1. The free enterprise system is the most effective and just economic system. Economic freedom is essential to human liberty and dignity.

2. Government ought to provide an environment for individual initiative and enterprise unencumbered by excessive regulation and taxation.

3. Growth in employment requires expanding capital formation. We oppose the taxation of capital gains as ordinary income.

4. North Carolinians pay the highest tax rates in the southeast. Government spending should not increase more than population growth and inflation. We support zero-based budgeting and a taxpayer’s bill of rights.

5. We oppose bailouts and corporate welfare. It is contrary to the free enterprise system to recruit or retain businesses with targeted tax incentives when other businesses bear the full burden of taxation. Higher tax rates on the many to provide preferential treatment for the few is unfair. The best way to promote economic growth is to reduce our overall tax burden.

6. We support transition to a simpler, fairer, more efficient tax system that reduces the overall tax burden.

Article Ill: Individual Liberty

1. We embrace the vision for America established by our Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, including its Bill of Rights, and the North Carolina Constitution, including its Declaration of Rights.

2. The State must not interfere with freedom of religion. Public schools should not discriminate for or against any religion nor deny equal access to school facilities. We oppose efforts to remove the recognition of Almighty God from our schools, courts, currency and Pledge of Allegiance.

3. Government should treat all citizens impartially, without regard to wealth, race, ethnicity, disability, religion, sex, political affiliation or national origin. We oppose all forms of invidious discrimination. Sexual orientation is not an appropriate category.

4. The Second Amendment and Section 30 of the North Carolina Declaration of Rights guarantee the right of the individual to keep and bear arms. We support the ownership, sale, purchase and “lawful carry” of firearms by law-abiding citizens and elimination of statewide “no carry” zones.

5. Private property should not be taken by eminent domain except for a public use, and upon prompt payment of just compensation.

6. Annexation laws should be reformed to eliminate involuntary annexation.

Article IV: Sanctity of Life

1. We believe in the sanctity of all human life.

2. Unborn children have Constitutional rights to life and liberty. We urge the Supreme Court to overturn Roe vs. Wade. We support a human life amendment. We oppose efforts to mandate the provision of abortion or to fund organizations that provide or promote abortion services.

3. We support adoption through significant tax credits.

4. We respect parental rights and responsibilities. Informed consent and parental consent should be required before a minor receives family-planning services.

5. We support developments in biomedical research that enhance and protect human life. We oppose developments that do not treat each individual human as a locus of unique and irreplaceable God-given dignity, no matter how weak, immature, or dependent. We oppose procedures that intentionally destroy innocent human life. We oppose human cloning and the destruction of human embryos. We support adult stem cell research.

6 We support treating the infirm and elderly with love and respect, not as a burden. We oppose euthanasia.

7 We support the right of medical professionals and pharmacists to refuse to participate in abortions or dispense abortion-inducing drugs. We support the right of medical residency programs to refuse to provide abortion training.

8 We urge the recruitment and support of candidates who will work hard to protect all innocent human life.

Article V: State Government

1. We expect legislators to be efficient, effective, ethical, and responsive.

2. Legislative session limits must be accompanied by measures to ensure that policies are made by legislators and not by unelected employees.

3. Government should not discourage honest, productive work. We oppose gambling, including the state lottery.

4. Each level of government should fund the programs it requires of other levels of government.

5. No State funds should be spent without an explicit appropriation. We oppose “slush funds” as rewards for political support. Raiding of dedicated funds should not be allowed except in an emergency as determined by law.

6. Every bill heard in committee should receive a recorded vote. The budget bill should be made public at least two legislative days before the final vote in each house.

7. We support the issuance of a driver’s license or state identification card only to those who are lawful residents. Taxpayers should only pay for services for lawful residents, except in life threatening emergencies.

8. The mental health system needs to be reformed. The needs of patients must be the first priority. This requires diagnosis, comprehensive care, follow-up, and stiff penalties for those who abuse or exploit patients.

9. Government budgets should have full disclosure and access, including the compensation of employees.

10. Elected officials should not appear in “public service ads” during their election.

Article VI: Elections

1. We support photo identification to deter voter fraud. .

2. We support compact contiguous single-member districts that do not split counties or precincts, except as required by federal law.

3. We recognize the independence of the judiciary and oppose the appointment of state judges to full terms. To hold our trial courts accountable through direct elections is a valuable right.

4. Voters should have timely information on candidates’ campaign finances. We oppose funding election campaigns with public or foreign funds.

5. The party affiliation of judicial candidates should appear on the ballot.

ballot.

Article VII: Education

1. Public education should be excellent. Parents should control their children’s education.

2. Choice and competition have served us well in higher education. We support tax credits for parents who relieve the burden on our public schools by lawfully educating their children in private or home schools. There should be no additional restrictions on parents’ options to privately educate their children.

3. The cap on the number of charter schools should be removed.

4. Education reform requires local control of curriculum, budget, textbooks and personnel. Parents must have access to all curricula.

5. Reform requires nationally normed testing, cutting administrative waste, and facilitating alternate teacher certification. Students must have the best teachers, whether physically present or by use of technology. Teachers should be paid, and promoted based on the quality of their work, not on longevity. Teachers should be trained in the subject matter they teach. Highly qualified teachers at low-performing schools should be paid more if their students show academic progress.

6. It is an appropriate goal for students to perform at grade level. Every effort should be made to ensure that all students learn to the greatest extent of their abilities.

7. Schools should encourage patriotism and other values of Western civilization. They should teach the facts of the foundation of the United States, including the Declaration of Independence and federal and state constitutions. Schools should teach economics and government so that students will be prepared to vote as informed citizens.

8. We support regular recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance, display of an American and State flag and use of our national motto — “In God We Trust.”

9. We oppose sex education in public schools without parental consent. No birth control devices or drugs should be distributed in public schools. We support teaching abstinence until marriage as the expected norm for sexual behavior. Abstinence until marriage is the most effective way to prevent teenage pregnancies, abortion, and sexually transmitted diseases, and to create healthy relationships and self-esteem. Public schools should not be used to teach children about homosexual behavior.

10. We support the right of students to pray in school and at public occasions without censorship.

11. We oppose the restriction of free speech and free assembly by public institutions on ideological or religious grounds.

12. We encourage expanding vocational curricula.

curricula.

Article VIII: Justice

1. The first duty of government is to maintain law and order, while securing to its citizens the freedom to pursue the blessings of liberty and the fruits of their labor.

2. Premeditated and deliberate murder calls for the death penalty, which is directly proportional to the wrong perpetrated against its victim. We should drastically reduce the time between death sentence and execution in order to have an effective deterrent.

3. We support educational and treatment programs for drug and alcohol abuse. Those who drive while impaired and sell illegal drugs must face stiff punishment.

4. We condemn gratuitous violence and pornography in literature and music. We support mandatory labeling of these products. Laws should control obscene or sadistic materials.

5. We want stiff penalties enforced for abducting, exploiting or abusing children, including unborn children. We abhor domestic violence.

6. Prisons should focus on security, education, and labor. Inmates should be required to work, without competing with private enterprises.

7. We support tort reform, including a cap on awards for pain and suffering, and structured payments of awards for lost income.

Article IX: The Environment

1. We are stewards of our God-given natural heritage. We have a duty to protect the earth’s resources.

2. If regulation is needed to protect the environment, government should only proceed with evidence that the benefits warrant the cost. Humans are a critical component of the ecosystem. Regulations must ensure a balance between humans and the environment.

3. We support energy security and a move toward energy independence. A comprehensive energy policy includes offshore and on-shore oil and natural gas, nuclear power, coal, solar, wind, and alternative fuels that do not adversely impact the food supply. These can safely improve our economy, prevent us from being held hostage to oil-producing countries, and provide jobs for our citizens. This will keep the cost of energy affordable. Energy policies should be determined by markets, not by subsidies for favored firms or industries.

4. We support federal revenue sharing with those states directly affected by offshore exploration and development in federal waters. This can be used to pay for research and development of alternative energy generation and distribution and to offset impacts on the coast.

coast.

Article X: National Policy

1. (We support peace through strength and stopping rogue nations from obtaining weapons of mass destruction. Americans owe our freedom and security to the brave men and women of our armed forces. The military should be provided the resources to maintain full combat readiness. Military personnel should be sufficiently compensated to support their families Denying necessary reinforcements to our troops is not “supporting the troops.”

2. An important responsibility of the federal government is “to provide for the common defense”. Our borders must be made secure. The Federal government should enforce its immigration laws.

3. Rules against sexual misbehavior in the military should be retained.

4. English should be the official language of the United States.

5. Our participation in any international body must never sacrifice the sovereignty of the United States. The United States does not need permission from the United Nations or any other international body to defend itself.

6. We recognize the need for treaties. We should withdraw from any treaty that compromises our sovereignty or undermines national defense. Foreign court decisions are not relevant to interpretation of the U.S. Constitution except when construing words used at the time of ratification.

7. We support a Constitutional amendment requiring a balanced budget. Spending cuts are the right way to balance the budget. Tax rate reductions are the right way to stimulate the economy.

8. Social Security must be placed on a sound financial basis with a budget separate from the general fund. We need more choice and control over our own retirement security.

9. Wise health choices are best made by individuals guided by sound medical opinion. We reject socialized medicine and a governmental takeover of the health care system. Choice and information will allow a reduction in costs. We support medical savings accounts which combine personal responsibility with access to affordable healthcare. We oppose the “individual mandate” which compels us to purchase health insurance.

10. We support health care freedom to encourage disease prevention and to reduce costs. Legal barriers to competition among insurers and health care should be eliminated.

11. We call on Congress, the President, the courts and the state to abide by Article I, Section 8 of the United States Constitution and the Ninth and Tenth Amendments. We oppose encroachments upon all rights which the Constitution has reserved to the states or to the people.

12. We oppose Federal “card check” legislation that denies workers a free and fair election with a secret ballot on the question whether they choose to be represented by a union. We support the right to work without being forced to join a union.

13. The Grand Old Party was born in the 1850’s out of the abolition movement. Slavery has been abolished in the United States but tens of millions of people around the world continue to live in bondage. Our foreign policy should encourage freedom from slavery for all.

14. We support the principle of a “sound money” policy to sustain a stable U.S. currency.

Respectfully submitted the 3rd day of June, 2011.