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Constitution Party (United States)

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Constitution Party
ChairmanJim Clymer
Founded1992
Headquarters23 North Lime St.
Lancaster, PA 17602
IdeologyConstitutional conservatism, nationalism
International affiliationNone
ColorsRed, White, and Blue
Website
http://constitutionparty.com

The Constitution Party is a paleoconservative United States political party. It was founded as the U.S. Taxpayers Party in 1992. The party's official name was changed to the Constitution Party in 1999; however, some state affiliate parties are known under different names. It ranks third nationally amongst all United States political parties in registered voters, with 366,937 registered members as of November 2006,[1] most of whom are registered in California and Nevada.

The Constitution Party advocates a Bible-based platform which it claims to reflect original intent of the U.S. Constitution and the principles of the U.S. Declaration of Independence.[2] The party seeks "to restore American jurisprudence to its original Biblical common-law foundations."[3]

In 2006, Rick Jore of Montana became the first Constitution Party candidate elected to a state-level office,[4][5] though the Constitution Party of Montana was not affiliated with the national party at the time.

Affiliates and other similar parties

The Michigan affiliate has kept the U.S. Taxpayers Party name to retain ballot status. In Connecticut the affiliate is the Concerned Citizens Party; in Nebraska the affiliate has recently changed its name from "The Nebraska Party" to "The Nebraska Independent Party"[6]. In California, the affiliate is the American Independent Party and in Nevada it is the Independent American Party. According to Richard Winger, the editor of Ballot Access News, and other observers, the word "Independent" in the party name may have attracted the registrations of voters intending to declare themselves unaffiliated with any party.[citation needed]

It has been rumored that the Constitution Party discussed a merger[7] between several third parties such as the Reform Party, Independent American Party, American Independent Party, and the America First Party, but others have rebutted this as a misinterpretation of the events.[8] All of the aforementioned parties except for the Reform Party endorsed Michael Peroutka as their presidential candidate in 2004.

Notable persons

Pat Buchanan threatened to run as the U.S. Taxpayers Party candidate if Bob Dole had chosen a pro-choice running mate in 1996. Dole ultimately chose pro-life Jack Kemp and received Buchanan's endorsement. Buchanan stated on the September 7, 2004 edition of Hardball with Chris Matthews, "There is a chance I would vote for Peroutka."[9] Buchanan's running mate Ezola B. Foster later joined the party.

Conservative U.S. senator Bob Smith announced his switch from Republican to this party, then the U.S. Taxpayers Party. He also briefly ran for its presidential nomination in 2000. Smith later claimed that anti-New World Order ideologues within the party resisted his candidacy due to Smith's Roman Catholicism. He continued his campaign as a non-partisan independent but ceased the campaign soon after.

Minuteman Project co-founder Jim Gilchrist ran for Congress with the American Independent Party in 2005, but has since rejoined the Republicans.[10]

Conservative author and WorldNetDaily columnist Jerome Corsi launched a brief campaign for the 2008 nomination but in July 2007 decided to return to writing.

Platform

Fiscal policy

The Constitution Party supports reducing the role of the United States federal government through cutting bureaucratic regulation, reducing spending, and replacing the income tax with a tariff-based revenue system supplemented by excise taxes. Its leaders are among the strongest advocates of abolishing most forms of federal taxation, especially the income tax; they view most current regular federal expenditures, such as those for health care, education, and welfare, as unconstitutional under Article 1 Section 8 of the Constitution and the Tenth Amendment.

The party supports paying off the federal debt through a systematic elimination of further borrowing and what they consider unconstitutional programs and agencies such as the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services. The party opposes foreign aid, asking that no further funds be appropriated for any kind of foreign aid program, and encourage the idea that the United States terminate its participation in international lending institutions, such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and the Export-Import Bank. It also urges the government to immediately terminate all subsidies, tax preferences, and investment guarantees that encourage U.S. businesses to invest in foreign property; and to seek to collect all foreign debts owed to it.

Foreign policy

Additionally, the party favors a noninterventionist foreign policy. It advocates reduction and eventual elimination of the role the United States plays in multinational and international organizations such as the United Nations, and favors withdrawal of the United States from most current treaties, such as NAFTA, GATT, and the World Trade Organization. The party takes paleoconservative positions in supporting protectionist policies on international trade.

The party also believes in exercising a tariff system to counteract the U.S.'s increasingly negative balance of trade.[11] The tariff system would levy additional import costs, the amount of which would vary proportionally with how much less the exporting country's production costs are compared to that of U.S. companies. This system would presumably give U.S. companies a better chance at competing with countries, like Mexico and China, who heavily underpay their workers; in turn, the system would encourage such countries to pay their workers higher wages, thus undercutting one major cause of offshoring American jobs.

Immigration policy

The party opposes illegal immigration and also seeks a more restrictive policy on legal immigration. They demand 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 the United States, any state, or any citizen of the United States.

Additionally, they 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 this country. They also reject any extension of amnesty to illegal aliens. The Constitution Party calls for the use of U.S. troops to protect the states against an influx of illegal immigrants.

Social policy

The party is pro-life and thus opposes euthanasia and abortion.[12][13] The party supports a States' right to administer the death penalty to those convicted of "capital crimes"[14] which, it should be noted, are not necessarily limited to murder but usually equate to such in modern American society.

Our support of a State's option to impose the death penalty is limited to those who have been convicted of capital crimes. This is consistent with protecting "innocent" life because the death penalty would only be applied to those who have proven to be a threat to innocent life.

It also opposes government recognition of same-sex unions, and believes state and local governments have the right to criminalize "offensive sexual behavior".[15] The party further opposes pornography, believing the government needs to take a stand against it.[16] Viewing gambling as destructive and contributing to crime, the party opposes legalized gambling as well as government's support of gambling organizations.[17] However, the party opposes federal anti-drug laws, in keeping with the spirit of Article 1 Section 8 and Amendment 10, while maintaining that the federal government may have a role in limiting the import of drugs.[18]

The party supports the right to bear arms and view the Second Amendment to the Constitution as securing broad rights to own guns. The party is opposed to the USA PATRIOT Act.

The party believes that charity is a private matter that the government has no business being involved in.[19] The party opposes federal restrictions on, or subsidization of, medical treatments.[20]

The party supports English as the official language for all governmental business, opposes bilingual ballots, and insists that those who wish to take part in the electoral process and governance of the US be required to read and comprehend basic English as a precondition of citizenship.[21]

Abortion stance and post-Tampa state disaffiliations

The Constitution Party's official stance on abortion is opposition to both early and late-term abortions. Party members, however, have been divided on the subject of exceptions in the cases of rape, incest, and abortions performed to save the life of the mother.

In early 2006, Nevada IAP (the Constitution Party state affiliate in Nevada) gubernatorial candidate Christopher H. Hansen publicly expressed support of these exceptions, which were contrary to the official Nevada platform.

At the party's April national convention in Tampa, Florida, the assembly voted not to disaffiliate Nevada, citing that affiliate's official position on the issue and national party policy against dictating the internal affairs (such as electing leaders) of any affiliate. They also made it more difficult to introduce a disaffiliation resolution.

In response, at least seven state parties (Alabama[22], Arkansas[23], New York[24], Ohio, Oregon[25], Maryland [26], Missouri[27], and Montana [28]) have formally voted to disaffiliate from the national party, believing it to have unacceptably compromised on the issue of abortion. The Missouri party has since reaffiliated, while new state parties have since been organized in Arkansas, New York, Ohio,[29] and Maryland.[30] The original Alabama Constitution Party, Constitution Party of Maryland, Constitution Party of Montana and Constitution Party of New York, Constitution Party of Oregon still exist, while the original Ohio party has since become the Institute for Principled Policy.

Federalism

The party supports the repeal of the Sixteenth Amendment, which allows Congress to tax individual income, and the Seventeenth Amendment, which requires the direct (popular) election of Senators.[31] The party asserts the rights of states to secede without interference from the Federal Government.[32]

Criticisms

Critics[who?] contend the Party uses its name in an Orwellian and disingenuous fashion in order to mask a theocratic agenda. Political Research Associates links the Constitution Party to the dominionism movement and voices concern that the Party advocates a form of government more reminiscent of the Pilgrims than of the Founding Fathers.[33] The Southern Poverty Law Center has voiced similar concerns and views the party's "cult-like" rhetoric as an invitation to commit violent acts to achieve a society not unlike that envisioned by the Iranian Revolution.[citation needed] The Party is also involved with the Christian Exodus, the Unregistered Baptist Fellowship, and other secessionist/separatist groups.[34]

The party has also attracted notables in the anti-abortion violence movement such as Lon Mabon.[35] However, many such notables were involved in the above-mentioned disaffiliation efforts over abortion, and it remains unclear on what effect the movement has upon the current reorganized affiliates.

Prominent members Devvy Kidd, Mary Starrett, and Chuck Baldwin advocate, in a variety of online conservative opinion journals, open defiance of the IRS and current Federal tax filing regulations.[citation needed]

Electoral history

Main article: Electoral history of the Constitution Party

Potential 2008 presidential candidates

Main article: 2008 United States third party presidential candidates § Constitution Party

Ballot access

The Constitution Party is on the ballot in the following states, as of January 4, 2007 [1]:

  1. California (as the American Independent Party)
  2. Colorado (as the American Constitution Party)
  3. Delaware
  4. Florida
  5. Idaho
  6. Michigan (as the U.S. Taxpayers Party of Michigan)
  7. Mississippi
  8. Montana (currently disaffiliated from national Constitution Party)
  9. Nebraska (as the Nebraska Party)
  10. Nevada (as the Independent American Party of Nevada)
  11. North Dakota
  12. Oregon (currently disaffiliated from national Constitution Party)
  13. Pennsylvania
  14. South Carolina
  15. Utah

See also

References

  1. ^ NOVEMBER 2006 REGISTRATION TOTALS
  2. ^ Party Platform (Constitutional Convention)
  3. ^ Constitution Party mission statement, official website
  4. ^ "State Legislature results", Missoulian, November 8, 2006, retrieved November 8, 2006
  5. ^ Control of state Legislature unclear, Helena Independent Record
  6. ^ The Nebraska Independent Party, retrieved September 14, 2006
  7. ^ 3rd parties to merge into 1? retrieved September 14, 2006
  8. ^ National Chairman Sets Record Straight on Third-Party Discussions, retrieved September 14, 2006
  9. ^ 'Hardball with Chris Matthews' for Sept. 7 2004
  10. ^ Jim Gilchrist's blog
  11. ^ Party Platform (Tariffs and Trade)
  12. ^ Party Platform (Preamble)
  13. ^ Party Platform (Sanctity of Life)
  14. ^ Constitution Party Frequently Asked Questions
  15. ^ Party Platform (Family)
  16. ^ Party Platform (Pornography)
  17. ^ Party Platform (Gambling)
  18. ^ Party Platform (Drug Abuse)
  19. ^ Party Platform (Welfare)
  20. ^ Party Platform (Health Care and Government)
  21. ^ Party Platform (Immigration)
  22. ^ Alabama Constitution Party disaffiliates
  23. ^ Arkansas Constitution Party Disaffiliates
  24. ^ Constitution Party in Serious Trouble?
  25. ^ Statement from Oregon CP Chair…
  26. ^ Maryland Disaffiliates from National Party
  27. ^ And Now The Missouri Constitution Party
  28. ^ Montana Constitution Party Bolts
  29. ^ CP National Committee Meeting In Boise Report: Part 1, retrieved April 23, 2007
  30. ^ New Maryland Constitution Party springs up, retrieved May 1, 2007
  31. ^ Party Platform (Congressional Reform)
  32. ^ Party Platform (Statehood)
  33. ^ The Rise of Dominionism Remaking America as a Christian Nation Frederick Clarkson. PRA PublicEye.org, Winter, 2005.
  34. ^ Chuck Baldwin
  35. ^ Overview of CP office candidates
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