National Platform & State Resolutions
The Constitution Party believes in the literal interpretation of the U.S. Constitution. It has developed a National Platform which includes 38 different planks. Following is an abridged version of the Preamble and seven of the planks. Following each of these seven planks is one or more resolutions which were adopted at the 2004 South Carolina Constitution Party State Convention.
PREAMBLE
The Constitution Party gratefully acknowledges the blessing of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as Creator, Preserver and Ruler of the Universe and of these United States. We hereby appeal to Him for mercy, aid, comfort, guidance, and the protection of His Providence as we work to restore and preserve these United States.
This great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religion but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For this reason peoples of other faiths have been and are afforded asylum, prosperity, and freedom to worship here.
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IMMIGRATION
We Affirm the Constitutional duty of the federal government to secure our borders and to regulate the numbers and qualifications of immigrants. We insist that potential immigrants be disqualified whenever, on the grounds of health, criminality, morals, or financial dependence, their admission would impose an improper burden on citizens of the United States. We oppose welfare subsidies and other taxpayer-supported benefits to illegal aliens, and reject the practice of bestowing U.S. citizenship on children born to illegal alien parents while in this country.
Resolution #1 - No Amnesty for IllegalAliens
Whereas: President Bush has proposed amnesty for millions of illegal immigrants that are in the United States, and
Whereas: Article IV, Section 4 of the US Constitution states " The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion”, and
Whereas: our laws pertaining to immigration are Constitutional and must be enforced by the Executive Branch of the federal government. Therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED: Congress must not grant amnesty to illegal immigrants;
BE IT RESOLVED: President Bush must not grant amnesty by Executive Order;
BE IT RESOLVED: the United States government must take sufficient action to protect the States from Invasion;
BE IT RESOLVED: Employers of illegal immigrants must be punished to the full extent of the law, and
BE IT RESOLVED: Illegal immigrants in this nation must be deported immediately.
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FOREIGN POLICY
The United States is properly a free and sovereign republic which should strive to live in peace with all nations, without interfering in their internal affairs, and without permitting their interference in ours.
We oppose American participation in any form of world government organization, including any form of world government organization, including any world court under United Nations auspices.
We call for withdrawal from NATO, the United Nations, and all international financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, WTO, NAFTA, GATT, etc. We denounce the agreement establishing the proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) and any other such trade agreements. We would end all aid to foreign governments.
Whereas: The Free Trade Agreement of the Americas has been proposed for approval by Congress in early 2005, and
Whereas: Our nation has felt the harmful results of so-called free trade after 10 years of NAFTA, the North America Free Trade Agreement, as well as GATT and the WTO, and
Whereas: the FTAA is merely an expansion of NAFTA from 3 to 34 countries, and
Whereas: NAFTA was created to compromise national independence and establish centralized control over member nations, and
Whereas: FTAA is not about trade, but about handing authority to persons we did not elect, which is unconstitutional under Article I, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution; therefore
BE IT RESOLVED: That Congress must reject the FTAA, and withdraw from NAFTA, GATT, and the WTO, all of which undermine our sovereignty.
Resolution #8 - Get Out of the UN
Whereas: The United Nations is a supranational body that unconstitutionally wields power over US citizens, and
Whereas: Article I, Section I of the US Constitution states that all legislative powers shall be vested in a Congress, consisting of a Senate and a House of Representatives, and
Whereas: Congress has no constitutional authority to delegate its legislative powers to any other organization, and
Whereas: Many issues affecting Americans, such as Sustainable Development, biosphere preserves, and loss of use of private land, have their origins in United Nations; therefore
BE IT RESOLVED: The U.S. Congress must cease all funding and immediately withdraw from the United Nations, and take action to remove UN headquarters from American soil.
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TARIFFS AND TRADE
We oppose the unconstitutional transfer of authority over U.S. trade policy from Congress to agencies, domestic and foreign, which improperly establish policy with respect to U.S. trade. We, therefore, oppose GATT, NAFTA, the World Trade organization, most favored nations policies, and other unconstitutional trade agreements. We oppose that, in the name of free trade, multi-national corporations have been given tax breaks by the U.S. government which are not available to American businesses, and the money extracted from U.S. taxpayers has been used by the government to subsidize exports and encourage businesses to move abroad.
Whereas: Jobs for American citizens have been leaving the United States at an alarming and accelerating rate, and
Whereas: Article I, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution states “All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress … which shall consist of a Senate and a House of Representatives, and
Whereas: Article I, Section 8, Clause 3 of the U. S. Constitution states “The Congress shall have Power to regulate Commerce with foreign Nations…” and
Whereas: Congress has been derelict in its duties to regulate Commerce by approving treaties and agreements such as NAFTA, GATT, the WTO, and the proposed FTAA, and
Whereas: Over the long run, so-called “Free Trade” and “Outsourcing” destroy the very markets they serve; therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED: that Congress must perform its duties under Article I by regulating commerce with foreign nations, not allow unfair trade practices, and level the playing field for the American worker.
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DEFENSE
The goal of the federal defense policy is to defend the national security interests of the United States. We should be a friend of liberty everywhere, but the protectors of ours alone. We call for the maintenance of a strong state-or-the-art military and we oppose unilateral disarmament. We believe that defense expenditures must be directly related to the protection of our nation and that these expenditures must be carefully reviewed to eliminate foreign aid, waste, and inefficiency. We reject the policies and practices that permit women to train for and participate in combat. Under no circumstances would we commit U.S. forces to serve under any flag but that of the United States of America, and never in combat without a Constitutional Declaration of War.
Whereas: The Bush Administration is spending $4 billion every month protecting Iraq, and billions more every year maintaining troops in Bosnia, Kosovo, and other countries that are no threat to the United States; and
Whereas: The U.S. is being invaded on our southern border by millions of illegal aliens from Mexico and a variety of other countries, clearly presenting a threat of invasion by terrorists, and
Whereas: Article I, Section 8 of the US Constitution states " The Congress shall have Power... To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water...”
Whereas: Article IV, Section 4 of the US Constitution states " The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion...”; therefore
BE IT RESOLVED: The US government end the unconstitutional war in Iraq, bring troops home from foreign countries, and protect the various States from Invasion
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THE JUDICIARY
The Constitution does not provide for lifetime appointment of federal judges but only for a term of office during “good behavior.” Therefore, we strongly support the constitutional provision for impeachment when appropriate.
Whereas: The 1st Amendment to the US Constitution clearly states "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof... and,
Whereas: the 11th Circuit Court of the United States demanded the removal of a monument in Alabama containing the 10 Commandments, clearly having no jurisdiction under the US Constitution to do so; and,
Whereas: Article III, Section 1, of the US Constitution states in part "The Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good Behavior,...."; therefore
BE IT RESOLVED: That the members of Congress hold impeachment hearings for the judges of the 11th Circuit Federal Court, and
BE IT RESOLVED: That the members of Congress limit the appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and the Federal courts, as proscribed in Article 3, Section 2 of the US Constitution, to prohibit them from reviewing any cases involving acknowledgement of God as the sovereign source of law, liberty, or government.
Whereas: The 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people", and
Whereas: The U.S. Supreme Court in 2003 overturned the anti-sodomy law of the State of Texas, reversing its own decision in 1986, which had upheld the anti-sodomy law of the State of Georgia; therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED: That the members of Congress limit the appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and the Federal courts, as authorized in Article 3, Section 2 of the US Constitution, to prohibit them from reviewing any cases involving the criminalization of the abominable act of sodomy by any State.
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COST OF BIG GOVERNMENT
We propose to cut spending radically by reducing the structure and functions of government to their Constitutional limits: to safeguard our God-given rights to life, liberty, property and the pursuit of happiness. The framers ordained that the best government is closest to home. The Ninth and Tenth Amendments, among others, speak specifically to this founding principle. We call for the systematic reduction of the federal debt through, but not limited to, the elimination of further borrowing and the elimination of unconstitutional programs and agencies. We reject the misleading use of the terms “surplus” and “balanced budget” as long as we have public debt.
Resolution #6 - Federal Budget and Deficit
Whereas: the federal budget for 2005 grew by $535 billion over 1998 and
Whereas: the latest federal budget is $2.4 trillion (the highest ever) which excludes wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and
Whereas: there will be a record deficit of $521 billion, and foreign countries hold more than a third of U.S. debt, and
Whereas: there are billions of dollars of pork in the federal budget, therefore
BE IT RESOLVED: That the Congress should take immediate steps to radically reduce federal expenditures in the areas of education, social programs, peace keeping, and all United Nations programs, and return the budget to its constitutional size.
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SANCTITY OF LIFE
The first duty of the law is to prevent the shedding of innocent blood. The sanctity and protection of innocent human life, therefore,--from fertilization to natural death—is the highest priority of the Constitution Party.
In office, we shall appoint to all positions of federal authority only those qualified individuals who acknowledge publicly the legal personhood of the pre-born. Moreover, these officials, our party leaders and all candidates for public office endorsed by the Constitution Party must commit themselves to the protection of all innocent human life, without exception. In addition, we oppose the funding and legalization of bio-research involving human embryonic or pre-embryonic cells.
Whereas: The 5th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states in part “No person…shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law, and
Whereas: the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states in part “…nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law…”,
Whereas: millions of unborn children have been unconstitutionally put to death by the tragedy of abortion in this country; therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED: That President Bush immediately declare the personhood of the unborn child, and prosecute abortion as the murder of an innocent person.
BE IT RESOLVED: That the members of Congress limit the appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and the Federal courts, as authorized in Article 3, Section 2 of the US Constitution, to prohibit them from reviewing any cases involving the vesting of legal personhood to unborn human beings at fertilization; and pass legislation recognizing in statutory law the God-given personhood of unborn children at fertilization.
BE IT RESOLVED: That the South Carolina General Assembly pass legislation recognizing the right to due process, whereby no person may be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, and the right to equal protection of the law, both of which rights are guaranteed by Article 1, Section 3 of the South Carolina State Constitution, vest at fertilization.
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CP NATIONAL PARTY PLATFORM
To see the entire National Constitution Party Platform click here.