U.S. Political Parties: The Constitution Party

First off, I want to apologize for the length of this post. I didn't think it would be anywhere near this long. Feel free to ignore this post, jump around to the headings of interest, or read it in completion. Really this whole series has been more for me to learn about our political system.

Next, I would like to say that I knew virtually nothing about this political party going in to this but I would have to say that this is probably the party I fall more in line with. I thought I was a Republican but now, I think this party is more how I feel. Granted, both parties share many of the same ideals. I also don't necessarily agree fully on every topic but I do with the vast majority of what they believe.

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The Constitution Party was founded in 1992 under the name of U.S. Taxpayers’ Party. The name was later changed in 1999 however, some state affiliate parties use other names. In Michigan they have kept the name the U.S. Taxpayers’ Party, in Connecticut they call themselves the Concerned Citizens Party, in Nebraska they are now known as The Nebraska Independent Party. Other Parties, such as the Reform Party, Independent American Party, American Independent Party (yes, those are two different parties), & America First Party, have discussed merging with The Constitution Party. They now refer to themselves, “America’s Fastest Growing Political Party.”

According to their website:

“We declare the platform of the Constitution Party to be predicated on the principles of The Declaration of Independence, The Constitution of the United States, and The Bill of Rights. According to the original intent of the Founding Fathers, these founding documents are the foundation of our Liberty and the Supreme Law of the Land. The sole purpose of government, as stated in the Declaration of Independence, is to secure our unalienable rights given us by our Creator. When Government grows beyond this scope, it is usurpation, an liberty is compromised. We believe the major issues we face today are best solved by a renewed allegiance to the original intent of these founding documents.”

Their Preamble of their platform reads:

“The Constitution Party gratefully acknowledges the blessing of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as Creator, Preserver and Ruler of the Universe and of the United States. We hereby appeal to Him for mercy, aid, comfort, guidance and the protection of His Providence as we work to restore and preserve these United States.

“This great nation was founded, not by religionists, but Christians; not on religions but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For this very reason peoples of other faiths have been and are afforded asylum, prosperity, and freedom of worship here.

“The goal of the Constitution Party is to restore American jurisprudence to its Biblical foundations and to limit federal government to its Constitutional boundaries.

“The Constitution of these United States provides that ‘no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.’ The Constitution Party supports the original intent of this language. Therefore, the Constitution Party calls on all those who love liberty and value their inherent rights to join with us in the pursuit of these goals and in the restoration of these founding principles.

“The U.S. Constitution established a Republic rooted in Biblical law, administered by representatives who are Constitutionally elected by the citizens. In such a Republic all Life, Liberty and Property are protected because law rules.

“We affirm the principles of inherent individual rights upon which these United States of America were founded:

• That each individual is endowed by his Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are the rights to life, liberty, property and the pursuit of happiness;
• That the freedom to own, use, exchange, control, protect, and freely dispose of property is a natural, necessary and inseparable extension of the individual’s unalienable rights;
• That the legitimate function of government is to secure these rights through the preservation of domestic tranquility, the maintenance of a strong national defense, and the promotion of equal justice for all;
• That history makes clear that left unchecked, it is the nature of government to usurp the liberty of its citizens and eventually become a major violator of the people’s rights; and
• That, therefore, it is essential to bind government with chains of the Constitution and carefully divide and jealously limit government powers to those assigned by the consent of the governed.

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Here are some of the platforms upon which they stand:

Sanctity of Life

• They believe that life begins at fertilization & that abortion should be illegal in all cases including rape & incest. As to matters involving in which the life of the mother is directly compromised, they did not clearly say in what I read.
• They also oppose supporting or funding “any state or local government or any organization or entity, foreign or domestic, which advocates, encourages or participates in the practice of abortion. We also oppose the distribution & use of all abortifacients.”
• They believe the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold Roe vs. Wade was a usurpation of their position & should be resisted by all levels of government.
• “Further, we condemn the misuse of federal laws against pro-life demonstrators, and strongly urge the repeal of the FACE Acts as an unconstitutional expansion of federal power into areas reserved to the states or people by the Tenth Amendment.”
• They also “oppose the funding and legalization of bio-research involving human embryonic or pre-embryonic cells.”
• They are “also oppose all government ‘legalization’ of euthanasia, infanticide and suicide.”

Conscription

• They are opposed to the draft & any other form of compulsory government service. (Which if you have been paying attention to what Pres. Obama has said & by the his administration asking Hollywood to include volunteering in their scripts of last weeks sit-coms, one could postulate that our President may have in his mind some idea to make “volunteer” work required by all. I’m not being irrational. He has stated in several of his speeches that he believes all people, from the youngest to the oldest, should volunteer in some way, shape, or form. Also, free tickets were offered for a speech that Pres. Obama was going to give back in August. People who claimed the tickets were later called & told that in order to receive a ticket they would have to volunteer 6 hrs for the campaign in a 3 day time period. Sorry…I digress)

Cost of Big Government

• “A legitimate & primary purpose of civil government is to safeguard the God-given rights of its citizens; namely, life, liberty, and property. Only those duties, functions, and programs specifically assigned to the federal government by the Constitution should be funded. We cal upon Congress and the President to stop all federal expenditures which are not specifically authorized by the U.S. Constitution, and to restore the states those powers, programs, and sources of revenue that the federal government has usurped.”
• “One of the greatest contributors to deficit spending is war. If the country is to get rid of debt, these United States cannot become gratuitously involved in constant wars. Constitutional government, as the founders envisioned it, was not imperial. It was certainly not contemplated that America would police the world at the taxpayers’ expense.”

Crime

• They favor capital punishment & requiring restitution for the victims.
• They are opposed to “hate crime” laws.

Defense

• “It is a primary obligation of the federal government to provide for the common defense, and to be vigilant regarding potential threats, prospective capabilities, and perceived intentions of potential enemies”
• “We oppose unilateral disarmament and dismemberment of America’s defense infrastructure.”
• “We condemn the presidential assumption of authority to deploy American troops into combat without a declaration of war by Congress, pursuant to Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution.”
• “We are opposed to any New World Order, and we reject U.S. participation in or a relinquishing of command to any foreign authority.” (Be on alert, because this one is quite possibly about to happen this year…hopefully not, but possible.)
• “We call for the maintenance of a strong, state-of-the-art military on land, sea, in the air, and in space.”
• “We reject the policies and practices that permit women to train for or participate in combat.”
• “We fully support well regulated militias organized at the state level. Further, we fully support and encourage the restoration of unorganized militia at the county and community level in compliance with our patriotic and legal responsibilities as free citizens of these United States.”

Education

• “The law of our Creator assigns the authority and responsibility of educating children to their parents. Education should be free from all federal government subsidies, including vouchers, tax incentives, and loans, except with respect to veterans.”
• “Because the federal government has absolutely no jurisdiction concerning the education of our children, the United States Department of Education should be abolished; all federal legislation related to education should be repealed.”…”Under no circumstances should the federal government be involved in national teacher certification, educational curricula, textbook selection, learning standards, comprehensive sex education, psychological and psychiatric research testing programs, and personnel.”
• “We support the unimpeded right of parents to provide for the education of their children in the manner they deem best, including home, private or religious. We oppose all legislation from any level of government that would interfere with or restrict that liberty. We support equitable tax relief for families whose children do not attend government schools.”

Energy

• “We call attention to the continuing need of the United States for a sufficient supply of energy for national security and for the immediate adoption of a policy of free market solutions to achieve energy independence for these United States. We call for the abolishing the Department of Energy.”

Environment

• They believe that we should be good stewards of the natural resources God has given us. “In that role, we are commanded to be fruitful and multiply, and to replenish the earth and develop it (e.g., to turn deserts into farms and wastelands into groves). This requires a proper and continuing dynamic balance between development and conservation, between use and preservation.”
• “we wholeheartedly support realistic efforts to preserve the environment and reduce pollution - air, water, and land. We reject, however, the argument of the perceived threat of man-made global warming which has been refuted by a large number of scientists.”
• “We also call for the repeal of federal wetlands legislation and the federal Endangered Species Act. Moreover, we oppose any attempt to designate private or public property as United Nations World Heritage sites or Biosphere reserves. We call fro an end to this United States participation in UN programs such as UNESCO, Man and the Biosphere, and the UN Council on Sustainable Development. We oppose environmental treaties and conventions such as the Biodiversity Treaty, the Convention on Climate Control, and Agenda 21, which destroy our sovereignty and right to private property.” (I would also assume they are against the Copenhagen Treaty set to be signed this December.)

Family

• “The law of our Creator defines marriage as the union between one man and one woman.”…”No government may legitimately authorize or define marriage or family relations contrary to what God has instituted. We are opposed to amending the U.S. Constitution for the purpose of defining marriage.”
• “We reject the notion that sexual offenders are deserving of legal favor or special protection, and affirm the rights of the states and localities to proscribe offensive behavior.”
• “We stand against so-called ‘sexual orientation’ and ‘hate crime’ statutes that attempt to legitimize inappropriate sexual behavior and to stifle public resistance to its expression. We oppose government funding of ‘partner’ benefits for unmarried individuals. Finally, we oppose any legal recognitions of homosexual unions.”
• “We recognize that parents have the fundamental right and responsibility to nurture, educate, and discipline their children.”…”We affirm the value of the father and the mother in the home, and we oppose efforts to legalize adoption of children by homosexual singles or couples.”

Foreign Policy

• “We are opposed to the negotiation or ratification of any treaty, agreement, or partnership that would deprive United States citizens of their rights protected by the United States Constitution. We are also opposed to any union whether political or economic, of these United States, Mexico, and Canada (NAU).”
• They believe we should withdraw from NATO.
• They “oppose American participation in any form of world government organization, including any world court under United Nations auspices.” They also call upon the termination of our participation in the UN & any of it’s subsidiary organizations.
• “There is no constitutional basis for foreign aid.” “Therefore, we demand that: no further funds be appropriated for any kind of foreign aid program; United States participation in international lending institutions, such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, be ended; the Export-Import Bank be abolished; all government subsidies, tax preferences, and investment guarantees to encourage U.S. businesses to invest in foreign lands be immediately terminated; and all debts owed to the United States by foreign countries, or foreign entities, be collected.”

Gun Control

• “The right to keep & bear arms is guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the Constitution”
• “We oppose any attempts to prohibit ownership of guns by law-abiding citizens, and stand against all laws which would require the registration of guns or ammunition.”
• “We call for the repeal of all federal firearms legislation, beginning with the Federal Firearms Act of 1968.”
• “We call for the rescinding of all executive orders, the prohibition of any future executive orders, and the prohibition of treaty ratification which would in any way limit the right to keep and bear arms.”

Health Care and Government

• “The Constitution Party opposes the governmentalization and bureaucratization of American medicine.”
• “We denounce any civil government entity using age or any other personal characteristic to: preclude people and insurance firms from freely contracting for medical coverage; conscript people into socialized medicine, e.g., Medicare; or prohibit these people from using insurance payments and/or their own money to obtain medical services in addition to, or to augment the quality of, those services prescribed by the program.”
• “The federal government has no Constitutional provision to regulate or restrict the freedom of the people to have access to medical care, supplies or treatments. We advocate, therefore, the elimination of the federal Food and Drug Administration…”
• “We affirm freedom of choice of practitioner and treatment for all citizens for their health care.”

Immigration

• “We oppose the abuse of the H-1B and L-1 visa provisions of the immigration act which are displacing American workers with foreign.”
• “We favor a moratorium on immigration to these United States, except in extreme hardship cases or in other individual special circumstances, until the availability of all federal subsidies and assistance be discontinued, and proper security procedures have been instituted to protect against terrorist infiltration.”
• “We also insist that every individual group and/or private agency which requests the admission of an immigrant to the U.S., on whatever basis, be required to commit legally to provide housing and sustenance for such immigrants, bear full responsibility for the economic independence of the immigrants, and post appropriate bonds to seal such covenants.”
• “The Constitution Party demands that the federal government restore immigration policies based on the practice that potential immigrants will be disqualified from admission to the U.S. if, on the grounds of health, criminality, morals, or financial dependence, they would impose an improper burden on these United States, any state, or any citizen of the United States.”
• “We oppose the provision of welfare subsidies and other taxpayer-supported benefits to illegal aliens, and reject the practice of bestowing U.S. citizenship on children born to illegal alien parents while in their country.”
• “We oppose any extension of amnesty to illegal aliens. We call for the use of the U.S. troops to protect the states against invasion.”
• “We oppose bilingual ballots. We insist that those who wish to take part in the electoral process and governance of this nation be required to read and comprehend basic English as a precondition of citizenship. We support English as the official language for all governmental business by these United States.”

Personal and Private Property Security

• “We affirm the Fourth Amendment right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effect against unreasonable searches and seizures, including arbitrary or de facto registration, general and unwarranted electronic surveillance, national computer databases, and national identification cards.”
• “We deplore and oppose vigorously legislation and executive action that deprived the people of their Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights under claims of necessity to ‘combat terrorism’ or to ‘protect national security.’”
• “We oppose the monitoring and controlling of the financial transactions of the people through such proposed laws as ‘Know Your Customer.’”
• “We support privacy legislation that prohibits private parties from discrimination against individuals who refuse to disclose or obtain a Social Security number. We also call for legislation prohibiting all governmental entities from requiring the use of the Social Security number except for Social Security transactions. Additionally, we call for the repeal of all laws, regulations, and statutes that require the use of the Social Security number for any purpose other than Social Security transactions.”

Religious Freedom

• “We call upon all branches of government to cease their attacks on the religious liberties of the people and the states, regardless of the forum in which these liberties are exercised.”
• “We assert that any form of taxation on churches and other religious organizations is a direct and dangerous step toward state control of the church.”
• “We assert that private organizations such as the Boy Scouts of America, can determine their own membership, volunteers, and employment based on their oaths and creeds.”

Social Security

• “The Constitution Party advocates phasing out the entire Social Security program, while continuing to meet the obligations already incurred under the system.”

State Sovereignty

• “The federal government has no authority to mandate policies relating to state education, natural resources, transportation, private business, housing, and health care, ad infinitum.”

Taxes

• “We propose legislation to abolish the Internal Revenue Service, and will veto any authorization, appropriation, or continuing resolution which contains any funding whatsoever for the illicit and unconstitutional agency. We are opposed to the flat-rate tax, national sales tax, and the value added tax proposals that are being promoted as an improvement of the current tax system. The Sixteenth Amendment does not provide authority for an un-apportioned direct tax.”
• “When elected, we will act to cease collection of direct Federal personal income taxes. We also support ratification of the Liberty Amendment which would repeal the Sixteenth Amendment, and provide that ‘Congress shall not levy taxes on personal incomes, estates, and/or gifts.’”

Terrorism and Personal Liberty

• They oppose the National Security Act, the USA PATRIOT Act, the Domestic Securities Enhancement Act, and the Military Commissions Act.
• “The Constitution Party is unalterably opposed to the criminal acts of terrorist, and their organizations, as well as the governments which condone them. Individuals responsible for acts of terrorism must be punished for their crimes, including the infliction of capital punishment where appropriate. In responding to terrorism, however, these United States must avoid acts of retaliation abroad which destroy innocent human lives, creating enmity toward these United States and its people…”

Wage and Price Control

• “We deny that civil government has the authority to set wages and prices; so doing is inconsistent with principles of individual liberty and the free market.”

Welfare

• “Charity, and provision of welfare to those in need, is not a Constitutional responsibility of the federal government. Under no circumstances should taxpayers of these United States be obligated, under penalty of law through forced taxation, to assume the cost of providing welfare for other citizens. Neither should taxpayers be indentured to subsidize welfare for persons who enter these United States illegally.”
• “The message of Christian charity is fundamentally at odds with the concept of welfare maintenance as a right. In many cases, welfare provisions by the Federal government are not only misdirected, but morally destructive.”
• “It is the intended purpose of civil government to safeguard life, liberty and property - not to redistribute wealth. Such redistribution is contrary to the Biblical command against theft.”
• “We encourage individuals, families, churches, civic groups and other private organizations, to fulfill their personal responsibility to help those in need.”

Resources:
Constitution Party
Wikipedia: Constitution Party