In our last blog post we noted that the Southern Poverty Law Center listed the Constitution Party as an "antigovernment Patriot" group, and attempted to link the party to domestic terrorism. According to the SPLC's website, an "antigovernment Patriot" group is one that defines itself as "opposed to the 'New World Order,' engages in groundless conspiracy theorizing, or advocates or adheres to extreme antigovernment doctrines." But in this case, does the proverbial shoe fit? Does the Constitution Party meet the SPCL's definition of an "antigovernment Patriot" group?
The Constitution Party's website lists "Seven Principles of the Constitution Party." They are:
- Life: For all human beings, from conception to natural death;
- Liberty: Freedom of conscience and actions for the self-governed individual;
- Family: One husband and one wife with their children as divinely instituted;
- Property: Each individual's right to own an steward personal property without government burden;
- Constitution and Bill of Rights: interpreted according to the actual intent of the founding fathers;
- States' Rights: Everything not specifically delegated by the Constitution to the federal government, nor prohibited by the Constitution to the states, is reserved to the states or to the people.
- American Sovereignty: American government committed to the protection of the borders, trade, and common defense of Americans, and not entangled in foreign alliances.
It will be noted that three of the Seven Principles are rooted in the Ten Commandments: the prohibitions against murder, adultery and theft. A fourth Principle ("Freedom of Conscience") is rooted in the Christian idea that all human beings are ultimately accountable to God alone, and that their duty to God transcends all human authority. The remaining three Principles are rooted in the U.S. Constitution.
Does any of this constitute "opposition to the 'New World Order,'" "groundless conspiracy theorizing," or "extreme antigovernment doctrines"? First of all, let us consider the "New World Order." Does such a thing even exist? The answer to that question will largely depend on how one defines the term. What is an undeniable fact is globalization, and the concentration of the world's wealth of a relatively small number of billionaires. And as the Eurocrisis has vividly demonstrated, a global economy will require global regulation. It may be too early to speak properly of a "New World Order," but one is surely emerging. What will the world look like then? Shouldn't we all be concerned?
As for "groundless conspiracy theorizing," there may be some within the Constitution Party who engage in this kind of speculation, but the Party itself does not take a position on such matters. By the very nature of the case a conspiracy is hard to prove. If it is secret, how would outsiders know about it? Conspiracies are like the theory of evolution: it is possible to "prove" almost anything based on circumstantial evidence. What we should be concerned about are the massive social, economic and cultural changes that are profoundly changing the world today, and are probably beyond the power of any one clique or cabal to manipulate or control. We might be, in fact, living in the End Times predicted in the Bible.
And then, what about "extreme antigovernment doctrines"? As we pointed out in our last blog post, one man's orthodoxy is another man's "extremism." "Extreme" simply implies a wide difference between two positions. If the SPLC thinks that we are extreme, on whose side does that reflect? It simply says that there is a wide difference between us and them, which we freely acknowledge.
What is fair to say, however, is that we are "radically conservative," in the sense that we seek a return to the first principles of American government. The U.S. Constitution was intended to be a compact among the American people, and that compact can only be altered by the people themselves. The Founding Fathers never pretended that they had the answer for every problem that would confront the growing republic. But the made a provision in the Constitution for amending the document as the need should arise. Might we not amend it today to accommodate such popular federal programs such as Social Security and Medicare? But what is not conscionable is simply to ignore the letter and intent of the document and to read into it whatever the Supreme Court may please. That is nothing less than judicial tyranny, and effectively extinguishes the principle of self-government among a body of free citizens.
Is this radical? It surely is. But we in the Constitution Party feel compelled to hold aloft the torch of liberty amid the encroaching darkness. Let our hands never falter in the cause of liberty, humanity and justice!
We were astonished recently to discover that an organization of which we happen to be a member is on the Southern Poverty Law Center's list of "antigovernment Patriot groups," and that the SPLC has asked the government to devote more resources to meeting the threat posed by ourselves. The "Patriot group" in question is the Wellsboro (PA) chapter of the Constitution Party.
I suppose that we should be flattered by the attention. On a good evening we might have a turnout of a half a dozen or so. We recently held a meeting at a local donut shop where we hatched antigovernment plots while we feasted on the house specialty. (It's amazing what a sugar high will do for one's patriotic fervor!) But the fact of the matter is that the SPLC's list is an outrageous attempt to smear a group of peaceful, law-abiding citizens exercising their right of free assembly.
The SPLC's website describes "Patriot groups" as groups that "define themselves as opposed to the 'New World Order,' engage in groundless conspiracy theorizing, or advocate or adhere to extreme antigovernment doctrines." In a letter that the SPLC sent to Attorney General Eric Holder and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, SPLC President J. Richard Cohen stated that "In the last four years, we have seen a tremendous increase in the number of conspiracy-minded, antigovernment groups." He claims that the number of such groups grew from 149 in 2008 to 1,360 in 2012. Mr. Cohen warned of "the rage that is building in certain quarters," and stated that "the country has seen an increase in right wing domestic terrorism as the number of hate and antigovernment groups has increased in recent years." He urged Mr. Holder and Ms. Napolitano to "establish an interagency task force to assess the adequacy of the resources devoted to responding to the growing threat of non-Islamic domestic terrorism."
It appears that Mr. Cohen is something of a conspiracy theorist himself. The SPLC has not yet posted its 2012 list of "antigovernment Patriot" groups, but its 2011 list is on its website. It contains the names of 1,274 organizations. Noticeably absent from the list are any radical left-wing groups. Presumably the Tea Party is a threat to civilization, but Occupy Wall Street, Moveon.org and ACORN are not. Does this betray a political agenda on the part of the SPLC?
But what about the "tremendous increase" in the number of "conspiracy-minded, antigovernment" groups? On closer inspection it turns out that of the 1,274 groups listed, 174 of them, or 13.7% of the total, are local chapters of the Constitution Party, including our little cabal in Wellsboro. Multiple local affiliates of other organizations are on the list as well. When considered as nationally organized groups, the number shrinks considerably. Moreover, Mr. Cohen claims that there were only 149 such groups in 2008. Yet the Constitution Party has been around far longer than that. It appears that the "tremendous increase" is more the result of the SPLC's statistical gathering techniques than any real change in the political landscape.
But is the Constitution Party really a "conspiracy-minded, antigovernment" group that defines itself as "opposed to the 'New World Order,' engages in groundless conspiracy theorizing, or advocates extreme antigovernment doctrines"? We might begin by asking, what is a "New World Order"? If we called it "globalization" instead, would it make a difference? Is it only right-wing "antigovernment" groups that are alarmed by the reach and scope of multinational corporations, and the wealthy elite that controls them? Is the world being taken over by Bilderbergers? What about the "1%"?
And what constitutes "an extreme antigovernment doctrine"? We in the Constitution Party simply believe that the U.S. Constitution should be interpreted in the sense originally intended by its framers. It is a little hard to see how one could be considered "antigovernment" by being patriotic and upholding the Constitution. We seem to recall that even President Obama himself recently took an oath to "faithfully execute the office of the President of the United States, and will, to the best of [his] ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States." Does this make him "antigovernment"? Or would he be "antigovernment" only if he actually meant what he said? It appears that one man's orthodoxy is another man's "extremism."
What is especially insidious about Mr. Cohen's letter is his attempt to link the Constitution Party to "domestic terrorist plots," and his call for increased government surveillance. This is, in fact, the mirror image of the bigotry and intolerance that his organization decries in others. Is this the future of democracy?
Here are the links to the relevant websites:
Southern Poverty Law Center
Constitution Party
To see the 2011 list of "Patriot" groups click on this link:
"Patriot" groups-2011
