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by Rod D. Martin
May 17, 2006
Yes, you heard right, by their own standards at least. The Nevada state affiliate of the Constitution Party has chosen to endorse abortion “exceptions” for rape and incest, and the Constitution Party’s national committee has voted not to terminate their affiliation with the national party — deliberately keeping them in the party, pro-abort stance and all. As we hear it, CP founder Howard Phillips himself asserted — in voting for Nevada — that the principle of federalism was more important than what Nevada had done.
Hmmm….
If Constitution Party people weren’t so consistently obnoxious about how “pure” they are, we wouldn’t mind (even though we note that the Republican platform makes no such exceptions, and even though we — along with Ronald Reagan — don’t quite see how killing an innocent baby is a legitimate response to an act of rape or incest by one or both of its parents).
Anyway, I pointed this out to an antagonistic Constitution Party type (who, immediately before I brought this up, was questioning the “purity” of conservative Republicans), and she got a bit defensive. Here is her response, and mine following.
The entire national party is upset with him [the Nevada state chairman], and has given almost an ultimatum over it to them. He is NOT pro-abortion, but he has his “exceptions” that we are upset with. That man is what we call an ‘infiltrator’ to make sure there is a black mark on the entire party for this one man, who is NOT pro-abortion, but IS for incest and rape abortions. The entire rest of the party is 100% pro-life in full .
That one man does not make us all ‘hypocrites’ as you put it. That throws the baby out with the bath water.
Every candidate that runs is interviewed before they are allowed to run on the Constitution party ticket. His interview said he was NOT pro-abortion, except for rape and incest, which the rest of the party does not agree with.
He is not a pro-abortion man in general, but we are still upset with that one exception he wants to make..
We expect, as the Constitution Party has grown so large in just the past year alone, to have more “infiltrators” move in, as to put a ‘spoil’ on things and our reputation. The two-party system only people fear the CP and no doubt they will do all they can to get many infiltrators into our party, but they WILL BE weeded out. WE do all in our power to keep things pure and clean, but evil has it’s way of sneaking into things. We are aware of that.
NO other party has the good rep that the CP does and those who are jealous of that, will try to ruin it. There is no doubt of that.
But of all parties that exist, none has as good a rep as does the CP. WE are not perfect, we are only humans, but we do our best to keep things pure to our platform.
Carrie Taranova
Fla
Sorry, we aren’t buying it. Here’s why:
First, because it’s a total joke for any Constitution Party person to say to anyone that his “exceptions” aren’t abortions, or that supporting them isn’t being a pro-abort. I can say this with great confidence because of all the times some Constitution Party person has told me that any Republican who takes these views is a pro-abort, and that the reason to join the Constitution Party is that it is perfectly “pure” and never makes such compromises.
Second, because those are abortions, and those exceptions are reprehensible, and we (along with Ronald Reagan and most conservative Republicans) oppose them, whereas you guys are now accepting them.
And third, because you guys aren’t giving them an ultimatum, and are accepting them. This went to your party’s national committee, which voted to keep them in the party, with Howard Phillips himself stating that the principle of “federalism” was more important than Nevada’s deviance on this issue.
By that logic, the only problem with Roe v. Wade is that the Supreme Court did it instead of the Nevada legislature.
Finally, it’s a joke to call the Hansens “infiltrators”. They’ve been around since the beginning, all the way back in the USTP days. I doubt you can say the same.
So in short, we’ll be sticking to our guns and working on the Republican Party. George Bush has appointed consistent pro-life judges for five years — as your national chairman pointed out, promising to support Bush for that reason, in his 2004 campaign ads when he was running for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania (I note this because everywhere else, he and your other standard-bearers were calling Bush a pro-abort for holding the position they’ve now endorsed in Nevada, so they were being hypocritical then and they’re being hypocritical now).
We know many Republicans stink to high heaven, and we can live with that: we believe in the doctrine of total depravity, and that it’s our duty to preach truth and encourage, persuade and convince until God changes their hearts (or at least until we vote them out). But we don’t care to go off into irrelevance with the micro-party of the week, and especially not when they beat our heads in year after year about how “pure” and “Christian” they are, and then vote to keep Nevada in their party.
They’re liars. Worse, they’re wolves in sheep’s clothing. No offense, but we’d rather work on the wolves in wolves’ clothing. It’s “purer”.
Rod is one of our nation’s leading minds. He’s smart, original, and very committed—a combination that one rarely finds.
Rod Martin and [former Howard Dean campaign manager] Joe Trippi are America’s two foremost experts on online politics.
Rod Martin is a Reaganite-Thatcherite conservative…[and] a man who has spent much of his life ministering to and working for the benefit of others. I know Rod as an advocate for freedom, a leader who understands the real changes we need in Washington, and who has the drive and ability to make those changes happen.
Rod Martin is the kind of dynamic leader who has the knowledge, ability and experience to lead us successfully into the 21st Century. His vision for America is compelling.
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America badly needs more leaders who really get the future. We need more Rod Martins.
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Rod is one of the sharpest, most gracious men I know, and one of the most gifted political thinkers today. His ability to analyze issues and communicate thoughtful insights on them have earned him the respect of people across the political spectrum.
I am proud to have been Rod Martin’s friend for a quarter century, and I can tell you that he is one of the finest men and most outstanding leaders in our church and in our country today. He has a knack for turning everything he touches to success.
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If Rod Martin represents the next generation of leaders, America has nothing to worry about.
A leader and a servant, in public life and in private, Rod Martin strides at the top of his profession, and has nowhere to go but up. He is in the truest sense of the word ‘outstanding’.
Rod Martin is undoubtedly one of the most accomplished thought leaders today. He is a wonderful mentor, a humble role model, and a deep inspiration for the next generation of scientific innovators and entrepreneurs.
Rod’s achievements pale beside his character and his brilliance. He sees what others can’t. He leads when others won’t.
Rod Martin is one of America’s finest young minds.
