Presidential Platform

1
Presidential Platform

• Clint Hyde, 20XX

2
Military

• On Jan 19, 2009, we will have accomplished
  everything we can in Iraq.
• If I am elected, on Jan 21, 2009, the Chairman of
  the JCS will present to me a plan to depart Iraq.
  If he/she cannot do this, on Jan 22, 2009, the
  new Chairman will present the plan. The troops
  will begin to come home from Iraq.
• There will be ZERO secret prisons, and no
  prisoners held that way. Any still in existence
  will be closed, prisoners either charged or sent
  home.
• Prisoner abuse (like Abu Graib) will result in
  the entire chain of command from perp to JCS
  being stripped of rank, court-martialed,
  dishonorable discharged, no pension. No
  exceptions. No ducking responsibility.
• The very nasty School of the Americas and its
  successor organization will be terminated.

3
Military, p2

• No more land mines. All in stock will be
  destroyed, any purchase contracts will be
  terminated.
• There are NO circumstances under which torture is
  permissible. Ever. No matter who thinks so, or
  why.
• Whats torture? Anything you dont want to have
  done to your daughter.
• Anyone in the CIA who has been involved in
  torturing prisoners will be placed on trial for
  Geneva convention violations.

4
Personal guns

• There are ZERO civilian uses for automatic
  weapons. You want one, join the army.
• You may own any gun that can pass a police
  ballistics test. As many as you want. Other
  weapons exist to avoid ballistics tests.
• All guns registered and ballistics test on record
  with police.
• You cant buy a gun without getting a ballistics
  test, from police. You do, you go to jail.
• You have unregistered/untested gun, you go to
  jail.
• Your gun gets used in a crime, you go to jail.
• You sell your gun, you record sale with police,
  else you are still the owner for prosecution
  purposes, you go to jail.
• You change the gun so that it cant pass
  ballistics test, you go to jail. You re-rifle it,
  it gets retested and re-registered with police.

5
Budgets

• Earmarks are history. Each state will be allowed
  one, value not to exceed 50M. Budgets with more
  than that will be vetoed.
• The deficit must end. Permanently. No more
  budgets paid for by tax cuts and extra
  T-bills--we cannot afford to burden the future
  with that, lest we (inevitably) default on our
  debt some day.

6
Social Security

• People need to plan on working longer. 65 is not
  some magic number (although it once was), and is
  not affordable when the life-span has increased
  so much.
• Plan on SS not being your only source of
  income--none of us can afford that. When you
  start in the work force, start putting money into
  some sort of retirement plan that is separate
  from your employers pension (lest we repeat
  the historically problematic company-funded
  pensions that are basically killing older US
  industries).
• Means testing needs to be included. If youre
  wealthy, you dont need SS.

7
Subsidies

• Agricultural subsidies must come to an end. Now.
  They subvert markets.

8
Tariffs

• Stupid tariffs like the sugar one need to stop
  immediately.

9
Language

• English is the language of the United States. If
  you come here and plan to stay, learn it.
  Otherwise, plan on leaving.
• You want laws, signs, etc written in some other
  language, go wherever that is the native language.

10
Energy

• We must get off the oil-dependency tar-baby.
• Synthetic fuels, nuclear power, solar power, etc
  (note that I dont include wind or ocean power,
  both those things take energy out of the
  air/water, lowering the temperature).
• We need significantly more fuel-efficient
  vehicles. Dont tell me this is too expensive or
  cant be done--I know our engineers are better
  than that.
• If wed spent 500 billion on solar power
  development, do you think wed have made more
  progress against oil-dependency than we achieved
  in Iraq?

11
Tax cuts

• Tax revenues are income for the government.
  Cutting taxes cutting income. If you personally
  are having trouble controlling spending, do you
  go to your boss and say Id like a pay cut,
  please ?
• Cut spending first. Entitlements have to be
  reduced, before they eat us alive.