American Constitution Party (Colorado)
American Constitution Party | |
|---|---|
| Chairman | Doug “Dayhorse” Campbell |
| Founded | July 23, 2000[1] |
| Political position | Right-wing |
| National affiliation | Constitution Party (United States) |
The American Constitution Party (ACP) is one of the state of Colorado's major political parties. It is affiliated with the national-level Constitution Party, a right-wing and theocratic political party in the United States.[2][3][4][5][6] The party asserts that the US is a Christian nation founded on the Bible and that American jurisprudence should be restored to what the party claims is its "Biblical foundations".[7] The ACP qualified for major party status in Colorado after receiving more than 36% of the vote in the 2010 gubernatorial election.[8]
Background
The American Constitution Party registered as a political party with the state of Colorado on July 23, 2000.[9] In July 2013, the ACP had just over 7,000 registered Colorado voters affiliated with it.[10] Some of the party's positions include:
- ACP members ... call for the abolition of the Food and Drug Administration, the Internal Revenue Service, the departments of Education and Energy and the Federal Election Commission. They seek the repeal of a number of laws, including one aimed at preventing threats and force against abortion clinics and women seeking abortions and a 1960s-era law meant to end discriminatory election practices.[11]
For most of its existence, the ACP has existed as one of Colorado's "minor parties," and has never elected one of its candidates to office.
Party platform
The American Constitution Party of Colorado seeks to:[12]
- Allow state legislatures, not voters, to pick U.S. senators (i.e., repeal the 17th Amendment)
- Repeal legislation making it illegal to use force or the threat of force to interfere with a woman seeking an abortion
- Abolish congressional pensions
- End the Endangered Species Act
- Terminate the U.S. Departments of Energy and Education, the Food and Drug Administration, the Federal Election Commission and the Internal Revenue Service
- Ban electronic voting to prevent voter fraud
- Repeal all federal campaign-finance laws
- Repeal the Voting Rights Act of 1965
- End compulsory public school attendance and promote homeschooling, private schools or religious schools
- End any domestic federal aid not provided for in the U.S. Constitution, as it is "not only illegal, it is immoral"
- End foreign aid and participation in multinational groups, such as the United Nations, as well as multinational treaties
- Retake the Panama Canal
- Prevent women from serving in combat as "these 'advances' undermine the integrity, morale and performance of our military organizations"
- "Cease financing or arming of belligerents in the world's troubled areas"
- Return to the people all federal lands held by the government without constitutional authorization
- Bar any attempt to legalize the union of gay couples
- Immediately collect all foreign debts owed to the U.S.
The ACP is affiliated with the national-level Constitution Party, which has developed a party platform as well.[13]
Major party status
Under state law, the American Constitution Party's vote share in the 2010 gubernatorial election elevated the party from "minor" to "major" party status. Any party that earns 10% or more of the votes cast for governor is a defined under statute as a "major party." Major party status gives the party a place at or near the top of the ballot in the 2014 gubernatorial election.
However, because of the additional organizational, financial, and compliance requirements triggered by major party status, ACP leaders have been ambivalent about the change.[14][15]
2010 gubernatorial election
Former Republican Congressman Tom Tancredo ran as the party's candidate for Colorado governor in 2010 after the campaign of Republican Party nominee Dan Maes collapsed politically. He won around 36% of the vote, receiving more than 2.5 times the vote of Republican Party nominee Maes.[16] Democratic candidate John Hickenlooper won the election with just over 51% of the vote.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | John Hickenlooper | 912,005 | 51.01% | −5.97% | |
| Constitution | Tom Tancredo | 651,232 | 36.43% | +35.80% | |
| Republican | Dan Maes | 199,034 | 11.13% | −29.03% | |
| Libertarian | Jaimes Brown | 13,314 | 0.74% | −0.75% | |
| Independent | Jason R. Clark | 8,576 | 0.48% | ||
| Independent | Paul Fiorino | 3,483 | 0.19% | ||
| Write-ins | 86 | 0.00% | |||
| Majority | 260,773 | 14.59% | −2.24% | ||
| Turnout | 1,787,730 | ||||
| Democratic hold | Swing | ||||
After the election, Tancredo quickly rejoined the Republican Party, disappointing an ACP leadership struggling to contend with major party status and how to successfully leverage the increased attention the party had received because of his candidacy.[18]
Candidates
Although the American Constitution Party's political and organizational sophistication did not grow despite the attention brought to it by Tancredo's 2010 gubernatorial candidacy, the party has fielded more candidates in the 2010 and 2012 cycles than it had in the entirety of the previous decade.[19]
| Election Year | Office | Name |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Adams County Sheriff | James Fariello |
| 2014 | Mesa County Assessor | Steve Henderson |
| 2013 | Steamboat Springs School Board | Joseph Andrew |
| 2012 | Adams County Commissioner | James Fariello |
| 2012 | Colorado House, District 14 | Ryan Dyer |
| 2012 | Colorado House, District 14 | Thomas O'dell |
| 2012 | Colorado House, District 15 | Michael Edstrom |
| 2012 | Colorado House, District 16 | David Rawe |
| 2012 | Colorado House, District 17 | Barry Pace |
| 2012 | Colorado House, District 18 | Amy Fedde |
| 2012 | Colorado House, District 19 | Timothy Biolchini |
| 2012 | Colorado House, District 20 | Donna Burdick |
| 2012 | Colorado House, District 21 | Sean Halstead |
| 2012 | Colorado House, District 61 | Robert Petrowsky |
| 2012 | Colorado Senate, District 10 | Christopher Mull |
| 2012 | Colorado Senate, District 12 | James Bristol |
| 2012 | CU Regent, At-Large | Tyler Belmont |
| 2012 | CU Regent, At-Large | Brian Scott |
| 2012 | CU Regent, District 5 | Gina Biolchini |
| 2012 | El Paso County Commissioner | Kathy Payne |
| 2010 | Adams County Sheriff | James Fariello |
| 2010 | Colorado Senate, District 31 | Clifton Powell |
| 2010 | Governor | Benjamin Goss |
| 2010 | Governor | Tom Tancredo |
| 2010 | Lt. Governor | Patricia Miller |
| 2010 | Motezuma County Sheriff | Gerald Wallace |
| 2010 | Secretary of State | Amanda Campbell |
| 2008 | Colorado House, District 27 | Amanda Campbell |
| 2008 | Colorado House, District 37 | Brian Olds |
| 2008 | Park County Commissioner | Zdenko Novkovic |
| 2006 | Colorado House, District 53 | Darren Morrison |
| 2006 | Colorado Senate, District 16 | Tim Leonard |
| 2006 | CU Regent, At-Large | Douglas "Dayhorse" Campbell |
| 2006 | Governor | Clyde Harkins |
| 2006 | La Plata County Commissioner | Padraig Lynch |
| 2006 | Lt. Governor | Tracy Davison |
| 2002 | Attorney General | Gaar Potter |
| 2002 | Colorado House | Paul Berthelot |
| 2002 | Colorado House, District 57 | Dr. Zane Newitt |
| 2002 | Lt. Governor | Desiree Hickson |
See also
- Politics of Colorado
- Electoral history of the Constitution Party
- Constitution Party (United States) federal candidates in 2010
- List of state Constitution Parties
References
- ^ http://tracer.sos.colorado.gov/PublicSite/SearchPages/CommitteeDetail.aspx?OrgID=12339
- ^ "Southern Poverty Law Center." Constitution Party Hopes to Take Politics to the Extreme in 2004. Spl Center, Feb.-Mar. 2003. Web. 20 Sept. 2013. <http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-report/browse-all-issues/2003/fall/our-terrible-swift-sword>
- ^ Blumenthal, Max (2010). Republican Gomorrah: Inside the Movement That Shattered the Party. Nation Books. p. 86. ISBN 978-1568584171.
- ^ "Meet Sarah Palin's radical right-wing pals". Salon Magazine. Oct 10, 2008.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|authors=ignored (help) - ^ Berlet, Chip (September 2, 2008). "Sarah Palin and Christian Dominionist Theocracy". Huffington Post. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
- ^ Carrie Budoff; Thomas Fitzgerald (August 8, 2004). "Candidate counts on anger at Specter Democrats are hoping that James Clymer, of the Constitution Party, will draw off enough conservative support to boost Hoeffel's chances". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
- ^ Preamble to Constitution Party Platform "The Constitution Party gratefully acknowledges the blessing of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as Creator, Preserver and Ruler of the Universe and of these 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 by Christians; not on religions but on a foundation of Christian principles and values. For this very reason peoples of all 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 the federal government to its Constitutional boundaries."
- ^ http://www.constitutionparty.com/news.php?aid=1301
- ^ http://tracer.sos.colorado.gov/PublicSite/SearchPages/CommitteeDetail.aspx?OrgID=12339
- ^ See Colorado Secretary of State: Voter Registration Statistics.
- ^ Jessica Fender, "Tancredo's new party way out in right field," The Denver Post; July 27, 2010.
- ^ Jessica Fender, "Tancredo's new party way out in right field," The Denver Post; July 27, 2010.
- ^ Constitution Party 2012 National Platform
- ^ Steven K. Paulson, "ACP Not Relishing Role As Colorado Major Party," Associated Press; May 8, 2011.
- ^ Patricia Calhoun, "American Constitution Party faces major headaches as a major Colorado party," Westword Magazine; 3/6/2012.
- ^ http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?year=2010&fips=8&f=0&off=5&elect=0
- ^ http://www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/electionresults2010/general/ColoradoReport.html
- ^ Peter Marcus, "American Constitution Party feels majorly scorned by Tancredo," The Colorado Statesman; 10/12/2012.
- ^ Source: Colorado Secretary of State, http://www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/elections/.
External links
- American Constitution Party (Colorado)
- Constitution Party 2012 National Platform
- The Castle Report - News and Commentary from a Constitutionist Perspective
- National Veterans Coalition
- Home Front with Cynthia Davis - Taking Back America One Family at A Time
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