Why I Support The Constitution Party - And You Should Too!

Signing of the U.S. Constitution

THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT:  The founding fathers of the United States did not believe the Constitution was sacrosanct, and neither do I.  In fact, they were somewhat divided on the Constitution, some opposing it entirely, wishing instead to keep the United States under the original Articles of Confederation.  Nevertheless, when the Constitution was signed and eventually ratified by the states, it was viewed not as a sacred document, but rather as a working rule for good government.  The Bill of Rights were immediately added, and among them was the Tenth Amendment guaranteeing states' rights.

The purpose of the Constitution was twofold.  One, to specifically enumerate the powers delegated to the federal government by the states, because you see, according to America's founding fathers, all sovereignty and power resides in the states to begin with, and all federal powers are merely on loan from the states.  Two, to streamline those enumerated loaned powers and also restrain them.  Remember, the founding fathers of the United States had just successfully fought a war to secede from the British Empire.  They were especially sensitive to the problems associated with centralized power run amok.  The last thing they wanted to do was create a federal government that would do the exact same thing.

Unfortunately that's exactly what happened briefly during the Civil War and then more permanently during the 20th century.  In both cases, the problem laid in the failure of federal politicians to respect the restraints imposed on them by the Constitution.  We could go through a list of presidents for example, starting with Abraham Lincoln, then Andrew Johnson, to Woodrow Wilson, to Franklin Roosevelt, to Lyndon Johnson, etc.  Only a partial list of Senators and Congressmen would fill this page.  So the question begs to be asked, "is it even possible for a representative republic to avoid tyranny?"

Regular readers of this blog already know the answer.  No.  It's not possible.  Republics are inherently weak forms of government, and democracies are worse.  Some of the world's worst dictators, such as Adolph Hitler for example, came to power using democratic republicanism in a perfectly legal and legitimate way.  Tyranny is sadly, an unavoidable circumstance of the human condition.  It is possible, however, to get brief reprieves from tyranny, sometimes lasting a hundred years or more, if the right conditions apply.  Sadly, we've not yet seen this in the United States of America.

That may seem like a shocking statement, but it is true.  The English colonists originally suffered the tyranny of King George.  They fought a bloody revolution to escape his tyranny, and shockingly it actually worked!  They got a reprieve from tyranny for exactly eighty-five years, from 1776 to 1861 when Abraham Lincoln repeated the actions of King George and attacked his own people for asserting their right to independence.  After the Civil War, most of the American people (with the exception of Southerners for some time) got another reprieve from tyranny, this time lasting fifty-one years from 1865 to 1916.  That's when the income tax was started via the 16th amendment, and the state legislators were deprived of their right to appoint and recall U.S. senators via the 17th amendment.  In both of these cases, the states did it to themselves, by ratifying amendments to the constitution that ultimately deprived them of liberty.  In other words, they shot themselves in the foot.  This tyranny was more subtle and started very mildly, increasing throughout the decades, until it has now reached a point unbearable by the general American population.

It is possible to gain another reprieve from tyranny, and it's even possible to make it last quite a bit longer than a mere half century.  How?  Well, there are two ways.  The first way is to have another constitutional convention, cross our fingers and hope for the best.  That's a long shot, and one that will probably result in the nation fracturing into multiple countries.  For some that outcome may not be so bad, for others it could be a nightmare.  The second way is a less radical solution.  We simply go back to the original constitution, modify it just a little to bring it more in line with what the founding fathers originally intended, and then force our politicians to start following it.  Granted, that sounds easy enough, but getting it done will be a challenge.  It is nevertheless our best shot at getting another reprieve from tyranny and keeping our republic intact for a little while longer.

This is how it's done...

1. Support the nationwide TEA Party demonstrations.  These are merely demonstrations.  The TEA Party is not an organized political party, and it has no membership rolls.  You support it by simply showing up to a rally or demonstration.  That's all.  It's just a way of peacefully demonstrating our outrage to the federal government, and encouraging state governments to stand up and do something.  The more people who show up to TEA Parties, the faster we can get this reformation of our government underway.
2. Support state politicians who uphold states rights.  I'm talking about state politicians here, not federal politicians.  This means your governors and state legislators.  The federal government is never going to concede power back to the states on it's own.  It will never happen - ever!  The only way for the states to assert their sovereignty and get their power back is for them to just TAKE IT BACK.  They can do it.  It is recognized in the U.S. Constitution.  It's called the 10th amendment.  To make this happen, we must support the TEA Parties first, and then look to elect state politicians who also support state's rights.
3. Support the Constitution Party.  Part of the reason why the United States has gotten into this mess is because of the two-party system.  Both the Democrats AND Republicans are complicit in robbing Americans of their life, liberty and property.  They frequently work together, and neither one has a particularly good record at fixing America's problems.  Both have given us a bigger federal government, they just disagree on how much bigger and how fast it should grow.  In his presidential campaign of 1992, then candidate William Jefferson Clinton candidly told his supporters that the same people are controlling BOTH political parties.  He demonstrated this fact after becoming president by getting congressional Democrats to go along and ratify NAFTA, a Republican sponsored treaty drafted by the previous Republican administration, and later signed by his own hand.  If there is any doubt that the same people are controlling both parties then one need look no further than the financial bailouts started under the Bush administration and continued under the Obama administration.  The Constitution Party is the ONLY viable political party in the United States that is serious about radically reducing the size and power of the federal government and returning power to the states.  Neither the Democrats nor Republicans will do that. 

Now as a practicing Catholic who takes the social teachings of the Church seriously, I want to expressly state here that of the four viable options in American politics (Democrat, Republican, Constitution and Libertarian) the Constitution Party is the ONLY one most aligned with them.  I base this on the Church's primary social teachings of (1) Life, (2) Family and (3) Subsidiarity.

On the issue of Life, the Constitution Party is the ONLY viable political party in the United States that is 100% Pro-Life.  What does that mean?  It means it is against abortion 100% of the time.  It means it is against euthanasia 100% of the time.  It means it is against human cloning and embryonic stem-cell research 100% of the time.  See the party platform on the Sanctity of Life here.  You absolutely WILL NOT find that kind of commitment in any other political party in the United States -  not even the Republican Party which has recently reached out to pro-abortion politicians via it's "big tent" strategy.  Furthermore, the Republicans have historically used the "Pro-Life" banner as a means of getting their candidates elected, when in fact the Republican Party has had multiple opportunities to end Roe v. Wade while they had control of both the Congress and the Whitehouse.  Simple congressional legislation, signed by the president, could easily remove the jurisdiction of federal courts to hear any cases involving abortion.  That would effectively make Roe v. Wade a paper tiger, unenforceable and impotent, leaving the states free to legislate however they want.  The Republicans have known about this for decades, and yet they have done NOTHING.  Why?  Because removing the problem eliminates a key issue they've been using to garner political votes.  Without it, they may lose some elections.  

On the issue of Family, the Constitution Party is the ONLY viable political party that opposes homosexual marriage and civil unions across the board 100% of the time.  Furthermore, the Constitution Party opposes homosexual adoptions, and special laws giving special rights to homosexual persons.  See party platform on Family here.  Furthermore, the Constitution Party supports the traditional family 100%, affirming the rights of parents to raise their children without government interference.  In addition, the Constitution Party has pledged to protect families against pornography, against gambling, against narcotics, and against Marxist socialism in all it's forms.  No other political party in the United States has made this pledge - not a single one.  The Constitution Party is 100% Pro-Family, and you simply will not find another party as committed to the traditional family. 

On the issue of Subsidiarity, the Constitution Party is unquestionably the most seriously committed to this cause.  The Catholic social doctrine on Subsidiarity simply states that it is IMMORAL for larger governing institutions to interfere in the internal life of smaller governing institutions (see catechism).  In the American sense, this is most clearly represented in Federalism (or Anti-Federalism) in which the sovereignty and rights of the states are affirmed ABOVE that of the federal government.  This is a principle that nether the Democrats nor Republicans subscribe to.  It would seem the Republicans have given lip service to it, especially after the Reagan administration, but have done very little to support it in any real substantive way.  Meanwhile, the Democrats don't seem to know what Federalism is anymore, let alone Anti-Federalism.  Of course the entire Platform of the Constitution Party could be considered a lesson in Federalism and Subsidiarity, but it's one single plank on State Sovereignty sums it up nicely.

No other viable political party in America so clearly takes it's stand with the core of Catholic social teaching and the warnings of Our Lady of Fatima against social immorality and Marxist socialism.  No other viable political party in America so clearly represents the vision of our founding fathers and the hopes and dreams of hard working Americans today.  No other viable political party in America so clearly identifies with Christian values and the Biblical worldview.  No other political party in America is more aligned with a well formed Catholic conscience based on the Catechism of the Catholic Church.  No other viable political party in America so clearly represents our core Catholic values than the Constitution Party.

On a personal note, I have written to the leaders of the Constitution Party and expressed my faith as a practicing Catholic to them.  They have communicated to me their unwavering support of our faith and our Church as their ally in this war against big oppressive government.  Their commitment to our religious freedom is unmistakable and rock solid.  While Evangelicals once made up the core of the Constitution Party's base, that has already changed, and the party has seen a large influx of conservative Lutherans and traditional Roman Catholics.  They have assured me that they welcome all Christians of good faith, as well as people of other faiths who respect our Christian heritage and adhere to our Christian moral values. High profile Roman Catholics around the nation are already supporting the Constitution Party, and the party itself consistently runs solid Roman Catholics for political office.  It's a party any Roman Catholic can be proud to be a member of.  

As a practicing Catholic I unreservedly support the Constitution Party, and I firmly believe you should too.  The Constitution Party is a viable party.  It is the third largest party in American politics.  It's larger than all other third parties,  It has gained permanent ballot access in seventeen states and is rapidly gaining access in others.  It's closest rival is the Libertarian Party, which it has outpaced in growth significantly even though the Libertarian Party had a two-decade head start.  At it's current rate of growth it will surpass the Libertarian Party in ballot access before the 2016 election.  The Constitution Party is a REAL political party with a REAL chance at making a significant impact in the near future.  It needs our support, and that's why I'm encouraging you to join the party and actively support it both morally and financially, but especially with your prayers.

CLICK HERE TO VISIT THE CONSTITUTION PARTY NATIONAL WEBSITE