Is "one-world government," whereby the United States would cede all sovereignty to a manipulative international force, a real threat to the country? Republican leaders in many states seem to think so: The platforms they've written this year explicitly ban it.
This is just one example of the kind of language that's working its way into state Republican platforms this election cycle, perhaps thanks to the growing influence of Tea Party conservatives. TNR searched for some of the most outrageous planks out there. Here is what we found:
Texas
The GOP wants to make it illegal "to issue a marriage license to a same-sex couple and for any civil official to perform a marriage ceremony for such." Gay marriage is already banned in Texas—so, for people to break this proposed law, they'd have to be … already breaking the law?
Idaho
Republicans want to abolish the seventeenth amendment, because having state legislatures appoint U.S. senators again would "[restore] the constitution’s checks and balances that protects the rights and sovereignty of the states." Apparently, states' rights trump those of individual voters.
Iowa
Republicans want to get rid of the federal agriculture and energy departments, the federal and state education departments, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and the International Revenue Service (IRS). The party also calls for "the reintroduction and ratification of the original 13th Amendment, not the 13th Amendment in today’s Constitution." The original amendment would have outlawed the taking of noble titles and foreign offices; the final amendment, of course, abolished slavery.
Montana
Republicans "oppose the concept of 'gun free zones' in any form or in any place except detention facilities." Schools need not apply.
Iowa (Again)
The GOP "oppose[s] any effort to implement Islamic Shariah law in this country." I have yet to see a bill in Congress—or the Iowa legislature—that would legalize caning or stoning. Also, percentage of Iowans who are Muslim: less than 0.5.
Texas (Again)
"We support eliminating bureaucratic prohibitions on corporal discipline … in foster homes to help alleviate the shortage of foster parents." So the GOP thinks there are Texans who would take in foster children if they were allowed to hit them. And the party supports them.
Maine
The GOP wants to "[r]eject the UN Treaty on Rights of the Child." The only countries in the world that haven't approved the treaty are the United States and Somalia.