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Sweet, Sweet Victory in North Carolina!

Our candidate for county commissioner in Green County North Carolina, Jerry Jones was elected to office on November 6th.  His election is remarkable since we had barely gotten on the ballot in that state for the first time ever earlier this year. The race was a two way race and Jerry received 3,241 votes compared to his opponent who received 2,916. For our candidate to have won with 52.64% of the vote is exciting, to say the least. Not only that, but we had other candidates who also did remarkably well in their races nearly all of which were three way races.

 

In the few short months that the party has been on the ballot in North Carolina, that state now places 10th of all the states in Constitution Party registered voters.  The leadership in that state has been most impressive. Al Pisano and Kevin Hayes make a great team and were key players in us getting on the ballot and then finding good candidates to file for office in a very short time.

 

Over all, the party did well this election. We were the only minor party that maintained ballot position in all of the states that we ran candidates. This will enable us to focus on ballot access in other states in the next two years. All of the other parties did lose ballot access in some states which means that they have to re-qualify all over again to regain ballot status. The thanks for the party’s accomplishment goes to the state leaders who ran candidates for state wide office and garnered the required vote percentage to retain our ballot status.

 

In all we had candidates running for office in ten states. By adding up the top state wide race vote totals in each state (or in two cases the top US House race vote totals), our candidates received a combined total of over 388,000 votes. Those numbers will increase as the final vote tallies are tabulated in each of the states. Those candidates and their vote totals should be available for viewing shortly. Take some time to go onto the website and check those numbers out. A number of our candidates did exceptionally well.

 

It is interesting to note that Richard Winger reported that the vote total received this year by minor parties was the lowest vote total since 1982.  In view of this the Constitution party did well to hold its own.  We seemed to have bucked that trend.

 

Our webmaster reported to me that the number of hits on our national website hit an all time high on Monday November 5th and that record was exceeded the following day, which was the day of the General Election.  The vast majority of those who accessed the web site, spent most of their time on the party platform. That was very encouraging news and is an indication that it is our platform that draws people to the party. Paul does an impressive job with the web site.

 

In further recent news, I learned from Richard Winger of Ballot Access News that only the Constitution and Libertarians Parties gained in voter registration since the 2016 Election.  All other parties including the Republican and Democratic Parties declined in voter registration. Our voter registration totals increased by 14.98 % since 2016. That signifies that our message does appeal to the public.  We simply need to find better ways to communicate to the public that there is a party that supports and promotes their values.

 

My sincere thanks to so many of you who donated to the party to make this all possible.  Your support is deeply appreciated.  Without your financial support we could have never achieved ballot access in North Carolina or New Mexico and we would not have been able to secure the required 2,000 signatures per candidate to get Terry Larson and Andrew Zuelke on the ballot in Wisconsin for Attorney General and State Treasurer respectively.

 

I look forward to great things happening in 2019 and 2020.

 

Fluckiger_Signature.png

National Chairman
Constitution Party

Thanks to Your Support, MORE Big Things Are Happening!

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Just last week we received word from the Hawaii Secretary of State that the Constitution Party is now officially recognized as a ballot-qualified party in that state.  This is the first time ever that the Constitution Party has achieved ballot access in Hawaii in a mid-term election. The party completed the signature drive in mid-February, but by state law, the petition could be challenged within 20 business days of when the final petitions were submitted to the state for verification.  That deadline was  March 7th and the following day the Hawaii Secretary of State confirmed that no one had challenged our petition thereby qualifying the party for ballot status.

Other big news for the party is our ballot petitioning effort going on in North Carolina.  Gaining ballot access in that state will be a landmark achievement.  By this weekend, we should be able to surpass the 6,000 signature mark. If the validity rate of 83% holds up we should be able to secure the required 12,000 valid signatures with a total of about 15,000.  We continue to average  getting about 1,200 signatures a week in spite of the inclement weather being experienced in that state.  At this rate, we should be able to complete the signature drive before the end of April….a full month before the deadline.  Since completing the petitioning in Hawaii Nicholas Sumbles has been gathering signatures in North Carolina.

Besides Nicholas’ work, we have volunteers working gun shows every weekend and the number of volunteers grows each week. The goal of the party leaders is to gather signatures in all 100 counties in the state. At this point, they have succeeded in getting signatures from 93 of the counties.  This is a most remarkable feat and has been possible only because of the increased number of volunteers who are gathering signatures. However, in order to reach our goal we are going to need additional financial assistance from our supporters. We are paying Nicholas $2.00 a signature which is a very reasonable rate compared to what other professional signature gathers have quoted us.

This is where we need your help and we need it very urgently.  We must keep the funds coming in so that we can keep Nicholas there.  A donor from North Carolina has offered to match dollar for dollar any funds that we raise up to $4,250.00. Due to the generosity of our supporters, we are close to qualifying for the total amount of the matching funds, but we are still going to need additional donations to reach our 15,000 signature goal. If you are in a position to donate any amount please go to www.constitutionparty.com and donate what you can to ballot access.  If you wish, you may also send a check payable to the Constitution Party to P O Box 1782 Lancaster, PA 17608.  A donation of $5.00, $10.00, $15.00, $20.00, $25.00. $50.00. $100.00, $500.00, or whatever you are able to donate would be deeply appreciated.  It is urgent that we raise those funds immediately.

Gaining ballot access in North Carolina will open other doors for us in yet more states. Again, I plead with you to give what you are able to. Then share this message with family and friends of like mind. Your sharing this message with others is paying off as we are receiving donations from people who have never donated to the party before. I can not thank you enough for the effort you are making to help us make history in North Carolina.  I have been extremely impressed with the hard work and dedication of the party leaders there.  Together we can achieve heights we have never reached before.

My sincere thanks and appreciation to each of you for your past support and encouragement.

For God Family and Country,

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National Chairman
Constitution Party
www.constitutionparty.com

The 2nd Amendment and Mass Shootings

The Constitution Party’s Response

By Darrell Castle, February 24, 2018

I would like to start by asking, what is the greatest human achievement? Is it sending men to the moon or perhaps the great pyramids? I would answer that the greatest human achievement is bringing government under the authority of the rule of law. This struggle was an English achievement and it took about 1000 years to complete.

The struggle for the rule of law made the law a shield and protector of the people. It put a restraint on the ruler rather than the ruled. The U.S Constitution is a good example of the results of the struggle as it provided a limitation on government and a protector of the people.

In the 20th and now the 21st centuries the rule of law has been steadily eroded and lost in America. Government officials are no longer subject to the law but the people are. The shield and protector is broken and no longer safeguards the people. As evidence, I point to the rule by executive orders and the many crimes of the Clinton, Bush, and Obama administrations, which have gone unpunished. The people now know that there is one law for them and another one for government.

Interestingly, in recent years the Supreme Court of the United States has upheld the 2nd Amendment and denied the authority of government to reinterpret it. No, the court said, it means what it says in its plain words. McDonald v. Chicago, the D.C. v. Heller case and the cases decided by the various circuits, such as Moore v. Madigan decided by the 7th circuit in 2013, recognized that the government can’t just change the 2nd amendment at its discretion. It cannot be allowed the power to wantonly violate the Bill of Rights. The 2nd of the enumerated rights listed in the Bill of Rights or the 2nd Amendment says:

A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State,

the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.

The Constitution does however permit later generations to change or “amend” the Constitution if the people feel that it is outdated and needs to be modernized. Article V sets out the requirements for amendment. Obviously, much care must be taken by those in favor of amending to ensure they do not “throw out the baby with the bath-water”.

Should the government decide that the 2nd Amendment needs to be removed from the Bill of Rights or changed in some way it would be making a huge mistake because it would destroy the legal and moral foundation of our system of law. In ripping apart the Constitution, government would have removed the last vestiges of protection the people have from tyranny. The Bill of Rights are more than words and more than canaries in a coal mine. They are the final warning before what the Marine Corps in my day called “final protective fires” are authorized. That term meant that Marines were being overrun so every Marine was to fire his rifle at the full cyclic rate in a final act of defense. It meant that we were all facing imminent death anyway and that was one final desperate attempt to stop the enemy’s attack.

I hope and pray that those calling for removing or tinkering with the 2nd Amendment will remember that they are playing with one of the final lines of defense Americans have with their government’s strength. THUS, the Constitution Party supports the 2nd Amendment and opposes any attempt to alter or amend it and would recommend resistance to any such effort with any legal means necessary.

This article has not discussed the recent mass school shooting in Florida out of respect for the victims and their families, but nothing about that event changes anything having to do with the 2nd Amendment or the Constitution Party’s position regarding the right of the people to keep and bear arms. The Constitution Party views the 2nd Amendment as the last line of defense against tyranny.


Honesty, Integrity, and Judge Roy Moore

By Gary Welch, National Communications Director of the Constitution Party

The first principle of the Constitution Party states “We are committed to restoring honesty, integrity, and accountability to government”. Embodied in that statement are goals, commitments, and policies that will change how our government operates and the character of those that serve as government officials. It incorporates our commitment to having candidates and government officials that are honorable men and women who will be held accountable for their integrity, conduct, and actions.

On November 16th, the National Executive Committee of the Constitution Party voted to start a fundraising effort to assist Judge Roy Moore in his Senate campaign in Alabama.

Some may consider this a controversial decision because (a) it contradicts our standing policy of not endorsing or officially supporting any candidate from another party and (b) because the nature of the accusations against Roy Moore have convinced many (including some staunch conservatives) that supporting him would be violating that first principle of honesty, integrity, and accountability in government.

I feel that it is important that the Constitution Party explains its actions and uses this opportunity to explain how this applies to our unwavering dedication to restoring honesty, integrity, and accountability to government.

We start with the party’s position on the guilt or innocence of Roy Moore. Our official stance is the same of that of President Trump’s – we are not making any profession of the innocence or guilt of Roy Moore. We hold that there has not been enough time allowed to provide for the truth to be fully known. As such, it would be equally foolish to declare his innocence or guilt based solely on the facts that we currently have. By taking up the fundraising efforts for Roy Moore, we are not doing so because we are convinced on his innocence nor does it indicate our refutation of the claims that have been made. Instead, our decision to support him came from the following criteria:

  1. There has not been enough time to evaluate the evidence that has been presented. We have not heard both sides nor has Roy Moore been allowed sufficient time to defend against his accusers. The information that has been presented so far has been all one sided. The Washington Post had plenty of time to build its case in their article and to dig for evidence that supported their case. Judge Moore deserves sufficient time to provide evidence that supports his position or refutes the statements that have been made. The condemnations and actions by the media, government officials, and especially the Republican Party, have come too quickly without providing Roy Moore the opportunity to defend himself. We find the pronouncement of guilt was all too swift and done without giving him the time needed to mount a defense. The investigation and research into the accusations, the accusers, and the facts surrounding case will take time. We don’t know what new evidence or facts will come out from this, but we strongly feel that Judge Moore deserves sufficient time to provide a defense and he was not allowed this opportunity.
  2. Roy Moore has earned the right to be given the opportunity to defend himself. His actions and sacrifices has shown him to be an adherent to Christian principles and that deserves the decency of giving him the opportunity to prove his case. Character does matter, and past actions should be considered when determining innocence or guilt of a person accused of such a grievous crime. Again, we don’t feel that his past alone automatically makes him innocent, but it does warrant that we should carefully review the evidence and provide him with the opportunity to refute or disprove the allegations.
  3. We have some serious concerns about the motives and the actions of some of the participants in this scandal, mostly with the Washington Post and the GOP.
    1. First, the Washington Post’s assertion that they only knew about the scandal only recently is hard to believe. A scandal of this magnitude would have been available to any investigative journalist during the primaries. Where were the accusers during that time? Why were their concerns about Roy Moore not expressed and published back when Roy Moore was running in the primaries? The Washington Post says that they did not do any serious investigations on any candidate in Alabama until after the primaries. Really? The Alabama primary was one of the biggest political news event of the time. No one from the Washington Post was there to cover it? No one was asking the questions about Roy Moore that would shed any light on him as a suitable candidate? The timeline of when the Washington Post knew about the accusations would be critical in determining the motivation and the purpose of the article. Is it a “hit-piece” that is designed to derail the Republican nominee after the primaries to ensure a Democrat victory or is it just what the Washington Post declares it to be, something that came up out of nowhere as part of the coverage of the election? The past history of the Washington Post’s biased reporting should trigger some skepticism of the article, its purposes, and the agenda of the reporters that broke the story. At a minimum, there should be an investigation into how the Washington Post conducted its investigation. Who did they talk to? What did they decide to use or leave out of their story? When did they find out about this information? Their story requires us to accept that everything the Washington Post did was unbiased and coincidental to this race. We have a hard time accepting that.
    2. Second, the GOP’s reaction is very suspect. The history of the Republican Party in defending and staunchly declaring the innocence of their candidates (even when overwhelming evidence of their guilt existed) is legendary. Their moral outrage against Roy Moore sounds both hollow and contrived. We all know that the two major political parties do not act organically. Everything that they do is part of a coordinated effort that is orchestrated by their party leaders. So, the questions that we started asking all started with “Why?”. Why would they turn against Roy Moore just based on nothing more than accusations and hearsay? Why turn against their candidate during the middle of a campaign? Why are they sabotaging their own candidate and ensuring that a Democrat will win the election? Why the extraordinarily quick condemnation from party leaders and government officials (the accusations were barely out before the condemnations started)? Why use threats of unseating Judge Moore or expelling him from the Senate if elected? The answer of “because of moral outrage and to maintain the reputation of the GOP candidates” is laughable. Even very recent history has shown that they put party politics over morality and candidate reputation every day of the week.

Our questioning of the “why did the GOP do this?” led us to answers that this was an act of a corrupt party that was more concerned about maintaining the power base of the political elites even at the cost of an election. That a Democrat would win the election was worth the price for party leaders to maintain their control and power.

It is well known that Roy Moore was not the candidate that the Republican elitists wanted. His election was another blow to the party leaders that have taken the GOP to new lows and alienated their Republican base. Ordinary Republicans are starting to rebel against the direction that their party is taking and are fighting to elect true conservatives to office. Roy Moore was just another example of mainstream Republicans rejecting their party’s leadership choice and deciding to choose a candidate that represented their values, not the party elitists’.

The actions of the RNC (both in party leadership and government officials) clearly demonstrated to us that this was an act of political party that wanted to punish the Republicans of Alabama for daring to elect a candidate that would not “play ball” with the political elites. Roy Moore had made a name for himself in thumbing his nose at GOP leadership that failed to uphold the principles that they supposedly stood for. His election was just too much for them and they retaliated.

Which brings us to the main reason why we are now financially supporting Roy Moore. We feel that the GOP is attempting to invalidate the choice made by the people of Alabama. These latest actions are the acts of a desperate party that is trying to maintain their power over the people. Any acts of rebellion or non-compliance with the GOP leaderships’ agenda, must be dealt with severely and quickly. That they are violating their own principles, the fundamental principles of due process, and (most importantly) the will of the people of Alabama, compelled us to act and take extraordinary action.

Finally, we need to address our action regarding supporting a candidate from another party. That one was easy for us. Roy Moore does not have a party affiliation in our opinion. The RNC has clearly abandoned him. For now, he is now an “Independent” candidate that is acting on his own. Since the GOP has disowned him, he is free to associate himself with any party that he feels would help him in his efforts to change American politics and the proper role of government. As such, we feel that we are free to offer him our assistance as a party to continue his campaign and to provide him with the opportunity to defend himself and make his case to the people of Alabama and America.

Corrupt Politicians Come From A Corrupt Party. The Constitution Party calls on all Americans to examine the latest actions of the GOP and ask yourself if the GOP should be the party representing the cause of the conservative movement. Regardless of whether you personally feel Roy Moore is innocent or guilty, you must look at the recent actions of the GOP and consider their motives and agenda.

The Constitution Party stands for Honesty, Integrity, and Accountability in Government. Our party is based on these principles because they build the foundation for creating a free and prosperous society. We are not compromising on these principles by supporting Judge Roy Moore. Should evidence be shown to our satisfaction that the allegations against Roy Moore are true, then we will be the first to condemn and disavow him. This would apply to any candidate or leader within our party. At present, however, we feel that these are just allegations and accusations. They need to be thoroughly investigated and vetted. Those that support and believe in Roy Moore need time to carry out the process of mounting a defense so that we can base our opinion (and our votes) on truth and not innuendo.

We ask Americans from all over to help support us in this cause and to consider that maybe there is another choice in politics. When is enough is enough?

Please visit our website at www.constitutionparty.com to learn more about the Constitution Party or to support our efforts in raising funds for Judge Roy Moore’s campaign.  Click here to donate.

Message From the Chairman

Frank Fluckiger, National Chairman
Frank Fluckiger National Chairman

THEOCRACY and the CONSTITUTION PARTY

I have become increasingly concerned with the comments on Facebook and other Internet sources which seem to indicate that the majority of the national leadership of the Constitution Party, and particularly members of the National Executive Committee, are pursuing an agenda of promoting a theocratic government for our country. Though I cannot speak for each person individually, I can certainly speak for the large majority of the both the Executive and National Committee members.

The argument stems from the preamble of the national platform which states and I quote

“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.”

Comment is also made of the platform statement “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.”

Those who feel the party leadership is promoting a theocracy for our government would do well to give careful study to the writings and minutes kept by James Madison and other Founding Fathers who attended and participated in the Convention in Philadelphia that produced the Constitution. Thirty four percent of the quotes presented at the convention were from Biblical sources and yet that body of men did not even consider that their new government would be a Theocracy. So why then was the Bible so often quoted by these men in the Constitutional Convention?

They were among the wisest and most well-versed men in history to ever meet as one body and they fully understood that the principles taught in the Bible were the source of good and sound government. First and foremost, they understood that our rights came from our Creator and not from the laws of man. In addition to the 10 commandments, they were fully aware of the many other concepts of good government whose origin came from both Old Testament (Jewish history) and New Testament (Christian writings) Among those records were the concepts of Representative Government; the right of an accused to be heard by a jury of his peers; the understanding that men are innocent until proven guilty; the concept that the truth of a matter had to be witnessed by at least two and preferably more witnesses, Also established in those histories was the right to own and to protect one’s property; that the best government came from the bottom up and only those matters that could not be decided locally should be brought up to be considered at a higher level. The list could go on and on. These were based on the premise of self-government by a moral and virtuous people. These concepts are the basis of Common Law and the Laws of Nature. Again, the Founders clearly understood that the government they gave us could survive only among a virtuous and moral citizenry.

This necessitated that for the Constitution to be a successful form of government for a free and liberty loving people, we as a people must be a moral and virtuous people, a characteristic of a God-fearing people. The Founders fully understood the dangers of a state religion that controlled the governments in Europe, but they likewise understood the importance of religion in fostering and furthering the concepts of good government. One of the stipulations of the Northwest Ordinance of 1785 was that religion be taught in those territories. Now the teaching of religion in the public schools is forbidden. How far we have strayed from what the Founding Fathers envisioned for our nation!

Over and over again, the Founders recognized the hand of Providence in both freeing ourselves from British Rule and in the drafting and adopting of the Constitution. George Washington alone listed 76 times in which the hand of Providence intervened in behalf of the colonies. They readily understood that without such help, our nation would have never been possible. Why we as Americans cannot recognize that, and acknowledge the need for that same Providential assistance in restoring that government that the Founding Fathers bequeathed us is of grave concern to me.

The principles promoted by the party are good and praise worthy and in time they hopefully will be achieved. But for any of us to think those goals can be reached without each of us incorporating virtuous values in our individual lives is hoping for something that can never happen. Acknowledging the Hand of Providence in our party’s preamble is only fitting. The does not mean that the wording in the preamble cannot be changed. The party leadership is open to such a consideration, but to exclude reference to Providential assistance in the freeing of our nation from Britain and the establishment of the Constitution is a disservice to the Founding Fathers as well as the founders on the Constitution Party. That would be akin to turning our backs on history.

Promoting the sound concepts of good government given to us by the Founders is totally different than promoting a theocratic government. Whose interpretation of the scriptures is correct? That is something that the various theologians and religious leaders are free to discuss, but under no circumstances are they to be imposed on the citizens of our nation by the force of government. The Founders of our nation were totally opposed to that approach as are the majority of the national and executive committee members of the Constitution Party. These things are to be self-imposed and the Founders well understood it. The leadership of the Constitution Party is in full accord with this understanding.

Constitution Party National Communications Director Gary Welch – Constitution Party Talk Radio

Listen as Randy Stufflebeam discusses the Constitution Party’s “Three Pillars” with Constitution Party National Communications Director Gary Welch.

You can also learn about “The Three Pillars” on the Constitution Party website.

 

Listen to the entire interview [su_button
url=”http://www.blogtalkradio.com/constitutionally-correct/2017/06/02/constitution-party-talk-radio–episode-2-1″]HERE[/su_button]