It’s that time in the election cycle again, when state parties get together, have their conventions, and put down on paper what they supposedly believe.

Up to bat now, the Iowa GOP:

Sex, drugs but no rock ‘n roll for GOP

“God” gets higher billing, but no more mention in the Republican Party of Iowa’s proposed platform than “sex.”

The platform, which will be debated by about 2,000 delegates at the GOP’s state convention beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday at Hy-Vee Hall in Des Moines has been trimmed from the 17,534-word document two years ago to just 2,027 words.

That’s likely to be the most dramatic change in the platform, according to Republican Gov. Terry Branstad.

“We know the make-up of the grassroots who really are the ones who are going to write the platform well enough that I don’t expect to see radical changes in the platform,” he said earlier this week.

In trimming the platform, multiple mentions of God were omitted. After years of the party being controlled by the Christian right, the 2012 convention, dominated by libertarian-leaning “Paulistas” — followers of Ron Paul or his son, Rand Paul, or both — reduced the mentions of God to just three.

[…]

There are plenty of religious themed portions, and I think the writer of that article just did a search on “God” and missed the obvious religious right elements.

Nevertheless, plenty of Paulista elements in the new draft.

Found here:

iowagop.org

A few things that stood out to me:

[…]

1.1 Human life is a sacred gift from our Creator and is a fundamental right as outlined in the Declaration of Independence. This right is innately valuable in every stage and development from conception to non-intervened natural death. [all very typical religious right stuff…]

1.2 We oppose the use of public funding for abortion services, contraception, and abortifacients.

1.3 We support an amendment to both the U.S. and the Iowa Constitutions defining and supporting the honored institution of marriage as the legal union between one natural man and one natural woman. [nope, no artificial men nor artificial women to marry!]

[…]

2.2 […] We oppose the recognition of the United Nations Convention on “The Rights of the Child”.

2.3 We believe money should follow the child in education - whether that child attends public, private, or parochial schools - to assist parents financially in educating their children using the option best suited to their family’s educational needs. We call on the General Assembly to provide for tuition vouchers, tax deductions, or tax credits to permit parents’ choice in educating their children — without government intervention in the school curriculum. […]

2.4 We support the abolishment of any federal or state law or regulations - such as Common Core or Iowa Core - that establishes, funds, mandates or controls core standards, curriculum, assessments or tests intended for children from birth to age of majority.

[…]

2.6 We support “Conscience Clause” legislation so that no person, business, or organization can be penalized for its exercise of religious freedom by not providing services that violates their religious beliefs.

[…]

2.9 We support the addition of “stand your ground” and “castle doctrine” provisions to Iowa law, which would strengthen the legal protection of Iowans who find it necessary to use reasonable force to repel a violent attack. We also demand the elimination of “gun free zones”.

2.10 We support legislation that would prohibit any organization, including Planned Parenthood, from teaching sex education in our public schools. These agencies should be prohibited from entering public school properties for the purpose of promoting promiscuous behavior and abortion products, videos, or printed material.

[…]

3.4 We support the repeal of the 16th amendment replacing it with a consumption tax.

3.5 We support the right of property owners to vote on bond issues in any district where they pay property tax whether a resident of the district or not. [The eventual return of voting rights only limited to land owners?]

3.6 We support laws that prohibit ownership of Iowa farm land by foreign governments or entities controlled by such governments.

[…]

4.1 We believe the United States should never sacrifice its sovereignty or relinquish control of its soil to the United Nations or any other international body.

[…]

4.3 We support Israel’s sovereignty in maintaining an undivided Jerusalem and as a critical military ally.

4.4 We oppose the United Nations’ Agenda 21 plan, which restricts or destroys the property rights of Americans under the guise of environmentalist initiatives such as Sustainable Development, Smart Growth, Wildlands Project, The Tomorrow Plan, and others with similarly “Green” sounding names.

4.5 We assert that bequeathing citizenship to babies born to illegal immigrants in the United States is a misinterpretation of the 14th amendment.

4.6 We believe our servicemen should serve only the United States, our Constitution, and the American Flag. We are adamantly opposed to United Nations oversight of our military units, ceding national sovereignty to any foreign body, or to the establishment of a one-world government.

4.7 We believe that only citizens bearing proper photo ID should be allowed to vote, and that proof of citizenship should be required for absentee voting.

[…]

5.2 We oppose the Law of the Sea Treaty (LOST) which covers seabed mining, navigation, ocean pollution, marine research and economic zones. LOST violates our sovereignty and endangers our national security and economic interests.

5.3 As an immigrant nation and to strengthen and unite us, we support the adoption of English as the official language of the United States of America.

5.4 We support the construction of the Keystone Pipeline now, giving jobs to thousands of loyal Americans.

5.5 We call for repeal of the unconstitutional Davis-Bacon Act, as well as Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank).

[…]

5.7 We call for legislation that would eliminate all public sector unions.

5.8 We oppose all mandates associated with global warming, or climate control. We reject “Cap and Trade” legislation.

5.9 We demand that all laws restricting the growing of industrial hemp be immediately eliminated.

5.10 We support legalizing cannabis oil for medical use.

5.11 We support a full and exhaustive annual audit of the Federal Reserve’s books until such time as the agency is abolished and a sound commodity-backed currency is adopted.

5.12 We support the definition of manure as a natural fertilizer.

6.1 We support the convening of a Convention of the States according to Article V of the United State Constitution of the purpose of limiting Federal Government.

6.2 We call for the repeal of the 17th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

6.3 We support amending the Iowa Constitution to require a 2/3 vote of both Houses of the Iowa General Assembly to pass any bill that has the effect of raising individual or corporate income taxes or sales tax.

[…]

[…]

So yes, a blend of Paulista/JBS and religious right.

This is the GOP in 2014.