CONSTITUTION PARTY

CONSTITUTION PARTY

The Constitution Party was founded in 1992 as the U.S. Taxpayers Party. The man who was most responsible for establishing the party was Howard Phillips, a veteran conservative political
activist who had left the REPUBLICAN PARTY in 1974 after feeling that the party was insufficiently conservative. Phillips has been the dominant figure in the party since its founding,
running as its presidential candidate in 1992, 1996, and 2000.
Phillips had been involved in the Republican Party since his early teens, when he decided to chart a different course. He had served as chairman of the Boston Republican Party, as a staff
member at the Republican National Committee
in Washington, D.C., and finally as the director
of the Office of Economic Opportunity under
President RICHARD NIXON, with an explicit
mandate to dismantle the program. When,
because of political constraints, he was not
allowed to do this, he quit the administration
and established the Conservative Caucus, a LOB-
BYING group that became somewhat influential
during the presidency of RONALD REAGAN.
Phillips decided that the next step was to
form a political party, according to his web site,
with “the common goal of limiting the federal
government to its Constitutional boundaries
and restoring the foundations of civil govern-
ment back to the fundamental principles our
country was founded upon.” The party that he
formed in 1992 was named the U.S. Taxpayers
Party, and befitting its name, it committed itself
to stopping all federal expenditures that were
not specifically authorized by the U.S. Constitu-
tion, and to “restore to the states those powers,
programs, and sources of revenue that the fed-
eral government has usurped.”
Though the original party that Phillips
formed had a primarily fiscal purpose, it also
took strong conservative stands on social issues,
advocating making ABORTION illegal in all
instances, supporting a MORATORIUM on immi-
gration into the United States, and calling for the
ABOLITION of all WELFARE programs. Taking
this platform nationwide, Phillips and his run-
ning mate, Albion Knight, managed to get on
the presidential ballot in 21 states and garnered
approximately 40,000 votes in the 1992 presi-
dential campaign. In 1996, Phillips and running
mate, Herb Titus, managed to get on the ballot
in 39 states and won 182,000 votes.
In 1999, the U.S. Taxpayer Party renamed
itself the Constitution Party. With Phillips once
again its presidential candidate, this time run-
ning with Dr. J. Curtis Frazier, the party was able
to gain access to the ballot in 42 states. However,
the totals for Phillips this time were lower than
he had received in 1996—approximately 98,000
votes. For the 2004 election, the Constitution
Party has as its goal to get its presidential ticket
on all 50 states.
The Constitution Party does not only run
presidential candidates. For the 2002 election, at
least 20 states had candidates affiliated with the
Constitution Party running for office, for posi-
tions ranging from governor and U.S. Senate
down to city council and state house. In Nevada
alone, the party had affiliated candidates for 30
offices for the 2002 election. In Wisconsin, the
party has two affiliated elected officials: an
alderman and a county supervisor.
The Constitution Party takes strongly con-
servative stands on a variety of issues. The
party’s preamble to its 2000 National Platform
views the American political system with a
strongly religious bent. “The U.S. Constitution
established a Republic under God, rather than a
democracy,” it states. “Our Republic is a nation
governed by a Constitution that is rooted in Bib-
lical law, administered by representatives who
are Constitutionally elected by the citizens.”
On abortion, the Constitution Party’s 2000
platform stated that “Roe v.Wade is illegitimate,
contrary to the law of the nation’s Charter and
Constitution. It must be resisted by all civil gov-
ernment officials, federal, state, and local, and by
all branches of the government—legislative,
executive, and judicial.” It argues that abortion
should be illegal nationwide.
Regarding the prevention of AIDS, the Con-
stitution Party states in its platform, “Under no
circumstances should the federal government
continue to subsidize activities which have the
effect of encouraging perverted or promiscuous
sexual conduct. Criminal penalties should apply
to those whose willful acts of omission or com-
mission place members of the public at risk of
contracting AIDS or HIV.”
For members of Congress, the Constitution
Party suggests abolishing federal pay for mem-
bers of Congress, and abolishing Congressional
pensions. It also advocates abolishing the direct
election of Senators and returning that func-
tion to the state legislatures. It supports repeal-
ing all laws that delegate legislative powers to
regulatory agencies, bureaucracies, private
organizations, the FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD,
international agencies, the president, and the
judiciary.
On national defense, the Constitution Party
platform advocates “maintenance of a strong,
state-of-the-art military on land, sea, in the air,
and in space.” It opposes allowing U.S. forces to
serve under any foreign flag or command. How-
ever, it also opposes “the Presidential assump-
tion of authority to deploy American troops into
combat without the consent of Congress.”
The Constitution Party would like to see the
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION abolished, and it
also supports the elimination of the FOOD AND
DRUG ADMINISTRATION, the Federal Reserve
Board, the National Security Administration,
and the INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE.It sup-
ports voluntary SOCIAL SECURITY and would
change the tax system to offer an apportioned
“state-rate tax” in which the responsibility for
covering the cost of federal obligations unmet by
a tariff on foreign products will be divided
among the several states in accordance with their
proportion of the total population of the United
States, excluding the District of Columbia.Under
this system, if a state contains 10 percent of the
nation’s citizens, it will be responsible for assum-
ing payment of 10 percent of the annual deficit.
On foreign affairs, The Constitution Party
would like to see the United States withdraw
from all international monetary and financial
institutions and agencies, including the INTER-
NATIONAL MONETARY FUND (IMF), the WORLD
BANK, the World Trade Organization (WTO),
the NORTH AMERICAN FREE TRADE AGREEMENT
(NAFTA), and the GENERAL AGREEMENT ON
TARIFFS AND TRADE (GATT). It wants to termi-
nate all programs of foreign aid, whether mili-
tary or non-military, to any foreign government or to any international organization. It would withdraw the United States from the North
Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), and
would withdraw recognition of Communist
China, which its platform describes as a murderous
and tyrannical regime enslaving the Chinese
people.
The Constitution Party refuses to take any
federal funds for its presidential campaigns. The
party made it clear after the 2000 campaign that
it planned to be around for a while. On its web
site, it stated, “In light of the widespread need
across the country, the party is fully dedicated to
building party strength and organization at the
State, County and local level.”
FURTHER READINGS
Constitution Party Website. Available online at www.constitutionparty.com (accessed November 20, 2003).
Lucier, James P. 2000. “Phillips Leads the Way for Constitutionalists.”
Insight Magazine (Sept 25).
CROSS-REFERENCES
Democratic Party; Elections; Republican Party; Roe v.Wade.