CPNC Newsletter

You read the heading right - this is the January 2004 newsletter. It seems that with Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years Day, there was enough activity to keep everyone busy. We were quite busy with family visiting from out of state and with church activity, that very little was done for the growth of our party.

And, no doubt, you who are reading this were also busy and had little time to read these novels that are published once a month!

But now that holidays are past, I'm back in the building mode. And it is my hope that you are back in the helping mode. We surely need the help of every one of you.

In 2003, some great things were accomplished, but God's grace. And now at the beginning of 2004, I look with great anticipation to what the Lord will do with us and for us in 2004. We are on the brink of another election year. And for our fledgling party in NC, it is the year we step into the arena and offer people alternatives to politics as usual.

To do this, we will need your help! We need people to stand with us in prayer, people to stand with us financially, people to stand with us by lending a hand, and people to get on board and vote for Principle Over Politics. If we are to make a difference in our communities, our state, and our nation, we must begin acting on the opportunities before us. Eternal vigilence is the price of liberty!

On the national scene, our party is preparing for this year's presidential election. Word is that initial filings have been made for participation in the national election. Although an official candidate will not be chosen until June in Philadelphia, one website I saw recently reports that the Constitution Party has a "provisional" candidate: Michael Peroutka. He is an attorney with a successful law practice in the state of Maryland, and is also the man behind the Institute on the Constitution. Our national party founder, and three time presidential candidate, Howard Phillips, has reportedly already endorsed Peroutka for the nomination. From what I know of him, he will make a good candidate as well as a fine chief executive.

However, for his candidacy to have any meaning, we here in NC have to be busy expanding awareness of and participation in the CP statewide and locally. People in our state and our communities should see some CP candidates running here. These candidates can help promote the national candidates. So, to make a truly constitutional president a reality, you and I must work toward that goal here in NC.

I am hearing this question come up from time to time now that Judge Roy Moore has been removed from his elected post as Alabama's Supreme Court Chief Justice. Judge Moore has great name recognition, no doubt! Judge Moore also has a great reputation and was elected by an overwhelming majority to his office. He also enjoys something like 70% support of the people. Judge Moore has been called a Moses who can lead the Lord's people out of the political bondage of the "Egypt" of Constitution-destroying tyrants.

It is my understanding, however, that the judge was approached by the leadership of our national party and asked if he would consider running for office under its banner. His response, I am told, is that he does not wish to seek office at this time, believing that God's will lies in another direction. We certainly don't want a man to run for office who is not convinced it is God's will for him.

But, sad to say, I was also given the impression that he had no intention of leaving the Republican Party. This is sad because the man who prosecuted him to remove him from office, Bill Pryor, is a Republican (who, by the way, is himself in line for a federal judgeship by appointment of the president - just what we need, another judge who thinks the Ten Commandments are unconstitutional). The party under whose label he ran offered no support during the climax of the battle for the monument, nor during his removal from office. On an interview heard by thousands via teleconference a few Sunday evenings ago, the judge was asked if anyone from the Bush administration or the White House contacted him to offer support, encouragement, or if he had heard from anyone. His complete answer was, "No." It is sad that he would want to stay in this kind of a party - a party that has over the past several years become known for hanging its own people out to dry whenever they take a stand on principle or get caught in a media whirlwind (Rick Santorum and Trent Lott, for example). It is sad because nine of our Constitution Party's state chairmen themselves went to Montgomery to stand in support of the judge this past August, not to mention the party's founder, Howard Phillips.

We need to pray for Judge Moore and for America. Judge Moore has filed a request with the court to be restored to office. Stay tuned...

In addition to summarizing the past two month's activities, I will mention upcoming events as well.

But before listing the events, please consider this. We would like to post some contact people for the party in various areas of the state. Often, people contact us asking for someone in their area that they can speak with or meet with. Presently, there are only a couple of people we can direct them to.

What we need is for individuals in various areas who will volunteer to be a contact person for their county/region of the state. This involves simply talking with people and determining their level of interest, recording contact information, and answering basic questions about our party and future plans.

BTW, it is OK to tell people that you don't know the answer to their question. The state and national offices can help answer the more difficult questions. As a contact person, you will be able to tell, by the interest being generated in your area, when it's time to organize a county/regional group.

If you feel that you can handle this assignment, and would like to function as the contact person in your county/region, please let us know.

November 22 - Since no one else had volunteered to do it, I agreed to take responsibility for organizing a rally in Raleigh initiated by the National Coalition to Restore the Constitution (NCRC). Many CP members and activists nationwide were involved in their respective states. The week leading up to the rally was rather busy for us. Phone calls came in at home and work. At least three radio stations/networks aired radio spots for the rally, and three conducted interviews or created news stories of the event.

Turnout in our capitol was low, owing largely to the late notice given for the event. Nevertheless, we had a spirited group that attended and signed petitions. We had about 30 in attendance. Reports coming from other states on that day include over 1,000 showing up for the rally in Missouri, 600+ in Oklahoma, 250+ in Illinois, and several states reporting numbers of 100 of better. Even in frigid climes like Madison, Wisconsin, people came out to stand against judicial tyranny. This is a great showing of people who are of a mind to have constitutional government - Principle Over Politics - rather than the status quo judicial tyranny that will stay entrenched with four more years of Bush/Cheney.

One amazing story coming from Maryland is the fact that no one in Maryland even gave effort to holding a rally. One individual agreed to go down to the capitol with a handful of petitions to see who showed up. Interestingly, there were about three or four there expecting a rally to take place. This little group discussed the reason for the rally, read and signed the petitions, and prayed for God to do something. One of these was a woman who worked at the governor's place across the street. She pointed to him - he was out on the lawn at the moment - and offered to introduce them to him. The NCRC rep then got to meet the governor and show him the petition. Upon reading it, the governor said that he was in agreement with it and would encourage its furtherance.

The purpose of the rally was to kick off a petition drive by NCRC to ask our national Congress to remove from the jurisdiction of federal courts any cases having to do with religious liberty, religious expression, etc.

If you would like to receive a petition to circulate in your church, community, circle of frends or family, please email us right away and we will send you one of the petitions which may be copied and circulated. There isn't much time left, since there is a goal of getting as many as possible by the end of January. Respond ASAP.

January 22 - Wilmington/Pender Co. area meeting - we are still planning this, but on this evening the NC/SC coordinator of the John Birch Society will be in the area to discuss on radio the FTAA and will be meeting with people in the area to discuss what can be done. If you're unfamiliar with the FTAA, read about it at www.thenewamerican.com. I highly recommend subscribing to The New American magazine.

April 1 - Target date for all NC ballot access petitions to be submitted to the state party office for preparation to send to county boards of election.

May (TBA) - State Convention for the purpose of selecting delegates to the national convention in Philadelphia.

June 23-27 - CP Presidential Nominating Convention - Radisson Hotel, Valley Forge, PA - Theme: Constitution in Crisis. Make plans to attend! Set vacation days/time off, arrange finances, etc. I have found that the conventions of the CP are very encouraging and helpful. Make every effort to attend.

Have we got some GREAT news concerning our party web pages! There are two new pages that will assist us in steering resources our way to help grow this party organization.

One of these pages is our online Volunteer Form. This form allows visitors to give us information about themselves and select ways in which they are willing to help the party. As of the publishing of this newsletter, we have already received the first response!

The second page is our online Contribution Form. This form will take minimal information (including federally required information, per the notice on the page). The contributor is then taken to the PayPal portal to submit credit card or bank information. PayPal then transfers funds directly to the CPNC checking account. Users receive an email acknowledgment from CPNC almost immediately.

Also, in the coming days, we hope to begin regularly posting commentary. We have several sources for commentary and numerous articles that are too many to offer in the newsletter. What we hope to do is post articles on the web pages regularly and send a weekly bulletin alerting people of the latest posted articles.

Many of you have been on our party's mailing and/or email list for some time, and yet have not become members of our state party organization. Membership is a means of contributing to our cause. But it's more than that. Membership identifies you with the Constitution Party. It also means that you are eligible to become an office holder.

For those who become members, we will gladly send to you a packet of materials so that you can begin sharing with others the fact that they have an alternative to politics as usual. The packet contains a supply of our two glossy brochures on the CP platform and frequently asked questions. It also contains copies of our ballot access petition so that you may help us get on the ballot. You'll also receive information on the Institute on the Constitution and a brochure entitled, "Why I Quit Voting the Lesser of Two Evils." Last, but not least, we'll include a bumper sticker for your vehicle.

Membership for one year is just $30, for an individual or a family. Of course, we encourage contributions above the membership, as the Lord would direct. We accept US dollars or NORFED currency (ALD). Checks should be made payable to Constitution Party of North Carolina (or CPNC). Send all correspondence to the P.O. Box address at the head of this newsletter.

Charlotte -- The Charlotte area institute completed on Nov. 19 and was a success. Many thanks to our State Secretary, Mr. Ken Dunn, who hosted the institute.

Pender County -- A second institute for Pender County is also a possibility for this spring. Previous attendees may attend at no cost! If you live in or near Pender County and would like to attend and/or help, please contact us by phone or email at our state office.

Raleigh -- There will soon be an institute in the Raleigh area this winter/spring. If you are interested in helping and/or attending the upcoming Raleigh institute, please contact Mr. Gerry Coleman via email: gcoleman.

Wilmington -- We are working on arranging for a Wilmington institute to take place in the coming months. Watch this spot in coming newsletters for details. And, if you're in the Wilmington area and would like to help and/or attend, please contact us by phone or email at our state office.

Our Ballot Access Drive continues, but we're a long way from our needed 59,000 valid signatures. There are now several people in NC gathering signatures on an individual basis among family, friends, and acquaintances.

Would you consider taking petitions to your church family? To your homeschool support group? To your local community or civic group? To your local college campus? To a local Wal-Mart or DMV (where allowable)? We can help with details on how to work any of these to obtain signatures.

We need help from you. We need volunteers to help gather more signatures. Will you help us? Think what we could accomplish if several more of our people would volunteer to help. Our goal will be within our reach if we will step up to the plate and give it our best effort. How about it?

Recently, we had two Libertarians offer to help us gather signatures. That's right, Libertarians! Their interest isn't so much in the Constitution Party as it is in challenging and overcoming the monopolistic death-grip that the two major parties (Socialist Party #1 and Socialist Party #2) have in our state and nation.

Come on, constitutionalists! Are we going to let the Libertarians show us how to gather signatures for our own ballot access? If we want it, we're going to have to go after it - or resign ourselves to remaining an unheard-of party.

What are you doing to help with this very important project? How much does America mean to you? Have you signed one of our petition forms? If not, we can arrange it, if you'll contact us. Will you help us gather signatures? Will you help us pray? Our God can give us the victory in this matter, but we will need to bring it before Him daily.

In this new section of our newsletter, we will be giving information on candidates. The 2004 general election will be our first election cycle of activity. We WILL run candidates this cycle, whether or not we achieve ballot access.

Presently, there is a man in Pender County who may run for a US or NC House seat. We have been talking with him about this, but will not be releasing any official information until we know for sure that he is committed to running. Pray that the right decision will be made - not only whether to run, but also which race.

Another man in the Charlotte area is considering running for office and is looking at the Constitution Party for possible affiliation.

From time to time, we are contacted by candidates from other parties asking for our endorsement. Every such request has been politely refused. We believe that candidates must be in agreement with our platform before we can endorse them. Imagine one of our candidates going to the GOP asking for their endorsement. You know the GOP would never give it. Their goal is to remain in power.

Nevertheless, we are seeking candidates to run for office. There may be some good candidates out there who are running (or considering running) for the wrong party and just need to be steered to the CP. If you would like to run for office, or know someone who does, let us know.

And, by the way, you don't have to know a lot, or be popular, or have a lot of money to run for office - at least under THIS party's banner. Your qualifications as a CP candidate are primarily spiritual and principled in nature. We seek people who acknowledge God as the Sovereign of the universe, who believe in biblical principles, and who have a constitutional mindset to follow the intentions of our Founders.

Here are several items of legislation we've been following. Let's pray for the successful passage (or failure) as noted. New items are in bold type; updated items in bold italics.

This month's commentary is an article by Dorothy Anne Seese, a regular writer for SierraTimes.com, a site I have visited many times. Sierra Times offers opinion and current news you won't find in the major media. Please check it out sometime. www.sierratimes.com

One thing American politicians and political strategists know well, all too well, is that the average American is scared witless to think outside the box. America is, to most people's thinking, a nation with two political parties that represent all Americans and their interests when the truth is there are not only drastic divisions within the parties, but it appears most of the time that no one's interests are represented, other than those of the elected officials.

"Dont waste your vote" has been the cry of the major parties to keep people from voting for third or fourth party candidates. The fear scheme has worked well. If you don't vote for the varmint you can't stand who bears your party label, then the other party will get in, the sky will fall and acid rain will fall all over the American continent.

No matter how often some of us tell the public (or whoever reads internet articles) that it doesn't matter whether a Republican or a Democrat gets into office(s), except very local offices, the idea persists. Perception is everything in America, reality is either too difficult to swallow or lost between the sports and entertainment pages.

A clear illustration of the thesis that one has to belong to either the donkeys or the elephants is Ron Paul. He belonged to the Libertarian Party in Texas and could not pull enough votes to get to the US House of Representatives. As opposite as his (and my) views are to the mainstream Republican neo-cons of the 21st century, Rep. Paul re-registered as a Republican and is a member of the House of Representatives. Not one thing in his ideology changed, only his party label.

Thinking outside the box would cause American voters to want parties that are smaller and candidates that are easier to reach during and after the campaign process. Prepared questions get prepared answers. The people who care should want parties that reflect what the party stands for, not tradition. Tradition is nice for nostalgia and useless for most other things, especially politics. In fact it is now absolutely misleading.

One good break would be for the "Libertarian wing" of the Republican party to go full Libertarian and make themselves heard. Or make a glorious revival of the Constitution Party that is worth more than a sniffle by the big party advocates. It's time for Greens to be Greens, Liberals to be Liberals, Centrists or Neo-cons to be the Centrist Party, and real conservatives to go Constitution or Libertarian. That would give the US voters five or six parties with definitive ideals from which to pick a candidate for office and break the chains that bind us to a now meaningless two-party system that is nothing but two sides of one nickel. Make that a penny.

It would also make elections more exciting. It might confuse the media, which would also be exciting. Keeping track of five or six viable parties would throw out all the old routines and keep the anchors saying something we haven't heard before, such as "we don't know." It would be a joy on election eve to watch television anchors in a state of bewilderment rather than on an agenda.

The problem, of course, is raising money. Funding a candidate means thewallet kids want as close to a sure thing as they can buy. That's another old tradition that could be busted up with a multi-party system. Special interest groups would be funding their special interest candidate but with no assurance whatever that they will win. Everything would be up for grabs, and the US would be able to return to a nation where the vote meant something besides an exercise in futility.

If and when Americans get sick of voting for the lesser of two evils, it might, perhaps, maybe, dawn on them that the reason they are always voting for the lesser of the two evils is that there are only two parties, tightly controlled as to candidates who follow the party line (with a few exceptions). If they had five to six viable choices, their vote would mean more and people would become more interested in who is running for office and why. Candidates would have to present a platform, not just stand on a stage and give a rant from a 1930's speechwriter for a long-dead candidate of the Great Depression era. However, another great depression could occur and candidates should be prepared to address this issue, especially the decline in manufacturing in the US. We're also not as competitive as we once were, whether the product is a kitchen appliance or a space module.

The purpose of free trade is to encourage greater efficiency, not send our plants and products overseas for manufacture, then back to the US for sale at lower than market prices here. That little scheme bears the unmistakeable icon of the NWO to take down American enterprise.

And lastly, I'll vote for the person who promises to restore the Constitution, the congresscritters who aren't afraid to impeach judges, and who will form a task force to eliminate unconstitutional laws.

That probably means I'll wind up voting for myself this time around. The lesser of two evils is a useless vote and at least I can vote my conscience.

Americans are trapped in the box of tradition and until it suffocates them, they will never break free of it.

Some traditions are worth respecting. The present two party system is not one of them.

My family and I would like to extend to each of you the very best wishes this month as we observe a very special day set aside to give thanks to God for his many blessings. Take some time to look up and read the proclamations made by our early presidents for setting a special day aside for giving of thanks to God. Thanksgiving itself is a reminder to all of our Christian heritage here in America.