Constitution Party (United States)
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| Constitution Party | |
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| Party Chairman | Jim Clymer |
| Senate Leader | None |
| House Leader | None |
| Founded | 1992 |
| Headquarters | 23 North Lime St. Lancaster, PA 17602 |
| Political ideology | Constitutional theocratic, Christian Right, Nationalist |
| International affiliation | None |
| Color(s) | Red, White, and Blue |
| Website | Constitution Party (http://www.constitutionparty.com) |
The Constitution Party is a conservative third party in the United States, founded as the U.S. Taxpayers Party in 1992. Its name was changed to the Constitution Party in 1999, but some state affiliate parties have different names. The Michigan affiliate has kept the U.S. Taxpayers Party name in order to retain ballot status, and in Connecticut the affiliate is the Concerned Citizens Party.
The Constitution Party ranks third nationally in registered voters, most of which come from two states: California, in which the affiliate is the American Independent Party, founded in 1967, and Nevada, in which the affiliate is named 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.
In the 2004 elections, the Constitution Party was the only one of the national third parties to increase its percentage of the vote, polling more than 40% better than in 2000. One of its candidates, Rick Jore, was thought to have won election to the Montana state legislature, but lost when the state supreme court invalidated "one or more" of seven disputed ballots.
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Platform
The Constitution Party holds that American laws have origin in the Holy Bible. It advocates a stricter adherence to what it views as the original intent of the United States Constitution and the principles of the U.S. Declaration of Independence. It has a strict approach to moral and personal issues, especially homosexuality and abortion, and seeks to encourage the role of religion in American life.
Members support reducing the role of the United States federal government through drastic reductions in taxes, spending and regulation. 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 education, healthcare, welfare, etc.) as illegal per the Tenth Amendment, but members feel that the obligations of Social Security must be met and alternatives to it offered until it can be phased out.
Additionally, they favor a zealous foreign policy of nonintervention. In such, they advocate reduction and eventual elimination the roles the United States plays in multinational and international organizations, such as the United Nations; favor withdrawal of the United States from most current treaties; and opposed the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The party takes paleoconservative positions in supporting protectionist policies on international trade. Steadfastly opposed to illegal immigration and governmental welfare, they also seek a more restrictive policy on immigration.
The party also generally views the Second Amendment to the Constitution as securing very broad rights to own guns.
2004 election results
Nationally, the Peroutka-Baldwin ballot received over 33% more votes than Howard Phillips did in 2000. This came during an election when the Green Party vote declined by 83% and the Libertarian Party vote was essentially flat compared to the 2000 election. The increase in the Constitution vote in 2004 may be due in large part because Pat Buchanan was not a candidate like he was in 2000.
Rick Jore nearly won a seat in the Montana House of Representatives, but was found to have lost by one vote after some dual-marked ballots with one vote crossed out were discarded. In Pennsylvania, Jim Clymer won 214,837 votes in his race against incumbent U.S. Senator Arlen Specter. Attorney Joel Hansen, running on the Independent American Party ticket, got 197,934 votes (27%) for Justice of the Nevada Supreme Court. The number of Nevada voters registered in the Constitution Party doubled in 2004, making it the third largest party in the state. In South Carolina, Gary McLeod, running for a U.S. House seat in the Sixth Congressional District received 79,600 votes, 33 percent of the total votes cast, as the candidate of both the Constitution and Republican parties, but only 4,157 of those votes were cast for him as the Constitution Party candidate with the remainder (over 90% of his votes) being cast for him as the Republican candidate.
Presidential and vice presidential nominees
- 1992: Howard Phillips and Albion Knight, Jr. — 42,960 popular votes (0.04%)
- 1996: Howard Phillips and Herb Titus — 184,820 popular votes (0.19%)
- 2000: Howard Phillips and Dr. J. Curtis Frazier (replacing Joseph Sobran) — 98,020 popular votes (0.09%)
- 2004: Michael Peroutka and Chuck Baldwin — 144,421 popular votes (0.12%)
See also
- List of political parties in the United States
- Christian Heritage Party of Canada A similar political party.
External links
- Official site (http://www.constitutionparty.org/)