Mountain Party Platform, as amended in

Convention on April 27, 2008

OVERVIEW:  The Mountain Party recognizes the myriad intimate connections between our rights as individual citizens and our responsibilities to our neighbors, ecosystem and planet.  The balance between rights and responsibilities may be found as we provide for maximum participation of all involved and is impacted by decisions that affect personal well-being, civil society, economic and environmental security, and our ecosphere.  The Mountain Party strives for policies that will be judged to further prosperity at least seven generations into the future especially as they relate to:  economic fairness, distribution of wealth, and corporate accountability; air, water and land quality; and infrastructure creation and maintenance.  A flourishing democracy may be the only way for all West Virginians to benefit from the incredible richness of our state.

GRASSROOTS DEMOCRACY

Every human being deserves a say in the decisions that affect their lives and to not be subject to the will of another.  Therefore, we will work to increase public participation at every level of government and to ensure that our public representatives are fully accountable to the people who elect them.  We will also work to create new types of political organizations which expand the process of participatory democracy by directly including citizens in the decision-making process.

SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITY

All persons should have the rights and opportunity to benefit equally from the resources afforded us by society and the environment.  We must consciously confront in ourselves, our organizations, and society at large, barriers such as racism and class oppression, sexism and homophobia, ageism and disability, which act to deny fair treatment and equal justice under the law.

ECOLOGICAL WISDOM

Human societies must operate with the understanding that we are part of nature, not separate from nature.  We must maintain an ecological balance and live within the ecological and resource limits of our communities and our planet.  We support a sustainable society which utilizes resources in such a way that future generations will benefit and not suffer from the practices of our generation.  To this end, we must practice agriculture which replenishes the soil; move to an energy efficient economy; and live in ways that respect the integrity of natural systems.

NON-VIOLENCE

It is essential that we develop effective alternatives to society's current patterns of violence.  We will work to demilitarize, and to eliminate weapons of mass destruction, without being naive about the intentions of other governments.  We recognize the need for self-defense and the defense of others who are in helpless situations.

We promote non-violent methods to oppose practices and policies with which we disagree, and will guide our actions toward lasting personal, community and global peace.

The Mountain Party seeks:

1. Protection of our air, water and land by promoting policies which are directed toward sustainable energy, agriculture and environmentally sound economic development; a halt to mountaintop removal coal mining in order to preserve precious forest lands and streams; timber regulation that reduces flooding and erosion and eliminates clear-cutting and destruction of old growth forests; full enforcement of current environmental protection laws; and phasing out ecologically destructive sources of energy while promoting renewable sources of energy.

2. Promotion of political justice through election law reform including an independent, non-partisan election commission; full public financing of elections; free media air time and access to debates by all qualified candidates; accurate and verifiable voter roles, enhanced voter access, and same day registration; verifiable paper trail ballots; and instant runoff and other progressive voting systems.

3. Progress toward corporate accountability through enforcing laws governing corporate crime and violence; holding executives directly liable for harm resulting from their decisions; requiring corporations to pay their fair share of taxes and be responsible neighbors; and challenging corporate personhood.

4. Promotion of economic justice through small and community-based business organizations and activities; a living wage for all West Virginia workers; and the freedom to form unions and engage in collective bargaining.

5. Promotion of appropriate educational opportunities including small, community-based public schools with enforced time limits on busing; a realignment of state budgetary priorities to ensure that all citizens attain an educational level that will allow democracy to flourish; and provision of a civic education that encourages active participation in the democratic process that goes beyond voting.

6. Promotion of healthy lifestyles in order to decrease medical expenditures for preventable disease along with enactment of universal health care including medical, dental and prescription benefits as a right; promotion of patients rights; and curtailment of corporate-action-induced negative health effects.

7. Promotion of true democratic principles in government through dismantlement of oppressive political machines and replacement with politics as if people mattered; reversing the privatization of government; proportional representation in the state legislature; and transparency and sunshine laws for all government functions.

8. Promotion of a progressive tax code including elimination of the sales tax on clothing and food; tax relief for small businesses and elimination of corporate welfare; and fair assessments of mineral and other natural resource holdings.

9. Mandating citizen referendums on any gambling initiatives in the state.

10. Promotion of Fair Trade, not Free Trade through opposition to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the Free Trade Area of the Americas Treaty (FTAA), World Trade Organization treaties (WTO), the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), and any future global trade treaties that threaten to override state and US sovereign laws with the use of secret tribunals.