OUR PARTY’S ORIGINS
In 1992, a
coalition of independent state parties united to form the U.S.
Taxpayers Party. The U.S. Taxpayer's Party's goal was to limit
the Federal Government to its constitutional boundaries and to
restore civil government to the principles our country was
founded upon. Some of the state affiliate parties have adopted
the national party name, while others have adopted or retained a
different name. In 1992, the party’s presidential candidate,
Howard Phillips, was on the ballot in 21 states, with Albion
Knight Jr. as his running mate. In 1995, the party became the
fifth political party to be formally recognized by the Federal
Election Commission as a national political party. In 1996 the
party achieved ballot access in 39 states, with Howard Phillips
as its presidential nominee and Constitutional scholar Herb
Titus as its vice-presidential nominee.
In 1999, at its
national nominating convention for the 2000 elections,
convention delegates chose to change the party name to
"Constitution Party," believing that the new name better
reflected the party’s primary policy approach of enforcing the
U.S. Constitution’s provisions and limitations. Also at that
convention, Howard Phillips was elected to be the party’s
presidential nominee for the 2000 elections. Dr. J. Curtis
Frazier of Missouri was selected as his vice-presidential
running mate at a meeting of the Party's National Committee over
the Labor Day weekend of 2000.
In 2004, the
Constitution Party nominated Michael Peroutka as its
presidential candidate and Chuck Baldwin as his
vice-presidential running mate.
The challenges
our nation faces are dire and pervasive. Therefore, the
Constitution Party maintains its focus on identifying, training
and preparing candidates for future elections at all levels of
government, from the local level on up. In support of this
objective and to raise public awareness, the party has built its
membership and organization at the state, county and local
level.
The Constitution
Party strongly champions the principles of government laid down
by our Founding Fathers in the Declaration of Independence and
the U.S. Constitution, principles which have been abandoned by
our political establishment. Unlike other political
organizations, we do not believe these principles are outdated.
We recognize that the Constitution of the United States of
America is the supreme law of the land and must be enforced.
The proper and
lawful division of governmental authority among the Federal,
State and local governments was an arrangement that the Founders
rightly saw as necessary to preserving freedom and justice. Only
after that federal, constitutional order is restored to its
proper balance can we reverse America’s slide into lawlessness,
corruption and tyranny.
The Constitution
Party is the only party which is completely pro-life, pro-gun,
pro-American sovereignty and independence, and in favor of a
strong national defense. It is also the only party that is anti-globalist,
anti-free trade, anti-deindustrialization, and anti-unchecked
immigration. We also oppose special rights for homosexuals, the
constantly increasing expansion of unlawful police laws, and
both foreign aid and military interventionism.
OUR PARTY’S MISSION
The mission of the Constitution
Party is to secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our
posterity through the election, at all levels of government, of
Constitution Party candidates who will uphold the Declaration of
Independence, the 28 Principles in the Constitution for the
United States and the Constitution for the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania. It is our goal to limit the federal and state
government to its delegated, enumerated, Constitutional
functions and to restore American jurisprudence to its original
Biblical common-law foundations.
The
Constitution Party recognizes the National Convention as
the highest authority in the national party. The
National Convention is held every four years for the
purpose of nominating presidential and vice presidential
candidates, adopting a national platform, and
transacting any other appropriate business.
Between
National Conventions, the business of the party is
conducted by a National Committee consisting of the
qualified representatives of the state affiliate
parties. The National Committee is the principal
governing body of the Constitution Party in all respects
not explicitly the domain of the National Convention.
Party
officers are elected by the National Committee and serve
on the Executive Committee. The elected officers include
the National Chairman, Vice Chairman, Treasurer,
Secretary, and four Area Chairmen and Co-Chairmen.
The Area
Chairmen and Co-Chairmen represent the geographic areas
of the nation. The western area includes the states of
Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho,
Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington,
and Wyoming. The mid-western area includes Illinois,
Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri,
Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and
Wisconsin. The southern area includes the states of
Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky,
Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South
Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. The Eastern
Area includes Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland,
Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, new York,
Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, and
the District of Columbia.
Each
state party affiliate is an independent organization
with separate bylaws, elected officers, and party
structure.
Constitutionalists support reducing the role of the United
States federal government through cutting bureaucratic
regulation, reducing spending, and abolishing the Internal
Revenue Service (IRS) in favor of a tariff-based revenue system
supplemented by excise taxes. Our leaders are among the
strongest advocates of abolishing most forms of federal
taxation, especially the income tax. We view most current
regular federal expenditures (such as those for healthcare,
education, welfare, etc.) as unconstitutional under the intended
strict interpretation of Article 1 Section 8 of the Constitution
and the Tenth Amendment.
We support 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, Internal Revenue
Service, and the United States Department of Health and Human
Services. We strongly oppose foreign aid, asking that no further
funds be appropriated for any kind of foreign aid program, and
encourage the idea that United States participation in
international lending institutions, such as the World Bank,
International Monetary Fund, and the Export-Import Bank be
ended. We urge that 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.
Additionally, we favor a
noninterventionist foreign policy. In such, we advocate
reduction and eventual elimination of the role the United States
plays in multinational and international organizations such as
the United Nations, and favor withdrawal of the United States
from most current treaties. The party takes constitutionalist
positions in supporting protectionist policies on international
trade.
The party
strongly opposes illegal immigration and also seeks a more
restrictive policy on legal immigration. We 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, 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 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.
The party is
strongly pro-life and thus opposes euthanasia and abortion. We
also oppose government recognition of homosexual unions. The
party believes that charity is a private matter that the
government has no business being involved in. We strongly
support the right to bear arms and view the Second Amendment to
the Constitution as securing broad rights to own guns. We are
steadfastly opposed to the USA Patriot Act, the Military
Commissions Act and every other act inconsistent with the
Constitution.
The party 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. They support English as the official language for
all governmental business by the United States.
The Constitution
Party's official stance on abortion is opposition to both early
and late-term abortions without exceptions.
STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES
We recognize and
affirm the God-given dignity of the individual and believe that
the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United
States of America, and the Pennsylvania Declaration of Rights
most clearly articulate this basic principle. To restore and
preserve that fundamental human dignity, we proclaim:
That
every individual has a paramount right to life from conception
until natural death and that government shall not infringe upon
that right.
That
the right of citizens to keep and bear arms in defense of
themselves and others shall not be questioned.
That
the freedom to own, use, exchange, control, protect, and freely
dispose of property and other assets is an inseparable extension
of the individual's inalienable rights.
That
the primary unit of society is the family (persons related by
blood, marriage or adoption) and it must be accorded all rights
and responsibilities to direct care of its members, particularly
in the areas of education, health care, discipline, and the
upbringing of children without government interference.
That
the United States of America is a sovereign nation and therefore
must maintain control over its own affairs.
That
guided by Divine Providence, our Founding Fathers established
this nation on Judeo-Christian principles and therefore the
right to the free exercise of religious beliefs is inviolate.
That
our government is one of limited, delegated powers operating as
a republic within the confines of the Constitution of the United
States of America. The federal government derives its authority
from its sovereign citizens and it is to be their servant, not
their master.
PLATFORM
Preamble
As a state affiliate of the national
Constitution Party we adhere to the Constitution Party National
Platform. In acknowledgement of the liberty and sovereignty of
Pennsylvania in our Constitutional Republic, we offer the
following platform. It embodies the aspirations and hopes of our
membership. It is our political vision for Pennsylvania as God
sees fit to place our representatives in positions of
governmental influence.
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 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 the federal government to its
Constitutional boundaries.
The Constitution
of the 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:
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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;
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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;
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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;
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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
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That,
therefore, it is essential to bind government with the 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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Sanctity of Life
The pre-born
child, whose life begins at fertilization, is a human being
created in God's image. The first duty of the law is to prevent
the shedding of innocent blood. It is, therefore, the duty of
all civil governments to secure and to safeguard the lives of
the pre-born.
To that end, the
Constitution of the United States was ordained and established
for "ourselves and our posterity." Under no circumstances may
the federal government fund or otherwise support 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 and use of
all abortifacients.
We affirm the
God-given legal personhood of all unborn human beings, without
exception. As to matters of rape and incest, it is
unconscionable to take the life of an innocent child for the
crimes of his father.
No government may
legalize the taking of the unalienable right to life without
justification, including the life of the pre-born; abortion may
not be declared lawful by any institution of state or local
government - legislative, judicial, or executive. The right to
life should not be made dependent upon a vote of a majority of
any legislative body.
In addition,
Article IV of the Constitution guarantees to each state a
republican form of government. Therefore, although a Supreme
Court opinion is binding on the parties to the controversy as to
the particulars of the case, it is not a political rule for the
nation. Roe v. Wade is an illegitimate usurpation of authority,
contrary to the law of the nation's Charter and Constitution. It
must be resisted by all civil government officials, federal,
state, and local, and by all branches of the government -
legislative, executive, and judicial.
We affirm both
the authority and duty of Congress to limit the appellate
jurisdiction of the Supreme Court in all cases of abortion in
accordance with the U.S. Constitution, Article III, Section 2.
In office, we
shall only appoint to the federal judiciary, and to other
positions of federal authority, qualified individuals who
publicly acknowledge and commit themselves to the legal
personhood of the pre-born child. In addition, we will do all
that is within our power to encourage federal, state, and local
government officials to protect the sanctity of the life of the
pre-born through legislation, executive action, and judicial
enforcement of the law of the land.
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.
In addition, we
oppose the funding and legalization of bio-research involving
human embryonic or pre-embryonic cells.
Finally, we also
oppose all government "legalization" of euthanasia, infanticide
and suicide.
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AIDS
HIV / AIDS is a
contagious disease which is dangerous to public health. It
should not be treated as a civil rights issue. Under no
circumstances should the federal government continue to
subsidize activities which have the effect of encouraging
perverted or promiscuous sexual conduct. Criminal penalties
should apply to those whose willful acts of omission or
commission place members of the public at risk of contracting
HIV / AIDS.
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Bring Government Back Home
The closer civil
government is to the people, the more responsible, responsive,
and accountable it is likely to be. The Constitution, itself, in
Articles I through VI, enumerates the powers which may be
exercised by the federal government. Of particular importance is
Article I, Section 8 which delineates the authority of the
Congress.
The federal
government was clearly established as a government of limited
authority. The Tenth Amendment to the Constitution specifically
provides that: "The powers not delegated to the United States by
the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are
reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."
Over time, the
limitations of federal government power imposed by the
Constitution have been substantially eroded. Preservation of
constitutional government requires a restoration of the balance
of authority between the federal government and the States as
provided in the Constitution, itself, and as intended and
construed by those who framed and ratified that document.
We pledge to be
faithful to this constitutional requirement and to work
methodically to restore to the States and to the people their
rightful control over legislative, judicial, executive, and
regulatory functions which are not constitutionally delegated to
the federal government.
We stand opposed
to any regionalization of governments, at any level, which
results in removal of decision-making powers from the people or
those directly elected by the people.
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Character and Moral
Conduct
Public respect
and esteem toward public officials has fallen to a shameful
level. The Constitution Party finds that a cause of this
national state of disgrace is the deterioration of personal
character among government leaders, exacerbated by the lack of
public outcry against immoral conduct by public office holders.
Our party leaders and public officials must display exemplary
qualities of honesty, integrity, reliability, moral uprightness,
fidelity, prudence, temperance, justice, fortitude,
self-restraint, courage, kindness, and compassion. If they
cannot be trusted in private life, neither can they be trusted
in public life.
It is imperative
the members and nominated candidates representing the
Constitution Party and its state affiliates recognize the
importance of demonstrating good character in their own lives.
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Congressional Reform
The Congress of
the United States has become an overpaid, overstaffed,
self-serving institution. It confiscates taxpayer funds to
finance exorbitant and unconstitutionally determined salaries,
pensions, and perks. Most members of Congress have become more
accountable to the Washington establishment than to the people
in their home districts. Both houses of Congress are all too
often unresponsive and irresponsible, arrogantly placing
themselves above the very laws they enact, and beyond the
control of the citizens they have sworn to represent and serve.
We seek to
abolish Congressional pensions.
It is time for
the American people to renew effective supervision of their
public servants, to restore right standards and to take back the
government. Congress must once again be accountable to the
people and obedient to the Constitution, repealing all laws that
delegate legislative powers to regulatory agencies,
bureaucracies, private organizations, the Federal Reserve Board,
international agencies, the President, and the judiciary.
The U.S.
Constitution, as originally framed in Article I, Section 3,
provided for U.S. Senators to be elected by state legislators.
This provided the states direct representation in the
legislative branch so as to deter the usurpation of powers that
are Constitutionally reserved to the states or to the people.
The Seventeenth
Amendment (providing for direct, popular election of U.S.
Senators) took away from state governments their Constitutional
role of indirect participation in the federal legislative
process.
If we are to see
a return to the states those powers, programs, and sources of
revenue that the federal government has unconstitutionally taken
away, then it is also vital that we repeal the Seventeenth
Amendment and return to state legislatures the function of
electing the U.S. Senate. In so doing, this would return the
U.S. Senate to being a body that represents the legislatures of
the several states on the federal level and, thus, a
tremendously vital part of the designed checks and balances of
power that our Constitution originally provided.
We support
legislation to prohibit the attachment of unrelated riders to
bills. Any amendments must fit within the scope and object of
the original bill.
We support
legislation to require that the Congressional Record contain an
accurate record of proceedings. Members of Congress are not to
be permitted to rewrite the speeches delivered during the course
of debates, or other remarks offered from the floors of their
respective houses; nor may any additional materials be inserted
in the Record, except those referred to in the speaker's
presentation and for which space is reserved.
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Conscription
Compulsory
government service is incompatible with individual liberty.
We oppose
imposition of the draft, the registration law, compulsory
military training or any other form of compulsory government
service.
We support a
well-trained and highly organized volunteer state home militia,
and voluntary Reserve Officer Training Corps (R.O.T.C.) military
training in our schools, colleges, and universities.
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Constitutional Convention
We affirm the
original text of the United States Constitution and the Bill of
Rights. We affirm that the nation's Charter, the Declaration of
Independence, and the Constitution contain the foundational law
of the federal union. We condemn, therefore, all legislative,
executive, and judicial action that departs from the texts and
intent of the Charter and the Constitution and their original
meaning.
We oppose any
attempt to call for a Constitutional convention, for any purpose
whatsoever, because it cannot be limited to any single issue,
and such convention could seriously erode our Constitutionally
protected unalienable rights.
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Copyrights and Patents
Article I,
Section 8 of the Constitution states that Congress shall have
the power "to promote the progress of science and useful arts,
by securing" copyright and patent protection for authors and
inventors.
We oppose the
unconstitutional transfer of authority over copyright and patent
policy from Congress to other agencies, domestic or foreign.
We favor more
vigorous efforts in both domestic and foreign markets to protect
the interests of owners in their copyrights and patents.
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Cost of Big Government
A legitimate and
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 call upon Congress and the
President to stop all federal expenditures which are not
specifically authorized by the U. S. Constitution, and to
restore to the states those powers, programs, and sources of
revenue that the federal government has usurped.
Budget
considerations are greatly impacted by the ever rising national
debt. Interest on the debt is one of the largest expenses of
government, and unless the interest is paid, the debt will
continue to grow as interest is added to interest. If we are to
get rid of the debt, a time needs to be set within which the
debt will be funded, and then pay it off within that period.
Whatever the payoff period may be, three things must happen
within that time.
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The annual
reductions have to be made without fail.
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All interest
must be paid as it accrues; and
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The government
must not spend more than it takes in during the payoff period.
One of the
greatest contributors to deficit spending is war. If the country
is to get rid of debt, the 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.
We call for the
systematic reduction of the federal debt through, but not
limited to, the elimination of further borrowing and the
elimination of unconstitutional programs and agencies.
We call upon the
President to use his Constitutional veto power to stop
irresponsible and unconstitutional appropriations, and use his
Constitutional authority to refuse to spend any money
appropriated by Congress for unconstitutional programs or in
excess of Constitutionally imposed tax revenue.
The debt could be
more rapidly eliminated if certain lands and other assets
currently held by the federal government were sold, and the
proceeds applied to the debt. This policy should be employed,
and funds from the sale of all such assets should be
specifically applied to debt reduction.
We reject the
misleading use of the terms "surplus" and "balanced budget" as
long as we have public debt. We oppose dishonest accounting
practices such as "off-budget items" used to hide
unconstitutional spending practices.
We call for an
end to the raiding by the federal government of the Social
Security, Railroad Retirement and Medicare funds. We believe
that over a protracted period the Social Security system may be
privatized without disadvantage to the beneficiaries of the
system. However, the program has been in place since the 1930s,
and workers and their employers were taxed for the program and
paid in good faith. The government promised to deliver the
benefits, and must meet this commitment.
We call for the
abolition of the Civil Service system, which is perceived to
confer on government employees a "property right" regarding
their jobs.
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Crime
Crime, in most
cases, is to be dealt with by state and local governments. To
the degree that the federal government, in its legislation, in
its judicial actions, in its regulations, and in its executive
branch activities, interferes with the ability of the people in
their communities to apprehend, judge, and penalize accused
lawbreakers, it bears responsibility for the climate of crime,
which has grown more destructive with each passing year.
We favor the
right of states and localities to execute criminals convicted of
capital crimes and to require restitution for the victims of
criminals. Federal involvement in state and local criminal
justice processes should be limited to that which is
Constitutionally required.
All who are
accused of crimes, petty to capital, shall have a trial by jury
upon request, and the jury shall be fully informed of its right
to nullify the law. Furthermore, we oppose defendants being
charged and tried by both state and federal jurisdictions under
different laws for the same alleged criminal act, thus violating
the constitutionally secured prohibition against double
jeopardy.
We recognize that
a real result of the designation of "hate crime" is to extend
federal jurisdiction to crimes which would otherwise be in the
province of the states.
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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. That which is hastily torn down will not be
easily rebuilt.
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.
Under no
circumstances would we commit U.S. forces to serve under any
foreign flag or command. We are opposed to any New World Order,
and we reject U.S. participation in or a relinquishing of
command to any foreign authority.
The goal of U.S.
security policy is to defend the national security interests of
the United States. Therefore, except in time of declared war,
for the purposes of state security, no state national guard or
reserve troops shall be called upon to support or conduct
operations in foreign theatres.
We should be the
friend of liberty everywhere, but the guarantor and provisioner
of ours alone.
We call for the
maintenance of a strong, state-of-the-art military on land, sea,
in the air, and in space. We urge the executive and legislative
branches to continue to provide for the modernization of our
armed forces, in keeping with advancing technologies and a
constantly changing world situation. We call for the deployment
of a fully-operational strategic defense system as soon as
possible.
We believe that
all defense expenditures should be directly related to the
protection of our nation, and that every item of expenditure
must be carefully reviewed to eliminate foreign aid, waste,
fraud, theft, inefficiency, and excess profits from all defense
contracts and military expenditures.
We reject the
policies and practices that permit women to train for or
participate in combat. Because of the radical feminization of
the military over the past two decades, it must be recognized
that these "advances" undermine the integrity and morale of our
military organizations by dual qualification standards and
forced integration.
We support the
restoration of "well regulated militia[s]" at the state and/or
community levels.
Under no
circumstances should we have unilaterally surrendered our
military base rights in Panama. The sovereign right of the
United States to the United States territory of the Canal Zone
has been jeopardized by treaties between the United States and
Panama. Inasmuch as the United States bought both the
sovereignty and the grant ownership of the ten-mile-wide Canal
Zone, we propose that the government of the United States
restore and protect its sovereign right and exclusive
jurisdiction of the Canal Zone in perpetuity, and renegotiate
the treaties with Panama by which the ownership of the canal was
surrendered to Panama.
It should be a
priority goal of the President and Congress to insist on
enforcement of that portion of the 1978 Panama Canal Neutrality
Treaty which prohibits control of the entrances to the Panama
Canal by any entity not part of the Republic of Panama or the
United States of America. By this standard, the award of port
facilities at the entrances to the Panama Canal to Hutchison
Whampoa, a Hong Kong company closely linked to the Chinese
Communist People's Liberation Army, must be overturned.
Similarly, Congress and the President should take advantage of
Panama Canal treaty provisions to negotiate the return of a U.S.
military presence at the isthmus of Panama. At a time when the
U.S. Navy is one-third its former size, it is essential that
rapid transit of U.S. military vessels between the Atlantic and
Pacific Oceans be assured.
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Domestic Federal Aid
The Constitution
assigns all powers not delegated to the federal government to
the states or the people.
Domestic federal
"aid" not authorized by the Constitution is not only illegal, it
is immoral.
We call upon the
states, therefore, to decline to accept all monies from the
federal government for any purpose not specifically and clearly
articulated in the Constitution, and reject all federal mandates
and regulations which are unconstitutional, thus restoring the
intended balance of power between the states and their creation,
the U.S. Government.
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Drug Abuse
The Constitution
Party will uphold the right of states and localities to restrict
access to drugs and to enforce such restrictions. We support
legislation to stop the flow of illegal drugs into the United
States from foreign sources. As a matter of self-defense,
retaliatory policies including embargoes, sanctions, and
tariffs, should be considered.
At the same time,
we will take care to prevent violations of the Constitutional
and civil rights of American citizens. Searches without probable
cause and seizures without due process must be prohibited, and
the presumption of innocence must be preserved.
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Education
All teaching is
related to basic assumptions about God and man. Education as a
whole, therefore, cannot be separated from religious faith. 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. No federal laws subsidizing or
regulating the education of children should be enacted. 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.
Because control
over education is now being relegated to departments other than
the Department of Education, we clarify that no federal agency,
department, board, or other entity may exercise jurisdiction
over any aspect of children's upbringing. Education, training,
and discipline of children are properly placed in the domain of
their parents.
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.
So that parents
need not defy the law by refusing to send their children to
schools of which they disapprove, compulsory attendance laws
should be repealed.
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Election Reform
The Constitution
Party seeks the restoration of an electoral process which is
controlled at the state and local level and is beyond
manipulation by federal judges and bureaucrats. The federal
government has unconstitutionally and unwisely preempted control
in matters of district boundaries, electoral procedures, and
campaign activities.
The Voting Rights
Act should be repealed. The Federal Election Campaign Act,
including its 1974 amendments, and the Federal Election
Commission should be abolished.
Each citizen
should have the right to seek public office in accordance with
the qualifications set forth in federal and state constitutions.
Additional restrictions and obligations governing candidate
eligibility and campaign procedures burden unconstitutionally
the fairness and accountability of our political system.
To encourage free
and fair elections, all candidates must be treated equally. We
call for an end to designated "Major Party" status that gives an
unfair advantage to some candidates by providing ballot access
and taxpayer dollars, while requiring others for the same office
to gather petition signatures or meet other, more stringent
criteria.
We call for a
repeal of all federal campaign finance laws (i.e.
McCain-Feingold) due to their violation of the First Amendment
to the U.S. Constitution.
In order to avoid
election fraud, we urge an end to electronic or mechanical
voting processes and a return to the manual counting process
overseen by, and accountable to, voters resident in each
precinct where the votes are cast.
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Electoral College
Article II,
Section I of the U.S. Constitution states, in part: "Each state
shall appoint, in such manner as the legislature thereof may
direct, a number of electors, equal to the whole number of
senators and representatives to which the state may be entitled
in the Congress: but no senator or representative, or person
holding an office of trust or profit under the United States,
shall be appointed an elector." This established our Electoral
College.
Although the
Constitution does not require the states to adhere to any
specific manner in electing these electors or how they cast
their votes, it suggests, by its wording, that prominent
individuals from each congressional district, and from the state
at large, would be elected or appointed as electors that
represent that district. Under this arrangement, a voter would
vote for three individuals, one to represent his district and
two "at large" representatives to represent his state. These
electors, in turn, would then carefully and deliberately select
the candidate for president. Under this system each
congressional district could, in essence, select a different
candidate. The candidate with the most electors nationwide would
become the next president.
This was the
general procedure used until the 1830's, at which time all the
states, except for South Carolina, changed to a "general
ticket."
The "general
ticket" system is still in use today. Inherently, it causes
corruption by the inequitable transfer of power from
congressional districts to the states and large cities at the
expense of rural communities.
The Constitution
Party encourages states to eliminate the "general ticket" system
and return to the procedure intended by the Framers.
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Energy
We call attention
to the continuing need of the United States for a sufficient
supply of energy for national security.
Private property
rights should be respected, and the federal government should
not interfere with the development of potential energy sources,
including natural gas, hydroelectric power, solar energy, wind
generators, and nuclear energy.
We call for
abolishing the Department of Energy.
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Environment
It is our
responsibility to be prudent, productive, and efficient stewards
of God's natural resources. 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.
In keeping with
this requirement, we wholeheartedly support realistic efforts to
preserve the environment and reduce pollution - air, water, and
land. We reject, however, the argument that this objective ought
to be pursued by costly governmental interference, accompanied
by multitudes of regulations and the heavy hand of arrogant
bureaucrats spurred on by irresponsible pressure groups.
The Fifth
Amendment of the United States Constitution limits the federal
power of eminent domain solely to the purchase of private
property with just compensation for public use, such as military
reservations and government office buildings - not for public
ownership, such as urban renewal, environmental protection, or
historic preservation. Under no circumstances may the federal
government take private property, by means of rules and
regulations which preclude or substantially reduce the
productive use of the property, even with just compensation.
We call for a
return to the states and to the people all lands which are held
by the federal government without authorization by the
Constitution.
We also call for
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 for an end to
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.
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Executive Orders
We oppose the use
of Presidential executive orders that make law or otherwise
usurp the Constitutional authority and responsibilities of the
legislative and judicial branches. This Constitutionally
subversive practice must be stopped by Congress. All
unconstitutional executive orders must be repealed.
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Family
The law of our
Creator defines marriage as the union between one man and one
woman. The marriage covenant is the foundation of the family,
and the family is fundamental in the maintenance of a stable,
healthy and prosperous social order. 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 states and
localities to proscribe offensive sexual behavior. We oppose all
efforts to impose a new sexual legal order through the federal
court system. 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
recognition of homosexual unions.
We recognize that
parents have the fundamental right and responsibility to
nurture, educate, and discipline their children. We oppose the
assumption of any of these responsibilities by any governmental
agency without the express delegation of the parents or legal
due process. 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.
We affirm both
the authority and duty of Congress to limit the appellate
jurisdiction of the Supreme Court in all cases of state sodomy
laws in accordance with the U.S. Constitution, Article III,
Section 2.
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Foreign Policy
National
Sovereignty
The United States
is properly a free and sovereign republic which should strive to
live in peace with all nations, without interfering in their
internal affairs, and without permitting their interference in
ours. We are, therefore, unalterably opposed to entangling
alliances - via treaties, or any other form of commitment -
which compromise our national sovereignty, or commit us to
intervention in foreign wars.
To this end, we
shall:
-
steadfastly
oppose American participation in any form of world government
organization, including any world court under United Nations
auspices;
-
call upon the
President, and Congress, to terminate United States membership
in the United Nations, and its subsidiary organizations, and
terminate U.S. participation in all so-called U.N. peace
keeping operations;
-
bar the United
Nations, and its subsidiaries, from further operation,
including raising of funds, on United States territory; and
-
propose that
the Constitution be obeyed to prohibit the United States
government from entering any treaty, or other agreement, which
makes any commitment of American military forces or tax money,
compromises the sovereignty of the United States, or
accomplishes a purpose properly the subject of domestic law.
In this connection we specifically denounce the agreement
establishing the proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA)
and any other such trade agreements, either bi-lateral or
regional in nature. All treaties must be subordinate to the
Constitution, since the Constitution is the only instrument
which empowers and limits the federal government.
American troops
must serve only under American commanders, not those of the
United Nations or foreign countries.
Pacts and Agreements
Since World War
II, the United States has increasingly played the undesirable
role of an international policeman. Through our involvements
abroad our country is being changed from a republic to a world
empire in which our freedoms are being sacrificed on an altar of
international involvement. The United States is now committed by
treaty to defend foreign nations in all parts of the world, and
by agreements other than treaties to defend more. Therefore, we
call upon the President, and Congress, to immediately commence a
systematic withdrawal from these treaties and agreements, each
of which holds the potential to plunge America into war in some
far-flung corner of the earth.
NATO, for
instance, serves no defensive purpose for the United States, and
this country should withdraw from it.
Unconstitutional, Undeclared Wars
Since World War
II, the United States has been involved in tragic,
unconstitutional, undeclared wars which cost our country the
lives of many thousands of young Americans. These wars were the
direct and foreseeable result of the bi-partisan interventionist
policy of both Democrat and Republican administrations.
The Constitution
Party is opposed to the continuation of the same interventionist
policy, with that policy's capacity to involve our country in
repeated wars.
We demand that:
-
never again
shall United States troops be employed on any foreign field of
battle without a declaration of war by Congress, as required
by the United States Constitution;
-
Congress refuse
to fund unconstitutional, undeclared wars pursuant to
presidential whim or international obligations under which
American sovereignty has been transferred to multi-national
agencies.
Foreign
Involvement
The Constitution
Party has consistently opposed American involvement in conflicts
in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Europe, and Central and South
America. The United States has no interest in these areas which
would justify the sacrifice of Americans on foreign battlefields
- nor is our country properly cast as a merchant of death in
international arms races.
We propose that
the United States
-
repudiate any
commitment, express or implied, to send U.S. troops to
participate in foreign conflicts, whether unilaterally, under
NATO auspices, or as a part of the United Nations
"peace-keeping" operations; and
-
cease
financing, or arming of belligerents in the world's troubled
areas.
We support the
principle of the Monroe Doctrine, which expresses U.S.
opposition to European adventurism in the Western Hemisphere.
We call upon the
Congress to immediately terminate American military presence in
all foreign countries where such U.S. presence constitutes an
invitation for this nation to become involved in, or further
participate in, foreign wars.
We are opposed to
the negotiation or ratification of any treaty which would
deprive United States citizens of their rights under the United
States Constitution.
Foreign Aid
Since World War
II, the United States has engaged in the greatest international
giveaway program ever conceived by man, and is now spending
billions of dollars each year to aid foreign nations. There is
no constitutional basis for foreign aid. These expenditures have
won us no friends, and constitute a major drain on the resources
of our taxpayers. 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.
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Gambling
Gambling promotes
an increase in crime, destruction of family values, and a
decline in the moral fiber of our country. We are opposed to
government sponsorship, involvement in, or promotion of
gambling, such as lotteries, or subsidization of Native American
casinos in the name of economic development. We call for the
repeal of federal legislation that usurps state and local
authority regarding authorization and regulation of tribal
casinos in the states.
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Gun Control
The right to bear
arms is inherent in the right of self defense, defense of the
family, and defense against tyranny, conferred on the individual
and the community by our Creator to safeguard life, liberty, and
property, as well as to help preserve the independence of the
nation.
The right to keep
and bear arms is guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the
Constitution; it may not properly be infringed upon or denied.
The Constitution
Party upholds the right of the citizen to keep and bear arms. We
oppose 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 emphasize that
when guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have them. In such
circumstances, the peaceful citizen's protection against the
criminal would be seriously jeopardized.
We call for the
repeal of all federal firearms legislation, beginning with
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.
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Health Care and Government
The Constitution
Party opposes the governmentalization and bureaucratization of
American medicine. Government regulation and subsidy constitutes
a threat to both the quality and availability of
patient-oriented health care and treatment.
Hospitals,
doctors, and other health care providers should be accountable
to patients - not to politicians, insurance bureaucrats, or HMO
Administrators.
If the supply of
medical care is controlled by the federal government, then
officers of that government will determine which demand is
satisfied. The result will be the rationing of services, higher
costs, poorer results - and the power of life and death
transferred from caring physicians to unaccountable political
overseers.
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 such 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.
We applaud
proposals for employee-controlled "family coverage" health
insurance plans based on cash value life insurance principles.
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, as it
has been the federal agency primarily responsible for
prohibiting beneficial products, treatments, and technologies
here in the United States that are freely available in much of
the rest of the civilized world.
We affirm freedom
of choice of practitioner and treatment for all citizens for
their health care.
We support the
right of patients to seek redress of their grievances through
the courts against insurers and/or HMO's.
We condemn the
misrepresentations made by the Federal Administration in
securing passage of the recently enacted Medicare prescription
drug bill, and the use of such legislation to secure government
subsidies to special interests, such as the HMOs, and to protect
the artificially high cost to consumers of prescription drugs.
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Immigration
We affirm the
integrity of the international borders of the United States and
the Constitutional authority and duty of the federal government
to guard and to protect those borders, including the regulation
of the numbers and of the qualifications of immigrants into the
country.
Each year
approximately one million legal immigrants and almost as many
illegal aliens enter the United States. These immigrants -
including illegal aliens - have been made eligible for various
kinds of public assistance, including housing, education, Social
Security, and legal services. This unconstitutional drain on the
federal Treasury is having a severe and adverse impact on our
economy, increasing the cost of government at federal, state,
and local levels, adding to the tax burden, and stressing the
fabric of society. The mass importation of people with low
standards of living threatens the wage structure of the American
worker and the labor balance in our country.
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 the 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 the 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 this country.
We oppose any
extension of amnesty to illegal aliens. We call for the use of
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 the United States.
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The Judiciary
The United States
Constitution does not provide for lifetime appointment of
federal judges, but only for a term of office during good
behavior. We support Congressional enforcement of the
Constitutional rule of good behavior and to restrain judicial
activism by properly removing offending judges through the
process of impeachment provided for in Article I, § 2 and 3 of
the Constitution. Furthermore, Congress must exert the power it
possesses to prohibit all federal courts from hearing cases
which Congress deems to be outside federal jurisdiction pursuant
to Article III, § 2 of the Constitution.
We particularly
support all the legislation which would remove from Federal
appellate review jurisdiction matters involving acknowledgement
of God as the sovereign source of law, liberty, or government.
We commend Former
Chief Justice Roy Moore of the Alabama Supreme Court for his
defense of the display of the Ten Commandments, and condemn
those who persecuted him and removed him from office for his
morally and legally just stand.
We deny the
validity of judicial rulings that use foreign court rulings to
overturn U.S. precedent.
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Money and Banking
Money functions
as both a medium of exchange and a symbol of a nation's
morality.
The Founding
Fathers established a system of "coin" money that was designed
to prohibit the "improper and wicked" manipulation of the
nation's medium of exchange while guaranteeing the power of the
citizens' earnings.
The federal
government has departed from the principle of "coin" money as
defined by the U.S. Constitution and the Mint Act of 1792 and
has granted unconstitutional control of the nation's monetary
and banking system to the private Federal Reserve System.
The Constitution
Party recommends a substantive reform of the system of Federal
taxation. In order for such reform to be effective, it is
necessary that the United States:
-
Return to the
money system set forth in the Constitution;
-
Repeal the
Federal Reserve Act, and reform the current Federal Reserve
banks to become clearing houses only; and
-
Prohibit
fractional reserve banking.
It is our
intention that no system of "debt money" shall be imposed on the
people of the United States. We support a debt free, interest
free money system.
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Personal and
Private Property Security
We affirm the
Fourth Amendment right of the people to be secure in their
persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable
searches and seizures, including arbitrary or de facto
registration, general and unwarranted electronic surveillance,
national computer databases, and national identification cards.
We also reaffirm that civil governments must be strictly limited
in their powers to intrude upon the persons and private property
of individual citizens, in particular, that no place be searched
and no thing be seized, except upon proof of probable cause that
a crime has been committed and the proper judicial warrant
issued.
We further
reaffirm the common-law rule that protects the people from any
search or seizure whatsoever when that search or seizure
violates the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
We deplore and
oppose vigorously legislation and executive action that deprive
the people of their Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights under
claims of necessity to "combat terrorism" or to "protect
national security."
We oppose
legislation and administrative action utilizing asset forfeiture
laws which enable the confiscation of the private property of
persons not involved in the crime. Forfeiture of assets can only
be enforced after conviction of the property owner as a penalty
for the crime. Such forfeitures must follow full due process of
law under criminal prosecution standards.
We oppose the
monitoring and controlling of the financial transactions of the
people through such proposed laws as "Know Your Customer." Banks
should be repositories of treasure and fiduciaries for the
people, not enforcers for the State. Any information regarding
customer transactions the State obtains from banks must be
subject to the traditional Fourth Amendment safeguards.
We support
privacy legislation that prohibits private parties from
discriminating 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.
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Pornography
Pornography, at
best, is a distortion of the true nature of sex created by God
for the procreative union between one man and one woman in the
holy bonds of matrimony, and at worst, is a destructive element
of society resulting in significant and real emotional,
physical, spiritual and financial costs to individuals, families
and communities. We call on our local, state and federal
governments to uphold our cherished First Amendment right to
free speech by vigorously enforcing our laws against obscenity
to maintain a degree of separation between that which is truly
speech and that which only seeks to distort and destroy.
With the advent
of the Internet and the benevolent neglect of the previous
administrations, the pornography industry enjoyed uninhibited
growth and expansion until the point today that we live in a
sex-saturated society where almost nothing remains untainted by
its perversion. While we believe in the responsibility of the
individual and corporate entities to regulate themselves, we
also believe that our collective representative body we call
government plays a vital role in establishing and maintaining
the highest level of decency in our community standards.
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Religious Freedom
Article I of the
Bill of Rights reads: "Congress shall make no law respecting an
establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise
thereof."
Our Constitution
grants no authority to the federal government either to grant or
deny the religious expressions of the people in any place. Both
the First and Tenth Amendments forbid such tyranny.
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. Such intrusion is prohibited by the
Constitution and must be halted.
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.
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Social Security
The Constitution
grants no authority to the federal government to administrate a
Social Security system. The Constitution Party advocates phasing
out the entire Social Security program, while continuing to meet
the obligations already incurred under the system. Until the
current Social Security system can be responsibly phased out, we
propose that:
-
The Social
Security tax not be a "rainy day" fund which politicians can
pirate, or from which they can borrow to cover their errors
and pay for their excesses.
-
Individuals who
have contributed to Social Security be allowed to withdraw
those funds and transfer them into an IRA or similar
investments under the control of the individual contributor.
-
Any sort of
merger between the U.S. Social Security System and that of any
foreign country be banned, so the distribution of benefits
will not go to persons who have not qualified for payments
under American law as legal residents.
-
Earning
limitations on persons aged 62 and over be removed, so that
they may earn any amount of additional income without placing
their benefits at risk.
-
Those
provisions of the Social Security system which penalize those
born during the "notch years" between 1917 and 1926 be
repealed, and that such persons be placed on the same benefit
schedules as all other beneficiaries.
We support the
right of individuals to choose between private retirement and
pension programs, either at their place of employment or
independently.
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Statehood
We oppose any
effort to confer statehood on the District of Columbia or any
representation in Congress comparable to that of an independent
state in the federal union.
We oppose efforts
to confer statehood upon the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or
expand statehood beyond the current fifty states.
We acknowledge
that each state's membership in the Union is voluntary.
We support the
equal footing doctrine co-equal with the original thirteen
states for all states coming into and having entered the Union
as states.
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State Sovereignty
Our federal
republic was created by joint action of the several states. It
has been gradually perverted into a socialist machine for
federal control in the domestic affairs of the states.
The federal
government has no authority to mandate policies relating to
state education, natural resources, transportation, private
business, housing, health care, ad infinitum.
The Constitution
Party calls for the federal government to divest itself of
operations not authorized by the Constitution. We call upon
Congress to extract the federal government from such
enterprises, whether or not they compete with private
enterprise.
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Tariffs and Trade
Article I,
Section 8, of the Constitution states that Congress shall have
the power "To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations." Congress
may not abdicate or transfer to others these Constitutional
powers. We oppose, therefore, the unconstitutional transfer of
authority over U.S. trade policy from Congress to agencies,
domestic or foreign, which improperly exercise policy-setting
functions with respect to U.S. trade policy.
We favor the
abolition of the Office of Special Trade Representative, and
insist on the withdrawal of the United States from the North
American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the General Agreement on
Tariffs and Trade (GATT), the World Trade Organization (WTO),
and all other agreements wherein agencies other than the
Congress of the United States improperly assume responsibility
for establishing American trade policies.
Article I,
Section 8 provides that duties, imposts, and excises are
legitimate revenue-raising measures on which the United States
government may properly rely. We support a tariff based revenue
system, as did the Founding Fathers, which was the policy of the
United States during most of the nation's history. In no event
will the U.S. tariff on any foreign import be less than the
difference between the foreign item's cost of production and the
cost of production of a similar item produced in the United
States. The cost of production of a U.S. product shall include,
but not be limited to, all compensation, including fringe
benefits, paid to American workers, and environmental costs of
doing business imposed on business by federal, state, and local
governments.
Tariffs are not
only a constitutional source of revenue, but, wisely
administered, are an aid to preservation of the national
economy. Since the adoption of the 1934 Trade Agreements Act,
the United States government has engaged in a free trade policy
which has destroyed or endangered important segments of our
domestic agriculture and industry, undercut the wages of our
working men and women, and totally destroyed or shipped abroad
the jobs of hundreds of thousands of workers. This free trade
policy is being used to foster socialism in America through
welfare and subsidy programs.
We oppose all
international trade agreements which have the effect of
diminishing America's economic self-sufficiency and of exporting
jobs, the loss of which impoverishes American families,
undermines American communities, and diminishes America's
capacity for economic self-reliance, and the provision of
national defense.
We see our
country and its workers as more than bargaining chips for
multinational corporations and international banks in their
ill-conceived and evil New World Order.
We reject the
trade concept of normal trade relations (Most Favored Nation
status), used to curry favor with regimes whose domestic and
international policies are abhorrent to decent people
everywhere, and which are in fundamental conflict with the vital
interests of the United States of America.
We strongly
oppose unconstitutional "Trade Promotion Authority," which
transfers the establishment of trade policy from Congress to the
Executive branch of government.
In the name of
free trade, multi-national corporations have been given tax
breaks by the U.S. government which are not available to
American businesses, and the money extracted from U.S. taxpayers
has been used by the government to subsidize exports and
encourage businesses to move abroad. Such improprieties must
cease.
The United States
government should establish the firm policy that U.S. or
multinational businesses investing abroad do so at their own
risk. There is no obligation by our Government to protect those
businesses with the lives of our service personnel, or the taxes
of our citizens.
In the area of
national security, foreign interests have been abetted in
gaining access to America's high-tech secrets under the guise of
commercial enterprise. We propose that technology transfers
which compromise national security be made illegal, and urge
that all violators be prosecuted. We demand that all weapons
systems, military uniforms and equipment purchased for the
American military be domestically produced in their entirety
along with all their component parts.
We oppose the
practice of any officer of the United States government, or
spouse thereof, who, subsequent to Federal government employment
is employed to represent a foreign government or other foreign
entity, public or private, for purposes of influencing public
opinion or policy on matters affecting U.S. trade with such
foreign government or entity.
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Taxes
The Constitution,
in Article I, Section 8, gives Congress the power "to lay and
collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts, and Excises, to pay the Debts
and provide for the common Defense and general Welfare of the
United States."
In Article I,
Section 9, the original document made clear that "no Capitation,
or other direct Tax shall be laid, unless in Proportion to the
Census of Enumeration herein before directed to be taken." It is
moreover established that "No Tax or Duty shall be laid on
Articles exported from any State."
Since 1913, our
Constitutional rights to life, liberty, and property have been
abridged and diminished by the imposition on each of us of
Federal income, payroll, and estate taxes. This is an
unconstitutional Federal assumption of direct taxing authority.
The Internal
Revenue Service is the enforcement arm of the Federal
government's present unjust tax system. Citizens, both in groups
and as individuals, have repeatedly sought responses from the
IRS bureaucracy as to the basis for the agency's tax policies
and procedures. No answers have been forthcoming although a
responsible government must be answerable to the people and has
a duty to those it is supposed to serve.
We propose
legislation to abolish the Internal Revenue Service, and will
veto any authorization, appropriation, or continuing resolution
which contains any funding whatsoever for that illicit and
unconstitutional agency. We are opposed to the flat-rate tax,
national sales tax, and value added tax proposals that are being
promoted as an improvement to the current tax system. The
Sixteenth Amendment does not provide authority for an
un-apportioned direct tax.
Moreover, it is
our intention to replace, with a tariff based revenue system
supplemented by excise taxes, the current tax system of the U.S.
government (including income taxes, payroll taxes, and estate
taxes.)
To the degree
that tariffs on foreign products, and excises, are insufficient
to cover the legitimate Constitutional costs of the federal
government, we will offer an apportioned "state-rate tax" in
which the responsibility for covering the cost of unmet
obligations will be divided among the several states in
accordance with their proportion of the total population of the
United States, excluding the District of Columbia. Thus, if a
state contains 10 percent of the nation's citizens, it will be
responsible for assuming payment of 10 percent of the annual
deficit.
The effect of
this "state-rate tax" will be to encourage politicians to argue
for less, rather than more, federal spending, and less state
spending as well.
To the extent
permitted by the Constitution, we believe that the taxation of
corporations is an appropriate source of government revenue. The
Supreme Court has defined "income" as a "gain or increase
arising from corporate activity or privilege." People are not
corporations, and corporations need not be treated as "people"
for the purposes of taxation.
There is
substantial evidence that the 16th Amendment was never legally
ratified. 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."
We support the
use of motor fuel excise taxes, at rates not in excess of those
currently imposed, to be used exclusively for the erection,
maintenance, and administration of Federal highways. These taxes
should never be used for "demonstration projects", mass transit,
or for other non-highway purposes.
We support the
use of excise taxes to curb the use of tax dollars for media
advertising, and to provide so-called "tax abatements," "tax
incentives," and "economic development grants," which are
pretexts to raid the public treasury and rob the workingman for
the benefit of wealthy interests favored by the politicians.
Back to Platform
Terrorism and Personal
Liberty
America is
engaged in an undeclared war with an ill-defined enemy
(terrorism), a war which threatens to be never ending, and which
is being used to vastly expand government power, particularly
that of the executive branch, at the expense of the individual
liberties of the American people.
The "war on
terrorism" is serving as an excuse for the government to spend
beyond its income, expand the Federal bureaucracy, and socialize
the nation through taxpayer bailouts of the airlines, subsidies
to the giant insurance corporations, and other Federal programs.
We deplore and
vigorously oppose legislation and executive action, that deprive
the people of their rights secured under the Fourth and Fifth
Amendments under the guise of "combating terrorism" or
"protecting national security." Examples of such legislation are
the National Security Act, the USA PATRIOT Act, and the proposed
Domestic Securities Enhancement Act (colloquially known as
"Patriot II").
The National
Security Act is used by the federal government as a shroud to
prevent the American people and our elected officials from
knowing how much and where our tax dollars are spent from covert
operations around the world. The National Security Act prevents
the release of Executive Orders and Presidential Decision
Directives, e.g., PDD 25, to the American people and our elected
representatives. Not only are many of these used to thwart
justice in the name of national security, but some of the
operations under this act may threaten our very national
sovereignty.
The USA PATRIOT
Act permits arrests without warrants and secret detention
without counsel, wiretaps without court supervision, searches
and seizures without notification to the individual whose
property is invaded, and a host of other violations of the legal
safeguards our nation has historically developed according to
principles descending from the Fourth and Fifth Amendments.
Since we will no
longer have a free nation while the federal government (or the
governments of the several states, as the federal government may
authorize) can violate our historic rights under such laws, we
call for the rejection of all such laws and the ceasing of any
such further proposals including the aforementioned Domestic
Securities Enhancement Act.
The Constitution
Party is unalterably opposed to the criminal acts of terrorists,
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, the United States must avoid acts of
retaliation abroad which destroy innocent human lives, creating
enmity toward the United States and its people; and in accord
with the views of our Founding Fathers, we must disengage this
nation from the international entanglements which generate
foreign hatred of the United States, and are used as the excuse
for terrorist attacks on America and its people. The 'war on
terrorism" is not a proper excuse for perpetual U.S. occupation
of foreign lands, military assaults on countries which have not
injured us, or perpetual commitment of taxpayer dollars to
finance foreign governments.
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Veterans
The Constitution
Party appreciates the contributions of our servicemen and
veterans to the preservation of American freedom. We shall
continue to recognize their contributions to the national
welfare by providing equitable pay and benefits to our military
personnel, and generous health, education, and other benefits to
veterans.
We vigorously
resist the attempt by any government agency to nullify or reduce
earned benefits to veterans and their survivors, including but
not limited to, compensation, pensions, education, and health
care.
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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.
Back to Platform
Welfare
God, who endows
us with life, liberty, property, and the right to pursue
happiness, also exhorts individuals to care for the needy, the
sick, the homeless, the aged, and those who are otherwise unable
to care for themselves.
America's welfare
crisis is a government-induced crisis. Government social and
cultural policies have undermined the work ethic, even as the
government's economic and regulatory policies have undermined
the ability of our citizens to obtain work.
Charity, and
provision of welfare to those in need, is not a Constitutional
responsibility of the federal government. Under no circumstances
should the taxpayers of the 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 the
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.
Back to Platform
PRESS KIT
The Constitution Party:
HISTORY
1992 A coalition of independent state parties united to form the
U.S. Taxpayers Party. The party’s founder, Howard Phillips, was
on the ballot in 21 states as its first presidential candidate.
1995-99 Federal Election
Commission recognition as a national party (only 5 FEC
recognized parties.) Ballot access achieved in 39 states for the
1996 elections, representing over 80% of the electoral college
votes available.
Name changed to
“Constitution Party” by delegates at the 1999 National
Convention to better reflect the party’s primary focus of
enforcing the U.S. Constitution’s provisions and limitations.
2000 & 2004 The party achieved
ballot access in 41 and 36 states respectively. Even though the
party was on fewer state ballots in 2004, the vote tally
increased by 40% compared to the 2000 elections while other
‘alternative’ parties lost ground or barely matched their 2000
vote totals.
NUMBERS
The CP is the third largest political party in terms of voter
registration. There are 367,000 registered Constitution Party
voters. (This number does not take into
account the many states which do not tally voter registrations
by party. In addition, hundreds of thousands of voters
registered with other parties have chosen to vote for
Constitution Party candidates at the national, state and local
levels.)
1/4 of all voters
nation-wide are registered as independent or as members of a
‘third party’. Over the last 10 years this has been the largest
growing segment of voter registrations. Some states’ third party
or independent registrations approach 1/3 of all registered
voters.
In 2008, the Constitution Party expects to
have ballot access in all 50 states.
CANDIDATES
November, 2006 the Constitution Party had 193 candidates
on the ballot, including 6 U.S. Senate candidates. CP candidates
were elected to partisan offices for the first time in 2006,
including Montana State Representative Rick Jore.
PLATFORM
The Constitution Party is the only party which is
completely:
Pro-Life
Pro-States’ Rights
Pro-Second Amendment
Pro-Constitutional, Limited Government
Against- illegal immigration and open borders
Against- U.S. policy being dictated by the United Nations
Against- undeclared unconstitutional wars (such as Iraq and
Afghanistan)
Against- free trade and all international trade agreements such
as NAFTA & GATT
WHY A THIRD PARTY?
1. To encourage voter
participation and citizen involvement in the governing process.
2. Competition yields a
Superior Product; i.e. better elected officials and better
government.
· 95% of all incumbent candidates win
re-election. In recent years, between 50 and 75 of incumbent
Congressmen in the U.S. did not face an opponent on the November
ballot, allowing them to be reelected without even campaigning.
· Voter choice is even more limited in state
legislative races. 35 to 40% of the 6900 seats in state houses
across the US (over 2500 seats) typically have no competition.
3. To address issues ignored
by the two parties in power.
Past third parties championed…
· A Woman’s Right to Vote -introduced in
1872 by the Prohibition Party. It wasn’t until 1916 that the two
political parties in power began to consider the issue.
· Abolition of Slavery-introduced by the
Liberty Party (1840/1844) The issue was not fully accepted by
the Republican Party even as late as 1860. The Republican Party
was itself a third party in 1854 when it was founded. Just a few
years later, the Republicans defeated the incumbent conservative
party, the Whigs, by running a man named Abraham Lincoln.
Lincoln, running in a four-way race, won the electoral college
and the presidency even though he wasn't on the ballot in nine
states and received less that 40% of the popular vote.
· A Balanced Budget- focus of
Independent/Reform Party (1992/1996) candidate Ross Perot who
campaigned for fiscal restraint. By the time George W. Bush
became president the budget was balanced. Today both parties
give strong lip service to ending deficit spending though
neither party is willing to make the tough political choices
needed to balance the budget.
IS AMERICA READY?
A Zogby poll (9/6/1999)
showed 1/3 of the voters said they wanted to see a third party
candidate in the (presidential) race and 42 percent said they
would consider voting for such a candidate.
http://www.constitutionparty.com
COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR
Mary Starrett 602.315.6193
mstarrett@constitutionparty.com
