What's New in the 2014 Republican Party Platform?

Nearly two weeks after the end of its state convention in Fort Worth, the Texas Republican Party posted its new party platform online Wednesday morning. While the platform changes related to homosexuality and immigration have drawn the most attention, a few other tweaks from the party's 2012 platform are worth noting.

Some new additions include:

•    A provision supporting "an amendment to the Texas Constitution to make the Texas Speaker of the House a state wide elected position."

•    Support for allowing Texans to hold "recall elections" for elected officials.

•    The first mention of "climate change" in the Texas Republican Party's platform. The platform describes it as a "political agenda" aimed at having government control people's lives. It also says that research related to the cause of climate change is "not conclusive."

There are also some interesting changes to the platform, compared with the 2012 version, including:

•    A revision of the platform plank on the Patriot Act from "reviewing and revising" the controversial federal law to a full "repeal."

•    The removal of the Texas Republican Party's support for term limits for elected officials.

•    The removal of the party's explicit support for the Boy Scouts of America and efforts to "change the ideals of the organization."

•    The removal of the party's opposition to Washington, D.C., becoming a state or having voting representation in Congress.