Tyranny: What Does the G.O.P. Stand for? Will You Stand Up for the G.O.P.?

2016 Republican Presidential Candidates

Tyranny Must Be Resisted

Definitions

Tyranny:

The government or authority of a tyrant; a country governed by an absolute ruler; hence, arbitrary or despotic exercise of power; exercise of power over subjects and others with a rigor not authorized by law or justice, or not requisite for the purposes of government.
Cruel government or discipline.

Resist:

To stand against; to withstand; to obstruct.
To strive against; to endeavor to counteract, defeat, or frustrate; to act in opposition to; to oppose.
To counteract, as a force, by inertia or reaction.
To make opposition.

Constitutional Quotes

Amendment IX - The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

Amendment X - The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

Article of Confederation II - Each state retains its sovereignty, freedom, and independence, and every power, jurisdiction, and right, which is not by this Confederation expressly delegated to the United States, in Congress assembled.
Article of Confederation III - The said States hereby severally enter into a firm league of friendship with each other, for their common defense, the security of their liberties, and their mutual and general welfare, binding themselves to assist each other, against all force offered to, or attacks made upon them, or any of them, on account of religion, sovereignty, trade, or any other pretense whatever.

Declaration of Independence
- When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
- We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
  - --That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,
  - --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.
  - --Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government.
  - The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States.
  - To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
    - He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
    - He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
    - He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
    - He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
    - He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
    - He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
    - He has endeavored to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
    - He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
    - He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
    - He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.
    - He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
      He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
    - He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
      - For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
      - For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
      - For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
      - For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
      - For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
      - For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
      - For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighboring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
      - For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
      - For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
    - He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
    - He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
    - He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
    - He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
    - He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
- In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
- Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.
- We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

2004 Republican Platform Quotes

Introduction and Preamble
- Every day, we strive to fulfill Lincoln’s vision: a country united and free, in which all people are guaranteed equal rights and the opportunity to pursue their dreams. His legacy goes beyond the borders of America. It can be seen in free governments allover the world.
- Lincoln’s successors have been united by a common purpose – defending freedom at home and promoting it abroad. Today, the Republican Party gathers to re-nominate a man who carries on the best traditions of our Party by carrying the banner of freedom.
Winning the War on Terror
- A Comprehensive Strategy to Win the War on Terror, Promote Peace, and Build a Better World
- Republicans support President Bush's steadfast commitment to the goal of a lasting, democratic peace, in which all nations are free from the threat of sudden terror. We affirm the three commitments of the President's strategy for peace:
  - Three years ago, al Qaeda's secure home base was in Afghanistan, a country ruled by the Taliban, one of the most backward and brutal regimes of modern history.
  - Today, Afghanistan is a world away from the nightmare of the Taliban. Twenty- eight million people are free. That country has a good and just president. Boys and girls are being educated. Women are respected. Many refugees have returned home to rebuild their country, and a presidential election is scheduled for this fall. The terror camps are closed and the Afghan government is helping us to hunt the Taliban and terrorists in remote regions. Today, because we acted to liberate Afghanistan, a threat has been removed, and the American people are safer.
  - Three years ago, Pakistan was one of the few countries in the world that recognized the Taliban regime. Al Qaeda was active and recruiting in Pakistan.
  - Today, because we are working with Pakistani leaders, Pakistan is an ally in the War on Terror, and the American people are safer.
  - Three years ago, terrorists were well-established in Saudi Arabia. Inside that country, fundraisers and other facilitators gave al Qaeda financial and logistical help with little scrutiny or opposition.
  - Today, because Saudi Arabia has seen the danger and has joined the War on Terror, the American people are safer.
  - Three years ago, the ruler of Iraq was a sworn enemy of America who provided safe haven for terrorists, used weapons of mass destruction, and turned his nation into a prison.
  - 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.
  - Three years ago, the nation of Libya, a longtime supporter of terror, was spending millions to acquire chemical and nuclear weapons.
  - Today, because the Libyan government saw the seriousness of the civilized world, and correctly judged its own interests, the American people are safer.
- Consolidating Gains in the War on Terror
  - In Afghanistan and Iraq, our enemies have seen the results of what civilized nations can, and will, do against regimes that harbor, support, and use terrorism to achieve their political goals. Republicans believe that America and the world must keep our commitments to the people of those countries, who are building the world's newest democracies and counting on the world to help. Delivering these nations from tyranny has required sacrifice and loss. We must honor that sacrifice by finishing the great work we have begun.
  - Republicans appreciate the military, financial, and technical assistance provided by the dozens of nations contributing to the reconstruction of Afghanistan and Iraq.
  - 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.
  - We are ever mindful that American troops remain on the ground in Iraq, working steadfastly to help the Iraqi people achieve stability and democracy. We therefore welcome declarations from responsible political leaders of both parties that our nation will persevere in our mission there, not cut and run.
  - We condemn inconsistent, ambiguous, and politically expedient statements on that point. To the extent such wavering encourages our adversaries to fight harder, our men and women in uniform suffer the consequences. Their mission is difficult enough. Uncertainty about America's commitment to that mission makes it immeasurably more difficult.
  - In Iraq, America is serving the cause of liberty, peace, and our own security. America accepted a difficult task in Iraq. We know that for all these reasons, we will finish that task.
- Halting the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction
  - Republicans share President Bush's understanding that in an age in which the enemies of civilization openly and actively seek the world's most destructive technologies, the United States cannot remain idle while dangers gather. We therefore believe that to forestall or prevent hostile acts by our adversaries, the United States must, if necessary, act preemptively.
- Strengthening Alliances to Win the War on Terror, Promote Peace, and Build a Better World
  - Republicans recognize that our progress in the War on Terror has been achieved with the help of other responsible nations.
  - Republicans welcome the enlargement of NATO, which has strengthened history's most successful Alliance. The Atlantic Alliance has widened the circle of its friends, while also creating a new chapter in our relationship with Russia.
- Diplomacy
  - Republicans believe that just as our nation relies on our men and women in uniform to fight and win the War on Terror, we also depend on America's diplomats, who serve in the vanguard of our present struggle. Defeating terrorism requires the United States to:
    - help establish stable and democratic governments in nations such as Afghanistan and Iraq that once supported terrorism;
    - support front-line states and coalition partners;
    - deepen counterterrorism, intelligence, and law enforcement cooperation with allies and friends; and
    - energetically promote democracy, especially in the Broader Middle East.
  - We salute their strong record of achievement during this consequential era of American foreign policy and support the efforts of President Bush and the Republican Congress to provide the Department of State funding sufficient to ensure the continued success of American diplomacy.
- Neighborhood of the Americas
  - Republicans believe that sound American foreign policy starts in our own neighborhood. Family and faith, culture and commerce, are enduring bonds among all the peoples of the Americas. Our nation's future is fundamentally linked to our neighbors in the Western Hemisphere. Republicans share President Bush's vision of the Americas as a fully democratic hemisphere, working together to achieve representative democracy, security, and market-based development. We also applaud his proven track record in advancing trade liberalization in the Americas in order to promote economic development and democratic governance.
  - We praise President Bush's strong record of serious and sustained attention to the American neighborhood and coalition-building with countries such as Mexico, Canada, Brazil, Chile, and Colombia that share our democratic priorities.
  - Republicans applaud Canada's contributions to the War on Terror, not only as a partner in the Americas but as a steadfast transatlantic ally, including in deployments during Operation Enduring Freedom and in the current NATO-led operation in Afghanistan. We also appreciate the continuing participation of El Salvador in the multinational force in Iraq, as well as the past contributions of the Dominican Republic and Honduras in support of the goal of stability and democracy for the Iraqi people.
  - Our Party believes that the United States must continue to support the democracies of South America with strong economic and security assistance.
  - The Castro regime continues to pursue policies of Marxist-Leninist dictatorship, police state tactics, and total economic control. Because of these policies, the Castro regime remains hostile to America's interests and values.
  - As Republicans, we support President Bush's principled position that the current embargo on trade with, and restrictions on travel to, Cuba must remain in place as along as the Cuban government refuses to hold free and fair elections, ease its stranglehold on private enterprise, and allow the Cuban people to organize, assemble, and speak freely. Republicans understand that the Castro regime will not change by its own choice. But Cuba must change. That is why we support President Bush's decision to provide additional resources for:
    - democracy-building activities in Cuba, support for the family members of the political opposition, and support for efforts to help youth, women, and Afro-Cubans take their rightful place in the pro-democracy movement;
    - regular airborne broadcasts to Cuba and the purchase of a dedicated airborne platform for the transmission of Radio and Television Martí into Cuba; and
    - public diplomacy efforts to disseminate information abroad about Castro's record of abusing human rights, harboring terrorists, committing espionage against other countries, and fomenting subversion of democratically elected governments in Latin America.
  - Republicans applaud the work of the President's Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba, which identified measures to help the Cuban people bring to an end the Castro dictatorship and provided a plan for agile, effective, and decisive assistance to the people of Cuba when they have finally achieved freedom and democracy. We support the Commission's recommendations, which include:
    - denying resources and legitimacy to the Castro regime by eliminating abuses of educational travel programs;
    - countering the regime's manipulation of our humanitarian policies by limiting recipients of remittances and gift parcels to immediate family members; and
    - limiting family visits to Cuba to immediate family.
  - Republicans applaud the strong support President Bush has demonstrated for the people of Haiti and agree that it is essential that Haiti have a hopeful future. We support the President's leadership of multilateral efforts to bring order and stability to Haiti and assist the Haitian people in achieving a democratic and constitutional government.
- Africa
  - Under the leadership of President Bush and the Republican Congress, our nation is standing together with leaders in Africa against the tragic violence of civil war and against the merciless terrorists who threaten every nation.
  - Yet those institutions and values are threatened in some parts of Africa by terrorism, chaos, and civil war. To extend liberty in Africa, we must help African leaders who seek to achieve security and peace on the continent.
  - Republicans believe that together with our allies and friends, America must help strengthen Africa's fragile states, help build indigenous capability to secure porous borders, and help build up the law enforcement and intelligence infrastructures to deny havens for terrorists.
  - Working in concert with allies, friends, and international institutions, the Bush Administration has helped achieve progress toward resolving conflicts in Liberia, Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone, and Sudan.
  - We commend the efforts of the President and the Republican Congress to help the people of Darfur, in western Sudan.
  - Republicans deplore the Government of Zimbabwe's refusal to adhere to the rule of law. The Bush Administration has rightly condemned the Government of Zimbabwe's assaults against human rights. We support the President's decision to suspend non- humanitarian aid and impose targeted sanctions on the Zimbabwean regime and its supporters.
  - We will not allow terrorists to threaten African peoples, or to use Africa as a base to threaten the world.
- Across the Pacific
  - North Korea lies outside of the international system. Americans have shed their blood to stop North Korean aggression before and remain prepared to resist aggression today.
  - If China violates these principles and attacks Taiwan, then the United States will respond appropriately in accordance with the Taiwan Relations Act. America will help Taiwan defend itself.
  - The second is continued retribution by the government of Vietnam against its ethnic minorities and others who fought alongside our forces there. The United States owes those individuals a debt of honor and will not be blind to their suffering.
  - 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.
- Europe
  - Republicans applaud President Bush for the visionary agenda he set forth at the beginning of his Administration: the establishment of a Europe whole, free, and at peace. That agenda is in the finest tradition of America's historical commitment to the freedom and security of Europe. It builds on the legacy of the courageous and resolute leadership of Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, through which the Cold War was won.
  - We hail the President's success in achieving unprecedented cooperation with Europe - at NATO, through the European Union, and with individual nations - in combating terrorism and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, building peace and democracy in Afghanistan and Iraq, and advancing the cause of freedom, democracy, and opportunity throughout the broader Middle East and North Africa.
  - Republicans recognize and applaud the fact that especially since September 11, 2001, some of America's strongest allies and friends have been the democracies of Central and Eastern Europe - many of whom inspired the world during the Cold War by assaulting the Iron Curtain again and again until it finally crashed down forever.
  - Republicans hail the participation in the multinational coalition in Iraq of NATO members that joined the Alliance in 1999 and 2004 - Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, and Slovakia - as well as the contributions of Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, Albania, and Macedonia. Through their dedication to the cause of security and freedom in Iraq, these nations - together with the United Kingdom, Italy, the Netherlands, Denmark, Portugal, and Norway - are demonstrating their commitment to the values shared by members of the transatlantic community. We also applaud the contribution of forces in Iraq by Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan and support strengthening NATO's partnerships with these nations and their neighbors in the Caucasus and Central Asia.
- The Broader Middle East and North Africa
  - We know that in this struggle against terrorism free nations have strong allies, of every faith, including millions of people in the Middle East who want to live in freedom. As Republicans, we share the President's conviction that if that region grows in democracy, prosperity, and hope, the terrorist movement will lose its sponsors, lose its recruits, and lose the festering grievances that keep terrorists in business.
  - We believe that terror attacks against Israelis are part of the same evil as the September 11, 2001, attacks against America. We recognize Israel's right to defend itself in the face of homicide bombings and other attacks against the people of Israel.
  - If Palestinians embrace democracy and the rule of law, confront corruption, and firmly reject terror, they can count on American support for the creation of a Palestinian state.
  - In Iran, we continue to see a government that represses its people, pursues weapons of mass destruction, and supports terror. We also see Iranian citizens risking intimidation and death as they speak out for liberty, human rights, and democracy. The Iranian people have a right to choose their own government and determine their own destiny. We also support the President's practice of forming policy toward Iran based on Iranian actions, not words, and applaud his Administration's progress in convincing America's friends and allies, most importantly in Europe, to join us in a firm, common approach to ending Iran's nuclear weapons programs.
Strengthening Our Communities
- Supporting Judges Who Uphold the Law
  - In the federal courts, scores of judges with activist backgrounds in the hard-left now have lifetime tenure. Recent events have made it clear that these judges threaten America's dearest institutions and our very way of life. . In some states, activist judges are redefining the institution of marriage. The Pledge of Allegiance has already been invalidated by the courts once, and the Supreme Court's ruling has left the Pledge in danger of being struck down again - not because the American people have rejected it and the values that it embodies, but because a handful of activist judges threaten to overturn commonsense and tradition. And while the vast majority of Americans support a ban on partial birth abortion, this brutal and violent practice will likely continue by judicial fiat. We believe that the self-proclaimed supremacy of these judicial activists is antithetical to the democratic ideals on which our nation was founded.
  - The sound principle of judicial review has turned into an intolerable presumption of judicial supremacy. A Republican Congress, working with a Republican president, will restore the separation of powers and re-establish a government of law. There are different ways to achieve that goal, such as using Article III of the Constitution to limit federal court jurisdiction; for example, in instances where judges are abusing their power by banning the use of "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance or prohibiting depictions of the Ten Commandments, and potential actions invalidating the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Additionally, we condemn judicial activists and their unwarranted and unconstitutional restrictions on the free exercise of religion in the public square.
Summary and Call to Action
- We fight important battles and champion freedom because by expanding liberty, we make our nation more secure.
- As the Party of Lincoln, we stand for freedom.
- We know that freedom is not America's gift to the world; freedom is the Almighty's gift to every man, woman, and child in the world. And we stand for a hopeful tomorrow that will come from total and complete victory in the War on Terror.
- These are values worthy of a great nation. And they are values worth fighting for. That is exactly what President George W. Bush continues to do. He is protecting us from danger by being prepared, strong, and steadfast. Vigilance is never easy. But it is always essential, now more than ever.

Republican Resistance of Tyranny Values

Administrative Policy Initiatives

Republican Sponsored Legislature

Judicial Cases

Ministry of Defense and Support for Armed Forces of Islamic Republic of Iran v. Elahi, 546 U. S. ___ (2006) (per curiam)

Advocacy Organizations

TBD

Links of Interest

TBD

Related Issues and Relationship

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