Revised Principles

At the 2010 Cascade Conference, MRW released major revisions to the principles of Mainstream.

Mainstream Republicans of Washington

Declaration of Independence

We, Mainstream Republicans of Washington, declare our independence from politics that move us away from traditional Republican values as practiced by Presidents Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, and Ronald Reagan, and in the Evergreen State, by our own Governor, Dan Evans.This independence turns into political action through recruitment, financing, election and re-election of candidates who demonstrate, without litmus tests, agreement with the following principles:

Statement of Principles

We believe, first and foremost, with President Lincoln, that aThe proper function of government is to do for people those things that have to be done but cannot be done, or cannot be done as well, by individuals.aWe believe the fundamental principle that government should be fiscally responsible, limited in scope, and non-intrusive.We believe in limited government and the fulfillment of its important responsibilities, but our goal is to make that limited government work well, efficiently, effectively, and responsively.We believe in the American family as the appropriate environment to teach the values of our society, without governmental intrusion.We believe in the free enterprise system, and free trade, with restrained government involvement, to allow our economic system to maximize both the common good and individual opportunity.We believe in a strong national defense, featuring a volunteer force that is honored and compensated appropriately for service to our country.We believe that the best government is closest to home, with local importance placed on law enforcement, the prevention of crime, strong court systems, and emphasis on coordinating services and avoiding conflict with state and federal entities.We believe in government at all levels that is transparent; that the public has a aright to knowa how their laws are being carried out.We believe that there are more effective ways of creating a asafety neta for the disabled, the elderly, and the under-privileged by encouraging individual initiative rather than creating dependency.We believe in personal responsibility, that faith in the individual is the true foundation of our national strength, and personal freedom and privacy must be maintained by our governing laws.We believe that religion is a matter of personal conscience, and we must carefully balance within the constitutional mandate that the "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion" and "prohibiting the free exercise thereof."We believe in ethnic, cultural, and religious diversity in our society a maintaining unity with such diversity is necessary and remains a unique characteristic of America.We believe in equal access to economic opportunity and due process of law as these are the basics which make America the land of opportunity and freedom.We believe in equal rights for all citizens as our full potential can only be realized after these become a reality, including race ethnicity, gender, age, and sexual orientation.We believe in publicly funded public education as an obligation of our society; it provides the glue that bonds together the diverse segments of our society and provides the skills necessary to realize our economic opportunities.We believe in environmental stewardship, the protection of our recreational opportunities and our safety, and encourage the use of public-private partnerships to achieve these goals.We believe that participation in the political process by an informed, involved citizenry is essential if we are to have truly representative government.

Adopted as amended - March 11, 2010