In an election year it is important to look at all the candidates and their views. In my opinion the gauge of a president is how well they will support their official oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. In that vein I have researched the positions of Constitution Party candidate Chuck Baldwin, and present those findings to you. I will not presume to tell you how or whom to vote for, but only present what they espouse to believe and, where available, their voting record or public statements.
Chuck Baldwin - Presidential Candidate
By Michael Lemieux
At no time since the creation of our nation have we been further from the founding principles laid for this great nation. The concept of limited self government, separation of powers between the branches of government, and the supremacy of the state and the citizen over the federal government, seems to have been lost.
The next president of the United States will determine whether we continue down the path to certain destruction of liberty and self determination, or a return toward smaller government and increased liberty — we cannot have both. As government grows, liberty is diminished, because government rules by force; and the more power it takes, the more force is applied until only compliance to the will of the rulers remain.
When making the decision of who to vote for this November, weigh the facts based on freedom and responsibility.
Some will tell you that casting a vote for a third party candidate is a wasted vote or a vote for the opposition. This is more often said by someone who is willing to stand up for evil. They may also use the phrase "voting for the lesser of two evils." In my opinion, voting for the lesser of the two evils is still a vote for evil. We should vote our consciences based on fact and rational thought not just to be on the winning side; we want to be on the side of what is right.
With these thoughts in mind, I would like to present the positions of candidate Chuck Baldwin to aid you in gaining that knowledge. (Wherever possible, I have tried to use the candidates own words.)
Illegal Immigration and Border Security:
Mr. Baldwin has stated: "I support construction of a fence to secure our borders, but a Baldwin Administration will not wait for the construction of a fence in order to seal and secure our borders. We will utilize whatever force is necessary, including regular military personnel to effectively secure our borders immediately."
"Employers in America who knowingly hire illegal aliens are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."
"As President, I would enforce our visa rules. This means anyone who overstays their visa or otherwise violates U.S. law is immediately deported.
"There will be no "path to citizenship" given to any illegal alien. That means no amnesty.
"I would end birthright citizenship for illegal aliens. There would be no "anchor babies."
"I will support our U.S. Border Patrol, not with meaningless words, but with action."
"The day before my inauguration as President will be the last day that Mr. Ramos and Mr. Campean will have to spend in prison."
Iraq War:
On the Iraq war Mr. Baldwin has stated the following: "I would begin the process of safely extracting our troops from Iraq. In the first place, our troops are no longer fighting a war, they are an occupation force, which occupies a sovereign country. And this is being done without a Declaration of War."
"...the invasion and occupation of Iraq was absolutely unnecessary... President Bush should have supported Ron Paul's bill, H.R. 3076, the September 11 Marque and Reprisal Act of 2001. This is the constitutional way to deal with rogue terrorist organizations. This is the way President Thomas Jefferson responded to the Barbary pirates," which would have given "the President the authority to respond with appropriate force to those non-state actors who wage aggression against the United States while limiting his authority to only those responsible for the atrocities of that day.
"When I become President empire building and playing policeman of the world will come to an immediate halt and the United States of America will once again begin conducting itself as the Republic it was meant to be."
The Patriot Act:
"I would repeal it." He went on to state that he believed, as did Benjamin Franklin, that those willing to give up liberty for security will have neither.
The Second Amendment:
Mr. Baldwin's views on the Second Amendment: "The Second Amendment protects our liberty. To help keep your family safe and your country free, go buy a gun."
"The right to keep and bear arms is guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the Constitution; it may not properly be infringed upon or denied. Therefore, a Baldwin Administration will uphold the right of the citizens to keep and bear arms and will oppose attempts to prohibit ownership of guns by law-abiding citizens, and, further, will stand against all laws which would require the registration of guns or ammunition."
"Judge Roy Moore, recently noted that 'Our ancestors firmly believed in God-given 'unalienable rights' and had no reservation about using guns, when necessary, to defend those rights against tyrannical oppression. Before there was a Constitution, our guns guaranteed the rights God had already given us, including the right to bear arms. The Constitution was written and designed to protect, not preclude, those very rights.'
"In conclusion I would again quote Judge Moore, who wrote, 'Liberty and freedom are gifts of God, and not the government. The means by which we secure those gifts are ultimately in the hands and the "arms" of the people.'"
"Countless assaults against the right of the people to keep and bear arms by both Republicans and Democrats over the years have taken a toll through draconian gun laws and oppressive legislation which has slowly and steadily chipped away at Americans' vital, God-given right to self-defense."/p>
Abortion:
A very touchy issue of today is abortion; Mr. Baldwin has stated the following: "I will use the bully pulpit of the Presidency to demand that Congress enact Dr. Ron Paul's Sanctity of Life Act which would set forth that every unborn child is a 'person' under the Constitution, entitled to equal protection of the law and therefore, no unborn child could be killed without due process of law."
"Under my administration, we could end legal abortion in a matter of days, not decades. And if Congress refuses to pass Dr. Paul's bill, I will use the constitutional power of the Presidency to deny funds to protect abortion clinics. Either way, legalized abortion ends when I take office."
Governmental Departments:
Mr. Baldwin's comment concerning executive departments: "If I become president of these United States we will see to it that the Department of Education, the Department of Energy, the Department of Commerce, and several other departments will be eviscerated. They're history!"
Oil Reserves:
With the oil crisis looming over all of us, what is Mr. Baldwin's position? He stated: "...We will tap the vast reserves that reside under the soil of Alaska. We have more oil under Alaska than in Saudi Arabia; we do not need OPEC."
"We will drill Alaskan oil, we will drill for the oil in the Dakotas, we will drill for oil in the Gulf of Mexico."
Law Enforcement:
Mr. Baldwin's view on law enforcement was summed up by saying: "Law enforcement is, for the most part, the property of the states and local communities and that's where law enforcement belongs, not in Washington DC."
"No longer will we allow the FBI or the BLM or any of those alphabet police agencies from Washington DC to bully and to dictate to local and state police agencies."
Health Care:
Another hot topic this election year is health care; Candidate Baldwin stated: "I strongly support the freedom of choice of practitioner and treatment for all citizens for their health care."
His web site states: "Government regulation and subsidy constitute a threat to both the quality and availability of patient-oriented health care and treatment. Hospitals, doctors, and other health care providers should be accountable to patients - not to politicians, insurance bureaucrats, or HMO administrators."
His web site goes on to say: "The federal government has no Constitutional provision to regulate or restrict the freedom of the people to have access to medical care, supplies or treatments. I, therefore, support the elimination of the federal Food and Drug Administration, as it has been the federal agency primarily responsible for prohibiting beneficial products, treatments, and technologies here in the United States that are freely available in much of the rest of the civilized world."
United Nations and world courts:
Mr. Baldwin's position on the United Nations and America's involvement are illustrated in his comments as: "The United Nations will have to find a new address. When I am President of the United States all funding for the United Nations stops!"
"I strongly oppose American participation in any form of world government organization, including any world court."
"As President I will terminate United States membership in the United Nations, and its subsidiary organizations, and terminate U.S. participation in all so-called U.N. peace keeping operations and I would bar the United Nations, and its subsidiaries, from further operation, including the raising of finds, on United States territory."
"American troops must serve only under American commanders; and as long as I am President American forces will never serve under the flag of the United Nations or any foreign country."
Taxation:
On taxation he has stated: "When I become President, I will work feverishly to overturn the Sixteenth Amendment, which would repeal the Income Tax. And, no, I would not promote a national sales tax."
"I would also repeal the 'death tax,' inheritance taxes, and property taxes."
"We are bankrupting our country with this incessant and burdensome tax system."
"I favor a tariff-based revenue system, originally implemented by our founding fathers, and which was the policy of the United States during most of our nation's history."
Federal Reserve:
Mr. Baldwins position on the Federal reserve is: "I would work to expunge the Federal Reserve and to restore the American economy to sound money."
"No system of 'debt money' should ever again be imposed on the people of the United States."
"We will work to restore a debt free, interest free money system that works for the people of this country and not for the benefit of the international banking cartel."
"A Chuck Baldwin Presidency would signal the end of the stranglehold that the modern day moneychangers have over our economy and provide the opportunity for a rebirth of the American dream.
National Defense:
The following statements illustrate Mr. Baldwin's positions on National Defense: "We will have a national defense that is second to none, with armed forces that serve only under our flag, whose mission is to defend the United States of America."
"The goal of the U.S. security policy is to defend the national security interests of the United States. Therefore, except in time of declared war, for the purposes of state security, no state national guard or reserve troops shall be called upon to support or conduct operations in foreign theaters."
"I will always give our troops my full support and will make it the highest priority of my administration to make sure that our soldiers are well-trained, well-equipped and well-led."
"As President I will never deploy American troops into combat without a declaration of war by Congress, pursuant to Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution."
"In a Baldwin Administration, the armed forces of the United States will always serve under the flag of the United States and the mission of our armed forces will always be to provide for the common defense for the United States of America."
The vast majority of the information I have found on Candidate Baldwin has shown him to be a true constitutional patriot. He shows a conviction to the founding principles of limited self government, non-interventionist position on foreign affairs, and a belief in the Judeo-Christian ethic that has made this country so great.
I will not tell you who you should vote for; that decision must be made by each American citizen. It is the responsibility of every American to be active in the affairs of government, to know the state of the Union and the issues that confront the American people.
Once you have researched the issues and the candidates, you must weigh them against your own beliefs, knowledge, and convictions and choose which candidate you believe supports your position. Do not be swayed by the talking heads telling you that you must vote for either Democrat or Republic parties or you are wasting your vote. The only wasted vote is the one cast in ignorance, for the person casting it is doing so as if it were a lottery he hopes to win, and when we look at the odds, it is not in our favor.
Michael LeMieux is a retired U.S. Army intelligence and imagery analyst, and has served combat tours in Kuwait and Afghanistan with the 19th Special Forces. He is a Purple Heart recipient for injuries received in Afghanistan. Mr. LeMieux is the author of Unalienable Rights and the denial of the U.S. Constitution, published by Publish America. You can contact Mr. LeMieux via his website at http://www.constitutiondenied.com
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