Constitution Party?

We have a year to the midterms and three years to the Presidential election, so it seems like a really good idea to check our political compass and chart a new course now rather than later. I thought we might do that in the run-up to the 2008 election, but then conservatives (in the broad sense of the word) decided to cast their lot in with the GOP and the self-examination never happened.

There are alternatives to the GOP, folks! Why not look at them?

I confess, I like the sound of the Constitution Party. There’s resonance in that title. So, I checked them out. They’ve got some good ideas. Limited government, balanced budgets, states rights … all good ideas. I like that they say they are in favor of life and the freedom of religion. I like that the Alaska Independence Party endorsed some of their presidential candidates in the past.

As I read through their very long platform http://http://www.constitutionparty.com/, I started to get nervous. My civil libertarian side started to feel a bit concerned. All assurances aside, I felt like I was reading a manifesto on statism wrapped up in the words of liberty.

I’m a born-again Christian who absolutely believes in freedom of religion, but I also think everyone has the right to such freedom – including those who are wrong in what they believe – atheists, Muslims, cultists. As long as their belief does not result in physical harm to anyone else or their property, they have an absolute right to their belief and the Constitution Party left me feeling as if they didn’t agree with that. Like most evangelical Christians, I am not interested in establishing a theocracy and a party platform that makes me feel like an atheist who also happens to be a constitutional conservative would feel unwelcome in the Constitution Party makes me uncomfortable.
That wasn’t the only issue, but it was the one that had my stomach in the most knots. No party platform, being the product of humans, will be perfect, but my automatic reaction to any sort of totalitarianism is resistance.
If they clear that up, they might get my vote. If they don’t … doubtful.