Posted on 01/24/2006 1:15:52 PM PST by HopefulPatriot
Third Party Tragedies
"A Republic if you can keep it!" was Benjamin Franklin's curt reply when asked the nature of our government at the conclusion of the Constitutional Convention in 1787. Our Constitution is an amazingly brilliant document. It was written to protect We the people not only from the federal government that it created, but also as Franklin's poignant remark illustrates, the Constitution protected us from ourselves. The Founders recognized the dangers of a tyranny of the majority. Contrary to what public schools teach and what most Democrats would have you believe, on paper the United States is most assuredly not a democracy, nor was it ever intended to be. And almost paradoxically, it was not overwhelming majorities that led us down the primrose path toward democracy.
As far as I know, the Republican Party has been the only 'successful' third party in American history. Successful is bracketed because Lincoln used force to breach the Constitution and bring the seceding states back into the union. Regardless of your thoughts on Lincoln or the Civil War, the Republican Party has been with us as a major political party ever since. No other third party has ever enjoyed success and some notable third party efforts have resulted in tragedies of historic proportion for our nation.
Most Americans have an image of Teddy Roosevelt as a genuine hero. This is in spite of the fact that his decision to leave the Republican Party and form the Bull Moose Party may one day be seen by history as the pivotal event leading to the beginning of the end of the United States itself. Woodrow Wilson became President with a plurality, not a majority, of the vote as a result of this third party disaster. Wilson and the Democrats engineered three catastrophic changes in the Constitution that set the stage for socialism and "professional" politicians.
The Federal Reserve Act, one of the first successful end runs around the Constitution, was the first of the three. The XVIth and XVIIth Amendments were the other two. Together, the Federal Reserve Act and the XVIth Amendment effectively granted Congress unlimited taxing, unlimited borrowing, and unlimited spending powers. The XVIIth Amendment brought the United States much closer to actually being a democracy. The theory of a republican form of government is that we elect leaders that are wiser, more experienced and of a higher moral character who will use their independent judgment to then do what is in our best interest, regardless of what we want or would prefer. Under the Constitution prior to the XVIIth Amendment, the State legislatures elected United States Senators, hence the origin of the concept of the Senate's being the upper chamber versus the House being the people's chamber.
Important third party stories and tragedies are still being played out today. Remember Ross Perot's Reform Party that gave us the Clinton tragedy? An even greater unpublicized current tragedy is found in the numerous conservative third parties that have splintered away from a Republican Party unwilling to embrace genuine conservative reforms. Presently, there are not enough conservatives within the Republican Party to control it and the third parties that have splintered away dilute the conservative influence that still remains within the Republican Party even more. All conservative third parties need to understand that they could not obtain a governing majority even if they had Ronald Reagan as their President. No third party can defeat the Democratic Party, especially when allied with the closet socialists within the Republican Party. If the Constitution is to be restored, it can only be done by a conservative coalition able to either control or intimidate the Republican Party. "Professional" politicians are not going to be part of the solution. Bringing conservatives that have formed their own third party and deserted the Republican Party back into to the Republican Party in order to form a conservative coalition that can put the Republican Party back on the "right" path is an essential step toward restoring the Constitution.
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© 2005 Hopeful Patriot
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"A Republic if you can keep it!" sounds like the same reply be given to the Iraqis for the first time in their lives.
BTTT
Bump for later
You fail to recognize that the reason so many, er, 'conservatives' go the third party route isn't because they fail to understand the consequences but because they are brain damaged. It is futile to try and discuss this with them.
Conservatives are independent thinkers and tend to go their separate ways. Most are not joiners. This measurably adds to the difficulty in organizing an activity to do anything, even one designed to restore the Constitution.
Once again, who are you?
The Reform Party was going places until Perot blew it by backing out temporarily in 1992. If he hadn't done that he very well could have won and given rise to a successful third party. He did prove though that even today they have potential if the right person with the right message comes along, something both parties who take their base for granted should keep in mind.
FGS
Hi Bob. What do you think of HopefulPatriot's ideas? Concept, implementation, whatever??? Do you believe conservatives are winning and can we make the changes in the direction of the country soon enough to forestall a reckoning?
Ross Perot never intended to win. He accomplished exactly what the wanted, the election of Bill Clinton. His payoff was to be for Perot Systems to run a large part of HillaryCare. Instead, he gave us all Clinton and got nothing in return for himself. Thanks Ross.
So, why can't we force out the "closet socialists" in the GOP? I guess that's because they aren't in the closet anymore.....like Tom "No Fat to Cut" DeLay.
Perot was a fraud. Sorry you fell for it.
A nobody with a plan that can restore the Constitution if people recognize the value of the ideas. It is not the who that matters, it is the what. It is curious to me that anyone wants to know about the author when they can know the plan. Why would anyone want to trust somebody when they can simply trust their own judgment about the content of the ideas.
If the goal, restoration of the Constitution, fits your goals and ambitions, who cares who was the first to say let's see if we can restore the Constitution. If the plan that finally evolves from this effort seems sound to you, who cares who put forward the first draft, even if it becomes the working draft. If the goal fits, and the plan seems reasonable, what matters in the big picture is whether the execution is successful. And what should matter to you, is whether you were part of it or standing on the sidelines. Were you pushing the plan forward and executing it or were you part of the problem>
I'm all for sticking strictly to the Constitution, but the Republican Party, in their support for Social Security, Medicare, and all of the other unconstitutional programs enacted in the last 70 years is obviously NOT. Sorry to disagree brother, but they're simply a little right of the Dems, which is in reality, centrist.
Perot gave us Clinton, no doubt about it. I think his real goal was to stop Bush from winning so even if he didn't himself and Clinton won his mission was accomplished.
Even if he was a fraud that doesn't change the fact had he stayed in he could have won. The 19% that he still got wasn't bad for an unknown third party.
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