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Resolutions Passed at the 2009 State Convention

The following Resolutions were passed at the 2009 State Convention:

Resolutions Committee Report

2009 Virginia Republican State Convention

Members

Morton Blackwell, Chairman, Blake Slusser, Pam Brown, Jane Ladd, Linas Kojelis, Shaun Kenney, Chris Darden, Marie Quinn, Helen Blackwell, Valencia Kurek, Alex Iden, Sandy Liddy Bourne

Resolution 1

WHEREAS, the Republican Party of Virginia has experienced consecutive losses in state and federal statewide elections, the U.S. House of Representatives, the Presidential race in 2008, seats in the Virginia House of Delegates; and control of the Virginia Senate;

WHEREAS, a significant factor in the decline of the Republican Party of Virginia and the lowered confidence of its grassroots base and Virginia voters in general has been the failure of the Party and our Republican elected officials to promote our core beliefs;

NOW, THEREFORE, the delegates to the 2009 Convention of the Republican Party of Virginia adopt the following as the core principles and beliefs of the Party;

That faith in Almighty God, as recognized by our Founding Fathers, is essential to the moral fiber of the Nation;

That our rights and freedom are God-given and not derived from our government;

That human life should be protected from conception to natural death;

That the right of individuals to own, use and transfer property must be safeguarded against erosion by government;

That the free enterprise system is the most productive supplier of human needs and economic justice;

That government spending, taxing and borrowing at all levels have been excessive, must be controlled rigorously and can only be undertaken by officials directly elected by the people;

That the family is the basic and most vital institution in our society, and, the right of parents to direct their children must be assured;

That marriage is a union of one man and one woman;

That we have a personal right to own and bear arms;

That our national security depends on a strong defense, secure borders and a sound dollar;

That our national sovereignty should not be weakened; and

That our dual system of sovereignty of the states and the federal government, as established in the U.S. Constitution, must be preserved to prevent an undue concentration of power.

Resolution 2

RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF NATURAL GAS AND OIL EXPLORATION

IN THE OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF

Whereas, significant deposits of oil and natural gas are known to exist in the Outer Continental Shelf off the coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia and;

Whereas those deposits belong to the citizens of the Commonwealth and,

Whereas these deposits can be explored for and extracted in an environmentally safe process that will not be harmful to marine habitat and ocean ecosystems as an essential component of a broad, multi-faceted energy policy,

Whereas significant economic benefits would accrue to the Commonwealth and its Citizens therefore,

The Republican Party of Virginia assembled in Convention in Richmond supports the environmentally responsible exploration and extraction of oil and natural gas off the Commonwealth's coast and further declares it an essential element of the Commonwealth's energy policy.

Resolution 3

Restoring Virginia's Competitive Edge

Whereas, profitable private economic activity is the source of jobs and prosperity; and

Whereas, business, rather than being a separate entity in conflict with workers are actually merely individuals (investors and workers) coming together to create and trade goods and services to their mutual benefit; and

Whereas, double taxation and high taxes undermine and inhibit the workers and investors who are successful; and

Whereas, the state of Virginia competes for new investments both on a national and global level; and

Whereas, Virginia workers are more than capable of competing for jobs on a national and global level; and

Whereas, the current federal efforts at economic “stimulus” are based on expanding the scope of government, taking on massive new debt, diluting our currency, draining off private capital, and are otherwise undermining the incentive to invest, incur risk, and create new jobs; and

Whereas, the current “stimulus” bails-out only specific businesses, unions, and industries to the detriment of other industries and workers with less political pull; therefore be it

Resolved, the RPV affirms that the free enterprise system is the best and most efficient means of determining economic competitiveness for businesses and individuals.

Resolved, that the RPV, its members and elected officials shall seek to restructure and reform the tax code to reduce the economic burden of taxes on business and employees to increase investment and jobs in Virginia.

Resolution 4

Resolution in Support of the Right of Free Association

Whereas, the Republican Party was founded on the preservation of individual liberty by observing constitutional limitations; and

Whereas, the Commonwealth of Virginia currently denies individuals the Constitutional right of free association due to the lack of registration by political party; and

Whereas, the existing voter registration system has encouraged the corruption of the nomination process by allowing partisans of both parties to vote in the nomination process of the opposing party; and

Whereas, the current voter registration system has weakened the Republican Party in Virginia by allowing people who do not freely associate with the Party to select Republican nominees for public office; and

Whereas, the Commonwealth of Virginia is only one of two states in America that does not have registration by political party; and

Whereas, the Republican Party of Virginia has by-laws (the State Party Plan) for the governance of the organization; and

Whereas, the State Party Plan has the following language “Primary shall be as defined in and subject to the Election Laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia, except to the extent that any provisions of such laws infringe the right to freedom of association”;

Therefore, be it resolved that the 2009 Virginia Republican Party Convention urges the State Central Committee to work to secure the Constitutional right of Republicans to freely associate with each other to choose their nominees;

Further, be it resolved that the 2009 Virginia Republican Party Convention delegation urges the Republican members of the Virginia General Assembly to support and the General Assembly to expeditiously enact legislation to permit registration by political party, thus guaranteeing the right of free association;

Now be it resolved that the Chairman of the Virginia Republican Party Convention is directed to immediately disseminate this resolution to the Chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia, members of its State Central Committee and to the Republican members of the Virginia General Assembly.

Resolution 5

Resolution in Support of Legislation Requiring

Party Identification on the Ballot at the County Level

Whereas, the Republican Party of Virginia would like to commend the Virginia General Assembly for their work over the past several years in enacting legislation to require party identification on the ballot to the level of House of Delegates; and

Whereas, the Commonwealth of Virginia currently does not require party identification on the ballot for county constitutional offices and county board of supervisors; and

Whereas, the existing system has facilitated the corruption of the election process by allowing the use of fake sample ballots and other materials, which denies a party's nominee their position as the nominee; and

Whereas, the Commonwealth of Virginia is one of few states left in America that does not require party identification on the ballot for county constitutional offices and county board of supervisors; and

Whereas, this system has weakened the Republican Party in Virginia by allowing people who are not the Republican nominee to win elections through fraud and collusion with outside organizations; and

Whereas, party identification on the ballot for county constitutional offices and county board of supervisors would improve the election process for all concerned by eliminating confusion, providing information to the voter at the ballot box and streamlining the process for board of election staff;

Therefore, be it resolved that the 2009 Virginia Republican Party Convention urges the Republican members of the Virginia General Assembly to support and the General Assembly to expeditiously enact legislation to require party identification on the ballot for party nominees for county constitutional offices and county board of supervisors.

Now be it resolved that the Chairman of the 2009 Virginia Republican Party Convention is directed to immediately disseminate this resolution to the Chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia, members of its State Central Committee and to the Republican members of the Virginia General Assembly.

Resolution 6

Resolution Honoring State Sovereignty Under The

Tenth Amendment Of The Constitution Of The United States

WHEREAS, the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States reads as follows: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people”; and

WHEREAS, the Tenth Amendment defines the total scope of federal power as being that specifically granted by the Constitution of the United States and no more; and

WHEREAS, the scope of power defined by the Tenth Amendment means that the federal government was created by the states specifically to be an agent of the states; and

WHEREAS, the states today are demonstrably treated as agents of the federal government; and

WHEREAS, many federal laws are directly in violation of the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States; and

WHEREAS, the Tenth Amendment assures that we, the people of the United States of America and each sovereign state of the United States, now have, and have always had, rights the federal government may not usurp; and

WHEREAS, Article IV, Section 4 says that “The United States shall guarantee to every state in this Union a Republican form of government,” and the Ninth Amendment states that “The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people”; and

WHEREAS, the United States Supreme Court has ruled in New York v. United States, 505 U.S. 144(1992), that Congress may not simply commandeer the legislative and regulatory processes of the states; and

WHEREAS, a number of proposals from previous administrations, and other proposals that may be anticipated, may further violate the Constitution of the United States; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the 2009 Republican State Convention, That the Congress of the United States be urged to honor state sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States; and be it further

RESOLVED, that the Commonwealth of Virginia should claim sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United Sates over all powers not otherwise enumerated and granted to the federal government by the Constitution of the United States; and be it further,

RESOLVED, that the Virginia General Assembly pass this resolution to serve notice to the federal government, as our agent, to cease and desist, effective immediately, mandates that are beyond the scope of these constitutionally delegated powers; and be it further,

RESOLVED, that the Commonwealth urge that all compulsory federal legislation that directs states to comply under threat of civil or criminal penalties or sanctions or requires states to pass legislation or lose federal funding be prohibited or repealed; and be it further,

RESOLVED, that the Chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia shall provide copies of this resolution to all Republican members of the General Assembly and nominees for same, all Republican statewide elected officials and nominees for same, and all Republican members of Congress for the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Resolution 7

Resolution in Recognition of the Tea Parties

WHEREAS, the citizens of the United States of America have begun to recognize the destructive nature of the Democrat administration and the Democrat Congress's taxing, spending, and borrowing policies,

WHEREAS, under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, citizens have taken upon themselves the task of organizing and attending the tea party protests,

WHEREAS, the ideals expressed in the Virginia Republican Creed reflect the ideals, goals and spirit of these tea parties,

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Republican Party of Virginia welcomes those desiring to bring about a smaller and less intrusive government, and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Republican Party of Virginia encourages those participating in and organizing the tea party demonstrations to continue to speak out against the over reaching arm of government.