Clarifying My Comments

Samantha Supported 100% Pro-Life Peroutka

After having written my last post I felt the need to clarify a few of my thoughts before people were up in arms. First of all, although I am an opponent of the party system this does not mean that I discourage people from supporting local, state, and national candidates that are members of political parties. I myself was a delegate at the Constitution Party this past election year. I chose to refrain from support of the President on moral grounds. It was a matter of conscience for me and I do not regret my actions. Mr. Peroutka is a wonderful man and the vast majority of CP members are God fearing constitutionalists.

This having been said, I would have voted for him if he was running as a Republican. It was not a matter of party (at least not entirely), rather, it was a matter of the man I felt best fit the need of America. Had he run as a Democrat I would still have voted for him (as I voted for a Democrat on the local level). Once again, it was not strictly a matter of party affiliation. It was a matter of conscience and my conviction that he was the best man fit for the job regardless of the odds of his victory.

Do I believe that it is wrong to be a member of the GOP or the CP? No. Rather, I am not sure, in historical hindsight, that it has been advantageous to the Christian cause of Reconstructive social change to be a member of a political party.

If you are a Republican you may have the odds in your favor for electoral victory but the odds of any real Christian change happening through that party are slim. Ask yourself how many times we have heard Republicans give the same old promises over and over and never follow through. Worse would be the fact that the Christian constituency is the primary reason for Republican dominance and yet they have become like the blacks of the Democrat party; a default constituency. This being said, the 3rd party advocate must admit that the odds of social change are greater from within the Republican party than it is outside the party due to the fact that they at least have a shooting chance of getting into office.

If you are a CP member you may have a great platform but the odds of you having any real impact on national politics (the local odds are much greater obviously) in a two-party environment is about as probable as finding aliens on Plato enjoying a round of Five-Card-Draw. There is also the fact that in the present system you would be seen as a fringe group only to be discarded. This has happened to many a great mind in this party. Only if you were to persuade the people of America that the two-party system (or the party system as a whole for that matter) is dangerous for the Republic and the end of truly representative government will you see any significant change. We could debate the validity of this claim for some time but history is my vindicator.

So I conclude that, at present, party politics may have to be a reality we must deal with. Questions immediately arising are whether one should rely on integrity or pragmatism in deciding which party to work within and to what degree one should commit oneself to that party. These are all questions to be dealt with in future posts but I felt that it was necessary for me to at least clarify my statement(s).

Party Politics and the Christian Ghetto

Some Call Them Heroes

I read Angela Wittman’s piece today entitled, “Why I am a Christian Independent” and came away from it so encouraged. I would advise everyone to check out her website and read what she had to say.

For myself, I proudly bear the same title. I have for quite some time advocated what I call (although I presume that there have been others who have advocated such a system although I have not read any of their material nor do I believe any to be of any real significance) an “Open Party System.” In upcoming days I will post some of the articles and letters that I had written during this past Presidential Election campaign regarding this system.

Although I am strongly opposed to political sects in general I assume that, at least for now, they are an evil to be dealt with. It is my conviction that Christians ought to keep themselves from any permanent (including the GOP and the Constitution Party) political party affiliation and membership. I believe for many reasons that such action by the Christian Electorate within a Party System has resulted in a Christian special interest ghetto. It is my belief that if Christians would like to regain some form of political relevance and be seen as more than a special interest group to be coddled with religious rhetoric every election year then we may want to reconsider our position on the issue of Party Politics and its affect on Christian social change.

Although I accept the Party System as a reality to be dealt with I do not concede that it is a system that must be embraced with blind commitment and partisan zeal. While I see some (and I admit this with much regret) advantages to such a system I do not believe it to be in the best interest for true “representative government” or the “free marketplace of ideas.” I mention the latter because it is here and here alone, outside of a violent revolution, that we will see any advancement of Christian Reconstruction.

Personally, I believe that one may participate in party politics (for to not do so would cause one to become socially irrelevant) without being chained down by partisanship or groupthink. This “use” of the Party system would deny the Sect the power of ownership and obligation all the while giving the electorate the political “weight” by which to hold individual politicians accountable for their actions regardless of their political affiliation. Only once we understand this will we regain the power of political influence...

Much more will be written on the issues of the “Party Politics and the Psychology of the Electorate,” “Party Politics influence on Christian Social Theory,” and “Party Politics and Political Irrelevancy” in the upcoming days…