4 July 2016 –
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Before being elected President, while serving in Congress, James Garfield stated at the 100th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1876:
“Now more than ever before, the people are responsible for the character of their Congress. If that body be ignorant, reckless and corrupt, it is because the people tolerate ignorance, recklessness and corruption. If it be intelligent, brave and pure, it is because the people demand these high qualities to represent them in the national legislature … If the next centennial does not find us a great nation…it will be because those who represent the enterprise, the culture, and the morality of the nation do not aid in controlling the political forces.” |
I’m sure that quote will garner its fair share of “amens,” especially among the political right. However, I expect most of those “amens” will be predicated on the supposition that it’s “the other guy” who has tolerated ignorance, recklessness and corruption in Congress by his vote for, and support of, “the other party.” You might want to hold up on passing judgment just yet, and look at some numbers first.
Over the past 20 years, Republicans have held the majority in Congress 65% of the time, leaving the Democratic Party a relatively disenfranchised and powerless entity that only wielded control of Congress 35% of the time. If this were professional football, the Democrats would have a 6 and 10 record – pretty much time to fire the coach, sell the team and pack it in.
So if, in the words of President Garfield, Congress has been ignorant, reckless and corrupt over the past two decades, it is because the Christian-conservative-right has tolerated ignorance, recklessness and corruption by electing, and reelecting, a party of pachyderms that has perpetually increased the size of government, increased spending, increased the national debt, funded the welfare state, funded the warfare state, funded the police state, funded the healthcare state, never defunded a single unconstitutional or extra constitutional bureau, agency or program, and has generally disregarded the rule of law under the Constitution.
I believe if President Garfield were here today, he would admonish us to declare our independence from political parties, powers and leaders that obviously do not represent our values. When we continue to support, or affiliate with such entities, we become parties to, and responsible for, the ignorance, recklessness and corruption that we authorize by our vote.
It is time for “those who represent the enterprise, the culture, and the morality of the nation” to withhold their time, their treasure, and their vote from any who are not clearly and consistently “intelligent, brave and pure,” as President Garfield put it. It is far past the time that we ought to have declared our independence from the established forms of political association that have become destructive of the ends for which they were established, and that we should begin to vote not for party, but for principle, and for men of character who Honor God, Uphold the Constitution and Contend for Liberty.
Robert W. Peck
Chairman
Constitution Party of Washington
© 2016 Robert W. Peck
Republish with attribution and link back to http://robertpeck.net
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June 30, 2016
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“Perseverance and spirit have done wonders in all ages.”
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Dorchester Heights could decide the outcome of the British occupation of Boston. All winter General Washington’s council of war had advised against a direct assault. Washington was anxious, as his proposals showed, to confront the British.
In the meantime, facing impossible odds, Colonel Henry Knox, just twenty five, arrived at Fort Ticonderoga on December 5, 1775. Knox retrieved 58 mortars and cannons, one cannon weighing 5,000 pounds alone. The whole lot was believed to weigh not less than 120,000 pounds. He floated the cannons down Lake George and then dragged the cannons on forty-two sleds with eighty yoke of oxen through blizzards, cruel thaws, deep snow, over iced rivers, and snow bound mountains. When they got to Springfield, Massachusetts, Knox switched to horses to quicken the pace. Not a gun had been lost. Hundreds of men had taken part. The cannons that Knox had rescued were about to change the stalemate at Boston.
On February 16, 1776, General Washington convened his council of war for the fourth time asking for a direct assault on Boston, but the answer again was no. However, there was agreement on another plan. They would draw the British out. They would occupy Dorchester Heights overlooking Boston in one night. The army went to work preparing a highly sophisticated scheme whereby fortifications would be fabricated elsewhere out of sight and brought to Dorchester Heights in one incredible night.
Miraculously, the British were entirely unaware of the plan, although hundreds even thousands understood what was unfolding. On March 2 a bombardment began to distract the British. On March 4 they moved all the fortifications to Dorchester Heights and were finished by first light the morning of March 5, the anniversary of the Boston Massacre.
All through the night on the Heights, men had toiled steadily with picks and shovels, breaking the frozen ground for earth and stone to fill the chandeliers (fortifications) and barrels. At three in the morning they were relieved by 3,000 men and an additional five regiments of riflemen took up positions near the shore. Twenty cannon were in place. Untouchable by the British, the cannons were high above Boston, threatening the whole occupied city and the British fleet.
It was an utterly phenomenal achievement. American General Heath was hardly exaggerating when he wrote, “Perhaps there never was so much work done in so short a space of time.” At daybreak, the British commanders looking up at the Heights could scarcely believe their eyes. The hoped-for, all-important surprise was total. British General Howe was said to have exclaimed, “My God, these fellows have done more work in one night than I could make my army do in three months.”
After a miraculous storm stopped the ill-fated British plan of counter-attacking the Americans, they sent word that they would not burn the city of Boston if they were allowed to evacuate which is what happened. Adapted from David McCullough’s wonderful book 1776.
Our nation was born of courage and perseverance of men like George Washington, because they willingly pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor. God honored their sacrifices with miraculous victories, and after they had paid the price…liberty.
America has squandered that miraculous gift of God and our forefathers. Most of our leaders and elected officials are corrupt, but even worse they have embraced liberty destroying socialism. Unlike our founders who proclaimed “No King but King Jesus”…America’s God and King is now Government.
Our nation has lost the last vestiges of sovereignty as “conservatives” gave Fast Track authority for the Trans Pacific Partnership to a totally anti-American President. We now live under Fascism, collusion between Big Government and International Corporations, designed to supersede our Constitution and the rights of all Americans.
Our Supreme Court has abandoned God’s law, leading the way as Sodom and Gomorah engulfs our nation. The foundational right of Religious Liberty is now eclipsed by perversion and political correctness. Soon there will only be “marriages” in politically correct churches and persecution of believers will rage.
We live in the times Isaiah prophesied about, “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” KJV Isaiah 5:20
Although our nation has rejected God, we can remain faithful and obtain God’ promises. “Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me…” KJV Psalms 101:13
“These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” KJV John 16:33
Good cheer should be the order of the day for the faithful.
First, we must reconcile ourselves with our God. “…be ye reconciled to God.” KJV 2 Corinthians 5:20
Second, we must do as he directs, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” KJV Matthew 22:37-39.
Third, we must continue to be faithful in the eternal cause of Liberty, “…Proclaim liberty throughout all the land and to all the inhabitants thereof…” KJV Leviticus 25:10
Fourth, we must prepare ourselves and our families spiritually, financially and physically for the fulfillment of scripture, “For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted…” KJV Matthew 24:7-9
Fifth, we must endure to the end. “But he that endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.” KJV Matthew 24:13
Somehow, I feel a great sense of peace as I watch the incredible events unfolding around me. They are not a surprise for I have been watching for decades as these things unfold. Some are just awakening to a sense of their awful situation and that can be alarming. But we can do as the Lord directs and be of good cheer and trust in Him.
“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.” KJV Proverbs 3:5
Often things must get worse before they can get better. My brother Dan always said, “Americans are too comfortable. Nothing will change until that changes.” Change also equals opportunities. Be of Good Cheer!
Be of Good Cheer! Happy Fourth of July!
Janine Hansen Constitution Party Western States Co-Chairman director [at] iapn [dot] orgVisit our Presidential Candidates website: Castle 2016. Sign up to help and donate to help the campaign!
In response to questions raised regarding the search for a third party to field candidates from the Republican Party, Constitution Party National Chairman Frank Fluckiger issued the following statement:
“The Constitution Party national convention has been held, and our candidates have been selected. There is no provision in our bylaws of which I am aware that would permit us to do anything but move forward as we now are doing. To even consider another choice at this point would create nothing less than confusion and only hinder our progress. We would have to circulate petitions anew in some states. As important and as appealing a candidate might be, if we forget that it is our message of liberty first and foremost that resonates in the hearts of our supporters, we will in due time just become another political party.”
All Americans who hold to the idea of a constitutionally limited government, who believe in the sanctity of life and the traditional family, and who can agree with the principles found in our platform are welcome in the Constitution Party as it moves forward in this election year. Many such Americans have already joined our effort to elect a president who is committed to such ideals in the person of Darrell Castle, and our doors are open to all who will come.
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This has been a tumultuous month for Republican Party politics. Daniel Horowitz commented, “the GOP-led House passed a budget bill and debt ceiling increase that countermands every principle they campaigned on when pursuing majority control of that chamber in 2010. The policy and political outcomes of this vote will be far reaching and gravely consequential.” The subsequent vote by the Senate and election of Paul Ryan as Speaker of the House are the latest victories of the ruling American duopoly. And with this action the hemorrhaging of the GOP, which has been growing in the grassroots since G.W. Bush’s administration, has now publicly moved into the national leadership of the GOP itself. |
Tom Tancredo, former Congressman from Colorado, publicly announced the end of his affiliation with the Republican Party after the budget deal. “This decision has been incubating over the past 17 years, years of watching the downward spiral of the Party… The Boehner budget deal is the last straw, and enough is enough. I cannot any longer defend this transparently dishonest charade called the Republican Party. What I will do instead is join the largest political group in the nation, unaffiliated Independents. In Colorado, they outnumber both ‘major’ political parties.” So it begins – the conservative leaders who have fought for decades to bring their values and principles into actual governance are beginning to cast their vote of no confidence in the GOP with their feet.
Tancredo’s assessment of the GOP as a national political party is worth reading and sharing. Many who have joined the Constitution Party (CP) over the years have been on the receiving end of the treachery of the ruling duopoly. Howard Phillips, the CP’s founder and former official in the Nixon Administration, emphasized the necessity of building a political infrastructure to elect candidates who will defend the principles and values that we hold in common with Tancredo. He noted:
“I had to define and articulate a vision of victory. So I had to spend a lot of time thinking about what victory in political terms meant. And in a nutshell, I concluded that it meant Biblical justice, biblical jurisprudence — a return to the working understanding that we live under God’s law, that He is sovereign, that He is our Creator, and that we are one nation under God, a nation which must live by the rules that He makes.”
Second, that the federal government had to be tied down to the Constitution. It had to be limited to its delegated, enumerated functions. I concluded further, that in order to do that, we needed to have a political home of our own. The Republican Party was a house divided against itself, and could only offer the lowest common denominator in politics. Our hope for victory was through the strategy of a united plurality, rather than one of a divided majority. And that in order to do that, we had to start somewhere, building a party committed to those biblical, constitutional principles which by God’s grace could at some point bring a government to office.
The purpose of the Constitution Party of Georgia is to recruit, train, and support individuals who share the CP’s vision of victory, beginning in our local communities. I welcome the opportunity to work with activists and leaders throughout the state regardless of political party who share Phillip’s vision. Together as a united plurality we can build a new second major political party unified in its efforts to honor God, defend the family, and restore the Republic.
Ricardo Davis State ChairmanClick here to find your state party.
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by Andrew Zuelke, Constitution Party of Wisconsin state chairman
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After reading about Kentucky’s Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis refusing to issue marriage licenses to homosexual couples, invoking her First Amendment rights, I read the usual absurd Internet postings “Separation of church and state” and “There go the Christians imposing their faith again.” But it was the online posting replies to presidential candidate Mike Huckabee speaking at a rally at her release from prison that I read this leftist rant: “Just more proof Huckabee and his ilk want to create a Christian theocracy.” |
It reminded me of my 2014 campaign for Wisconsin state treasurer for the Constitution Party of Wisconsin (CPoW) and my participation in a candidate forum at Oshkosh’s City Cable 10 offices with another candidate. One of the moderators was Tony Palmeri, writer to a regional free paper. During the live forum, Palmeri told me he visited our party’s web site (www.constitutionpartyofwisconsin.com or cpowmilwaukeecounty.wordpress.com) and he asked me to explain our header: “We are a recognized political party in the state of Wisconsin, who proudly proclaims Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.”
He said between that and what he read in our “Who We Are” section that it sounded to him as though our party wanted a theocracy.
No matter what explanations I gave to prove that we Constitutionalists oppose theocratic rule, he continued challenging me, acting as though he “caught me” somehow. Remember, according to the left, when Christians express their faith in the public arena, we are “imposing our faith” and attempting to “establish a religion” in America. What this man saw as something horrible, openly proclaiming Jesus as Lord and Savior, CPoW members and candidates wear as a badge of honor. We don’t get embarrassed and try and silence our members when they talk about Jesus Christ like other parties do.
At the debate forum, there wasn’t enough time to fully expand on my and the Constitution Party’s opposition to theocracy, but now I can.
1) CPoW and the national Constitution Party supported a republican form of government from our very beginning as the U.S. Taxpayer’s Party. Our party literature, chairman’s letters, public speeches and our candidates support the original intent of the Founding Fathers including Article 4, Section 4 of the Constitution which states, “The United States shall guarantee to every state in this Union a republican form of government.” Not a theocratic form of government, not a democracy but a republican government!
Part of being a Christian is having free will. Forcing people to convert to someone else’s faith under pain of death proves nothing. Give that person a choice and see if he comes to that faith willingly. God gives each of us the choice to worship Him and repent. I have always said faith is not real if it’s forced and that’s what a theocracy does, forces faith and worship.
Jesus said in Revelation 3:20, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and dine with him, and he with Me.” Jesus didn’t say, “If you don’t open your door, I will enter in anyway and force My will on you.”
If we were trying to impose a theocracy, no references to God or Jesus would be anywhere on our web site or literature. We would hide our true intentions until we seized power. CPoW opposes religious tests for office. Theocrats support religious tests, don’t they?
2) Whose religion will be chosen as the official one? Lutheran, Catholic, Baptist, Methodist? The Christian faith has many different religious denominations and divisions within those (Lutherans have the Missouri, Wisconsin, ELCA Synods to name a few). How far could a theocracy get in America? No matter which denomination was declared the official Christian one, all the other denominations would oppose that denomination in favor of theirs.
To all the secular humanists who are screaming, “Separation of church and state!” anytime practicing Christians, especially ones in public life, invoke the name of Jesus Christ in public or dare to stand as lesser magistrates against ungodly, unconstitutional impositions on religious liberty, they have no clue how religious liberty has protected them. Yes, protected them! Are Muslims being forced to join a church? Are atheists being detained? Are Buddhists silenced? If we were a theocracy like under Henry the VIII and his Church of England or nations under Sharia Law today, these secular humanists would know it.
This brings me to the final insurmountable obstacle against a theocracy succeeding in America…
3) The American people will never stand for it! It’s easy to impose oppression and tyranny on a people who have never known anything else. Good luck trying to force theocratic rule on a people who grew up with a Bill of Rights, rule of law, and churches of numerous denominations peppered throughout the countryside.
First you would have to suppress all churches, mosques and synagogues and install government-sanctioned churches in their place. The real threat to American religious liberty is government intrusion into the churches, not the churches being anywhere near taking over the levers of government.
Let’s say the God-deniers and secularists are right and the Constitution Party is trying to impose a theocracy. Let’s say a future Constitution Party majority in the House and Senate and our party’s president declared a Christian theocracy and banned all expressions of faith outside of Christianity. Now no one can criticize the teachings of Christianity, using the name of God or Jesus Christ in vain would mean instant death and everyone is now required to attend church every Sunday. The American citizenry would righteously rise up with arms and cast our party’s elected leaders and officers in prison for treason as they should. Our party would be dismantled.
The secularist leftists will never stop trying to convince ignorant Americans that those whose faith in Jesus Christ extends from the churches and homes into their businesses and political life are the single greatest threat America faces and they must be driven from the public square. We Constitutionalists aren’t guaranteed victory if we stand against these ungodly forces. Our only guarantee in the fight for the Moral Order is defeat if we don’t fight back at all.
Andrew Zuelke is the State Chairman of the Constitution Party of Wisconsin and the Dodge/Fond du Lac CPoW Counties Chairman. The Constitution Party of Wisconsin is a totally pro-life, liberty and traditional marriage/values party whose goal is to get Godly constitutionally-minded people into office at the local, state and federal levels. CPoW officers and candidates will never compromise on either God’s word or the Constitution.
Constitution Party of Wisconsin
PO Box 070344
Milwaukee WI, 53207
www.constitutionpartyofwisconsin.com
www.facebook.com/constitutionpartyofwisconsin
constitutionpartyofwisconsin [at] gmail [dot] com
608-561-7996
by Robert W. Peck, Constitution Party of Washington state chairman
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Conservatives of late have been openly bemoaning Boehner’s performance in office. However, I remember watching the live election coverage with a friend back in 2010 when Boehner and the republicans won control of the U.S. House. It was called a “Tea Party victory” and conservatives were all aflutter believing “we’ve won, we’ve taken our country back.” Tiny Tears Boehner was crying live tears for the camera as conservatives joined in with tearful joy that “we’re saved!” |
I had already been fooled by George ‘”new world order” Bush in 1988 and Newt Gingrich’s Republican Revolution in 1994, then watched as the conservative right bought into GW “record deficit” Bush as being a true conservative in 2000. By the time Boehner came along, I just felt like I’d seen this movie too many times to not be able to predict the outcome. There’s a saying about, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.”
Nevertheless, the conservative right seems to be once again getting aroused with hope, this time the hope that something good will come of replacing Boehner. Meanwhile, the current Presidential circus, and infatuation with Donald Trump, would seem to indicate that we like being fooled and are ready to buy a ticket for another elephant ride.
I don’t mean this as discouraging negativism in the vein of “nothing will ever get any better; there’s no hope; let’s all sing another chorus of ‘Gloom, despair and agony on me.” What I do mean is that nothing is going to get any better until we start paying attention, determine to not get fooled again and realize that to change our government we have to change our vote.
Read the Washington Times article about Boehner’s resignation here.
by Richard Winger, Ballot Access News
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In many states around the country, there are attempts to change the election law and impose a “top-two primary”. Louisiana used this system from 1975 until 1998, and even today uses a variant of it. Washington State started using it in 2008, and California started using it in 2011. |
A top-two system means that all candidates for Congress and state office run on the same ballot in the primary. Then, only the two candidates who came in first or second can run in November.
There have been 119 instances when a member of a party other than the Republican and Democratic Parties ran for federal or state office in a top-two system, and in which there were at least two major party members running. In all 119 instances, the minor party candidate did not place first or second and thus could not run in the general election.
The Louisiana variant isn’t bad, because Louisiana abolished the primary and just has a general election in November. But the California and Washington systems result in general election ballots with just Republicans and Democrats on the ballot, except in the rare cases when only one major party members filed, so the minor party candidate can’t fail to place second.
Experience teaches that voters won’t pay attention to candidates from parties other than the Democratic and Republican Parties until after the voters know who the two big parties nominated. And in a top-two system, by then, it is too late for the Constitution Party member to get on the ballot.
Big business interests like top-two and have funded it lavishly in initiative campaigns, especially in Oregon last year. Michael Bloomberg contributed $2,000,000 to the top-two initiative, as did John Arnold, a Houston billionaire. But top-two still lost in Oregon 2-1. It also lost in Oregon in 2008, also by 2-1. It lost in Arizona in 2012 by 2-1. But it won in California in June 2010, and in Washington in November 2004. The reason it passed in California was that for years, the legislature had taken months past the deadline to pass a state budget. That was because the budget had to pass by two-thirds in each house of the legislature, and Republicans, although in the minority, always blocked the budget. The voters were sick of gridlock and thought top-two would fix the problem.
More on this important issue can be found at www.ballotaccessnews.com.
Richard Winger is founder of Ballot Access News, the authoritative resource for independent and third party candidates, and those concerned with a free and fair elections.
by Karen Murray, National Communications Director
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It is with regret that we announce the passing of long-time Constitution Party member from Florida, Jack McLain. Jack, and his wife Lois, were an inseparable duo, and faithfully worked to build the Constitution Party both in their state and at the national level, having served as National Committee members for many years. Jack was also the author of a book, “Which Way America?” and a newsletter entitled “Viewpoint”, in which he examined the issues facing American from a biblical and constitutional point-of-view. |
John “Jack” McLain, 88, of Jupiter, Florida, passed away Saturday, July 25, 2015. Jack was born in Stratford, New Jersey on August 21, 1926 to James and Dorothy McLain. He graduated from Haddon Heights High School, Rutgers College and Tennessee Temple Seminary. Jack loved his Lord and his Country. Jack served in the U.S. Army and ran for the U.S. Congress in 2002 and 2004. He is survived by his wife, Lois; daughters, Gail Johnson of Rochester, New York and Joanne Costello of Orlando, Florida; step-children, Karen Shade of Chesapeake, Virginia and John Pangaro of Prattville, Alabama; and seven grandchildren. He is predeceased by his parents; brothers, James McLain and David McLain; and a grandson, Benjamin Johnson. Jack is interred in South Florida National Cemetery.
Constitution Party of Georgia State Chairman Ricardo Davis, in his role as Southern States Area Chairman for the national Constitution Party, was well-acquainted with Jack and wrote this wonderful tribute to a great Christian Patriot:
“Our fellow patriot Jack McLain, Florida State Party Vice-Chairman, stepped off the field of this life and stepped into eternity in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ on Saturday morning, July 25th. Jack’s online obituary can be found at the Taylor & Modeen Funeral Home site. I would encourage all who have been touched by his life and work to sign the online memory book. Please pray that the Holy Spirit would comfort his wife Lois and their family and fill their hearts with rejoicing that Jack is now with his Savior.
Jack’s life had been changed by the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and it was evident. He had a great heart for people, and he understood that this short life is preparation for eternity. I have been blessed to work with Jack in building the Constitution Party for almost 20 years, and “steadfast” would be the word to describe his life’s efforts. Jack was faithful in the work of ministry at Beacon Baptist Church, and he was a stalwart activist whose faith compelled him to never give up.
Jack’s “Viewpoint” newsletter for Thanksgiving 2013 is illustrative of his steadfast spirit. He noted, “Occupy till I come’ does not mean just to occupy a pew in church once a week, or more. It means ‘to do business’ for the Lord while awaiting His return. Jude wrote, ‘[To] exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints’ (Jude 3). Christians should expect contention and be ready always to defend their faith and freedoms.” Men like Jack have inspired generations to faithful Christian service whether at home, church, or the public forum. A number of Jack’s articles are available at the National Constitution Party’s website in the Our Principles > CP Commentary section.
In the January 2014 “Viewpoint” newsletter Jack wrote:
We believe that America is worth saving! We hope and pray that Christians and patriots will agree and that a great number will become active participants in the cause for survival of our national heritage… We must realize that our voice does count. Our actions count. Our pen is mighty. Our talents and treasures are accountable to God. They are needed to be available by those in the front lines of the battle. There is a battle for the souls of men and there is a battle for the future of our country.
May his legacy inspire us to pray and work to restore the American Republic!