A combination death cult and suicide pact

From the platform of the Iowa Republican Party:

The function of law is to protect the free exercise of a person’s God-given rights: life, liberty, and the right to property (pursuit of happiness). [apparently there was some mistranslation in the Declaration of Independence as written]

We call for the repeal of all mandatory minimum wage laws.

We call for reinstating, with proper safeguards, the death penalty for murderers, rapists, kidnappers, and drug dealers, with a firm limit of twenty-four months for appeals and no intrusion of federal authorities. [or that pesky U.S. Constitution]

We believe that claims of human-caused global warming are based on fraudulent, inaccurate information, and that legislation and policy based on this information are detrimental to the well-being of the United States.

We believe all individuals and business owners have the freedom to choose the quality of air in their homes and establishments.

We call for the elimination of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

We support the elimination of the Iowa Department of Education and of the U.S. Department of Education.

We support the abolition of the IRS. We call for the repeal of the Federal Reserve Act, eliminating the Federal Reserve, and we support returning to the gold and/or silver standard.

We believe candidates running as Republicans for any local or state office should be required to complete and return to the Republican Party of Iowa a signed questionnaire indicating whether the candidate agrees, disagrees, or is undecided about each plank of the current party platform.

As reported in the October 2010 issue of Harper’s Magazine. No link; the issue is behind a subscriber wall.