About Our Platform
New Gloucester GOP Platform
We believe there are Timeless Truths that will always inform and direct our party regardless of current events and circumstances, changing strategies, goals, and leadership. These Truths, put into action, maintain, protect, and defend our unalienable rights to Life, Liberty, Property and the Pursuit of Happiness.
Life
1. All individuals are endowed by their Creator with the rights to Life, Liberty, Property, and the Pursuit of
Happiness. The only purpose of government is to protect these rights for all.
Equality
2. Every citizen is equal before, equally protected by, and equally subject to the law.
Second Amendment
3. The right of individuals to keep and bear arms and ammunition shall not be infringed, restricted, denied
and never be questioned. Individuals must never be prevented from defending life, liberty, or property.
Private Property Rights
4. The pursuit by an individual to rightfully acquire, keep and enjoy his own property is foundational. Every
individual has the right to develop his own potential, to use and enjoy his own property, tangible or intellectual, and pursue his own interests, free from the restrictions of arbitrary force. Individuals are always presumed to be the best stewards of their property,
5. The New Gloucester Republican Party supports the protection of private property from the use of eminent
domain, civil asset forfeiture, and inverse condemnation.
Religious Freedom
6. The freedom to practice one's faith is a fundamental natural right secured by our Constitution. The First
Amendment does not require the expulsion of religion from public life. We must keep in mind the
he Founding Fathers when they wrote it; the practice of faith under this tradition encourages good moral behavior and the development of character that helps secure the other fundamental bases of our national citizenship. Freedom of religion includes the right to abstain from actions contrary to one's religious beliefs.
Liberty
7. Liberty is indivisible from economic freedom. The free market economy is the economic system most
compatible with the requirements of personal freedom and constitutional government. Government's undue interference in the market, as well as the fiscal irresponsibility of government, results in economic inequity. There exists no fundamental right to the fruits of another person's labor.
Civic Duty
8. Our liberty and the continued success of our republican form of federal government demands continuous
vigilance by "We the People”.
Taxes
9. All taxes collected must be used for the constitutional purposes of government. It is irresponsible to run
up debts that are passed on to our children and grandchildren. Taxes should never be more than necessary to meet the government's constitutional obligations.
Citizenry Government By the Constitution
10. The people of New Gloucester, The State of Maine and the United States are the ultimate authority,
Governments possess powers derived only from the consent of the governed.
11. Our constitutional representative republic remains the best political system, derived from history and
knowledge of human nature, to prohibit tyranny, assure equality of opportunity and protect our individual rights.
12. The most effective, responsible, and responsive government is the government that is closest to the
People. Government that governs least governs best.
13. The New Gloucester Republican Party supports the right of eligible voters to cast a ballot in each
election once but oppose illegal voting, illegal assistance, or ineligible persons registering. We support vigorous enforcement of all our election laws as written and oppose any laws, lawsuits, and judicial decisions that make voter fraud and maladministration by officials very difficult to deter, detect, or prosecute.
14. Internet voting for public office and any ballot measure should be prohibited. 15. New Gloucester Republicans support restoring election integrity, including proper administration of voter
registration rolls. We support requiring photo ID of all registrants, requiring proof of residency and citizenship along with the voter registration application. We support periodic checks on the voter rolls to
ensure all currently registered voters are eligible, with prompt removal of ineligible voters.
16. New Gloucester Republicans support stiff criminal penalties against so-called "ballot harvesters,"
those who collect or fill out mailed ballots on behalf of a campaign.
Education
17. The New Gloucester Republican Party supports the teaching of the Constitution of the United States, the
Constitution of the State of Maine, the Declaration of Independence, and other United States founding documents as well as the factual history and heritage of the United States in the Gray/New Gloucester school district and the historical evidence of the role of faith and biblical principles in the founding of our nation.
18. The New Gloucester Republican Party believes that a family is the best institution to be the authority on
how to provide children with the education and training to develop their potential and prepare them to participate in society and in our government.
Free Speech
19. Freedom of speech is a fundamental right secured by the United States Constitution and the Constitution
of the State of Maine. Freedom of speech includes the freedom of the individual to express his or her beliefs, ideas, and opinions without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction by government.
Finally, having thus set forth our distinctive principles and views, we invite the co-operation of all citizens, however differing on other questions, who substantially agree with us, to offer their affirmation and support.