Why I Joined The Constitution PartyBy Chuck Baldwin The Covenant News ~ July 27, 2004
Let me give you some background information about myself. I
was raised in a strong Christian family. All the men in my family
were tradesmen and were, therefore, members of various trade
unions. As such, they were all proud, hard-working Democrats.
So was I - until the early 1980s.
I switched my party affiliation to the Republican Party when it
became obvious to me that the Democratic Party had left its
conservative principles and had been taken over by a variety of
left-wing special interest groups. I was a registered Republican
until this year (2004).
However, my support for the Republican Party had nothing to do
with making David Rockefeller wealthier, and though I favor
less taxation and less federal spending, my primary reasons for
making the switch had less to do with economic considerations
and more to do with moral and constitutional ones.
More than twenty years of active support for Republican
candidates and causes, however, leads me to the conclusion that,
in the end, there is little difference between the two major parties
at the national level. Such a statement may sound trite and
redundant to party loyalists, but for me it is a studied conviction.
It seems to me that, in the end, both parties are marching to the
same drummer with only a slightly different cadence. The major
difference seems to be that of control not course. Indeed, both
parties seem headed in the same direction. Consider the
following:
*Clinton enjoyed coziness with Communist China's ruling elite
which influenced his public policies. Bush enjoys coziness with
the same Chinese elite, but he also enjoys coziness with several
Middle Eastern, Muslim elite which is influencing his public
policies.
*Democrats support an open-border policy on immigration. Bush
and his fellow Republicans do, also. Bush even goes further by
intending to grant amnesty to millions of illegal aliens.
*Both Democrats and Republicans want the president to have
fast track trade authority. Leaders from both parties support
NAFTA, GATT, the WTO, NATO, the World Bank, the IMF,
MFN for Communist China, etc. President Bush is currently
pushing the New World Order envelope even further by
promoting the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA).
*Both Democrats and Republicans consistently vote to increase
the welfare state. Both parties continuously authorize more
power to an ever-burgeoning federal bureaucracy at the expense
of personal liberty and constitutional government. In this area,
President Bush has eclipsed the Democrats by successfully
pushing an unconstitutional Patriot Act through Congress and by
increasing federal spending to levels not seen since Lyndon
Johnson.
*Clinton brought foreign troops to our military bases for the
purposes of cross training and intelligence sharing. Bush has
continued this policy.
*Clinton and his fellow Democrats supported embryonic stem
cell research, but it was President Bush who gave such research
official, legal status.
*Bush's "faith based" socialism increases federal involvement
and authority over religious activity in a way that Clinton or
Gore could never have dreamed.
*Both the Democratic and Republican parties support more
federal land grabs of private property. Neither Party has any
intention of outlawing abortion-on-demand. Both parties are
committed to granting legitimacy to homosexuality. Neither
Party wants to return authority for education back to the states
and local communities.
*Loyalists from both sides will overlook practically any
deficiency of character, any breach of trust, or any violation of
principle when committed by a standard bearer of their own
Party. Therefore, in the end, what is the difference?
Beyond that, if President Bush is reelected in November, it is
almost certain that he would re-institute the military draft and
would even become the first President in U.S. history to draft
America's daughters. In addition, Mr. Bush would, in all
likelihood, appoint pro-abortion justices to the U.S. Supreme
Court and would continue his unconstitutional, imperialistic
propensities to unilaterally invade foreign countries without a
declaration of war from Congress.
For these, and many other reasons, I could no longer in good
conscience stay in the Republican Party. Therefore, earlier this
year, I joined the Constitution Party. It is the only Party at the
national level that stands for the fundamental principles upon
which our nation was built. It is the only Party that truly shares
my pro-life, pro-liberty, and pro-constitution convictions.
At some point, regardless of consequences, every person of honor
and integrity must decide to draw a line in the sand and put
principle and right ahead of pragmatism and appeasement. For me,
that time is now!