Guest opinion
Based on the Constitution
Recently, the Bigfork Eagle printed a guest opinion that was critical of the Constitution Party. The usual reason political organizations resort to this sort of unprincipled attack is that they have no confidence in the merit of their arguments. Unfortunately, this tactic often works so well that it is sometimes better to ignore the attack hoping that the falsehoods will not stick than to risk more exposure by confronting the attacker. Nevertheless, I think Montanans need to know the truth about the Constitution Party.
This statement from our national Web site (http://www.constitutionparty.com/party_platform.php) describes in a nutshell what our party stands for:
"The Constitution Party strongly champions the principles of government laid down by our Founding Fathers in the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, principles which have been abandoned by our political establishment. Unlike other political organizations, we do not believe these principles are outdated. We recognize that the Constitution of the United States of America is the supreme law of the land and must be enforced.
If you want to learn more about the Constitution Party, you can go to the Web site cited above. You are also welcome at any of our Flathead County meetings—call 881-2231 for time and place.
These principles plus our strong belief that the blessings of God and the truth in his word are the foundation of our liberty and law cause us to take strong principled stands on various important issues.
The attack on the Constitution Party written by Travis McAdam of the Montana Human Rights Network is no surprise considering the far left agenda of MHRN. McAdam wrote he wanted to provide a "more complete picture…"; but instead he fabricated a complete distortion built on lies and misinformation
Left-wing groups like MHRN oppose most of our positions. So be it. It is too bad that MHRN chooses to attack us rather than attempt to refute our stand on the issues. It is a sad thing to see advocacy degenerating into hate speech, especially from an organization that claims to oppose hate speech.
McAdam alleges the CP believes "the death penalty should be extended to gays, lesbians, blasphemers and adulterers." That is an outrageous lie. There is nothing anywhere in the literature of the Constitution Party that even remotely suggests anything of the kind. If there were, I would not be a member. We oppose marriage and special rights for gays and lesbians. That's all, end of story. No penalties, no criminalization, no prohibitions. Although we do not share their views or lifestyle choices, we acknowledge they have just as much of a legal, civil right to those views as we have a right to our views.
Our party platform does not support "unorganized militias" as claimed by McAdam. Section 13 of the Montana Constitution says, " (1) The governor is commander-in-chief of the militia forces of the state, …(2) The militia forces shall consist of all able-bodied citizens of the state except those exempted by law." We support this concept of militia.
You don't have to read very much of MHRN's slanderous literature before you realize that everyone with whom they disagree is a Timothy McVeigh-style militia madman. They see the evil militia behind every bush and rock in Montana. I am not sure whether this is just a paranoiac phobia with MHRN or a cheap shot tactic to put down an opposing viewpoint. Contrary to what McAdam insinuates, the Constitution Party has no more association with the Oklahoma City Bomber than Montana Human Rights Network has with the Unabomber.
Finally, I must address the issue of political significance raised by McAdam. He wrote, "Constitution Party of Montana members fall outside the political mainstream's definition of 'conservative.'" I hope that we conservatives will not allow a far left group like MHRN to define conservatism.
The Constitution Party is a small party because we are a new party. We are also a growing party. The reason for our growth is that rather than being on the fringes of American political belief, we are tapping into a vast reservoir of political aspirations among the citizenry that until now has had no voice, no representation. If we are on the fringes so is everyone who pledges "… allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." If we are on the fringes so were Franklin, Washington, Jefferson, Madison and all of the rest of our founding fathers. If we are on the fringes, probably you are too.
Gary E. Hall
Olney, MT