With the 2024 election heating up, attention is turning to official party positions and platforms. On Tuesday, a coalition of groups announced the launch of the Platform Integrity Project, an effort to ensure the Republican Party Platform maintains its conservative ideals.A press release from Family Research Council Action (FRC Action), a group that seeks to influence politicians on behalf of faith and family issues, notes the new effort aims to protect the “pro-life, pro-family, and pro-Israel” elements of the Republican Party platform.
FRC Action chairman Tony Perkins, an elected member of the Republican National Committee (RNC) Platform Committee, is at the helm of the Platform Integrity Project. He exclusively explained the scope of the effort in a statement shared with CBN News. “This coalition seeks to work with the RNC and the Trump campaign for an open process that will help ensure the preservation of the GOP’s solidly conservative platform that contains longstanding pro-life, pro-family, and pro-Israel planks,” the statement read. “This effort will, for the first time, score individual votes of platform delegates.”
The announcement comes amid concerns moderate Republicans could try to dilute the more conservative planks of the platform. Perkins said party platforms are incredibly important as they highlight a party’s priorities and principles, with past data suggesting lawmakers tend to stick closely to the ideals in their associated platforms. He added that FRC Action is teaming up with other groups like WallBuilders, Faith Wins, Family Policy Alliance, and Palmetto Family Council, among others, to launch the Platform Integrity Project and ensure clear and concise ideals are communicated about “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
“America is an unprecedented place of moral and cultural confusion and is in dire need of leadership and moral clarity,” Perkins said. “Voters need to see a contrast between the two parties on their policy priorities. Voters want and need a choice.” He continued, “The message to Platform Committee delegates is clear: preserve life and family values in the Republican Party platform so that social conservatives can continue to find a home in the GOP.”
The Platform Integrity Project comes amid fears the Republican Party and Trump campaign could end up watering down or removing some of the more conservative ideals in the GOP platform. Hear Perkins explain.
and this is a show where we go behind the headlines every day to bring you an interview with a pastor, entertainer, politician, or other notable news figure. And this is a show, again, it's daily, but it's based on our weekly TV show, which is also called Newsmakers. You can watch it on the CBN News channel and also on our YouTube page. And on this show, every day we dive deep, it's a little more longer form with one of the people who you will often see on our Newsmakers show or across the CBN News platforms. With the 2024 election kicking up into high gear, there are new concerns among some around the conservative ideals held in the GOP party platform. In fact, Family Research Council action leader Tony Perkins joined me to talk about a new effort. The effort is called the Platform Integrity Project, and the goal is to maintain those conservative ideals in the platform. There are some fears that the platform could be watered down. Tony dives into what that means, why it matters, and what they're hoping to accomplish with this platform integrity project. With no further ado, here is Tony Perkins. You recently launched the Platform Integrity Project. Can you tell us a little bit about the impetus for this? Sure, Billy, I've served on the platform, the Republican Party platform, I think, four times or so, have been involved in it for over 20 years. And some people say, "What's the difference?" "Nobody pays any attention to this." Actually, Ronald Reagan back in 1976 made the same statement because people say these things don't matter, but they actually do. He said, and the comment that we often hear of him talking about bold colors versus past elves, he was talking about the party platform and of all people, he probably was the one that helped the party move forward with a visionary document that stated principles that attracted people to the party. And so, for the last really 40 years, especially in the last 20 years, we've seen that party platform become something of meaning, especially to social conservatives, Bible-believing Christians who are concerned about what's happening in the culture and in our political structure, to see a platform that recognizes that God is the creator, life is created in his image, and that man and woman, there's two genders, and the fact that marriage is a union of a man and woman is encouraging and draws people into the political process. And Billy, here's something else, research on party platforms show, this was Professor Lee Payne at Stephen F. Austin University, the party's actually followed these documents. Republicans followed them about 86% of the time. Bottom line, it matters, and we've been hearing that there was going to be an effort to kind of water down, close down the process, and we said, "No, we can't do that, this means too much to the Christian community, to the conservative cause, and to the nation." And so, that's why we launched this initiative. That is really interesting, the high percentage of politicians who stand by the platform. In a lot of ways, the platform is a contract, it feels like, between the people and the party who they're voting for, would that be an accurate depiction, really, of how this sort of works? It is, Billy. If you actually look at, again, going back to the research that's been done, and Professor Payne says that over the last 40 years, the two parties have gone in different directions, and the platforms reflect that, but that contrast actually makes it easier for voters to choose which one they want to align with. And we've seen the Republican Party become, quite frankly, more aligned with Biblical truth. Now, it is a secular entity, but in our secular government, we have to choose a vehicle, and this is the one that is most reflective of our understanding of Biblical truth and its application to the world in which we live. And so, it's been the document that states these things in very clear bold letters has attracted and engaged many believers in America to get engaged politically and find a home in the Republican Party. Now, I would imagine the concerns are relatively profound over the possibility of watering down that language, otherwise, you wouldn't have created this. I mean, how profound are these concerns in your mind in light of what you've seen and heard? Well, now, I would be very fair. I've had conversations, they've been slow in coming. Part of my concern, Billy, is, as I mentioned, I've been involved in this nearly 20 years, and this is the worst communication that I've had from the RNC leading up to a party convention and platform ever. And so, that number one, there's kind of this cone of silence that's been dropped on, and I'm not saying anything here that I haven't said to the campaign and to the party officials, but there is, as of today, now, I'm told that there's some changes that they're going to make some accommodations because of the concerns we've raised, but they said no one outside credentialed delegates could go into the meetings. That's unprecedented. And they've shut out the media, no C-SPAN coverage, no media coverage. That's not the way conservatives do business. We like sunlight. We want the American people to see what we're doing and what we have to offer. That's very concerning to me, and so when I see that, and that I do know, I've not seen the platform. I've seen conversations. They assure me that it's all going to be fine. They are telling me that we probably will have some issues with the life language. But the process matters because this is a document that delegates, 112 delegates, two from each state and territory come together, work on this to reflect where the conservative movement, the Republican Party is at, but it's not good to do that behind closed doors in secrecy. It needs to be open. This gag rule that I call this, the RNC gag rule should be lifted. The American people should be able to see the deliberation, the debate that formulates the vision of the Republican Party, their priorities, and their principles going forward. Is it possible, and of course this is just speculation, but is it possible that there's a danger that when one, the assumption that evangelicals and Christians are just going to vote for one candidate over the other because that person delivered for them last time, let's say in this case, Trump, that maybe they don't have to go as hard on that language or keep with that tradition because they're just going to go anyway with them. Do you think that there could be a mistake being made there if that is the case of just assuming that people are going to come alongside them because they have in the past? I think there's a temptation to do that. Look, let me just say, I'm very grateful for the four years that we had under President Donald Trump and a host of variants. I mean, obviously, the three Supreme Court justices that were constitutionalists that led to the overturn of Roe v. Wade, that obviously is something that we had worked for for many years. But there's so much more religious freedom and a strong military defense, a strong economy, so much that the last administration did. However, it's still about the future. We can't live in the past and we want to make sure that those policies continue. I mean, especially after the four years that we've had under this administration that can't tell the difference, we had a boy and a girl. I mean, we live in a state of total confusion. Look at the economy. I mean, what was the last time you drove through a fast food restaurant and you felt like you're being robbed? It cost so much because of the cost, the inflation. So yes, we're looking for relief, but we want to make sure it's the right relief. We want to make sure America's headed in the right direction. What voters need to see is that we've got a choice, a very sharp contrasting choice between visions and candidates. Look, we've got one that is taking America to hell on the handbasket and the HOV lane as fast as they can. We don't want an option of just driving in the slow lane. We want to go in the opposite direction. Now when it comes to the platform integrity project, what are you hoping to specifically accomplish in terms of that sunlight? Because you are going to be opening things up for people to actually see what is happening as this process unfolds. For the first time ever, we will actually be scoring votes on the party platform. So when there are key votes that pertain to life, marriage, human sexuality, religious freedom, those core values that we talk about making America great again, well America can't be great until it's morally good and it has to have that foundation and that's where the evangelicals have come into the party and been welcomed in years past, although sometimes not so much so. But those are essential planks to the platform and so we'll be scoring those. Many of these delegates come, they've been picked by the campaign and by some others to come and they just feel like they're going to be behind closed doors, they're going to make these decisions based on what somebody else wants. Well, we're going to open up the process. CSAN's not going to be there, if citizens can't be there to see what's going on, we're going to record these votes and we're going to post them online at the platform integrity project.com website and people will be able to see. So those individuals who are in elected office, some want to be in elected office, they'll have to give an account to their constituents back home. Did they vote to support the sanctity of human life? Did they vote to support marriage as a union of a man and woman? Did they welcome God into America as we have in the past? All that's going to be recorded and people will have to give an account for how they vote. So let's just talk before we go about the life issue because obviously the overturning of Roe you mentioned before, that was something that a lot of people thought was never going to happen, would never unfold. The Dobbs decision made that happen and so a lot to discuss there but really boiling it down to the public reaction to that, Democrats seeming to think at moments as though it was a winning issue for them to campaign on this and the GOP trying to find a way to respond to that. When we talk about the language and obviously we haven't seen this language yet, that will end up being in that platform, how do you think that should be worded? How ideally should the Republican party in your view respond and hold the line on life? Well, let's provide context. I think there is concern, there's fear and I think the campaign has this. Republicans in general kind of have this after the midterm election. When what happened is a lot of Republicans ran from the issue of life, Democrats ran on the issue of abortion and so when you had a one-sided debate, guess what happened? But there were exceptions that, there were about a dozen governors who had signed very strong pro-life legislation from heartbeat to moment of conception bills and guess what? They all won reelection because they embraced it, they talked about it, they understood the importance of it, they didn't run from it, they weren't silent. So I don't think Republicans have to apologize for moving America back to being a place where we welcome everyone into the world. Regardless of what zip code they were conceived in, we're saying you need to be protected under our laws. So it is a different landscape, no question about it. And I do believe that the bulk of the activity has been will be at the state level. I mean, we wouldn't have had dobs, we would not have had dobs, had it not been for the state of Mississippi. And as a former state policymaker, I think the state is really where the action is, however, there is a federal role. For instance, the Biden administration pushing abortion pills, meth, breaststone, through the mail, well that trumps a state's pro-life laws. So you're going to have to address it at that level. But the issue that's been in the party platform since the mid 1980s is the human life amendment, recognizing that all life is created in the image of God and deserving to be protected under our laws. And frankly, Billy, that's a state issue. It's a constitutional amendment, the states will have to approve it. I think that has to stay in the party platform. And to your point, and this is just a fact, polling again and again and again shows that the majority of Americans, including pro-choice Americans, actually favor capping abortion at a certain point. In fact, the Knights of Columbus every year, they find that that majority ends up being the three month point in a pregnancy, right? So without getting into the discussion and debate about that, the reality is most Americans, including pro-choicers, would like to see restrictions on abortion. And that's a fact that gets lost in this conversation. So to your point, talking about, you have to engage the issue and talk about it, right? And so this is going to be interesting to see how this unfolds. If people want more information on the platform integrity project, where can they go to get that? Well, they can text the word platform to 6772, that's platform to 6772, they'll get a link or they can go to platformintegratingproject.com. It's just easier to text, to text platform to 6772 and they'll get a link and then go right to it. Well, I so appreciate you taking the time, breaking this all down. We'll continue to cover this story as it unfolds. Thank you. Thank you, Billy. That's all for today's Newsmakers podcast. Be sure to tune in for the next episode of the show. And also head over to the CBN News YouTube channel and the CBN News channel to watch newsmakers every week. We'll see you soon. in the next video. [music] in the next video. in the next video. the next video. [BLANK_AUDIO]
