Spring 2005

We are admonished by Scripture that "they who compare themselves among themselves are not wise". Thus we don't want to take too much comfort in the comparisons I make with other minor parties. Rather we must keep our eyes on the goal of restoring Constitutional government, Biblically based jurisprudence, and a public policy that acknowledges and follows Christian principles. Nevertheless, such a comparison is useful in giving historical significance to what we are doing and helps us view progress over a period of time rather than focusing on the short term frustrations of the vicissitudes of the political process.

So with that background, let's take a look at how we measure up with the other minor parties who are our contemporaries. Here is the unvarnished report.

By almost all measures, the Constitution Party (CP) is showing the most sustained growth of all of the minor parties and is clearly in second place, behind only the Libertarian Party (LP) in terms of overall national strength. Let me give some statistics to support and illustrate that claim.

1. The CP achieved ballot access in 36 states in 2004 which is more states than those achieved by Ralph Nader, the Green Party or any other minor party except for the LP which made it in 48, plus the District of Columbia.

2. The CP is first among the minor parties in numbers of those registered by party affiliation, ahead of the Greens in second place and the LP in third with the Reform and Natural Law parties trailing far behind.

3. The CP has permanent ballot access on 15 states (measured by having already qualified for statewide ballot access for the 2006 general election) which is tied with the Green Party and behind only the Libertarian Party.

4. In 2004, the CP came in second among the minor parties in total presidential votes, behind only the LP. This does not include Nader who ran as an independent and led the pack, although his performance was much worse than in 2000.

5. The CP was second, again behind only the LP, in (a) the number of U.S. Senate candidates and votes received for all U.S. Senate candidates, (b) gubernatorial candidates and votes received for all gubernatorial candidates, and, (c) state senate candidates and votes received for all state senate candidates.

6. In total state house races, the CP was third, behind the LP and the Greens both in number of candidates and in vote totals. This is because the Green party is very strong in certain pockets where they rack up high vote totals in state representative districts.

7. In races for the U.S. House of Representatives, although the CP was second in the number of candidates, it came in third in number of votes behind both the LP and the Greens.

In analyzing this data, we see that of all the significant criteria measuring national strength, the CP comes in first in one category, second in nine categories, tied for second in one and third in three categories. In addition, the CP is the only minor national party that is showing significant national growth. It has substantially increased its numbers of candidates and vote totals for statewide and local offices, showing both depth and width in its growth patterns.

In 1996 and 2000 the Natural Law Party and the Reform Party were either ahead or in a tie with the CP in most categories. They have both faltered into insignificance. The LP has been around since the early 70s and while it shows some growth, it is mostly stagnant and by some measures has declined. The Green Party is the darling of the liberal establishment media and gets far more free publicity than any of the other minor parties and had the boost of a high profile presidential candidate in 2000 but is still behind the CP in most categories.

We continue to build at the grassroots level and our advances, although not as dramatic as we would like, are nevertheless steady and measurable. We have representation in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. We have active state party organizations in at least 39 states. The CP is recognized by the FEC as a national party entitling it to receive contributions of up to $26,700 per year from an individual instead of the $5,000 cap for non-FEC recognized party organizations. This becomes extremely important in raising money when there are wealthy people who want to help build the party. There are only five minor parties that have achieved this, the LP, the Greens, the Reform Party and the Natural Law Party in addition to the CP. As already stated, the Reform Party and the Natural Law Party are in serious decline.

So let us indulge in a little self congratulation, not for the sake of vanity but as encouragement to continue the fight. There is cause to rejoice! We have shown that despite adversity, we will progress if we endure. Let us take courage and redouble our efforts. Let us apply the words of William L. Garrison: "[We are] in earnest. [We] will not equivocate; [we] will not excuse; [we] will not retreat a single inch; and [we] will be heard!"