A possible platform for the Federalist Coalition would need to emphasize those areas of common ground among the New Federalists, the Libertarians, and the Constitution Party. Because of this, certain issues would have to be left out, and the decision as to how to proceed would be left to any individual or candidate supported by the Coalition.

As I was trying to go through issue-by-issue through these platforms, I came to a very interesting realization. The Constitution itself should be the Coalition's platform, with any and all proposals for Amendments and/or repeal of prior Amendments included.

The following Amendments should definitely be included:

Repeal of the Sixteenth Amendment - Direct taxation by the federal government has bee a huge blight on our freedoms and needs to be done away with. There are many alternatives, including a consumption tax, or taxes collected by the states on behalf of the federal government (and controlled by the states). It's time to get the federal government out of our wallets.

Repeal of the Seventeenth Amendment - While this Amendment was passed ostensibly to give the people more control over Washington, the opposite effect has been realized. Returning the election of the Senate to the state legislatures will return this power to the States.

On these issues, I believe the New Federalists, Libertarians, and Constitutions would all be on the same page. I see nothing unhealthy in candidates or the various factions within the coalition having their own sub-platforms stating their own political goals.

How about it?

RWR