Sister Constitutionalist? Part 1

Our current government has problems.

The constitution worked.

“Go Constitutionalism!”

That’s the case for Constitutionalism in a nutshell: Return to the constitution in its purest form. “What is the purest form of the Constitution?” you may ask. The answer to this question lies in a grey pool of a few arguable facts and many, many arguable opinions. To fully understand the position taken by Constitutionalists we need to examine their platform and the ideology that it is based upon. While doing this, we will take a look at the party’s similarity to Libertarianism, the good points to Constitutionalism, and the incorrect views they hold as well.

You’ve met my “brother”?

Interestingly, the entire quagmire of articles making up the party platform reads as if it were the Gospel According to Ron Paul (Libertarian, in mind if not in name, who unsuccessfully ran for president in the Republican primaries - bringing great dismay to many Constitutionalists). An example of “Ron Paulism” from the platform reads:

One of the greatest contributors to deficit spending is war. If the country is to get rid of debt, these United States cannot become gratuitously involved in constant wars. Constitutional government, as the founders envisioned it, was not imperial. It was certainly not contemplated that America would police the world at the taxpayers’ expense.

Notice the wording “become gratuitously involved in constant wars” (emphasis mine) and “police the world at the taxpayers’ expense”. (While getting rid of the national debt should be on our short list of priorities it should not be first and foremost. Survival is a little bit more important.) Clearly, the ties to libertarianism are strong as seen by this example (almost identical to the Libertarian’s position on national defense):

The Constitution Party has consistently opposed American involvement in conflicts in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Europe, and Central and South America. These United States has no interest in these areas which would justify the sacrifice of Americans on foreign battlefields - nor is our country properly cast as a merchant of death in international arms races.

Here we see that our possible sister has met our impossible “brother” (Libertarianism is, in actuality, an entirely separate political ideology and not related to us Conservatives).

Too be continued....

Also in this series: Sister Constitutionalist? Part 2; Sister Constitutionalist? The Concluding Episode