A "New" Declaration of Independence: From the GOP

[Douglass Bartley]

[PROPOSED]
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE FROM THE REPUBLICAN PARTY, THE FORMATION OF A NEW PARTY, “THE CONSERVATIVE PARTY”, AND VARIOUS AND SUNDRY RELATED MATTERS​

Whereas the results of the 2008 “Republican” Presidential Primaries have shown that the GOP is no longer home for conservative constitutionalists,

And whereas a new party for true conservatives and other constitutionalists is the
only hope for survival of the Republic,

And whereas time is of the essence in moving forward to solve those problems,

Now, therefore, be it resolved:

1. Members of the Forum shall first nominate and then select by Forum-wide election to occur on _____, 2008, five Forum members to compose a permanent executive committee of the whole. The executive committee shall subsequently undertake the planning and implementation of the measures set forth below, as well as such others as may be necessary and proper.

2. The executive committee’s first order of business shall be to attend to the details of the following matters:

a. The scheduling of a Forum-wide election on _____, 2008, by which delegates to a subsequent Constitutional Convention on _____, 2008, will be selected. All rules for the number, seating, and authority of delegates from each state, and all other pertinent matters, shall be patterned after the rules pertaining to the 1789 American Constitutional Convention, mutatis mutandis, that is, with the necessary changes in detail. The Convention shall be held in Lake Jackson, Texas. Dr. Ron Paul or his delegate shall preside over the Convention and shall have an absolute veto over every matter that shall come before the Convention.

b. At the Constitutional Convention, the first order of substantive business will be the consideration and adoption of a new Declaration of Independence, mutatis mutandis, in form and substance patterned (verbatim where possible) after the 1776 Declaration, but including a list of grievances that have arisen since July 4th, 1776. The new Declaration shall become the charter of a new political party, “The Conservative Party”. And the new Declaration shall include a provision that the “Republican Party” is today’s equivalent of King George III, and no longer the party of Jefferson and the Founders. The Declaration shall also state the Conservative Party’s permanent separation of bonds with the “Republican Party”.

c. At the Constitutional Convention, the delegates shall adopt the existing United States Constitution, with only such amendments that are in the opinion of Dr. Paul necessary and proper, e.g., the elimination of the 16th Amendment, etc. To be considered, any amendment must be submitted to the Executive Committee above 30 days before the Convention convenes.

d. After the Constitution is approved, the Convention by vote shall appoint, subject to Dr. Paul’s absolute veto, a “shadow government”, consisting of a President and Vice-President, Cabinet Officers, Representatives and Senators from each congressional district or state, as the case may be, and Supreme Court Judges, the purpose being to “mirror” to the greatest extent practicable, the existing composition and activities of then-present government of the United States, and to vote electronically on each issue that presents itself to the actual occupants of the offices above.

Therefore, for example, if McCain becomes president and signs unconstitutional legislation, Dr. Paul, as “Shadow President”, would veto the legislation and issue a veto message. Or if Congressmen X from, say, the 48th District of California votes for unconstitutional legislation, our corresponding Conservative Party Congressman would vote “No” with an E-Mail or Forum explanation to his “constituents” here on the Forum or otherwise. And so on. (If Dr. Paul wins the presidency, then we won’t need a shadow president! or cabinet! But we would still need a Congress and a Supreme Court.)

3. The above Resolution shall be open for comment, amendment, and appropriate refinement and detail until _____, 2008. The Resolution shall be presented for Forum-wide vote on ______, 2008.

Respectfully submitted,
Douglass H. Bartley

PS. Without their consent, I nominate Liberty Eagle, Lord Xar, and such others as they may select to serve as members of the Executive Committee.

 

[LibertyEagle]

I nominate Rand Paul.

 

[AmericanWayne]

Why start a new one? Why not just merge with the Constitution Party?

 

[Captain America]

Why start a new one? Why not just merge with the Constitution Party?

and the Libertarian, if they merged and named Paul their canidate that may be the only chance we have

 

[Douglass Bartley]

I thought "Conservative Party" was best, because it might shake loose some of the die-hard paleos clinging to the GOP. Whatever the name, we must begin anew and soon. We should start here on the forum, perhaps by creating a sub-forum. Thanks everyone. I note that Liberty Eagle didn't make a Shermanesque statement by refusing to serve.

PS. Is Rand Paul a Forum Member? How do we reach him. Also the merger is a great idea, but we've got to start among ourselves. I hope that the proposition doesn't die on the vine.

 

[FreeTraveler]

Just NO! What don't you understand about Dr. Paul's wishes???

 

[LibertyEagle]

Douglass,

Maybe I don't understand, but I'm unclear as to what this would do. Why would this be better than to just take back the GOP? I can however, see a benefit of such a movement and in providing a meeting place for libertarian-conservatives (ie. paleoconservatives/traditional conservatives) to gather, share information on various candidates and promoting them for office, etc. I'm just unsure about the benefits of creating an entirely new party. Unfortunately, we have a 2 party system in this country. Should we instead, organize, and plan to take back the GOP? In my opinion, our lack of any semblance of organization is one of the things that hurt us badly in Paul's campaign.

I don't know. I'll think on it.

 

[hypnagogue]

Please accept my honest criticism. This is silly. A "Shadow Government?" This is a lot of pomp with no teeth, so far as I can tell. We need to be focused on changing the government, and not just playing government on the internet. That's not to say that this is a terrible idea, it's just woefully missing the issues. If we wanted to do this we certainly wouldn't be doing any harm, but neither would it be doing much good without a serious effort towards taking over government.

I say, save our Declaration of Independence for when we're ready to really get organized and compete where it really matters, at the polling places.

I do support the initiative to form a new party. I'm not thrilled with the Conservative title, but that is something we could hammer out. I also think joining this party at the hip with Dr. Paul is a mistake. He was the bearer of our message. He is a wise man, but there are many wise men and women who support the principles of liberty. We can recognize him as a champion of our cause but he is not the cause himself.

I do agree that we need to begin to coalesce into a more functional structure. The first priority of which would be to set the liberty agenda and to set goals for all of us to work towards to accomplish that agenda. Early among those goals would be our Declaration of Independence.

Doug, I can see your heart is in the right place, but I think you've jumped the gun here. We need to flesh out more before we can begin making declarations.

 

[Douglass Bartley]

McTorture endorsed waterboarding yesterday, and today Romney endorsed McTorture. Why do we persist in entertaining the pipe dream that we can take over the GOP? The Party's over. There will be no brokered Convention. There is no chance Dr. Paul will secure the nomination. We need to keep our movement alive by formally divorcing ourselves from the Stupid Party.

PS. I suggest that we put this matter to a vote. We have no more time to argue about the details. I ask the administrator to take charge of the matter. Marches on Washington won't change a thing. The time has come (possibly past) to declare war on the GOP, McTorturer, and the rest. Please act while we still can.

 

[wgadget]

Didn't I hear Newt Gingrich talking the other day about a "New" Declaration of Independence?

 

[Douglass Bartley]

Newt Gingrich represents the worst of the GOP. Please don't be guided by anything he says. Please, I implore, don't let any more time lapse on non-issues like the DC March or Fox News or anything like it. Dr. Paul is the only hope and his hope lies in a divorce from the Stupid Party which has been a plague ever since Newt became speaker instead of dissenter.

 

[CorkyAgain]

Newt Gingrich represents the worst of the GOP. Please don't be guided by anything he says. Please, I implore, don't let any more time lapse on non-issues like the DC March or Fox News or anything like it.

These aren't exactly non-issues, but I agree they are less pressing than many seem to think they are.

Dr. Paul is the only hope

Um, no. I don't buy into that kind of thinking. I deeply admire Dr Paul, but I don't think of him as my savior and I don't think he would want me to.

If hope depends on one man, we are doomed. But if each of us has the courage to take responsibility for ourselves, and to stand up against injustice whenever it occurs, then perhaps there is hope for us.

and his hope lies in a divorce from the Stupid Party which has been a plague ever since Newt became speaker instead of dissenter.

The GOP (and any other party) gets its legitimacy and power from our consent to it -- just as the government does. I agree, it is time for us to withdraw that consent.

But I am not convinced that the thing we should do is rush into the embrace of some other political party, or even to form a new one of our own. It seems to me that political parties -- especially national parties --- are themselves a big part of the problem.

Originally, the representatives in a republic were drawn from small communities in which they were well-known and in which they had earned a reputation for sound judgment. You trusted your representative because you'd had dealings with him yourself, and he'd always shown himself to be a man of his word and of good character.

Nowadays most politicians only stoop to meet with us at election time, when we get to see them in carefully staged events. Or perhaps we're one of the select few who get to shake their hands in a brief encounter. Whoop-dee-doo. Most voters never meet the candidate in the flesh; all they get is what the TV shows them, and we've all seen how that is hardly an objective, unbiased view.

To truly restore the Old Republic, we need to rebuild our communities. In other words, we have to stop looking for the kind of top-down solutions the Republicans and Democrats have trained us to expect, and instead we need to start working on bottom-up solutions.

The next step, in my opinion, shouldn't be another party. It should be to look for ways to use what we have in our Meetup groups in order to build healthy, lasting, local communities where liberty is a commonly-accepted value. That's where we will find our future, not in Washington DC.

 

[nodope0695]

I always wondered: What is the difference between the Libertarian Party and the Constitutionalist Party? They seem to represent the exact same principles.

Forming a new party is a good idea, and if the Libertarians and Constitutionalists got together along with the disafffected Republicans, we'd be a power to reckon with....if this would be possible, I'd be all for it.

 

[Banana]

Instead of talking about a new party, joining another party, whatever, why don't we just be a delegate.

Take a look at what Alaskans and Wisconsinians did. They passed pro-Paul resolutions, drawn up a platform patterning his message.

But more importantly, by filling the ranks with many delegates, you get to fill in more committees (or convene a new committee) dedicated to modifying the rules and whatnots to gravitate honest people while exposing phonys faster.

Why, if everyone did this, we can all show everyone else that Democrat are just a old boy network while we're the true grassroots and done right, convert the party system into much more loose conglomeration of grassroot support.

That's why Ron wants us to be delegates. So be one, please!

 

[aksmith]

I always wondered: What is the difference between the Libertarian Party and the Constitutionalist Party? They seem to represent the exact same principles.

Forming a new party is a good idea, and if the Libertarians and Constitutionalists got together along with the disafffected Republicans, we'd be a power to reckon with....if this would be possible, I'd be all for it.

Ask the Constitution Party what our national religion is and I think you'll see the difference pretty quickly.

 

[Ira Aten]

Just NO! What don't you understand about Dr. Paul's wishes???

Uh, excuse me? Dr. Paul is an elected public servant. We are all individual citizens. It isn't about what Dr. Paul wishes.

It's about what we wish.

If Dr. Paul wished to limit free speech, would you follow?

Granted, he is a proponent of free speech. I doubt he would ever wish to do that. But neither would I. We are both equals as citizens.

So are you. I won't tell you "Just No!" if you want to do something, or say something, and we'd kinda appreciate it if you wouldn't interfere with what we want to do. It doesn't concern you personally. So why would you object. Nobody said you have to join the party.

That is the basis of what conservativism is supposed to be.Leave everyone alone, and they are to leave you alone.

(Barry Goldwater: "...Leave me alone!)

 

[Truth Warrior]

All in all, I think that I still agree with, for the most part, and prefer this "proposed" new Vermont D of I.

Vermont Declaration of Independence
http://www.vermontrepublic.org/vermont_declaration_of_independence

 

[slantedview]

Freedom Party

I really wish Ron would break away, but I understand his reasons for staying.

 

[robo1415]

It is Best to Vote Libertarian or Constitution Party in November!

Then,support what Paulistinian candidates there are running(quite a few actually)on the State and Federal level...PLUS....it is also vital to insure the defeat of McTorture in November by actively using the Media to rally limited government conservatives(and others) NOT to vote for this phony!Make the Constitution and Libertarian Parties have their biggest vote totals yet!!!!!

 

[JDouglasFisher]

All I have to ask is, can we use the Free State Porcupine as our official party logo? Cause its mad cool and neither a jackass or an elephant would dare step on one without being injured itself...

HAHAHA

Joe.