Much is being made of the candidacy of New York Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman's run for Congress. In reading the things that are out there, it occurred to me that there isn't much known about this obscure, but patriotic party. Doug really does have a chance to win this thing, and if he doesn't, he's sure to put up a good enough showing to make the idea of replacing the Republicans with a truly conservative party much more palatable to many more people.

So, for your perusal, here is the Platform of the American Conservative Party:

Platform
Written by The ACP

The Creed of the ACP is a belief system of how we feel a just government and its citizens should interact.

The ACP Creed

We Believe:

*the legitimacy of government exists only as long as it defends human liberty.
the origin of human liberty predates government, and therefore liberty cannot be repealed by government.
*the existence of human liberty presupposes the right to defend it, and the basic right to live begets the rights of self-defense and free expression.
*the self-ownership evident in human liberty begets basic rights over one’s self and time, and that the right to pursue happiness and self-fulfillment originate here.
*the boundary of human liberty ends where it transgresses the rights of another. *Jurisprudence exists to mediate disputes where the boundaries of more than one individual intersect.
*the armed forces and law enforcement exist to bolster private defense, not to supplant it.
*that the American Experiment was born out of these beliefs and that it has resulted in a bountiful gain for the human condition.

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Principles of the American Conservative Party
Foundation:
From this Foundation, all principles flow:

*The individual is sovereign
*We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just limited powers from the consent of the governed
*"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity do ordain and establish the Constitution for the United States of America." What does this mean? Simply put, that the formation of a legitimate government can only occur when the citizens themselves choose to surrender a portion of their inherent authority. The citizens may chose to give, but the government cannot chose to take (or keep) authority against the wishes of its citizenry.


Policy:
From our Principles, our Policy Issues will be derived:

Federalism and Social Issues
*We reject the practice of using Government powers for any purpose of social engineering, and we uphold the principle that the individual is sovereign; where social conduct involves personal choices, the People are best served when those choices are embraced and defended at the family and community level.

Authority of Government
*The citizens of the United States are the sole source of power and life of the United States Government. All powers and authority not explicitly given by the citizens to their representatives remain with the states or the people thereof.
*The United States Government has the authority and obligation to protect its citizens and their liberties from all actual and perceived threats regardless of the source, location or scope.

Limitations on Government
*The federal legislature may make no law that abridges or limits the Constitutional rights of an individual.
*No state may abridge a citizen's right to life, liberty, or property without due process of law.
*Property currently owned or controlled by the Government is held in Trust for the citizens
*Regardless of compensation, no property shall be forcibly taken by government for private use or profit.

Citizenship
*Any child, born of a citizen, shall have all the legal rights of a citizen born or naturalized into the United States.
*Persons who are not citizens or resident aliens of the United States have no right to petition or benefit from any agency of the government except for petition of entry or asylum.
*A child born in the United States to non-citizens is not a citizen.

Citizen Responsibilities
*Each adult citizen is responsible for the health, education and welfare of himself or herself and their family.
*No adult citizen may call on the resources of another citizen or group of citizens without their explicit, expressed consent.
*No citizen or group of citizens, by expression of any character or physical trait, may call upon the resources, nor abridge the rights, of another citizen or group of citizens without their explicit, expressed consent.
*It is the responsibility of every citizen to participate in the political process.

Global War on Terror and Iraq and Afghanistan
*We support our service members and their missions in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere. That support includes political and funding issues.
*We believe the proliferation of dangerous weapons (including WMD) has created a need to act against threats before they are capable of being fulfilled. We support preemption.
*Our national security is not just defense against threats, but protection of our borders and citizens. We support the actual, active control of our borders, including the construction of a fence on the border with Mexico. In general, it should be 870 miles as currently authorized, constructed with two physical fences separated by 15-20 feet for vehicle access; and sufficient military and border patrol to make regular patrols possible.

Education
The position has been drafted and available for review and comment.

----Establish an Institute for Educational and Academic Standards which will publish standards for educational materials and academic teaching but have no implementation/enforcement/acceptance powers.
----Eliminate the Department of Education, Terminate No Child Left Behind initiative and terminate federal support of the Head Start Programs.

Eminent Domain
*The takings of private property for private use is to be prevented. A recent ruling of the United States Supreme Court, Kelo v. City of New London, has shown a need to reinforce the premise that the government does NOT have the right to seize, even with compensation, private property for private use.



Immigration
*Immigration is the life blood of the American dream. With very few exceptions, most of us are derived from foreign stock. We support immigration, enthusiastically.
1. We believe that the limitations imposed upon the number of people that may come to this country to work under H-1B visas is a limitation on our Country's ability to compete in the global marketplace. We therefore support the lifting of limits on H-1B visas. However, an H-1B visa should be reserved for those individuals that seek to become American citizens. The term of the H-1B visa should be limited and renewable only once.
2. We support aggressive enforcement of immigration laws by:
Increasing the fines levied against businesses that hire illegal immigrants;
illegal immigrants that are arrested for charges unrelated to their status be:
deported if the charges are misdemeanor;
deported after adjudication if the charges are felony;
3. We support amnesty/asylum petition hearings only for those illegals that present themselves to immigration authorities prior to any criminal arrest. We also support requiring those that are in the United States illegally to leave and apply for legal immigration from their country of origin
4. Legal immigrants are obligated to pursue citizenship in a timely manner and their continuing presence in the United States should be dependent upon it.
5. The United States is a country of immigrants with a unique and unifying culture. The diversity of culture is to be appreciated, not embraced. English is a unifying force and with the exception of immigration agencies and departments, all government function should be carried out in English only.

Taxes
*The government needs funds to carry out the functions and tasks assigned to it by the Constitution. Taxes, fairly assessed, are the primary source of those funds.

1. The government can levy tariffs upon imports, but should do so when the cost of managing those imports imposes a burden on the government. The cost of verifying, inspecting and handling imports should be born by those seeking to deliver goods to the United States. Tariffs should not be used to increase the cost of goods being imported in order to protect or otherwise subsidize domestic goods.

2. The income tax on individuals can impose an undue burden on those earning minimal incomes. We believe a flat tax with significant personal exemptions offers the best opportunity to distribute the burden fairly.

There are a few things to take issue with here, but there's nothing to take MAJOR issue with. Everything stated in this platform is based upon a particular LEGITIMATE interpretation of the Constitution.

Here's where I would take issue:

Under LIMITATIONS ON GOVERNMENT,

Regardless of compensation, no property shall be forcibly taken by government for private use or profit.

should be "no property shall be taken by government, forcibly or otherwise, for private use or profit, and property taken as provided in Amendment V, shall not be taken without payment to its owner the full market value of the property and any required expense, including but not limited to relocation."

Under CITIZENSHIP, something needs to be added:

* Natural-born citizenship shall be defined in our practice as one born to two parents who were citizens of the United States at the time of birth, which must occur on US soil, soil controlled by the US, or in an institution under the control of the United States government and/or military.


Something must be said in the section on the War on Terror about fighting to win. Our soldiers deserve to fight under the best possible conditions with the greatest chance of achieving victory. If the commander-in-chief cannot achieve these objectives, then troops should be withdrawn.

The Education Institute suggested should be attended and controlled by the several States, not the federal government. This may be what they mean, but they should definitely say so.

Illegal aliens should not be referred to as "immigrants". The term implies a desire to naturalize as American citizens, which the illegals in this country largely have no intention of ever doing.

On taxation, I've generally supported the flat tax, but the taxation system advocated by the Reagan2020.us New Federalist platform is a much better idea (each State is given a percentage of the budget to fund, and handles its own collection of the tax on behalf of the federal government).

This sounds like a lot of criticism, but from reading the platform, there is no question that I would support a candidate who supported it. Other issues may come into play, but the American Conservative Party represents a HUGE step in the right direction, and with only minor adjustments necessary to "form a more perfect union".

RWR