In a letter sent out yesterday, Constitution Party Jim Clymer was soliciting funds for the national party and describing the prospective uses of those funds in 2009. Most important amongst these goals is the desire to hire a Western States Coordinator, which is part of the “Western-base strategy” advocated by many in the Constitution Party.
Together we set Constitution Party records in 2008 including a record number of votes for our Presidential ticket. The Constitution Party is the political solution; we know that. Our goal for this year is to make more Americans aware that our party exists.
My commitment to the Constitution Party is stronger than ever. Our party is growing because it stands for truths that most Republicans and Democrats turned their backs on years ago in favor of corporate interests and the assurance of reelection.
I’d like to share with you some of the party’s plans for 2009.
I am asking all of you who were so active and generous in your contributions during the election year, to keep working and donating so that together we can achieve the following goals.
We plan to increase our staff by adding a second field coordinator to work specifically in the Western states. We already have ballot access in many of the Western states which provides a good base from which to build the party, recruit candidates, and increase our membership numbers.
The party website needs an upgrade in design and technology. The money we invest in our website provides solid returns in donations and increased support and visibility.
Our field coordination staff will revamp their work with leaders in each state to increase state party activity and membership, seek early ballot access where possible and increase party registrations.
Chuck Baldwin and Darrell Castle, our candidates for President and Vice-President, have agreed to continue to speak on behalf of the party around the country. We are indeed fortunate to have two such very capable spokesmen willing to work to promote the party throughout 2009.
And we will work to get our message out through the media. The major media continue to ignore us despite valiant efforts on our part, but we will still work to be the alternative voice to the major parties’ agenda on issues such as immigration, right-to-life, foreign intervention, government bail-outs, guns, and encroachments on individual liberty. We’ll work even harder on alternative ways to be heard. We won’t let up on scheduling our party leaders for radio interviews whenever possible. We’ll work with state parties to set up committees for letters to the editor and calls to talk radio shows.
And yes, all of this will take money. Our funds are depleted from our election year ballot access drives and our work to promote our presidential ticket.
18 responses so far ↓
1 Libertarian Joseph // Jan 12, 2009 at 11:21 am
here’s my party’s platform summary
*foreign*
anti-state, promoting all rebel factions
transfer aid to states with aid to rebel organizations
stay in Iraq & Aghanistan, but take out the states and let the people be free
overkill the UN veto
*domestic*
“go green” with the military
allow citizens to opt out of the system, create a system for doing that
end the Fed, stop printing USD
eliminate taxation, accept voluntary contributions
end welfare, end all subsidies, end social security, deregulare everything, at all levels of government
end the marriage licensing system
abolish pay and benefits for all politicians
take down all import/export tariffs
eliminate NASA, deregulate the industry
eliminate dept. of energy, deregulate the industry
eliminate the dept. of education, deregulate the industry
eliminate the FCC
eliminate the FDIC, deregulate the banking industry
note - deregulation does not mean create pseudo-private corporate entities, it means take the government out of the industry, entirely
tell Ethiopia: you leave the lands known as Somalia, or you will be invaded.
that is all
2 Libertarian Joseph // Jan 12, 2009 at 11:31 am
Now, I can guarantee you that noone takes my position on foreign policy. It’s different
3 Libertarian Joseph // Jan 12, 2009 at 11:37 am
just trying to think outside of the box lol. GE still hasn’t explained to me how it’s a bad idea. He stopped responding after I countered his argument.
4 Libertarian Joseph // Jan 12, 2009 at 11:41 am
one possible scenario: we run out of money. that’s ok. that just means the member indivduals no longer wish to support our policies. we cut down. that’s how it should be.
let the people vote with their money. if they don’t want to support anti-state policies, they won’t contribute
5 paulie cannoli // Jan 12, 2009 at 3:25 pm
The CP has field coordinators. The LP should too.
6 Coming on the back of the LP // Jan 12, 2009 at 3:34 pm
LJ 1, 2, 3, 4
Nobody cares what you want
7 Trent Hill // Jan 12, 2009 at 3:41 pm
The CP has one national field coordinator.
8 paulie cannoli // Jan 12, 2009 at 3:43 pm
They have one and are raising money for a second. LP, none.
9 Ross Levin // Jan 12, 2009 at 3:50 pm
What does a field coordinator do?
10 Catholic Trotskyist // Jan 12, 2009 at 7:51 pm
Joseph, that foreign policy platform is even less libertarian than the neocon foreign policy.
I will be writing a Catholic Trotskyist platform soon, but as some people here know, I do actually have a useful real life which is pretty busy right now.
11 Trent Hill // Jan 12, 2009 at 9:17 pm
Paulie,
The LP has a ballot access coordinator, dont they? Practically the same thing.
12 paulie cannoli // Jan 12, 2009 at 9:18 pm
Not at all the same thing, and they do not anymore.
13 Gene Berkman // Jan 12, 2009 at 9:57 pm
The Constitution Party suffers from the same obsessions with the Presidential race that the LP has. Seriously, with all due respect to Rev Baldwin, the record vote for the Constitution Party ticket - after 16 years, is nothing to write home about.
Both the CP and the LP have to start at a lower level - local clubs that give real backing to candidates for state legislature and Congress. Otherwise people will just dismiss them as fringe groups.
14 Trent Hill // Jan 12, 2009 at 10:12 pm
I really feel sorry for Baldwin, he fell less than 1000 votes short of crossing over 200,000.
People like to compare Baldwin’s total to Phillips’ ‘96 total, but Phillips was on California, Pennsylvania, New York, and Texas–Baldwin was on none of those. All four accounted for about 65,000 votes, I believe, in 1996.
15 Ross Levin // Jan 12, 2009 at 10:16 pm
Agreed, Gene Berkman. At this point, they’ve got to focus on even smaller offices than Congress. The average congressional race cost over $1 million this past year and I’ll bet the average one involved hundreds of foot soldiers. Those are just not resources that any third party campaign has in a single congressional district. School boards, county commissioners, mayors, and other partisan positions that can be won without great investment are where to start, IMHO.
16 Trent Hill // Jan 12, 2009 at 10:23 pm
The problem is that there is a catch 22. Ballot access is expensive and it is easier to acquire it through a decent presidential showing than to petition individually.
On the other hand, too much money and effort is wasted on crappy presidential campaigns.
However, it isnt true Congressional campaigns cannot be run, or even statewide offices. See Jesse Ventura, Anthony Pollina, Walter Hickel, Jack Coghill, Jim Gilchrist, Dick Randolph, etc.
17 Ross Levin // Jan 12, 2009 at 10:35 pm
They’re often special cases, though. Ventura was previously famous. Pollina was in a state very friendly to third parties where many local offices had already been won. But you’re right - it’s not impossible.
And I think that in places where ballot access isn’t an issue (like Illinois for the Green Party or Ohio for the Constitution Party now that that lawsuit is over) local races offer an opportunity. That is pretty much the only place that national third parties have won races in the past few years at least, I believe.
18 Trent Hill // Jan 12, 2009 at 10:48 pm
Not true. Most of the CP’s elected officials have come from Wisconsin (where they implemented a strategy of running only for local office), Nevada (where they had like 50 candidates), and Florida (where two mayors converted).
I believe Missouri has 1 or 2 at some point too.
And, if you count the Alaskan Independence Party–obviously they are at the forefront.
And, naturally, the AIP-CA’s officeholders (currently 2 or 3) have numbers many in the past–but I dont count them if they were elected before 1992 (when the CP was formed)
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