Category: Blog

William Dameron says:
June 20, 2013 at 6:58 PM

As a life-long conservative, I recently joined the Conservative Party. When I look at the platform, I find little to disagree with. I do have some comments on several planks.

“America should adopt measures to help revive and sustain economic vitality.”

“A. Tax Credits, Incentives and Penalties. Congress should: enact Payroll Tax credits for small businesses to spur growth; provide U.S. multi-national corporations with tax credits for hiring U.S. citizens to work in America; impose tax penalties for every American job sent off-shore.”

This section is very weak. We need comprehensive tax reform, with lower rates for businesses. We need to stop the infinite proliferation of tax credits with ever-increasing complexity of the tax regulations. I believe we should at least push for the Flat Tax, if not the Fair Tax (much more difficult to pass, but potentially much better.)

“B. Stop Off-Shoring Jobs. We encourage American multi-national corporations to stop sending jobs offshore. We should also encourage Shareholders and Boards of Directors to help sustain the U.S. economy by halting this short-sighted practice by building more manufacturing plants and Call Centers in America.”

Encouraging doesn’t do much. We need incentives and strategies which make using American workers more profitable, and the use of off-shore workers less profitable.

“Enact Reciprocal Trade Laws
International Free Trade is only good if it is Fair Trade when all countries conduct such trade by the same rules. The U.S. trade deficit sends much of America’s wealth to foreign countries since many of them engage in unfair unilateral trade practices that include adding numerous Tariffs, Port of Entry Taxes and Import Duties on American products. Congress should enact laws that Reciprocates (Copies) those fees on products from each country that exports to the U.S. This will level the playing field since countries will then pay the same fees imposed on U.S. products.”

This is OK as far as it goes, but (in my opinion) the real problem with foreign trade is labor cost differential. China has worker costs which are at least ten times lower than ours. We should adopt a strategy which at least equalizes this cost.

“Write Bills in Plain, Common Sense English
Important legislation can be written in comprehensive language, as the Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights clearly demonstrate. All Bills enacted by Congress must be written in plain, common-sense English prose that is comprehensive and understandable by citizens.”

I sincerely doubt that congressional bills will ever be written in plain, common-sense English prose, because they constantly link to other laws and definitions. We could require a comprehensive executive summary in understandable English, however. I also suggest that any senator or representative who votes on a bill without having read that summary be subject to automatic impeachment, and the same should apply to a vote on any bill which has not been available to the public on line for at least one week prior to the vote, and has not been amended or revised in that time.

General critique:

The platform should emphasize that we support Capitalism over government managed economics.

I understand there will be a web-based Convention in 2014 which will enable members to revise the Conservative Party platform. I look forward to it.

Anyone reading the mission statement of the Conservative Party USA will understand that our primary purpose is to restore the limits and boundaries of government as defined by our founding documents.  You may hear comments like our being willing to return to the days of slavery and other such nonsense.  Conservatives need to be clear that the desire to be as close as possible to the ideals of self-government and Federalism as expressed in our founding documents, no way suggests that we would be willing tolerate the horrendous abuses of our shared history.  It is the size and scope of the modern Federal government that I question and believe that a restoration of the founding first principles of Federalism would be beneficial to our whole society.

Our founding documents established for the first time in history, a form of government where individuals had control of their own efforts and property.  We know the unalienable rights that fueled the passions of our Nation’s founders were based on Natural Law and biblical teaching.  To provide for yourself, and to take responsibility for yourself and your family is occasionally difficult.  Personal responsibility for your own actions requires honest and virtuous citizens in order to be a successful form of governance.  This was the focus for the founder’s support for publicly funded education. According to the histories I found, they believed that the aim of publicly funded education should be to create good citizenship and virtue.  I found no evidence suggesting they believed public monies should support any other aim.

We know that some of our neighbors will not conduct themselves in an honest and virtuous manner, making self-government somewhat insufficient at times. We need the local, State and Federal levels of government to support, defend and protect those unalienable rights we hope to enjoy.  We need local government, where the citizens of our neighborhoods and towns and cities band together to mutually provide the services that each community deems important.  The State, before the Federal government, should deal with the broader problems that cities and towns cannot adequately address by themselves.

The Constitution of the United States binds the States together under a Federal government for six very specific reasons: to form a more perfect Union (than that allowed under the Articles of Confederation), establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general welfare, and then to secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.

A more perfect union beyond that allowed under the Articles of Confederation is established.  The Federal government then has legal authority under our Constitution for the five remaining defined purposes and those are the only considerations that the Federal government should address.

If we accept that establishing justice essentially means that our citizens have equal access to the law, then we can say that our Federal government has failed to ensure this basic function that it was created to provide.    Perhaps if our representatives spent as much time on considering the fairness of the legislation they adopt for all of our citizens as they do their own self-interests, there would be much less strife in our society.  This more than anything else would ensure fulfillment of the third legitimate function of the Federal government, to insure domestic tranquility.  Doesn’t it seem as though most of the recent political posturing, legislative actions and executive orders are designed specifically to insure domestic disharmony between the varied interests of our citizens?

Our Federal government cannot be said to be providing for the common defense of our people, just ask the people of our southern border States, or the families of those who perished on 9/11/2001.  For many years, we have been involved in the affairs of other nations under the guise of national interest.  One can make an argument that our involvements, or meddling, in the affairs of other nations have placed America’s people in danger.   What is our national interest in any nation outside our own?  It is clear from my studies that most of the founders, including our first and most celebrated President believed we should never become entangled in the affairs of foreign nations nor enter into permanent alliances with any other Nation.  Have we not over time, rejected this wise counsel?

A messy area of examination is the role of government in promoting the general welfare of our people.  All one really needs to do, is define the distinction between promoting and providing for the general welfare of our people.  If a function of government could be classified as providing for the general welfare, then I believe it is proper that the function be administered by each individual State, as it’s own people dictate.

Securing the blessings of liberty should be the ultimate role of our Federal government but instead, the actions of the various branches have ended making us slaves to foreign debt, and left us feeling we have no choice but to roll back and restrict our government to operate within the legal parameters of the Constitution.  I believe that enough circumstantial evidence exists to prove that the two major parties have no interest in doing what needs done.

The Conservative Party (NC) believes in the intelligence, resiliency and resourcefulness of the American people.  If you find yourself in agreement with these concepts, then engage with us to re-establish the defined limits and boundaries authorized.

Come home America!

David Schott, President
Conservative Party (North Carolina)
August 2011