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Constitution Party
Party Chairman	Jim Clymer
Senate Leader	None
House Leader	None
Founded	1992
Headquarters	23 North Lime St. Lancaster, PA 17602
Political ideology	Constitutional conservatism , paleoconservatism, nationalism, non-interventionism
Political position	Fiscal: Right-wing Social: Right-wing
International affiliation	None
Color(s)	Red, White, and Blue
Website	http://constitutionparty.com

The Constitution Party is a paleoconservative United States political party. It was founded as the U.S. Taxpayers Party in 1992. The party's official name was changed to the Constitution Party in 1999; however, some state affiliate parties are known under different names.

According to ballot access expert Richard Winger, the editor of Ballot Access News, who periodically compiles and analyzes voter registration statistics as reported by state voter agencies, it ranks third nationally amongst all United States political parties in registered voters, with 366,937 registered members as of November 2006.^[1] However, Winger states, nearly all of the 315,151 California voters affiliated with the Constitution Party are actually registrants of California's American Independent Party -- and they so registered in the belief that they were registering as independents (i.e., not associating with any political party).^[2]

The Constitution Party advocates a Bible-based platform which it claims to reflect original intent of the U.S. Constitution and the principles of the U.S. Declaration of Independence.^[3] The party seeks "to restore American jurisprudence to its original Biblical common-law foundations."^[4]

In 2006, Rick Jore of Montana became the first Constitution Party candidate elected to a state-level office^[5][6], though the Constitution Party of Montana had disaffiliated itself from the national party a short time before the election.

Contents 1 Affiliates and other similar parties 2 Notable persons 3 Platform 3.1 Fiscal policy 3.2 Foreign policy 3.3 Immigration policy 3.4 Social policy 3.4.1 Abortion stance and post-Tampa state disaffiliations 3.5 Federalism 4 Criticisms 5 Ballot access 6 See also 7 External links 8 References

The Michigan affiliate has kept the U.S. Taxpayers Party name to retain ballot status. In Connecticut the affiliate is the Concerned Citizens Party; in Nebraska the affiliate has recently changed its name from "The Nebraska Party" to "The Nebraska Independent Party"^[7]. In California, the affiliate is the American Independent Party and in Nevada it is the Independent American Party. According to Richard Winger, the editor of Ballot Access News, and other observers, the word "Independent" in the party name may have attracted the registrations of voters intending to declare themselves unaffiliated with any party^[8].

It has been rumored that the Constitution Party discussed a merger^[9] between several third parties such as the Reform Party, Independent American Party, American Independent Party, and the America First Party, but others have rebutted this as a misinterpretation of the events.^[10] All of the aforementioned parties except for the Reform Party endorsed Michael Peroutka as their presidential candidate in 2004.

Pat Buchanan threatened to run as the U.S. Taxpayers Party candidate if Bob Dole had chosen a pro-choice running mate in 1996. Dole ultimately chose pro-life Jack Kemp and received Buchanan's endorsement. Buchanan stated on the September 7, 2004 edition of Hardball with Chris Matthews, "There is a chance I would vote for Peroutka."^[11] Buchanan's running mate Ezola B. Foster later joined the party.

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

Minuteman Project co-founder Jim Gilchrist ran for Congress with the American Independent Party in 2005, but has since rejoined the Republicans.^[12]

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

There are movements to endorse current Republican candidates Ron Paul, Alan Keyes, and Tom Tancredo. However, all three candidates are currently silent about possible third-party bids in the 2008 general election.

The Constitution Party supports reducing the role of the United States federal government through cutting bureaucratic regulation, reducing spending, and replacing the income tax with a tariff-based revenue system supplemented by excise taxes. Its leaders are among the strongest advocates of abolishing most forms of federal taxation, especially the income tax; they view most current regular federal expenditures, such as those for health care, education, and welfare, as unconstitutional under Article 1 Section 8 of the Constitution and the Tenth Amendment. The party also takes the position that the "imposition [ . . . ] of Federal income, payroll, and estate taxes [ . . . ] is an unconstitutional Federal assumption of direct taxing authority."^[13]

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

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

The party also believes in exercising a tariff system to counteract the U.S.'s increasingly negative balance of trade.^[14] The tariff system would levy additional import costs, the amount of which would vary proportionally with how much less the exporting country's production costs are compared to that of U.S. companies. This system would presumably give U.S. companies a better chance at competing with countries, like Mexico and China, who heavily underpay their workers; in turn, the system would encourage such countries to pay their workers higher wages, thus undercutting one major cause of offshoring American jobs.

The party opposes illegal immigration and also seeks a more restrictive policy on legal immigration. They demand that the federal government restore immigration policies based on the practice that potential immigrants will be disqualified from admission to the U.S. if, on the grounds of health, criminality, morals, or financial dependence, they would impose an improper burden on the United States, any state, or any citizen of the United States.

Additionally, they oppose the provision of welfare subsidies and other taxpayer-supported benefits to illegal aliens, and reject the practice of bestowing U.S. citizenship on children born to illegal alien parents while in this country. They also reject any extension of amnesty to illegal aliens. The Constitution Party calls for the use of U.S. troops to protect the states against an influx of illegal immigrants.

The party is pro-life and thus opposes euthanasia and abortion.^[15][16] The party supports a States' right to administer the death penalty to those convicted of "capital crimes"^[17] which, it should be noted, are not necessarily limited to murder but usually equate to such in modern American society.

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

The party also opposes government recognition of same-sex unions, and believes state and local governments have the right to criminalize "offensive sexual behavior".^[18] The party further opposes pornography, believing the government needs to take a stand against it.^[19] Viewing gambling as destructive and contributing to crime, the party opposes legalized gambling as well as government's support of gambling organizations.^[20] However, the party opposes federal anti-drug laws, in keeping with the spirit of Article 1 Section 8 and Amendment 10, while maintaining that the federal government may have a role in limiting the import of drugs.^[21]

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

The party believes that charity is a private matter in which the government has no business being involved.^[22] The party opposes federal restrictions on, or subsidization of, medical treatments.^[23]

The party supports English as the official language for all governmental business, opposes bilingual ballots, and insists that those who wish to take part in the electoral process and governance of the US be required to read and comprehend basic English as a precondition of citizenship.^[24]

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

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

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

In response, nine state parties formally voted to disaffiliate from the national party, believing it to have unacceptably compromised on the issue of abortion.

The party supports the repeal of the Sixteenth Amendment, which allows Congress to tax all income without apportionment according to state population, and the Seventeenth Amendment, which requires the direct (popular) election of Senators.^[25] The party asserts the rights of states to secede without interference from the Federal Government.^[26]

Critics contend the Party uses its name in an Orwellian and disingenuous fashion in order to mask a theocratic agenda. Political Research Associates links the Constitution Party to the dominionism movement and voices concern that the Party advocates a form of government more reminiscent of the Pilgrims than of the Founding Fathers.^[27] The liberal civil-rights group Southern Poverty Law Center has voiced similar concerns and views the party's "cult-like" rhetoric as an invitation to commit violent acts to achieve a society not unlike that envisioned by the Iranian Revolution.^[28] The Party is also involved with the Christian Exodus, the Unregistered Baptist Fellowship, and other secessionist/separatist groups.^[29]

The party has also attracted notables in the anti-abortion violence movement such as Lon Mabon^[30], Paul deParrie and Missionaries to the Preborn leader Pastor Matthew Trewhella.^[31] However, many such notables were involved in the above-mentioned disaffiliation efforts over abortion, and it remains unclear on what effect the movement has upon the current reorganized affiliates.

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

The Constitution Party is on the ballot in the following states, as of January 4, 2007 [3]:

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

• Constitution Party National Convention
• Wikia:campaigns:United States Constitution Party
• Electoral history of the Constitution Party
• List of state Constitution Parties
• List of political parties in the United States
• America First Party (2002), American Heritage Party, American Patriot Party.
• Young Constitutionalists, youth activism arm of the party

• Official Constitution Party website and platform
• National Veterans Coalition
• Promotional items and memorabilia
• Constitution Party at ThirdPartyNews.net
• Constitution Party bulletin board
• CP discussion forum at LiveJournal
• Profile at CNN

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