The American Conservative Party

Yes, there is one, but it’s not one of the Big Two.

As George Wallace famously said, there isn’t a dime’s worth of difference between the two political parties. The upcoming election is a real hold-your-nose-and-vote occasion, the worst that I can remember.

There are really only two things that distinguish the Democrats from the Republicans:

1.		The Republicans are willing to kill the enemies of our country (certain selected groups of them, anyway) on occasion, when our national security is in danger. Democrats, in contrast, are unwilling to use violence in defense of our nation anytime, anywhere, ever.
2.		The Democrats want to enlarge the government by raising taxes and increasing spending, whereas the Republicans want to enlarge the government by borrowing money and increasing spending.

Oh, yes, one more thing: the Democrats have more movie stars at their inaugural balls.

There are so many things that Democrats and the Republicans can agree on. No child must ever be left behind. Unproven theories about environmental damage require massive government intervention, no matter how costly it turns out to be. The government has a responsibility to find people jobs, manage their child-rearing, and pay for their college education. When anyone is in pain, the federal government must lurch into action.

Both parties want to import millions of people from Mexico to pick our vegetables, mow our lawns, and elect more Democrats to office.

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With all that in mind, I’m please to report the founding of the American Conservative Party. Yesterday we received this email from a reader:

Dear Baron and Dymphna,

It is apparent that my former political party, the GOP, is not out for the interest of our country, but only out for the sole purpose of self-perpetuation. When you put the future of this nation into the hands of only two parties, you have a choice that sometimes seems like the lesser of two evils.

Why should we have to pick between evils? Why can’t we choose freedom, and not which will take less of our freedom? Why should it be dictated by the government — and I mean both candidates — what type of light bulb you should use, based on unproven theories?

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Why do our candidates address the citizens of Europe in their campaign speeches? Are we going to join the EU any time soon? I think not! There are many people in this election year who are utterly frustrated with the choice of candidates that we have.

Out of this frustration the American Conservative Party has been founded. We stand for personal freedom, minimal government, and the upholding of the law. From this you can see that on the most basic tenets of our philosophy we are with you. We allow opinions to be spoken, we encourage free discussion, and we know that the Gates of Vienna does the same.

We don’t expect to make any difference in the upcoming election; however, everything must start somewhere. We are patient and willing to wait for our time to come. We are patriots, and want what is best for our country, as you do.

In order to learn more about them, I took a look around ACP’s website. Here’s their Mission Statement:

The American Conservative Party’s mission is to promote and protect individual rights and freedoms as set forth in the United States Constitution, and to limit the scope of government to the authority set forth in the same.

Our efforts will be focused on building and leading opposition to intrusive government agencies and policies at all levels (federal/state/local); promoting initiatives and ideas that address issues via the private sector; and supporting candidates that understand the primary purpose of government is to protect its citizens from foreign threats, not the individual from himself.

Sounds good to me. Also, here’s their Creed:

The Creed of the ACP is a belief system of how we feel a just government and its citizens should interact.

We Believe:

• the legitimacy of government exists only as long as it defends human liberty.
  
• the origin of human liberty predates government, and therefore liberty cannot be repealed by government.
  
• the existence of human liberty presupposes the right to defend it, and the basic right to live begets the rights of self-defense and free expression.
  
• the self-ownership evident in human liberty begets basic rights over one’s self and time, and that the right to pursue happiness and self-fulfillment originate here.
  
• the boundary of human liberty ends where it transgresses the rights of another. Jurisprudence exists to mediate disputes where the boundaries of more than one individual intersect.
  
• the armed forces and law enforcement exist to bolster private defense, not to supplant it.
  
• that the American Experiment was born out of these beliefs and that it has resulted in a bountiful gain for the human condition.

And their Foundation and Principles:

Foundation: The individual is sovereign

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just limited powers from the consent of the governed

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity do ordain and establish the Constitution for the United States of America.

Principles:

• Authority of Government
  
• Citizenship
  
• Citizen Responsibilities

The details for the ACP’s principles may be found at the link.

Major change will only be forced on the Big Two by a significant national catastrophe, or by competition from a third political party. There hasn’t been a serious challenge to the Republicans and the Democrats for a hundred years, since the heyday of the Progressive Party.

When the Progressives melded into the Democratic Party, they dragged it permanently to the Left. If the ACP doesn’t succeed on its own, maybe it could do the same to the Republicans, but in the opposite direction.

Either outcome is all right with me.