Platform Highlights

Words from the 1996 and 2000 Republican platforms on a sampling of issues:

EDUCATION

1996 - “We will abolish the Department of Education, end federal meddling in our schools, and promote family choice at all levels of learning.”

2000 - “The Republican Party commits itself to bold reforms in education - to make every school a place of learning and achievement for every child. We will preserve local control of public schools, while demanding high standards and accountability for results.”

IMMIGRATION

1996 - “We must set immigration at manageable levels. … Illegal aliens should not receive public benefits other than emergency aid. … Legal immigrants should depend for assistance on their sponsors, who are legally responsible for their financial well-being, not the American taxpayers.”

2000 - “To all Americans, particularly immigrants and minorities, we send a clear message: This is the party of freedom and progress, and it is your home.”

OFFICIAL ENGLISH

1996 - “We support the official recognition of English as the nation’s common language.”

2000 - “We support the recognition of English as the nation’s common language.”

ABORTION

1996 - “The unborn child has a fundamental individual right to life which cannot be infringed.”

2000 - “As a country, we must keep our pledge to the first guarantee of the Declaration of Independence. That is why we say the unborn child has a fundamental individual right to life which cannot be infringed.”

GAY RIGHTS

1996 - “We oppose discrimination based on sex, race, age, creed, or national origin. … We reject the distortion of those laws to cover sexual preference, and we endorse the Defense of Marriage Act to prevent states from being forced to recognize same-sex unions.”

2000 - “We support the traditional definition of ‘marriage’ as the legal union of one man and one woman, and we believe that federal judges and bureaucrats should not force states to recognize other living arrangements as marriages. We rely on the home, as did the founders of the American Republic, to instill the virtues that sustain democracy itself. That belief led Congress to enact the Defense of Marriage Act, which a Republican Department of Justice will energetically defend in the courts. For the same reason, we do not believe sexual preference should be given special legal protection or standing in law.”