctrine including support of the Missouri Compromise
The Right to Bear Arms
The right to a speedy and public trial by a jury of one’s peers
Protection from unreasonable search and seizure
Due process
The First Amendment Right to Free Speech
Further, it was resolved that:
Kansas be admitted as a state immediately with her Free Constitution intact
A railroad reaching the Pacific Ocean be completed by the federal government
Maintenance and improvements to the river ways and harbors be conducted by the federal government
Frank Salvato also serves as the managing editor for The New Media Journal. His writing has been recognized by the US House International Relations Committee and the Japan Center for Conflict Prevention.
