According to the Dallas Morning News the work of the platform committee of the Texas GOP is well underway.
The usual suspects
prayer in school, getting out of the United Nations, teaching intelligent design....in science classes, repealing of the minimum wage, declaring illegal immigrants criminals and outlawing abortion with no exceptions.
"Hallelujah!" said a delegate who had urged strong anti-abortion language.
The platform calls homosexuality contrary to "the unchanging truths" ordained by God. It opposes gay marriage, civil unions and the custody of children by gays.
On the war in Iraq: "There is no substitute for victory."
What's really interesting is some of the items that haven't made it into the platform.
Shades of Attorney General John Ashcroft, one delegate who had recently visited DC was appalled at the "nude women, sculptured women." He proposed removing from public view all art with naked people in it.
"You don't have nude art on your front porch," he explained. "You possibly don't have nude art in your living rooms. So why is it important to have that in the common places of Washington, D.C.?" ...He'd heard that 20 percent of the art in the National Gallery of Art is of nudes.
One woman wanted her complaint addressed that her daughter hadn't gotten a college scholarship:
"There are so many scholarships, if you are the right color," she said. "But for a white girl, who has good grades, you really have to look."
Their modus operandi?
principle vs. politics. In the end, strong language prevailed.
"That may not always be the best political strategy," platform committee chairman Kirk Overbey said Thursday. "But we're here to say we're sticking by our principles."
Let's hope the national party follows their lead.