Constitution Party
Before I get on to the next item on our third party political menu (to carry over the “buffet” metaphor from my previous article), I want to add a piece of information regarding the first installment. After the last issue of Lavender went to press, I received an e-mail from Chuck Aldrich, Libertarian Party candidate for US Senate from Minnesota, in answer to my request for information on his stand on same-sex marriage. He stated, “The government should recognize any committed relationship between consenting adults.”
OK, now let’s look at the Constitution Party (CP), which, like the Libertarians, claims to be the third-largest political party in the United States.
From reading over the CP platform, it appears similar in thought to the Libertarian Party’s in holding that government is too intrusive in our lives.
However, CP advocates a big push toward interpreting the Constitution strictly as intended by the founders—in essence, not only is it a dead document, Jim, but it’s “really, most sincerely dead.”
An example is the CP move to toss out the 17th Amendment, which provides for direct election of US senators by popular vote, rather than election by state legislature, as contained in the original US Constitution. This reversion seems the opposite of the CP desire to increase individual freedom and local control of government, and instead inserts state government into the equation.
Plus, CP puts a huge injection of religion—specifically Christianity—into the mix. Any political organization that includes the phrase “our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” in its preamble is worrisome, as it would be governing a multitude of people.
Other important issues to CP are the removal of women from combat positions (nothing is stated in reference to gays in the military), the return of the Panama Canal, prohibition of gambling, and ending foreign aid.
Plus, this little gem tucked away in the CP education plank: “All teaching is related to basic assumptions about God and man. Education as a whole, therefore, cannot be separated from religious faith.”
The CP view on marriage: “No government may legitimately authorize or define marriage or family relations, as affirmed by the 10th Amendment, delegating to the people as our founders understood the family as necessary to the general welfare.”
However, also in the CP platform is this statement: “The law of our Creator defines marriage as the union between one man and one woman.”
On the face of it, my reaction was, “Well, whaddya expect?”
However, the CP platform includes the following statement: “We particularly support all the legislation which would remove from Federal appellate review jurisdiction matters involving acknowledgment of God as the sovereign source of law, liberty, or government.”
Further along in the platform, we find this language: “We reject the notion that sexual offenders are deserving of legation 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 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.”
Now, I don’t know about you, but finding “sexual offenders” not in quotation marks, while “sexual orientation,” “partner,” and “hate crimes” are in quotation marks, really should be bothersome to the GLBT community.
Presently, CP’s sole candidate on the Minnesota Secretary of States 2008 Candidate Filing Web Page is James Niemackl, who is running for US Senate. However, at the CP endorsing convention this June, Haley Swarm was selected to run for Congress in the Third District (the seat that Jim Ramstad is vacating). Also on the slate (but not currently on the ballot) are Chuck Baldwin and Darrell Castle for President and Vice President.
James Niemackl: www.jamesforsenate.org
Chuck Baldwin: www.baldwin08.com
Constitution Party of Minnesota: www.cpmn.org
Constitution Party (national): www.constitutionparty.com
