2004 PROHIBITION PARTY PLATFORM

We, the delegates to the Prohibition National Convention, assembled in Arvada, Colorado, June 12, 2003, recognize Almighty God as the Source of all just government and declare our faith in the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. If elected, we will serve the needs and preserve the constitutionally guaranteed freedoms of the citizens of the United States of America.

We affirm our loyalty to the Constitution of the United States of America. We will protect it from violation by legislation, by bureaucratic regulations, by evasion, by international treaty or through judicial usurpation of those rights that belong to the executive and legislative branches, to the states and to the people.

The Federal Constitution grants Washington authority only in certain limited and specified areas. We suggest that you read Article One, Section Eight of the U. S. Constitution and also the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution. Today many members of the Congress act as if it were granted unlimited authority in all areas of life. They seem to have forgotten that it is the States that created the Federal Government in Washington, not the other way around. Consequently the Federal Government has grown way to big and often tries to bully the states. Today, Washington is involved in many things not assigned to it by the U. S. Constitution. Many federal agencies should be abolished. While we are strong supporters of a good school system, education is the responsibility of the individual states, not Washington. We, therefore, think a good place to start in reducing the size of the general government in Washington would be the abolition of the federal Department of Education

We recognize that the States are as different as people. It may come as a shock to THE NEW YORK TIMES and the WASHINGTON POST but there is nothing in the U. S. Constitution that suggests, much less requires, all the states to be clones of New York and Massachusetts. Washington D. C. was intentionally designed as LIMITED GOVERNMENT. The states that created the federal government have lost many of their rights because of actions by all three federal government branches. We will restore those rights and guard against further federal encroachment.

We firmly believe that the U. S. Supreme Court Judges, and all other judges as well, should apply the law and the U. S. Constitution as written. We deplore the action, in recent decades, of ignoring the plain wording of the U. S. Constitution, our history and prior decisions by the United States Supreme Court. By substituting, in their decisions, what they wish the law to be for what it plainly is these Judges have severely distorted the U. S. Constitution. If this continues another sixty years we will not have the same U. S. Constitution that our fathers and grandfathers had. Specifically we object to:

a) Claude Wickard vs Filburn, 317 US 111, which stretched "interstate commerce" to mean that Congress could control what a farmer in Ohio could grow to feed his own livestock.

b) U. S. vs California, 332 US 19and U. S. vs Texas, 339 US 707, where in the U. S. Supreme Court ignored two hundred years of understanding regarding the legal boundaries of the coastal states and seized some of their land for the U. S. Treasury. Some have described these decisions as just plain theft.

c) Engel vs Vitale, 370 US 421, where the U. S. Supreme Court decided that "prayer in school" was a violation of the First Amendment of the U. S. Constitution. That decision ignored both our plain history and prior decisions of the United States Supreme Court. The Court never bothered to explain how this decision was consistent with the fact that official state churches existed in the various States of the United States as late as the 1830's when the last one was disestablished.

d) Baker vs Carr, 369 US 186, where by judicial fiat the majority opinion of the United States Supreme Court changed the form of the legislature in every state! Because the Congress could not agree on whether to remove this authority from the United States Supreme Court by statute or by an amendment to the United States Constitution we are stuck with state legislatures designed by the United States Supreme Court and not by the people of the states.

Supreme Court substituting their personal wishes rather than applying the clear law. If the "right to an abortion" found by the majority of the court is actually there, why did it take the Court 200 years to find it?

Ballot Law Reform Republicans and Democrats have enacted increasingly repressive election laws that keep many third party and independent candidates off of most state ballots. We will enact laws to end such repression and make ballot access a right – not a hard -earned privilege.

Over forty percent of Americans' earnings are taken by government taxation. This is oppressive. . Therefore we favor:

The federal tax system is a mess. No one really understands all the rules and regulations of the IRS, not even its own employees. We recommend that the present income tax system be abolished and replaced with either a flat tax or a national sales tax. Until this is done we call for the repeal of taxes on Social Security Income and taxes on dividend income since both are taxes on income already taxed. While different in form, the "death tax" is another example of double taxation by Washington and should be repealed.

We believe the federal government should have a balanced budget. Its deficits have damaged our money since inflation is basically printing press money. We further believe that the federal budget should be on a pay as you go basis. At present there are many designations given "the budget" permitting the accounting system to disguise Washington's real income and expenditures. Part of the problem is that far to many things are "off budget" meaning those expenditures are ignored When a public statement is made about "the budget". In plain English this system permits Washington to hide what it does with a lot of our money. We further support the concept of a balanced budget as the norm for the federal government. Washington needs to stop giving lip service to this idea and start actually giving us a balanced budget. We will enact the savings recommended by the Grace Commission.

We will preserve the free enterprise system by preventing both monopoly and excessive government regulation. We will protect Americans from irresponsible and deceptive business practices.

Since the Constitution gives Congress the power to coin money and regulate its value we will terminate the Federal Reserve and withdraw from the World Bank.

Anti-trust laws should apply to both business and labor. We will enforce laws against strikes by federal employees. We will protect the right of all Americans to join or not join a labor union. We will end government interference in collective bargaining and in management's employment decisions.

We will free farmers from government coercion and consumers from paying artificially high food prices by ending all government farm subsidies and production controls over a period of six years. We will end farm subsidies for corporations immediately.

The Environment God has given man dominion over all the earth. Individuals and local and state governments should act responsibly to safeguard the environment, especially our air and water. We reject the view that animals, trees and people are of equal value. We will protect the environment in ways that do not cause massive unemployment and large price increases. We reject the conclusions that are based on faulty science.

We support equal treatment of all American citizens before the law.. We will end discriminatory practices in employment, education and housing. We will abolish racially gerrymandered political subdivisions.

Both dominant political parties, by appointing anti-life judges, have caused and perpetuated an American holocaust in which 1,500,00 Americans are killed each year by abortion, infanticide and euthanasia. We will enact a Human Life Amendment to restore the Right to Life that our Declaration of Independence says is a gift from our Creator.

To guard against tyranny and violent crime we support the Second Amendment right of law-abiding Americans to own and use guns. We favor lengthy prison terms for anyone using a firearm in the commission of a crime. Church and State We agree with George Washington that "It is impossible to rightly govern the universe without God and the Bible" .God should not be excluded from America's public life. We oppose the use of tax money for sectarian purposes. We support the restoration of our rights to voluntary prayer and Bible reading in schools and other public institutions. We favor tax exemption for ALL religious institutions.

We uphold the right of individuals to believe, fellowship, worship, evangelize, educate and establish institutions in accordance with their beliefs. We will end discrimination by all levels and branches of government against religious groups..

Preservation of American Liberty and Independence will be our main purpose in conducting foreign affairs. Except for emergency assistance, foreign aid should be ended.

We favor free trade ONLY on a reciprocal basis. We oppose most favored nation status and other economic benefits for nations such as China that deny their people the most basic human rights.

We favor a sound program of military preparedness based upon well-paid, highly motivated volunteer armed forces. We should cease using our armed forces to protect nations such as Germany and Japan that can well afford their own defense. We support our nations armed forces, especially their actions in Afghanistan and Iraq. We must continue to support the war against AlQaeda and other like-minded groups. Otherwise we will experience a new "dark ages".

Treaties have, under our Constitution, the force of law. Under some treaties our military forces might be subject to foreign control. Under other treaties, such as the Kyoto Accord, our industries could be placed at a serious economic disadvantage. Consequently, we favor an amendment to the U. S. Constitution stating: "No treaty shall expand the authority or jurisdiction of either the President of the United States or the United States Congress beyond that granted them by the United States Constitution. No treaty shall diminish the rights of American Citizens."

5. A Defense of Marriage Amendment which defines marriage as a contract between one man and one woman.

The Tenth Amendment reserves education to the states and the people. We will abolish the federal education establishment and end federal interference in education. We support full freedom for private schools and home schools. We favor school vouchers by states to allow families the freedom to choose the educational system they prefer for their children.

We will place Social Security on a sound actuarial basis and will study the privatization of Social Security In countries that have tried it the benefits are greater than when under the previous state controlled system system.

We will stop spending the income from Social Security receipts on everything in sight. Those funds should be kept for use ONLY for Social Security. The so called "assets" of the Social Security Bonds are nothing but U. S. Bonds. In other words, they are an I OWE YOU to ourselves. This means that when the system runs out of money (as has been predicted by "experts", differing only on the date) other taxes must be levied to cover the deficit in the Social Security system.

The Prohibition Party, a pioneer in supporting assistance for the truly needy, favors retraining programs and public work service for able, deserving citizens. We will end welfare for those too lazy to work and ban all welfare to illegal aliens. We strenuously protest the current idea held by many citizens that either the Federal Government or the State Government owe, we the people, a living. This is a dangerous idea and if it continues to grow it will eventually destroy our country. Every citizen who is in good health has a duty to support himself----not the government at any level. We agree with those who say: Government big enough to give you everything you want is also big enough to take from you everything you have."

We will end the massive immigration invasion now tolerated by both major parties. Mexico guards its southern border with troops. We should do no less. A nation that cannot control its borders is no longer sovereign. We support a study to see if, for several years, immigration should be completely stopped. The United States is no longer an empty continent. We also support a system that keeps strict records of all visitors to the Untied States. We also support stringent enforcement of our immigration laws and call up Congress to greatly increase the appropriations for those agencies involved in this. We believe a very strong effort should be made to deport all persons who are not legal residents of the United States.

We will strengthen and enforce laws against the sale of alcoholic beverages, tobacco and illegal drugs. We will combat gambling, pornography and commercialized vice. We oppose the promotion of homosexual conduct and other unnatural lifestyles We call for the immediate prohibition of the advertising of alcoholic beverages on television, radio and all interstate media. Advertising increases consumption of these beverages that are doing so much damage to American Society.

We oppose legalization of heroin, LSD, cocaine, marijuana and other harmful anti-social drugs. We will end tobacco subsidies and cease pressuring foreign nations to buy American tobacco. We favor government action to facilitate medical answers to AIDS, AND to end the immoral sexual conduct and illegal drug usage that is responsible for most American AIDS cases. Until the liquor traffic is again outlawed we will place the alcohol beverage industry and its products under the jurisdiction of the Food and drug Administration

Terrorism, a plague that has afflicted many other nations, has come to America in a dramatic fashion. The bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City by an American terrorist and the September 11 assaults by foreign terrorists have prompted the President and other national leaders to take steps to prevent further such attacks. The safety and freedom of our citizens is the first priority for the federal and state units of government. We pledge to use all our abilities and strength to support America in this crucial period in our nation's history.

We oppose all "Federal Aid" as it is a total fraud. Every penny received by the states from Washington was first taken from the states. As one gentleman put it, "They are bribing us with our own money."

We firmly support NASA and would increase its congressional appropriations. We believe that space exploration is vital to the future of mankind.

Alcohol is still America's number one drug problem. It is a leading cause of poverty, crime, broken homes, automobile and boating accidents, physical and sexual abuse, political corruption, mental illness, wasted manpower, disability and premature death. Conservatively, at least 200,000 Americans die each year because of alcohol.

Studies of the Prohibition Era show that that period experienced the fewest alcohol-related problems in our nation's history. To combat drunk driving we urge that all states adopt a blood alcohol rate of .05 rather than the current standard of .08

We firmly support the Prohibition of the manufacture, distribution and sale of all alcoholic beverages in the United States and in its territories and possessions.

I find it very odd for a bunch that claims to be strict constructionists with regard to the Constitution to be ignoring it with respect to the prohibition of the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages. Is that, in fact, one of the enumerated powers or is it what was termed earlier in the platform a "stretch?"

Interesting that they have more to say on immigration and family, than they do on terrorism. Seems a bit out-of-touch, if you ask me. And yes, I do realize you did not ;-)

Why is it called the 'Prohibition Party' when phohibition is the last and least elaborated plank in their platform?

In the mean time, I'll take a wee dram of The Famous Grouse and a bit of Bela Fleck & the Flecktones whilst I cogitate on the matter.

I'm not a Prohibition party propagandist, I just heard an interview with these guys on the radio and thought they raised some interesting ideas.

I kinda like their platform except for the crazy nonsense about seizing my hooch.

9 posted on 12/05/2003 7:01:00 PM PST by AdamSelene235 (I always shoot for the moon......sometimes I hit London.- Von Braun)

Gee, I don't drink anymore and I like the rest of their platform. Maybe I could be their Presidential nominee.

I always got heartburn when I drank, so ended up the designated driver most often .. perhaps that qualifies me as your VP running mate!

Seriously, I do LIKE their platform and wish them well ... hope it catches on!!!

a bunch that claims to be strict constructionists with regard to the Constitution to be ignoring it with respect to

...all things 'fun'. Tyranny by the church ladies. ;-)

You can do anything with the General Welfare clause.

Since we already have all the nasty side effects of the WOD doesn't it make sense to go the extra mile and ban the one drug that causes the majority of problems?

13 posted on 12/05/2003 7:30:08 PM PST by AdamSelene235 (I always shoot for the moon......sometimes I hit London.- Von Braun)

They put forward a lot of good ideas. Too bad their fixation on what other people drink, and the very name of their organization, guarantees that they will remain forever marginalized in political discourse. I'd like to point out to them that Jesus turned water into wine at a wedding as a beginning of miracles, but they'd probably come back with some boring disquisition to the effect that the Greek text actually referred to grape juice - ho hum. Us gluttonous winebibbers must stick together, they won't get my vote.

15 posted on 12/05/2003 8:13:07 PM PST by dpa5923 (Small minds talk about people, normal minds talk about events, great minds talk about ideas.)

Monetarily I think you might be better off with a silver standard than a gold standard. Silver is cheap enough so that you could use it in real coins and once our common specie contained inherent value peoples assets would no longer be subject to the whim of the government. Real money with real worth independent of government policy would protect individuals and their wealth.

Monetarily I think you might be better off with a silver standard than a gold standard.

Why impose a standard at all? People should be free to use whatever they like whether it be electronic gold, commodities bundles or pretty sea shells. I'm partial to uranium futures myself.

17 posted on 12/05/2003 8:15:20 PM PST by AdamSelene235 (I always shoot for the moon......sometimes I hit London.- Von Braun)

Except for the prohibition part, they sound just like the Constitution Party.

I thought kinda sounded like the Libertarians, except for all the G_d stuff and the bit about alcohol towards the end.

19 posted on 12/05/2003 8:40:48 PM PST by AdamSelene235 (I always shoot for the moon......sometimes I hit London.- Von Braun)

As an aside, I was channel surfing one day and came across Bela with his banjo doing a duet with a classical cellist (or it may have been a viola), playing Bach.

After I was sure I wasn't having an LSD flashback (despite never having injested LSD), I ended up really enjoying it.

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