-Tuesday, February 15th, 2011-
-Editorial-
"We Told You So," Then...
William K. Shearer
On June 17, 1967 the American Independent Party of California (AIP) was
organized in Los Angeles, CA. [Twenty-five years later, in 1992, the AIP would be
the first, foundational state party to join the new US Taxpayers Party (USTP) which was destined to change its name to the Constitution Party in 1999] The founder of the
AIP (and second national chairman, many years later, of the USTP) was William K. Shearer. Those who worked with Bill Shearer agree that he was one of the
greatest, most unique and exceptional people they ever met. Those who worked against him all agree that he was the most fearsome and able opponent they ever encountered. He was elected to be the first chairman of the AIP on July 8, 1967,
when the work begun at the previously mentioned June meeting was completed. Twenty years later, in the September, 1987, edition of The American Independent,
one of his California Statesman publications, Shearer described the reasons why
the AIP was organized:
"On July 8, 1967, formal organization of California's American Independent Party was completed at a convention held in Bakersfield. A constitution and declaration of principles were adopted, and officers were elected. The declaration of principles proclaimed:
"A new party is urgently needed today because the leaders of the two existing parties, Democrat and Republican, have deserted the principles and traditions of our nation's founding fathers. Both of the existing parties have become the proponents of big government, crushing taxation, dictatorial federal power, waste and fiscal irresponsibility, unwholesome and disastrous internationalism, compromise with our nation's enemies, and authoritarian regimentation of the citizens of this Republic. Control
of the government, under the domination of these two existing parties,
has left the hands of the people our government was created to serve."
The declaration pledged the support of the American Independent Party
to "limited constitutional government, with emphasis on the rights of the several states to govern their own local affairs and educational systems without federal bureaucratic or court interference." As to foreign affairs, the declaration stated that "the American Independent Party supports a foreign policy based on America's best interests, not world opinion," and "preservation of our national sovereignty." (emphasis added)
Sound familiar? Nothing we face now is really all that new. The issues were defined and the gauntlet was tossed way back then. Yet, for 25 years, many people who should have known better opposed this new party effort, pinning there hopes (mostly) on the Republican Party and CREEPS like Richard Nixon, Globalists like Nelson Rockefeller or (and I know some of you won't like this) the soothing, hopeful, but largely empty rhetoric of Ronald Reagan. To their credit, by 1992, these good people finally decided they had enough and chose to form a new national party which would become the Constitution Party, with which the California AIP gladly joined as a charter member.
And, "We Are Still Telling You So"...Now
Now, almost 20 years later (and over 43 years after the formation of the AIP) the Constitution Party is the only national political party carrying the banner for limited, Constitutional government, national sovereignty and an America First Foreign policy. Nevertheless many Americans still seem to pin their hopes on changing one of the existing parties. This is simply an example of the "battered voter syndrome" that Mary Starrett so adroitly identified in one of her articles in 2008. Yet again, as we approach 2012, the siren song is sung for the American people to put faith in the GOP to save us from "Obamanation. So, yet again, apparently, it is necessary to remind Americans of the truth: Neither the Democrat Party nor the Republican Party will solve our problems because...
They ARE Our Problem!
Fortunately, Constitution Party National Chairman, Jim Clymer, has proven himself to be more than equal to that task...
James N. Clymer
That Hope Which Springs Eternal
by James N. Clymer
Chairman, Constitution Party National Committee
“A straggling few got up to go in deep despair. The rest Clung to the hope which springs eternal in the human breast”
These poignant lines from Casey at the Bat speak to the emotions that those of us who follow and cheer our favorite baseball team have experienced countless times. Philadelphia Phillies fans have a reputation for being among the most fervent in professional sports. They can be churlish and cruel, yet they will be loyal to a fault; they exude emotion and expectation yet understand practicality.
What most people don’t understand is what made them that way. Growing up rooting for a team that a few short years ago became the only team in major professional sports to have lost 10,000 games in its franchise history develops a sports character that a Yankee, Braves or Red Sox fan could never understand!
Politics has many parallels with baseball. Those who develop team loyalty see everything through the tinted glasses of their team. So if they are Republican,
the GOP can do no wrong and the Democrats can do no right and vice versa.
Take the vitriol heaped on Barack Obama by most Republicans. He evokes more emotion among the so-called Republican Right than any president in my memory.
He is described by many as the most leftist president in history.
On the other hand, I’ve attended gatherings on more than one occasion during the Bush presidency where loyalist Republicans declared Bush to be the “most conservative president in our lifetime”, in “the last fifty years” or in “the last
hundred years.” I guess you get to pick the absurdity.
Now don’t get me wrong. I believe the current occupant of the oval office is a Constitutional miscreant of immense proportions. He displays greater infidelity to the Constitution than any president since at least FDR. His lack of fidelity started with his refusal to show that he meets the Constitutional qualifications to be president. They are, after all, quite simple. One must be at least 35 years of age, shall have lived at least fourteen years in these United States and shall be a natural born citizen. Why would one spend what has been estimated to exceed a million dollars to keep secret the long form birth certificate that would settle this question once and for all? But I digress.
In fact, George W. Bush showed nearly as much disdain for the Constitution as does Obama. For all the outbursts about Obama trampling on the Constitution and turning us into a socialist state, I wonder what they were smoking while the Republicans controlled the White House and both houses of Congress for four years of the Bush II presidency. Bush’s alleged contemptuous remark that the Constitution is nothing but a “g*d d*mn” piece of paper”, was not merely a blasphemous statement; it exemplified an attitude and a policy. I challenge anyone to name one major fiscal, individual liberty or foreign relations policy area where there is a significant ideological difference between the practice of Bush II and Obama. Remember, I’m not comparing the degree to which the policy is taken but rather the ideological justification for the policy.
In the cover story of the December 6, 2010 issue of The New American, Charles Scaliger presents a compelling case for how Obama, despite campaign hype to the contrary, continued the war policies of Bush in both Iraq and Afghanistan, continued the course set by Bush in relations with Russia and in calling for an expansion of NATO, along with ever greater accommodations with the United Nations.
In fiscal matters, Republicans have suddenly discovered a verbal commitment to fiscal restraint and constitutional limitations on the power of the federal government, blasting Obama for his socialized medicine capers and stimulus package bailouts. But where were they when Bush was doing the same sorts of things now done by Obama? After all, it was Bush who pushed through the first stimulus package, a $700 billion dollar bank bailout. As soon as Obama got into office, he started pushing for the second one to compound the disaster but it was not significantly less “unconstitutional” or “socialistic” than the one presided over by Bush.
Scaliger notes that overall federal spending has increased about ten percent per
year during the first two years of the Obama administration which is about the same annual increases that occurred during the administration of George W. Bush.
Obamacare, the gargantuan intrusion of the federal government into the healthcare decisions of every American citizen, is presented as the proof case for Obama’s desire to lead us into socialism. Without disputing the truth of that intent, let’s look objectively at what Bush did in the federal healthcare arena with his massive overhaul of Medicare at an estimated cost of $7 trillion, called “the greatest expansion of America’s welfare state in forty years” by CBS legal correspondent Jan Crawford Greenburg.
It was George W. Bush who disdained the privacy rights of individuals that the federal government is supposed to protect under the Fourth Amendment by pushing through the Patriot Act and the Department of Homeland Security along with its progeny of new intrusions on the privacy of American citizens. Although candidate Obama decried these violations of the Constitution, once assuming the office of the presidency, he has continued these policies and has authorized even more draconian policies such as installation of new backscatter body imaging machines that electronically undress passengers who merely want to exercise their right to travel. Those who refuse to have the naked features of their bodies viewed by strangers must face an enhanced groping “patdown” that would constitute a felonious sexual assault if done by anyone other than a government agent in a non-medical circumstance.
So Republicans have gained a substantial majority in the House of Representatives. The pundits are buzzing about the opportunities this new crop of Republicans will have and hope again springs eternal that sanity will be restored in Washington. But if the past is prologue, just as there was no joy in Mudville because mighty Casey had struck out, those pinning their hopes on Republican promises will see their hopes dashed once again. There are already emerging signs that the GOP really only wants to be a better caretaker of the welfare state than the Democrats. I have no confidence that it has any intention of derailing the train to socialism. (emphasis added)
Bill Shearer was right in 1967.
Jim Clymer is right in 2011.
It has been said that, “Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” It has also been said that "the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." In 2012 the American voters have an opportunity to prove that they are sane and
that they have finally learned from history by supporting the Constitution Party with their effort and their votes.
Our job is to make sure that in 2012 Americans all across the nation have an opportunity to: 1) hear about the Constitution Party message; 2) join with and help build the Constitution Party; 3) and, most importantly, vote for Constitution Party candidates for President, Vice-President and other offices across the board.
As we move toward the Spring months of 2011 there is much to do in preparation to ensure that the Constitution Party will be in a position to provide the viable alternative political alternative this nation
so desperately needs. Just as a batter cannot hit the ball unless he swings the bat, we cannot achieve our goals unless we are active and involved in supporting the Constitution Party. Americans no longer have
the luxury of sitting on the sidelines watching others lead our country in the wrong direction. They need to stand up and get involved and we must provide that example!
Will you make it YOUR priority to support your state Constitution Party affiliate? Will you help it financially, attend its meetings and help to do what is necessary to get it on the ballot, if it isn't already on the ballot. Don't stop there! Support the work of the Constitution Party's National Committee with your financial support and plan on being at the important national meetings in Harrisburg, PA in April and/or
in Spokane, WA in the Fall. There is much to do and time starts to move very, very fast. This is not the time to sit on our hands, this is the time to...
Stand Up For America!
Thank you,
Editorial Board
Constitution Party News and Information
Next: Important State Meetings in Delaware, Kansas (2nd notice), Iowa and Pennsylvania.
Upcoming: New Information regarding the Spring 2011 Constitution Party National Committee Meeting and Conference in Harrisburg.
-Editorial-
"We Told You So," Then...
William K. ShearerOn June 17, 1967 the American Independent Party of California (AIP) was
organized in Los Angeles, CA. [Twenty-five years later, in 1992, the AIP would be
the first, foundational state party to join the new US Taxpayers Party (USTP) which was destined to change its name to the Constitution Party in 1999] The founder of the
AIP (and second national chairman, many years later, of the USTP) was William K. Shearer. Those who worked with Bill Shearer agree that he was one of the
greatest, most unique and exceptional people they ever met. Those who worked against him all agree that he was the most fearsome and able opponent they ever encountered. He was elected to be the first chairman of the AIP on July 8, 1967,
when the work begun at the previously mentioned June meeting was completed. Twenty years later, in the September, 1987, edition of The American Independent,
one of his California Statesman publications, Shearer described the reasons why
the AIP was organized:
"On July 8, 1967, formal organization of California's American Independent Party was completed at a convention held in Bakersfield. A constitution and declaration of principles were adopted, and officers were elected. The declaration of principles proclaimed:
"A new party is urgently needed today because the leaders of the two existing parties, Democrat and Republican, have deserted the principles and traditions of our nation's founding fathers. Both of the existing parties have become the proponents of big government, crushing taxation, dictatorial federal power, waste and fiscal irresponsibility, unwholesome and disastrous internationalism, compromise with our nation's enemies, and authoritarian regimentation of the citizens of this Republic. Control
of the government, under the domination of these two existing parties,
has left the hands of the people our government was created to serve."
The declaration pledged the support of the American Independent Party
to "limited constitutional government, with emphasis on the rights of the several states to govern their own local affairs and educational systems without federal bureaucratic or court interference." As to foreign affairs, the declaration stated that "the American Independent Party supports a foreign policy based on America's best interests, not world opinion," and "preservation of our national sovereignty." (emphasis added)
Sound familiar? Nothing we face now is really all that new. The issues were defined and the gauntlet was tossed way back then. Yet, for 25 years, many people who should have known better opposed this new party effort, pinning there hopes (mostly) on the Republican Party and CREEPS like Richard Nixon, Globalists like Nelson Rockefeller or (and I know some of you won't like this) the soothing, hopeful, but largely empty rhetoric of Ronald Reagan. To their credit, by 1992, these good people finally decided they had enough and chose to form a new national party which would become the Constitution Party, with which the California AIP gladly joined as a charter member.
And, "We Are Still Telling You So"...Now
Now, almost 20 years later (and over 43 years after the formation of the AIP) the Constitution Party is the only national political party carrying the banner for limited, Constitutional government, national sovereignty and an America First Foreign policy. Nevertheless many Americans still seem to pin their hopes on changing one of the existing parties. This is simply an example of the "battered voter syndrome" that Mary Starrett so adroitly identified in one of her articles in 2008. Yet again, as we approach 2012, the siren song is sung for the American people to put faith in the GOP to save us from "Obamanation. So, yet again, apparently, it is necessary to remind Americans of the truth: Neither the Democrat Party nor the Republican Party will solve our problems because...
They ARE Our Problem!
Fortunately, Constitution Party National Chairman, Jim Clymer, has proven himself to be more than equal to that task...
James N. Clymer
That Hope Which Springs Eternal
by James N. Clymer
Chairman, Constitution Party National Committee
“A straggling few got up to go in deep despair. The rest Clung to the hope which springs eternal in the human breast”
These poignant lines from Casey at the Bat speak to the emotions that those of us who follow and cheer our favorite baseball team have experienced countless times. Philadelphia Phillies fans have a reputation for being among the most fervent in professional sports. They can be churlish and cruel, yet they will be loyal to a fault; they exude emotion and expectation yet understand practicality.
What most people don’t understand is what made them that way. Growing up rooting for a team that a few short years ago became the only team in major professional sports to have lost 10,000 games in its franchise history develops a sports character that a Yankee, Braves or Red Sox fan could never understand!
Politics has many parallels with baseball. Those who develop team loyalty see everything through the tinted glasses of their team. So if they are Republican,
the GOP can do no wrong and the Democrats can do no right and vice versa.
Take the vitriol heaped on Barack Obama by most Republicans. He evokes more emotion among the so-called Republican Right than any president in my memory.
He is described by many as the most leftist president in history.
On the other hand, I’ve attended gatherings on more than one occasion during the Bush presidency where loyalist Republicans declared Bush to be the “most conservative president in our lifetime”, in “the last fifty years” or in “the last
hundred years.” I guess you get to pick the absurdity.
Now don’t get me wrong. I believe the current occupant of the oval office is a Constitutional miscreant of immense proportions. He displays greater infidelity to the Constitution than any president since at least FDR. His lack of fidelity started with his refusal to show that he meets the Constitutional qualifications to be president. They are, after all, quite simple. One must be at least 35 years of age, shall have lived at least fourteen years in these United States and shall be a natural born citizen. Why would one spend what has been estimated to exceed a million dollars to keep secret the long form birth certificate that would settle this question once and for all? But I digress.
In fact, George W. Bush showed nearly as much disdain for the Constitution as does Obama. For all the outbursts about Obama trampling on the Constitution and turning us into a socialist state, I wonder what they were smoking while the Republicans controlled the White House and both houses of Congress for four years of the Bush II presidency. Bush’s alleged contemptuous remark that the Constitution is nothing but a “g*d d*mn” piece of paper”, was not merely a blasphemous statement; it exemplified an attitude and a policy. I challenge anyone to name one major fiscal, individual liberty or foreign relations policy area where there is a significant ideological difference between the practice of Bush II and Obama. Remember, I’m not comparing the degree to which the policy is taken but rather the ideological justification for the policy.
In the cover story of the December 6, 2010 issue of The New American, Charles Scaliger presents a compelling case for how Obama, despite campaign hype to the contrary, continued the war policies of Bush in both Iraq and Afghanistan, continued the course set by Bush in relations with Russia and in calling for an expansion of NATO, along with ever greater accommodations with the United Nations.
In fiscal matters, Republicans have suddenly discovered a verbal commitment to fiscal restraint and constitutional limitations on the power of the federal government, blasting Obama for his socialized medicine capers and stimulus package bailouts. But where were they when Bush was doing the same sorts of things now done by Obama? After all, it was Bush who pushed through the first stimulus package, a $700 billion dollar bank bailout. As soon as Obama got into office, he started pushing for the second one to compound the disaster but it was not significantly less “unconstitutional” or “socialistic” than the one presided over by Bush.
Scaliger notes that overall federal spending has increased about ten percent per
year during the first two years of the Obama administration which is about the same annual increases that occurred during the administration of George W. Bush.
Obamacare, the gargantuan intrusion of the federal government into the healthcare decisions of every American citizen, is presented as the proof case for Obama’s desire to lead us into socialism. Without disputing the truth of that intent, let’s look objectively at what Bush did in the federal healthcare arena with his massive overhaul of Medicare at an estimated cost of $7 trillion, called “the greatest expansion of America’s welfare state in forty years” by CBS legal correspondent Jan Crawford Greenburg.
It was George W. Bush who disdained the privacy rights of individuals that the federal government is supposed to protect under the Fourth Amendment by pushing through the Patriot Act and the Department of Homeland Security along with its progeny of new intrusions on the privacy of American citizens. Although candidate Obama decried these violations of the Constitution, once assuming the office of the presidency, he has continued these policies and has authorized even more draconian policies such as installation of new backscatter body imaging machines that electronically undress passengers who merely want to exercise their right to travel. Those who refuse to have the naked features of their bodies viewed by strangers must face an enhanced groping “patdown” that would constitute a felonious sexual assault if done by anyone other than a government agent in a non-medical circumstance.
So Republicans have gained a substantial majority in the House of Representatives. The pundits are buzzing about the opportunities this new crop of Republicans will have and hope again springs eternal that sanity will be restored in Washington. But if the past is prologue, just as there was no joy in Mudville because mighty Casey had struck out, those pinning their hopes on Republican promises will see their hopes dashed once again. There are already emerging signs that the GOP really only wants to be a better caretaker of the welfare state than the Democrats. I have no confidence that it has any intention of derailing the train to socialism. (emphasis added)
Bill Shearer was right in 1967.
Jim Clymer is right in 2011.
It has been said that, “Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” It has also been said that "the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." In 2012 the American voters have an opportunity to prove that they are sane and
that they have finally learned from history by supporting the Constitution Party with their effort and their votes.
Our job is to make sure that in 2012 Americans all across the nation have an opportunity to: 1) hear about the Constitution Party message; 2) join with and help build the Constitution Party; 3) and, most importantly, vote for Constitution Party candidates for President, Vice-President and other offices across the board.
As we move toward the Spring months of 2011 there is much to do in preparation to ensure that the Constitution Party will be in a position to provide the viable alternative political alternative this nation
so desperately needs. Just as a batter cannot hit the ball unless he swings the bat, we cannot achieve our goals unless we are active and involved in supporting the Constitution Party. Americans no longer have
the luxury of sitting on the sidelines watching others lead our country in the wrong direction. They need to stand up and get involved and we must provide that example!
Will you make it YOUR priority to support your state Constitution Party affiliate? Will you help it financially, attend its meetings and help to do what is necessary to get it on the ballot, if it isn't already on the ballot. Don't stop there! Support the work of the Constitution Party's National Committee with your financial support and plan on being at the important national meetings in Harrisburg, PA in April and/or
in Spokane, WA in the Fall. There is much to do and time starts to move very, very fast. This is not the time to sit on our hands, this is the time to...
Stand Up For America!
Thank you,
Editorial Board
Constitution Party News and Information
Next: Important State Meetings in Delaware, Kansas (2nd notice), Iowa and Pennsylvania.
Upcoming: New Information regarding the Spring 2011 Constitution Party National Committee Meeting and Conference in Harrisburg.
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