Posted on 04/24/2008 9:04:17 AM PDT by Between the Lines
While Democrats and Republicans look months ahead to the national conventions of their parties, one political group gathers in our backyard this week to declare its presidential nominee.
The Constitution Party is holding its national convention through Saturday at the Downtown Marriott in Kansas City.
As its name implies, the party has as its guiding principle a strict interpretation of the U.S. Constitution. Its mission statement reads, in part: "It is our goal to limit the federal government to its delegated, enumerated, Constitutional functions and to restore American jurisprudence to its original Biblical common-law foundations."
The party began in 1992 as the U.S. Taxpayers Party but changed to its current name in 1999.
Credential and platform committees began meeting Wednesday afternoon. The convention wraps up Saturday with a state roll call to elect a presidential nominee. Alan Keyes, who announced his departure from the Republican Party last week, is seen as the likely Constitution Party nominee.
David Schantz of St. Joseph, who will not attend the Kansas City convention because of work commitments, said he liked Dr. Keyes' views on the Constitution, immigration and gun rights.
Party officials welcomed Dr. Keyes, a diplomat during the Reagan Administration.
"You can almost hear a nationwide standing ovation," Jim Clymer, the party's national committee chairman, said. "Ambassador Keyes joins millions of Americans abandoning the party that long ago abandoned them. Keyes had the courage to say what a lot of folks have been thinking for years -- that the Republican Party’s leadership is way out of touch with its base."
Sorry. They lost credibility by nominating Keyes.
IIRC some states will not allow a candidate to appear on the general election ballot if they appeared on the primary ballot under a different party.
If McCain picks a pro-abort VP, I might consider it. But otherwise, no.
Have to agree. Keyes is a self-promoter who has ridden his one time Reagan administration job about as far as it can take him. He joined the party yesterday, and today he is there nominee? That’s a pretty damning proof that the party is lacking in home-grown leadership.
“It is our goal to limit the federal government to its delegated, enumerated, Constitutional functions and to restore American jurisprudence to its original Biblical common-law foundations.”
I wonder what part of that statement supports reparations for slavery, which Keyes supports???
They are holding their convention in a hotel ballroom in KC.
The expect 300 delegates. From what I saw on TV they won’t get near that number.
The main purpose of the Constitution Party is to separate fools from their money. If a viable third party ever arises none of the people in charge of the Constitution Party will be
there.
I don’t think it will make any difference as to who they nominate to be their loser this time around. It might as well be Keyes and let him go for his 7th loss as a candidate:
Twice in MD
Once in IL
Three times as GOP nominee
7th..... CP presidential nominee
The CP convention has all the credibility of a game of Dungeons and Dragons. “Look at me, I have the mace and I am the nominee!”
It was long before that.
Roll the twelve-sided die to select a running mate!
“Seven.”
Your running mate is . . . the “gelatinous cube.”
good one!
“You can almost hear a nationwide standing ovation,” Jim Clymer, the party’s national committee chairman...”
Uh, yeah...you can...almost...hear it....riiiight.
Alan Keyes is a hater. He disowned his own daughter when she came out as a lesbian right after he lambasted Cheney for having a lesbian daughter.
If you won’t help your own child, don’t expect my vote.
They lost credibility by nominating Keyes.”
When did they have credibility? I must have missed that.
Their choice is....John McCain (who can't wait to give our country over to millions of illegals...
(Rule of Law....we don't need no rule of law)...
Or Barack Hussein Obama, ( nurtured by a racist, anti-American pastor.)
Or Hillary Clinton....& her Huma :^
Yeah, great choice...
..and yet you ridicule Alan Keyes.
OK hotshots....what have you got better???????????????????
Twice in MD
Once in IL
Three times as GOP nominee
7th..... CP presidential nominee”
Yes, but each time he came just soooo close....
Sinus Supremus!
Zero Charisma!
Low volume ping list
FReepmail me to be on, or off, this list.
If I was in town, I'd go check them out.
I and mine will vote for Dr. Keyes. But we really should start at the grass roots level of winning local offices and state offices.
Like Snowe or Collins? If so welcome aboard.
I’m really curious who those posts #1-12 will be voting for?
Simple answer......... John McCain
For two reasons:
The next SCOTUS nominees
The men and women of our military
There is no way on God’s green earth that the democratic candidate will be better. And just as assuredly there is no way on God’s green earth that the CP nominee will win thus I’m left with which of the two that can win do I prefer. Would I prefer someone other than McCain that could win, you betcha. But that isn’t the choice this time around.
Note some of the threads that are linked in the posts, especially the ones where he agrees with Jeremiah Wright.
If its not a close GOP/DEM race in my state, I’ll gladly support Dr. Keyes.
Funny how Freepers will pick
Mr. Keating-5 / Gang-of-14 / CFR / warming scaremonger / close Gitmo
McCain
over a conservative because they didn’t bother to check what Dr. Keyes really said about reparations or that he disapproves of the homosexual lifestyle.
If Bob Barr runs as a Libertarian, I'll go with him. Otherwise, I might just vote for Keyes because it pisses the right people off.
Sorry, Alan. I can’t take you seriously as a political candidate after the whole slavery reparations thing.
You could have a much greater impact on American politic doing speaking tours, rather than running as a presidential candidate for fringe parties.
The reason for that perception is because historically on FR, the most vocal of the anti-Keyes posters were liberal/moderate GOP rah-rah posters who for the most part now thankfully infest other websites.
I’m voting for Keyes because the other choices would not allow me to sleep nights. The lesser of two (3) evils, is still evil.
I’ve seen the dislike of Dr. Keyes come from both ends. I see many strong Conservatives who don’t like him either. I actually like the guy. I don’t like what he did with his daughter, nor his reparations comments, but on balance, he is good. Aligning himself with the Westboro theocrats, however, was over the line. (Example, read recently where the Constitutional party where condemning someone who said a Senate prayer because he ended it by saying ‘God’s holy name’ instead of ‘in Jesus name’, that’s how over the top they’ve become..)
“Keyes is a self-promoter who has ridden his one time Reagan administration job about as far as it can take him. He joined the party yesterday, and today he is there nominee?”
You are a Dr. Keye’s hater. Please explain your comments with facts.
I pretty much exactly agree with that. Some of his positions are kooky, but he's not a bad person and he certainly was a big help in making FR what it is, so I just hate to see personal attacks on him. March For Justice, anyone?
Aligning himself with the Westboro theocrats, however, was over the line.
Now that's a bit hyperbolic.
And don’t BS me.
I can smell BS all the way to the Rep. of Panama and much, much further.
Keyes is off the deepend for me too.
I disagree. I LOVE Alan Keyes and believe he’d make a great president. He doesn’t always say what you want to hear but you know its the truth and he has the best interest of the people going for him, not an agenda of personal power and wealth.
When you have C Party leaders saying things like Jeremiah Wright was correct and our problems are caused by gays in society and our messing with other countries, I wouldn't consider that hyperbolic. Those are some of the nicer things.
How a man treats his family is a window into his character. Alan Keyes is a narcissist like Bill Clinton. It's all about him. Daughter becomes a PR problem, dump her. Ever wonder why he hasn't run for dog catcher, or Mayor? It's because his foolish narcissism compels him to start at the top with his first elective office.
I seriously encourage the Constitution party to use the following strategy in the election. It is a strategy that should not be objectionable to them, but should yield far better than normal results.
Importantly, it is *not* hypocritical.
To start with, the party should “bullet list” its platform agenda. It may have 30 or 40 major ideas it wants to advance.
Second, it should poll the public *about* these individual platform items, to determine what the TOP 10 items are, that the Constitutional party advocates, and that the public also strongly supports.
Then, the most important thing: emphasize to the public *both* what you and *they* want, in the format of the Republican “Contract With America”. In a way, it will look much like the 10 Commandments, but will be campaign platform items that are popular with the public.
This does several impressive things. First and foremost, it is a clear and unambiguous message. No waffling, no confusion, no doublespeak. It is the guidon of the Constitution party.
Second, it catches their eye, because most of the public will already agree with it. It will say to them that the Constitution party is very mainstream and should be paid attention to. That it is a reasonable alternative to the two old parties.
Third, it IN NO WAY compromises your other platform items. You still believe in the rest, and will tell people if they ask. But for the time being, you want to give the people what the people want—FIRST.
You message is short and sweet and clear as a bell. As such it will penetrate the fog and haze of elections. People on the street will actually have some idea of what the Constitutional party stands for.
And it will bring in votes and new members.
Now that being said, a presidential candidate is the *last* candidate to elect, not the first. I would propose putting your resources behind congressional candidates in districts where the incumbent is weak. Neither of the big two candidates will feel as threatened by a Constitution candidate as they would by each other.
If Constitution party candidates can get elected to a bare minimum of six seats in the US House, it will be in a position to wheel and deal to advance its agenda. It can do this by casting the deciding vote between the two major parties. If they want the vote of the bloc, then they have to give the bloc something in return.
Ironically, this is not duplicitous, because there are many things voted on in congress that the Constitution party doesn’t really care about. So they can sell their deciding vote to whichever of the major parties is the winning bidder.
These are the two things that would give the Constitution party the boost it needs to win the power it has to have to advance its agenda.
alan who?
It won’t be Hitler or the black militant so I guess it will be the old man.
Regardless of Jim's stated principles of the forum, too many here view this as a GOP forum, in the mistaken belief that the GOP is their only hope for "conservative" governance.
I am pretty fed up with the "party system", but it is the way it is. Personally, at this stage of my life, I will support a third party candidate, only in the hopes of starting a grass roots movement with the ever dimming hope that we will get back to "Constitutional Conservatism".
Keyes won’t even get a hundred thousand votes. He’s a loon and an opportunist.
Well we agree on what the choices are if you want to have some influence. You are focusing on background, which I agree is important, but not as importat as the future. What actions, good and bad, can we expect from the three candidates. McCain would be best on Iraq, best on judicial appointments, best on budget restraint. He would by better on cultural issues. We won't be worrying about a one time 10% "reperations tax" under McCain. We may worry about it under Obama or Hillary.
Thus, warts and all McCain is the best of the non-vanity candidates.
If you still have not adjusted to the mental concept of voting for the "lesser of two evils" and want to cast a protest vote Keys and the Constitution Party will do just find. I have no problem with that, only if it is a close election that Obama ends up winning I would feel bad for enabling him..
The Republican Party enabled him by giving us McCain as our only choice.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2007494/posts
Constitution Party stunner: Chuck Baldwin KOs firebrand Alan Keyes
Next..............
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