|
restoring our biblical and constitutional foundations
|
The Watchdog Is Alive and Well
It was good to be back in Europe, if ever so briefly, last week. Of course, Bush & Co. remain scornful of any European government that responds positively to its own constituents (France, Germany, Spain, et. al.). Rumsfeld once condescendingly referred to these nations as “Old Europe.” New Europe consists of GOP pompom-wavers such as Britain and Poland. Personally, I prefer the Old to the New. The preemptive, unconstitutional war against Iraq that has drawn our military into an impossible guerilla war is nothing less than a betrayal of the Jeffersonian ideal of “peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations.” Thankfully, the anti-American sentiment that is apparent in so many nations of Europe has not spilled over into Africa (as far as I can tell).
How things might have been different had Americans paid attention to their own Constitution on November 2. The home page of the Constitution Party website has this to say:
George Washington feared two threats to America above all others. First, the corrupting influence of political parties with their spirit of faction and selfishness; and second, the weakening of the influence of religious morality on public life. On both counts he was right – the Democrats and Republicans have betrayed us, and squandered the Founders legacy of liberty and justice. Countless government officials in the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government take their oath to uphold and defend the Constitution with no understanding of the responsibilities that oath entails.
The platform of the Party goes on to stipulate:
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 are, therefore, unalterably opposed to entangling alliances – via treaties, or any other form of commitment – which compromise our national sovereignty, or commit us to intervention in foreign wars.
These are principles I can live with and uphold. And I am sure that they are also principles that our candidates, Michael Peroutka and Chuck Baldwin, will continue to work for tirelessly. Running for political office does not begin with filing with the election commission, despite what many people may think. People’s basic convictions are the bedrock upon which they will build their candidacy. For most politicians, the purpose of running for office is to win, pure and simple. Few will run for office due to a commitment to represent and implement the platform of the party they represent. Thankfully, Michael and Chuck are men of principle who ran for one reason – for the glory of King Jesus and the reestablishment of limited constitutional government under God.
The party that fails to win an election – and this includes the Constitution Party – does not escape responsibility in a Republic like the United States. It still has an important watchdog role to play. Let us, therefore, remain vigilant in this fight to return our great nation to her biblical and constitutional foundations. Let us continue to oppose undeclared wars that cost our nation thousands of lives. Let us continue to oppose the interventionist policy of both Democratic and Republican Parties. And let us continue to demand, with greater urgency than ever, that no United States troops will ever be employed on a foreign battlefield without a declaration of war by Congress, as required by the Constitution.
Michael Ledeen, the leading architect of American neocon military strategy, once said, “Every ten years or so, the United States needs to pick up some small crappy little country and throw it against the wall, just to show the world we mean business” (quoted in Jonah Goldberg, “Baghdad Delenda Est, Part Two: Get on with it,” National Review, 4/23/02).
I prefer the philosophy of the Constitution Party and Michael Peroutka:
America needs and deserves a President who will stand against the entrenched socialism, elitism and globalism which have a stranglehold on American political power. It is clear that both major parties are committed to the agenda of the New World Order and seek to enforce economic, military and social policies which are antithetical to the interests of our independent Republic. Michael Anthony Peroutka and the Constitution Party will fight to defend America against enemies domestic and foreign and return to a Republic of self-governing states whose laws are rooted in Biblical principles.
And you can bet on it: here is one party that intends to keep its word.
November 23, 2004
David Alan Black is the editor of www.daveblackonline.com.