America First Party (2002)
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A group of Pat Buchanan supporters left the Reform Party in 2002 and formed the America First Party. The party supports many conservative causes. They are pro-life, against gun control, and want to end all racial preferences and quotas.
The party is largely made up of isolationists and traditional values populists. They support stricter immigration laws and would seek to end U.S. involvement with NAFTA, the WTO and other foreign trade agreements. The America First party opposed the 2003 invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq, which they saw it as an act of imperialism by the United States and an unconstitutional war.
The party seeks to close all United States Armed Forces bases outside the U.S., and transfer more resources to the United States National Guard personnel to patrol the American borders.
The party seeks to eliminate several departments within the government of the United States, including the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the United States Department of Education. The party also seeks to eliminate all federal and state funding for schools, believing central government money has led to more central government control over schools; control the party believes should rest in the hands of local governments.
The party seeks to overturn all bans on prayer in public places, including prayer in schools, as well overturn bans on displays of religious icons (such as tablets of the Ten Commandments) on government property and in schools.
The America First Party ran 11 candidates for office in 2002.
In July of 2003, the Party postponed its scheduled national convention, which was to take place on 24-26 July in Nashville, Tennessee. James Gritz, a retired Colonel in the Green Berets and decorated veteran of the Vietnam War, was invited to speak at that convention, but was later removed from the speakers' list because of his alleged connection to white supremacist groups. The party issued a statement shortly after which stated: "All United States citizens who embrace that Constitution and adopt traditional American values are welcome with open arms into the party. The choice of an individual who supports extreme intolerance was not considered representative of our growing party whose goal is the preservation of the Constitutional Republic envisioned by the Founding Fathers. Anyone who supports theories that we hoped had died with Adolf Hitler is not welcome in the America First Party; and certainly such persons should not, and will not, be invited to speak at our convention."
On 30 March 2004, America First Party candidate Jeffrey W.T. Buck was elected to the Representative Town Meeting Assembly of Framingham, Massachusetts representing the 13th Precinct; thus becoming the party's first elected official.
On October 12, 2004, the America First Party endorsed Constitution Party candidate Michael A. Peroutka for President of the United States.
Sources
- America First Party website (see below)