The Purpose of a Platform

The Republican Party was founded in 1854 as the previous party system collapsed in the face of the slavery question. Two years later, the new party met for its first convention, nominated John C. Fremont for president and published a platform.

The original Republican platform was short and simple. It reaffirmed the truth and supremacy of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution and called for Congress to halt the spread of slavery (and polygamy) into new territories. It also demanded the immediate admittance of Kansas as a free state as well as improvements in railroads and other national infrastructure.

The very first platform of the Idaho Republican Party was drafted in 1864, shortly after Congress created the Idaho Territory. It too was short and sweet, declaring support for President Abraham Lincoln’s reelection and his prosecution of the Civil War. It also called on Congress to refrain from taxing mining claims, the primary industry of Idaho at the time.

Party platforms have grown in recent years, evolving from simple policy statements to massive philosophical treatises that attempt to address every possible political position. The most recent Idaho GOP platform, passed at the state convention in Coeur d’Alene last month, is twenty pages long:

The state party platform is open to modification every two years at the convention, but such modifications are usually small and incremental. With the Integrity in Affiliation form and Article XX of the Idaho GOP rules using the state party platform as the measuring stick for what it means to be a Republican in the Gem State, it’s important that it be clear, unambiguous, and widely agreed upon. I’m not sure our current platform fits that bill, being a pastiche of many different ideas coming from many different people over the course of many years.

I would like to see our platform have a narrower focus, but that will take a lot of work on the part of PCs, delegates, and Republican activists. I thought Branden Durst’s proposed plan, which would have created a list of legislative priorities for the next session, was a good idea, however delegates simply did not have the time to process and debate such a large alteration at the time. We should start having discussions now about what the 2026 Idaho GOP Platform will look like.

At the national level, many conservatives have been frustrated with the platform ratified by the Republican National Convention this week.. Many social issues have been removed, including a strong statement on abortion, leading some to accuse the party of moderating its stances. However, I don’t believe this is necessarily the case. First, read the new platform for yourself:

The platform lays out 20 items that the GOP wants to see accomplished by the 119th Congress and the Trump Administration:

1. SEAL THE BORDER, AND STOP THE MIGRANT INVASION
2. CARRY OUT THE LARGEST DEPORTATION OPERATION IN AMERICAN HISTORY
3. END INFLATION, AND MAKE AMERICA AFFORDABLE AGAIN
4. MAKE AMERICA THE DOMINANT ENERGY PRODUCER IN THE WORLD, BY FAR!
5. STOP OUTSOURCING, AND TURN THE UNITED STATES INTO A MANUFACTURING SUPERPOWER
6. LARGE TAX CUTS FOR WORKERS, AND NO TAX ON TIPS!
7. DEFEND OUR CONSTITUTION, OUR BILL OF RIGHTS, AND OUR FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS, INCLUDING FREEDOM OF SPEECH, FREEDOM OF RELIGION, AND THE RIGHT TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS
8. PREVENT WORLD WAR THREE, RESTORE PEACE IN EUROPE AND IN THE MIDDLE EAST, AND BUILD A GREAT IRON DOME MISSILE DEFENSE SHIELD OVER OUR ENTIRE COUNTRY — ALL MADE IN AMERICA
9. END THE WEAPONIZATION OF GOVERNMENT AGAINST THE AMERICAN PEOPLE
10. STOP THE MIGRANT CRIME EPIDEMIC, DEMOLISH THE FOREIGN DRUG CARTELS, CRUSH GANG VIOLENCE, AND LOCK UP VIOLENT OFFENDERS
11. REBUILD OUR CITIES, INCLUDING WASHINGTON DC, MAKING THEM SAFE, CLEAN, AND BEAUTIFUL AGAIN
12. STRENGTHEN AND MODERNIZE OUR MILITARY, MAKING IT, WITHOUT QUESTION, THE STRONGEST AND MOST POWERFUL IN THE WORLD
13. KEEP THE U.S. DOLLAR AS THE WORLD’S RESERVE CURRENCY
14. FIGHT FOR AND PROTECT SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE WITH NO CUTS, INCLUDING NO CHANGES TO THE RETIREMENT AGE
15. CANCEL THE ELECTRIC VEHICLE MANDATE AND CUT COSTLY AND BURDENSOME REGULATIONS
16. CUT FEDERAL FUNDING FOR ANY SCHOOL PUSHING CRITICAL RACE THEORY, RADICAL GENDER IDEOLOGY, AND OTHER INAPPROPRIATE RACIAL, SEXUAL, OR POLITICAL CONTENT ON OUR CHILDREN
17. KEEP MEN OUT OF WOMEN’S SPORTS
18. DEPORT PRO-HAMAS RADICALS AND MAKE OUR COLLEGE CAMPUSES SAFE AND PATRIOTIC AGAIN
19. SECURE OUR ELECTIONS, INCLUDING SAME DAY VOTING, VOTER IDENTIFICATION, PAPER BALLOTS, AND PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP
20. UNITE OUR COUNTRY BY BRINGING IT TO NEW AND RECORD LEVELS OF SUCCESS

Rather than demonstrating that the Republican Party is moderating its stances, I see this as a return to what a platform is supposed to be: a concise list of priorities for the upcoming administration. It’s not trying to be a holistic document covering every social and political issue, rather it is telling the American people what Donald Trump wants to do in his second term.

That is why abortion is barely mentioned — Trump already succeeded in overturning Roe v. Wade through the three Supreme Court justices he appointed. There is no political path for implementing a national abortion ban at this time, so why waste the time and capital on it now? The goal of the pro-life movement was to overturn Roe and fight the battle over abortion at the state level, and that’s where we are now. Just as smart pro-lifers recognized in 2016 that a Trump White House would do more for the cause of life than one inhabited by Hillary Clinton, we must also see that a second Trump term is light years better than a second Biden administration.

There are other important issues that are actually possible in a second Trump administration, such as securing the border, reining in inflation, and bringing the American Dream back to a generation that is losing hope. This is what the new national platform represents.

You can see how this narrow focus will frustrate single issue voters and activists. Why not more talk on abortion? What about same-sex marriage? The vaccine? Dominion voter machines? The purpose of the platform is not to be all things to all people, but to lay out a vision for the future, a vision that appeals to a broad base of voters.

Consider, however, how many voters sit down and read a platform before casting their ballots. It’s probably not many. The platform is not speaking directly to them, it’s speaking to us, the people who are plugged in to politics. It’s the marching orders for activists, volunteers, door-knockers, phone-bankers, and everyone else giving of their time and energy to win this election.

Peachy Keenan wrote a very good Substack article a few days ago regarding the controversy over the new platform that is worth reading in its entirety. A few excerpts:

When the GOP recently released their new “platform,” many of the biggest pro-life activists in America got upset—due to a language change around abortion. Full disclosure: I have never once read a single party platform in my life, and always thought they were fake and cheesy. What’s the point of one? Based on the last few presidential election cycles, the point is to feed talking points to their enemies.

Reminder: The 40-year old platform plank that called for a national ban failed for 40 years. If it is in the platform this year, brace yourself: it will fail again. Leaving it in there does not meme it into reality. Oh, if only the GOP platform was that powerful!

But the reasons why it’s okay to remove “a national abortion ban” from the GOP platform is simple. First of all, taking it out of the platform doesn’t mean the GOP or Donald Trump suddenly loves abortion. Second, including a ban in the platform doesn’t mean it will get banned. Based on history, one could actually argue that including a national abortion ban in the platform is what has kept abortion legal for 40 years! It sounds scary and extreme to everyone outside my own personal religious fundamentalist bubble, which, while cozy, is quite small and extremely provincial (in the best possible way).

The purpose of the platform is to lay out the priorities of the next administration, period. It is not an overarching commentary on every single social and political issue, and silence on this issue or that does not necessarily imply endorsement. It’s a to-do list, a set of marching orders, squad goals. Supporting Donald Trump and J.D. Vance does not mean we must forget about the issues that are important to us. Their victory will give us room to pursue those issues in a way that would be impossible should they fail.

Republicans in 1856 laid out a vision of freedom and infrastructure, and though they lost that year, the party dominated the second half of the 19th century, a period that saw America go from being a provincial backwater mired in a bloody civil war to world power. The 2024 platform lays out a vision of America First, a retreat from decline and return to greatness and glory. Let’s stop fighting over marginal details and focus on the future. Calm down, take a deep breath, put your chin up, and let’s win this thing.

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