World Affairs Brief, May 2, 2008. Commentary and Insights on a Troubled World.

Copyright Joel Skousen. Partial quotations with attribution permitted. Cite source as Joel Skousen’s World Affairs Brief.

CHUCK BALDWIN WINS CONSTITUTION PARTY NOMINATION FOR PRESIDENT

I was delighted to hear that Pastor Chuck Baldwin won the Constitution Party nomination for president over the very talented Alan Keyes.   Alan Keyes is a good man. He ran against Barak Obama for the Senate race in Illinois, but his being part of the black minority didn’t help him garner any endorsements from the establishment.  He was TOO conservative and the media hates black conservatives.  Keyes is a dynamic speaker with few peers, but (in my opinion) sometimes plays to the audience too much with catchy phrases designed mostly to drum up applause and trigger religious fervor-at the expense of more substantive discussions.  These kinds of speeches play well to the conservative-Christian choir and provide political excitement, but ultimately narrows the candidates appeal by turning away those who aren’t interested in organized religion or who are suspicious of a flamboyant preacher-type style.

In the brief of April 18th, I brought up the problem of the traditional political approach of the Constitutional Party being too narrowly focused on its core supporters–all ardent evangelical Christians.  If the party is going to grow it needs to more closely emulate Ron Paul’s approach by championing liberty for all without excessive religious rhetoric in speeches–which makes non religious conservatives uncomfortable about using the role of government to enforce religious values (where there is no violation of fundamental rights to life, liberty, property and family covenants).

Those who know my political writings know that I do support an elected officials’ right to make reference to and appeal to God (even in prayer) as part of his service to the nation, but he should do so judiciously and sincerely since pushing God openly is a favored political ploy of the most ungodly politicians.  Bill Clinton, for example, would use the name of God (in vain, of course) just to impress naive Christians.  Then there is George Bush Jr., wily enough to verbally support being “Born Again” while maintaining his furtive allegiance to with the satanic power cult/club Skull and Bones.

I’ll take an honest, straight-talking statesman like Ron Paul, who follows conscience in his daily walk with Christ, than one of the many charismatic televangelist preachers like Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, John Hagee, Billy Graham and others who compromise with the world in order to gained access to high level establishment leaders. The personal prestige that gained by such associations is illusory.  The establishment despises religious leaders who seek their approval and fail to see they are being played the fool.

Chuck Baldwin is different than most other religious leaders: He pastors his flock with the whole truth, not just the part they want to hear.  Baldwin has built up the Crossroads Baptist Church in Pensacola Florida by preaching a lot of tough truths, including the proper principles of law and government and ably defending them against all challengers. He has not shrunk from attacking even the acts of conspiring men in high office, including presidents, congressmen and judges.

Baldwin’s influence in not, however, limited to his church.  He has long maintained an outreach to the world at www.chuckbaldwinlive.com, giving his unique brand of leadership and commentary to anyone on the web who will hear.  I’ve long been a recipient of his email missives and can only recall one minor area of disagreement.

This is not mere begrudging acknowledgment.  Baldwin is enjoyable to read.  He always gets right to the point. You come away feeling satisfied when he comments on any subject.  I’ve also had the privilege of hearing him speak.  He is well spoken and his ideas are substantive. His demeanor is always interesting but never flamboyant. As with Ron Paul, you immediately sense this is a totally honest man, someone you can trust. I’ve never heard him trying to weasel around sensitive issues like politicians do in a question and answer session.

I don’t think Baldwin comes to this task seeking personal glory.  He has no burning personal ambitions like Mitt Romney that will cause him to compromise in order to gain favor with benefit-corrupted voters.  For Baldwin it will be a very great personal sacrifice, done out of a passion for liberty and no small “fire of discontent” over what is happening to our country. Here are excerpts from Baldwins first statement on the important issues.

On War: “If I were President, 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. In the second place, the invasion and occupation of Iraq was absolutely unnecessary. Instead of sacrificing more than 4,000 American lives and the lives of tens of thousands of Iraqi citizens (not to mention some 2-3 trillion dollars), 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.

Illegal Immigration: Furthermore, it is absolutely ludicrous to say we are fighting a war on terror half way around the world when we refuse to secure our borders and ports. If I were President, I would immediately seal our borders. I would also see to it that employers in America who knowingly hire illegal aliens are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. In plain language: any employer who consciously hires illegal aliens would go to jail. They would not pass Go; they would not collect $200; they would go straight to jail. By sealing the borders and by cutting off the money supply to illegal aliens, the problem of illegal immigration would dry up. As it is, we have no idea how many potential terrorists–not to mention violent gang members such as MS-13–have snuck (and are sneaking) through our borders. And speaking of illegal immigration, 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 would be no “path to citizenship” given to any illegal alien. That means no amnesty. Not in any shape, manner, or form. I would not allow tax dollars to be used to pay for illegal aliens’ education, social services, or medical care. As President, I would end birthright citizenship for illegal aliens. There would be no “anchor babies” during my administration.

Abortion: If I were President, I would use the bully pulpit of the White House to encourage Congress to pass Congressman Ron Paul’s Sanctity of Life Act. In short, this bill would do two things: First, it would declare that unborn babies are persons under the law. Second, under the authority of Article. III. Section. 2. of the U.S. Constitution, it would remove abortion from the jurisdiction of the Court. In essence, this bill would immediately overturn Roe v. Wade and end legalized abortion… And if Congress refused to pass Dr. Paul’s bill, I would use the constitutional power of the Presidency to deny funds to protect abortion clinics. Either way, legalized abortion ends when I take office.

Foreign Policy: On the subject of foreign policy, as President, I would end foreign aid. I would also end the current infatuation with nation-building, empire-building, and interventionism. America is not the world’s policeman. Neither are our military personnel the personal militia of the United Nations. Remember that President Bush told the U.N. in 2003 that the reason we invaded Iraq was for the purpose of securing the “peace and credibility of the United Nations.” (I lie not; that is what he said.) … as President, I would withhold funds from the support of the United Nations. In other words, I would get the U.S. out of the U.N.  Beyond that, when I move into the White House, the U.N.’s rent is up! They move out of New York City post haste.  By the same token, there is absolutely no reason for us to be in NATO. We should not be antagonizing Russia by attempting to expand NATO…  It is time that we recognize the very serious threat that China poses to the peace and security of the United States. Our trade practices serve only to allow corporate America to continue to invest in what will surely become an albatross around the neck of our well-being. We must discontinue the practice of allowing China to export its cheap products to the U.S. with no protection for America’s jobs and manufacturing, not to mention the lack of protection for our safety. This must stop, and it will stop when I become President. “Free trade” will no longer mean a free ride for Red China.

National Sovereignty:  as President, I would take the preservation of our nation’s sovereignty and independence extremely seriously. This means that the burgeoning North American Union is dead on arrival the day I am sworn in as President. Gone, too, is the NAFTA superhighway. And for that matter, I would lead the United States out of NAFTA and CAFTA altogether. And any prospect for the FTAA would be dead as well.

Gun Rights: As President, I would be the best friend that gun owners (and lawful gun dealers), homeschoolers, and veterans ever had in the White House. These are three of the most persecuted, harassed, or overlooked groups of people in the country. But not if I were President.

Veterans and MIAs: There is no reason why our veterans should wait for weeks and months to receive the medical care they need. It is disgraceful that we would ask our brave men and women of the U.S. armed forces to fight our country’s battles and then leave them to pretty much fend for themselves when it comes to receiving adequate health care. I would make taking care of our veterans an extremely high priority. If I were President, I would also do everything in my power to locate and retrieve any and all MIAs. I personally believe that there are hundreds of our servicemen who are yet being held against their will in various parts of the world. I would make finding them and bringing them home of utmost priority.

Corporate subsidies and federal departments:  On the home front, if I were President, I would end corporate welfare. I would also work to disband the Department of Energy (along with the Department of Education and many other federal departments).

Energy:  There is absolutely no reason for us to be dependent upon OPEC. There is enough gas and oil under the soil of Alaska (not to mention the Dakotas and the Gulf of Mexico) to meet the energy needs of the United States for the next 150-200 years. There is also no reason that gas should cost more than $1.50 a gallon (which is about what it was before Bush became President).We must begin drilling for the domestic oil that we know exists; we must build more refineries and nuclear power plants. There is no reason why the United States cannot be mostly energy independent. It is time we started putting the people and interests of the United States ahead of the CEOs and interests of international corporations.

Taxes and Sound Money: Lastly, if I were President, I would work feverishly to overturn the Sixteenth Amendment, which would repeal the Income Tax. And, no, I would not promote a national sales tax. That would be disastrous! Can you imagine what a 30% sales tax would do to the cost of EVERYTHING? Plus, give politicians a national sales tax to increase and just imagine what kind of percent that would grow into! I would also work to repeal the ‘death tax,’ inheritance taxes, and property taxes. The American people are already paying somewhere between 30% and 40% of their income to Uncle Sam. It must stop. We are bankrupting our country with this incessant and burdensome tax system. In addition, I would work to expunge the Federal Reserve and to restore the American economy to sound money.

“I enthusiastically supported Ron Paul during the Republican Primary season. I plan to continue to trumpet his call for limited government, non-interventionism abroad, constitutional government, and freedom into the general election as a Third Party candidate. I do not expect the national media to pay us much heed; they seldom do. I do not expect to receive large donations from corporate America. I do expect criticism and ridicule. That is nothing new. However, I also anticipate tens of thousands of freedom-loving people from all religious persuasions and walks of life to rally to our cause. Why? Because thousands of principled people will not be bullied into voting for the ‘evil of two lessers’ being shoved down our throats by the two major parties. Because this campaign is not about Chuck Baldwin. It is not about a political party. It is about freedom. It is about constitutional government. It is about restoring America to the founding principles bequeathed to us by our Founding Fathers. If you believe in those principles, join us!”

Ron Paul was right about this movement being larger than him.  But we still need a champion at the head that is capable of inspiring confidence and expanding the movement.  As Ron Paul goes back to Congress to continue the fight there,  I believe Chuck Baldwin is the person to continue the fight during this election cycle and beyond. Remember, it isn’t winning this one election that is crucial.  We’re building a movement, a remnant of principled believers that will be willing to stand as a wall against this ultimate battle against evil.  That last stand will be more than a political maneuver.  Chuck Baldwin has the full range of understanding and capabilities to move this movement forward and deserves your support.  I would encourage all of you to begin the process of becoming acquainted with Baldwin so that you can inform you friends and neighbors.  You can donate to Baldwin’s non-political causes here http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/donate.php.  His official presidential campaign website (coming soon) will be http://www.baldwin2008.com.  In the meantime, people can write personal checks for campaign contributions to: Baldwin 2008, P.O. Box 131, Palmyra, New Jersey 08065

In contrast to the honesty and independence of a Baldwin campaign, a small story emerged from Judicial Watch that John McCain has accepted illegal foreign support and foreign financial contributions to his campaign–from the Rothchilds no less.  “At issue is a fundraising luncheon held in March at London’s Spencer House, during McCain’s swing through the United Kingdom. An invitation to the event lists Lord Rothschild and Nathaniel Rothschild as hosts, and indicates the event was made possible with their ‘kind permission’… US political campaigns are forbidden from accepting contributions from foreign nationals.”  Don’t expect him to be prosecuted for it.