Governor Tommy Thompson, who chairs the platform committee, and RNC Chairman Jim Nicholson both stated that in keeping with Governor Bush s wishes to maintain the pro-life plank, they do not anticipate a major debate when the full committee convenes in Philadelphia. When the Bush campaign, the Republican National Committee and the Conservative movement are all on the same page it s a win, win, win situation, said Dr. Donald Devine, Chairman of the 2000 Committee for a Conservative Platform. But while we may have won this battle, the war on other issues in the platform is a long way from over. Among the issues that the Committee is concerned with is the drift away from some of the stronger aspects of the Education plank - specifically, the attempt to strip the language from the 1996 platform calling for the abolishment of the Federal Department of Education. The time has come to break up the federal monopoly on education, continued Devine.
Conservatives believe that the number one priority is parental and local control.
As long as there is a federal bureaucracy that governs education, backed by the powerful NEA lobby, there will never be real reform in the education of America s children. The 2000 Committee for a Conservative Platform is made up of 40 cosponsoring organizations that are committed to maintaining the conservative ideals of President Ronald Reagan.