(Adopted by the 1980 Maine Republican State Convention)

  1. The Republican Party of the State of Maine offers for public consideration the following Platform. It is the result of suggestions received from individuals, town caucuses, and fifteen hearings throughout the State, as well as the deliberations of Republicans assembled in the 1980 State Convention.
  2. This Platform is conceived with the notion that Republican principles provide for individual freedom, tested within the concept of responsibility for liberty, equal justice, and protection for the rights of all people. We seek these ends through a representative form of government, responsive to the people through participation by all citizens in seeking our common good.

I. FOREIGN POLICY AND DEFENSE

  1. The Republican Party of Maine believes that the American Government should pursue a strong, credible foreign policy and military preparedness to prevent the confrontations that lead to war. At the same time we believe that we should explore new avenues for peace and international understanding without sacrificing vital national interests. We condemn the current Democrat Administration’s policies marked by appeasement through weak and inappropriate responses to Cuban, Soviet, and Soviet-backed aggression, by vacillation that causes doubt and confusion among our allies and unaligned nations, and by unilateral reductions in our military capabilities.
  2. We applaud our Congressional delegation’s role in keeping Loring Air Force Base at full strength. We emphasize the need to maintain Loring and our other defense-related activities for purposes of national security.

II. FISCAL POLICY AND TAXATION

A. INFLATION

  1. All levels of government should be required to keep expenditures within their income. The federal government’s failure to maintain a balanced budget is a major cause of inflation. Reduction in excessive government spending means that people, groups, and state and local governments must limit their demands for federal programs and subsidies.

It is clear that a Democrat Congress and a Democrat President have failed to control inflation. At the conclusion of the last Republican administration, the inflation rate had been reduced to less than five percent; now it is more than fifteen percent.

B. TAXATION

  1. The Republican Party supports limiting spending by federal and state governments to an increase not greater than that of a recognized indicator chosen by the legislatures of both levels of government, such as the consumer price index.
  2. We also call for carefully formulated tax cuts to stimulate economic productivity without fueling inflation, to require reduction in government spending, and to provide tax relief to the overburdened taxpayers of Maine.
  3. We promise efforts to eliminate property tax inequities.
  4. The tree growth tax needs to be revised to ensure that it applies to property appropriate for the productivity aims of the tax.
  5. Recognizing that federal employees do not pay Social Security contributions, that state and municipal employee groups have the option of not paying Social Security contributions, and valuing equal protection before the law as a Constitutional right, we call for voluntary participation in the Social Security System for all Americans.
  6. We support indexing federal income tax rates in order to prevent the increase in federal tax revenues due to movement of taxpayers into higher tax brackets solely because of inflation.
  7. Let the Republican Party of Maine be committed to the abolishment of the Maine Lottery and all types of State operated gambling.
  8. At both the federal and state levels we oppose the use of tax dollars to finance elective abortions, except to save the life of the mother or in cases of rape or incest.
  9. We support the U. S. Constitutional provision in Article I, Section 9, Part 7, which reads in part, “No money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in consequence of appropriations made by law”. Therefore, we condemn the use of raw judicial power to usurp the Constitutional Congressional function of appropriating money such as in a recent decision of a Brooklyn Federal District Court judge requiring the funding of an activity prohibited by federal statute and the laws of several states.

C. FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY

  1. We recommend serious consideration of the recent report concerning changes in the State Retirement Fund.
  2. The Republican Party will continue to combat the Democrat Administration’s deferrals, delays, and band- aid solutions of the State’s fiscal problems. The raising of fees actually constitutes higher taxation in violation of the Governor’s pledge to the people of Maine.
  3. In order to regain the AAA rating for State bonds, we pledge to deauthorize some projects no longer of high priority and to adopt a long-term plan of limiting authorization of new bonds to 90% of those retired.

III. ENERGY, ENVIRONMENT, AND NATURAL RESOURCES

A. ENERGY ALTERNATIVES

  1. We will support any reasonable plan to promote the conservation of energy in our state and country. We particularly must reduce our dependence on imported oil.
  2. We support the planning of and approval for sufficient power generation to meet Maine’s needs. We endorse the construction of the Sears Island coal plant with suitable environmental safeguards.
  3. Private enterprise should develop and reactivate efficient small dam sites as a source of hydroelectric power. However, we oppose the federal government Dickey-Lincoln Power Project because the environmental destruction and economic burden would far outweigh the anticipated benefits.
  4. We recognize the immediate need for nuclear powered energy while respecting the serious safety considerations involved. Nuclear energy must be developed only as economically viable under very strict safeguards. Economically competitive sources should be considered the long term preference. We are opposed to the closing of the Maine Yankee Power Plant and resultant economic loss to the State of Maine.
  5. We support continued research and development, subject to environmental and economic considerations, of alternative renewable energy sources for Maine such as solar, wind, tidal, wood, agricultural waste products, methane, solid waste, and low-head hydra-electric power generation through private industry.

B. ENVIRONMENT

  1. We support protection of our prime farmland and natural resources through such means as property tax assessments according to actual current use.
  2. We support the safe use of federal and state-approved chemicals for agricultural production and forest protection, and encourage development of alternative methods where technologically and economically feasible.
  3. We support the development of a plan to control the coyote population that destroys agricultural livestock and the deer population.

IV. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

The free enterprise system and the encouragement of individual initiative and incentive are musts for a strong economy. Government should get involved only in those things that the people cannot do for themselves. We endorse the concept of private/public partnership in funding economic development as a promising approach to establishment or expansion of small businesses in the State. Such investment is more likely to be based upon sound business judgment and to place government in a role simply as a facilitator of economic development. We encourage efforts such as those of the Maine Development Foundation, the Maine Capital Corporation, and similar regional and local development organizations. The State should provide expertise and assistance to local communities and industries.

A. PROMOTION AND DEVELOPMENT OF MAINE INDUSTRIES AND PRODUCTS

  1. We support an aggressive promotion of State of Maine industries and products and the development of new industrial and commercial opportunities, consistent with the retention of our present superb Maine environment and the present major industries dependent thereon such as tourism.
  2. We recommend the expanded use of a “Maine Label” (logo) to identify those products originating in Maine.
  3. We encourage the establishment of manufacturing enterprises that utilize Maine people and raw materials in order to achieve greater self-sufficiency. Examples include finished wood products factories, fish processing plants, and potato processing plants.
  4. We support continuation and expansion of aquaculture projects compatible with existing fisheries to encourage growth of marine resources harvesting.
  5. We endorse increased cooperation and support by industry of Maine vocational education

B. TRANSPORTATION

  1. The State of Maine should encourage a balanced transportation system by continued aid to airports and by encouraging private industry to expand public passenger transportation, to develop coastal deep-water ports, and to develop and maintain healthy railroads including passenger service.
  2. As transportation costs by land rise, it should become economically feasible to develop port facilities to import mare goods into Maine by water. For example, we encourage development of a grain pier to keep the Maine poultry and dairy industries competitive and to provide reserve storage for emergencies.
  3. Since Maine is a state with substantial population spread over rural areas and small towns, we rely heavily upon an adequate secondary and local road system. The State Democratic Administration’s proposal to concentrate cuts in this area was shortsighted and distorted policy.
  4. We promise a thorough overhaul of the structure and programs of the Department of Transportation. We are firmly convinced that there should be a moratorium on new road construction, a cutback on nonessential cosmetic projects, and a reduction in personnel at all levels, particularly in the bureaucracy. We also support more contracting out of functions to obtain greater efficiency. We need better utilization of funds, not higher taxes.

C. LABOR

  1. We salute the tremendous work ethic and high productivity rate supplied by the Maine labor force.
  2. Employers in the private sector (businesses and individuals) should be encouraged to provide more jobs through incentive methods rather than through the expansion of publicly funded programs. We urge continued re-evaluation of the CETA program to improve management and accountability, to eliminate disincentives to work, and to ensure comparability of salaries.
  3. We endorse equal pay for equal work, regardless of sex or other non-job-related factors.
  4. We urge rapid and responsive settlement of claims and elimination of abuses in the Workers’ Compensation program.

V. GOVERNMENT REFORM

A. GOVERNMENT REGULATION

  1. The Republican Party of Maine believes that Americans are over-regulated in ways that infringe unnecessarily upon business productivity and individual freedoms. Regulations are now a significant factor in increasing costs of goods and services.
  2. There should be massive reduction in required paperwork and regulations of health care facilities.
  3. We support the continued efforts of our Congressional delegation to increase Maine representation on quota-setting boards, and we believe Maine should have greater input into the laws and regulations that control the waters traditionally fished by Maine fishermen.
  4. We support legislation which will require that all legislation which originates in public bureaus and from other public sources be clearly identified in the Statement of Fact by printing therein the names of the bureau, the head of the bureau, and the source of the legislation, including the source of legislation which originates from out-of-state organizations.

B. LOCAL CONTROL

  1. We do not favor restructuring county government under home rule charter commission procedures because this old idea from the Democrats’ “New Deal” days has no place in a Republican Platform designed for the ‘80s, an idea which could easily leave towns and cities of Maine in the years ahead begging crumbs from the county tables, ultimately fostering county “sales” and “income” taxes to carry the additional burdens of a “strengthened” county structure.
  2. We believe public assistance programs should be administered by local governments as much as possible, rather than by state agencies or special district agencies.
  3. We endorse renewal of the federal revenue sharing program and extension of the revenue sharing concept at both national and state levels to replace strings-attached grants as a means to assist local government.
  4. The State Constitution should be amended to require that the State Legislature appropriate the funds needed to support new State-mandated programs that local governments are required by the Legislature to provide.

C. CRIME AND JUSTICE

  1. We support the rights of and recommend compensation for victims of crime, with restitution costs borne by the offender or by the parents of a minor offender.
  2. We support the commitment of funds to provide adequate prison housing, training, and self-sustained vocational activities to prepare realistically for positions in the community.
  3. A nominating commission should be established to recommend qualified judicial nominees to the Governor.
  4. Sentencing should make greater use of work sentences in public service jobs for lesser offenses.
  5. We support development of legislation with adequate funding leading to effective control of the criminal sale of drugs and paraphernalia and the development and funding of drugs- and alcohol-related education programs.

D. HUMAN RIGHTS

  1. The Republican Party rejects discrimination and reverse discrimination based on race, sex, age, creed, handicap, or ethnic or national origin.
  2. We oppose legislative or bureaucratic regulation of guns and reaffirm our belief in the right of the people to keep and bear arms as guaranteed in the United States and Maine Constitutions.

VI. HUMAN SERVICES

A. WELFARE

  1. Those who are unable to provide for themselves should be assisted by both government and society, and every effort should be made to help them become self-supporting, productive citizens with pride in their independence.
  2. The Democrat-controlled Congress has produced a jumble of degrading, dehumanizing, wasteful, overlapping, and inefficient programs failing to assist the needy poor. A systematic and complete overhaul of the welfare system should provide adequate living standards for the truly needy, end welfare fraud, provide educational and vocational incentives, and strengthen local administration.
  3. We encourage all municipalities to enact ordinances to provide work programs for all of their welfare recipients wherever possible and we support elimination of federal and state obstacles to this.

B. EDUCATION

  1. We recognize that each student is a unique individual with his or her own needs and abilities. Education should be a joint effort of the family, school, community, and state to meet such needs and develop these abilities to each student’s fullest capacity.
  2. Our schools should provide a learning atmosphere of personal discipline and the respect for the property and rights of others.
  3. We believe that the Post-Secondary Vocational Technical Schools should be adequately funded to provide superior training with up-to-date equipment.

C. HEALTH

  1. We support a system of catastrophic illness protection, both physical and emotional, through our private health insurance system. We oppose Democrat-proposed compulsory national health insurance which costs billions and involves excessive red tape and bureaucracy.
  2. We support the continued existence of small health care facilities.
  3. We support and encourage preventive health programs.
  4. We oppose the adoption by the Bureau of Health Planning and Development of the State Health Plan for Maine since its 429-page document represents a blueprint for socialized medicine in the State of Maine. We support an investigation by the Legislature of the manner in which this Health Plan was adopted, i.e., the lack of citizen input, the short time given for citizen input at hearings, the provision of only 600 copies of the plan which will affect the 1,300,000 population of our State.

D. ELDERLY

  1. We hold that it is the duty of the State through local governments to defend low income elderly citizens living on fixed incomes against the ravages of inflation and increased taxation.
  2. We support programs providing visiting nurses and other forms of assistance that enable the elderly to remain in their homes for as long as possible.

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We offer these statements of principles and proposals as our attempt to address some of the issues and concerns facing the people of Maine where a Republican consensus can be achieved. Although we do not bind our candidates to specific provisions, this Platform is intended to be a guide to Republican ideals as they apply to current concerns of the citizens of Maine.

Source: Copy of the printed platform at the Maine State Law Library.

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