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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 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: 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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: 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: 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 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: 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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: 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. 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. 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. 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. 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: We support the right of individuals to
choose between private retirement and pension programs, either at
their place of employment or independently. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. | ||
