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America's Independent Party

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America’s Independent Party nominates Alan Keyes for President

Fenton, MI – August 21, 2008

America’s Independent Party met last night in its inaugural National Convention and chose former Reagan diplomat Alan Keyes of Maryland as its nominee for President of the United States.

A platform was also debated and adopted, and national officers were elected.

America’s Independent Party is being built by Reagan pro-life, pro-family, “Peace through Strength” conservatives who believe that the Republican Party, with the pending nomination of John McCain, has abandoned the principles of Ronald Reagan – particularly the Reagan pro-life platform plank that recognizes the personhood of the unborn and their protection by the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution.

The party also opposes John McCain on many other important points, including his opposition to a federal amendment protecting traditional marriage and the natural family; his sponsorship of the McCain/Feingold legislation, which they view as a direct attack on their First Amendment rights to political free speech and grassroots citizen activism; his long-time support for so-called “comprehensive immigration reform,” which they consider to be amnesty; and his support for the global warming agenda, which they believe will destroy our economy and strip us of our national sovereignty if pursued as public policy.

Since the founders of AIP are primarily long-time Keyes supporters, their opposition to Barack Obama is simply an extension of the work against the presumptive Democrat nominee that they started four years ago during the Illinois Keyes/Obama U.S. Senate race.

Chairman Tom Hoefling, commenting on the convention, said, “We may not have balloons, funny hats, and millions of dollars pouring into our coffers from corporate sponsors, but we have something that is much more important: regular folks – housewives, small business people, factory workers, truck drivers, accountants, executives, pastors, moms, dads – good-hearted people who love their country and want to save it. The Republicans and the Democrats no longer represent ‘We the People.’ That’s why we intend to change American politics from the bottom up, by example.”

AIP had intended to nominate American Right to Life President Brian Rohrbough of Colorado for Vice President, but delegates unanimously voted to table the nomination pending next week’s court decision in California that will decide if Dr. Keyes will be on the ballot as the nominee of America’s Independent Party’s newest and largest affiliate, the American Independent Party.

Please watch www.AlanKeyes.com and www.SelfGovernment.us for further developments.

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AIP Convention nomination speech

Dave Racer

August 20, 2008

This is an historic occasion, and I am blessed and thankful to be a part of it.

My active journey with Alan Keyes began in Des Moines, Iowa, in June of 1995. That day, after introducing him, I sat and listened. I was captured by his passion and his words, as were tens of thousands of Americans during that campaign season.

Eventually, he asked me to become his national campaign manager. In this capacity I witnessed something unseen in my long political experience. I witnessed a prairie fire launched by the passion, conviction, and words of this great scholar, this great man, this great American, this great friend, Alan Keyes.

This prairie fire sprang from the hearts ignited by the words Dr. Keyes carefully chose at each campaign stop. At each place hundreds of people rose up and to renue the kind of America envisioned by our founding fathers.

Dr. Keyes found those great words in his careful and thoughtful study of human nature, in the Bible, in the great books of human history, but so greatly inspired by the Declaration of Independence. At the end of the campaign, he and I founded the Declaration Foundation. And I want to share with you some of Dr. Keyes’ words that he shared at our inaugural event in San Diego, 1996. He spoke of real conviction to principles, instead of blowing with every political breeze. He said:

“What’s not so good is that you can’t just pretend with rhetoric, because our principles have consequences for the great issues of right and wrong that we face as a people. And, in the course of our history, the great turning points of American life have been those moments when as a people, we faced the crossroads. And down one road we could see the future implied by our Declaration, and down the other the future implied by our abandonment of it, and we had to make a choice.” Dr. Keyes made a choice then, and he is making an even more courageous choice now. He needs others to boldly walk that road with him, to face the crises of today with courage, and to rediscover our ideals and be willing to fight for them.

Again, to quote Dr. Keyes’ Declaration Foundation address: “And actually, when we reach the great crises, the great moments when we have to make that demand upon patriotism, then all of a sudden we rediscover that this nation is about high ideals and noble aspirations and a better understanding of human nature than seems to characterize our politics of today.”

How much more true are those words in 2008? Our politics of today, of change for change sake, of hope that is no hope, of courage that is at its root, cowardice, that abandons the most vulnerable among us, and gambles with our national security. This is the time for a leader with high ideals and noble aspirations.

Such real change, changing the hearts of men and of women and of young people, will come with great sacrifice. Dr. Keyes is making that sacrifice. You are making that sacrifice. But it will take more. It requires a pledge of our lives, fortunes, and sacred honor.

There is no better way to end these comments than with the words Dr. Keyes ended his Declaration speech, and I urge you to listen carefully.

“I hope this will be a way for us to pledge ourselves to a renewal … so that we can pass on intact to those children we see, and to those children we shall never see, that heritage of freedom which is our real responsibility, so that, when we shut our eyes in the sleep of death and go to seek the Lord, we will be able to look back on our role as citizens knowing that we did what we could to make sure that this would still be a nation, in the best sense, free, and in the best sense, whole, and true to its beginnings. If we do that, then I think we shall have done all we can do, as citizens. The rest is up to God.”

My fellow American citizens, I proudly nominate Alan Keyes to be the next President of the United States of America.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

The American Independent Party joins America’s Independent Party

AIP welcomes the AIP!

Media inquiries:

Fenton, MI – July 23, 2008 – In a statement released today by America's Independent Party, Chairman Tom Hoefling welcomed California's American Independent Party to the growing ranks of AIP state affiliates.

Hoefling, commenting in the wake of a statement from the office of the California Secretary of State recognizing Edward C. Noonan as the rightful chairman of the American Independent Party, and the legitimacy of the actions of the July 5th State Convention in Sacramento, said, "We gratefully accept the AIP State Central Committee's decision to affiliate nationally with us. We share a common bond based on faith in God and a fundamental respect for America's founding principles. We have the utmost confidence that the leaders of the American Independent Party share our vision for rebuilding politics in this country from the ground up. The California AIP is now the cornerstone of the new national AIP and the vanguard of the historic next stage of the modern conservative movement."

America's Independent Party is a conservative pro-life political party that stands for constitutionally limited government, national sovereignty, secure borders, economic liberty, and a Reaganesque "peace through strength" national defense and foreign policy. America's Independent Party endorses or nominates candidates for public office based on a proven adherence to constitutional principle, not mere party labels.

Additionally, Hoefling praised the American Independent Party's nomination of former Reagan Assistant Secretary of State Alan Keyes for President, saying, "With the complete failure of leadership in the Republican Party, it's time for a new beginning for principled conservatives. Alan Keyes is laying the groundwork for the long-term revival in America of government of, by, and for the people. That's why an overwhelming majority of us support him, and are working to place him on the ballot in as many states as possible, either as a party nominee or as an Independent candidate. The American people deserve to have a true conservative choice in November, not just another liberal echo."

You can learn more about America's Independent Party at www.SelfGovernment.US, or about the American Independent Party at www.aipca.org.

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The citizen-led campaign to save America

America’s Independent Party is THE NEW HOME OF CONSERVATISM in America!

Our purpose? The same as the stated purpose of the U.S. Constitution: “To secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our posterity.”

That’s why we’re pro-life and pro-liberty, and will always unswervingly support a strong and secure America.

Along with the signers of the Declaration of Independence, we believe in the self-evident truth that all men are created equal, that our unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness come from our Creator, and that just government can only exist by the consent of the governed.

We call these “America’s Principles.”

We are recruiting, training and equipping a new generation of leaders – patriotic men and women who will courageously act to implement those principles.

History proves, beyond a shadow of a doubt: AMERICA’S PRINCIPLES WORK when the people put them into practice.

America’s Independent Party is committed to restoring government of, by and for the people – not just in words, but by DEDICATED, ORGANIZED, UNITED ACTION.

America’s Independent Party endorses candidates based on principle, not party affiliation. As principled Independents, we intend to change America’s political culture by example.

Like President Ronald Reagan, we firmly support a policy of Peace through Strength.

We support our troops and our veterans. We demand secure borders and a strict adherence to the rule of law when it comes to immigration policy.

We will always remember 9-11-2001, when America was attacked, the towers fell, and America’s heroes, average citizens, gave their lives to save others.

We are completely committed to free enterprise and economic liberty, and have a practical plan to restore economic prosperity, for the sake of our posterity.

Our nation’s political leaders have failed, because they have abandoned America’s Principles. A DEDICATED, ORGANIZED, UNITED conservative movement, made up of, and led by, average citizens, is the only hope that exists for saving America from the results of those failures.

If you believe as we do, please join with us today.


America’s Independent Party

Constitution and Platform

Constitution

As free citizens of the United States and founders of America’s Independent Party, we stand in agreement with the founders of our American Republic. Following their example, we declare to the world that our first governmental premise is the self-evident truth that our rights to life, liberty and private property come from our Creator God and are therefore unalienable. With those patriots, we understand that just government can only exist by the consent of the governed.

Our pledge, individually and corporately, is to seek to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. We will diligently work to secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our posterity, and thereby fulfill the stated purposes of the Constitution of the United States and this organization.

In recognition of the multitude of ways in which our nation’s leaders have departed from America’s founding principles, we hereby petition local, state and federal government for redress of such grievances, with the urgent imperative demand that each and every officer of government henceforth faithfully perform their sworn duty to defend innocent human life and constitutional republican governance.

Our work is dedicated to our God; to all the patriots who came before us in self-sacrifice for liberty; to all of those who now faithfully serve our country; and to the posterity that will enjoy the blessed fruit of all their labors.

Together, as Americans, let us find the principled grounds for cooperation that will allow us to fully restore moral government of, by and for the people.

E pluribus unum.

Platform

Preface

America's Independent Party has as its goal the return of our nation to a set of foundational principles. We call them "America's Principles." The word "principle" comes from a Latin root that means "first things." America's Principles are the "first things" that our country should consider in all of our domestic and foreign policies.

America's Independent Party recognizes that these "first things" are clearly defined in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States.

However, we also believe that there is room for debate over prudential policy matters within certain parameters of fundamental American political thought and a framework of ordered liberty. We seek a return to an approach to government that facilitates that respectful and necessary debate, but that never compromises the moral premises that made this country great.

Our civic duties

Though in civic terms we call ourselves "Independent," we fully acknowledge our utter dependence, as individuals and as a nation, on Almighty God and His divine Providence and Protection.

We also recognize, and seek to actively fulfill, our God-ordained obligations as individual citizens to the whole sovereign body of the people, as well as our responsibility to maintain standards of high moral character, both personally and in our public life.

Equal rights for our posterity

Because the stated ultimate purpose of the United States Constitution is "to secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our posterity," we recognize the personhood of all unborn children and their protection by the Fifth and the Fourteenth Amendments.

The right to life of all innocent persons, from fertilization to natural death, is God-given and unalienable. That is why we consider it to be a moral imperative to fully establish in law that Personhood is granted by our Creator to all human beings from the very beginning of their biological development.

For the principled man or woman, no compromise is possible concerning such a critical matter of life and death. We believe that violators of this supreme right, in words or actions, are unfit for any office of public trust, since any such violation constitutes the breaking of the oath of office and the ultimate destruction of the very basis of our liberty.

The “reason for being” of government, and of America’s Independent Party

The protection of the life, liberty, and private property of the people is the primary reason for the existence of human government, and more particularly, our precious American republican form of self-government. This is why we willingly accept no breach of the rights of the free exercise of religion, free speech, free press, free assembly, free association, and the right to petition government for the redress of grievances. We defend all of the enumerated rights listed in our Bill of Rights, and, in addition, all natural rights that are not enumerated, as per the Ninth Amendment.

The Right to Keep and Bear Arms

The right of self-preservation and self-protection is inherent in all persons, communities and societies, which is why we fiercely defend the indispensable provisions of our Second Amendment. Liberty cannot be protected if the people have been stripped of the physical means of doing so.

Restoring limited government

We seek to restore the intended balance between the three separate branches of our government, and to strictly limit government to the Enumerated Powers granted and expressed by the will of the people of the United States in our Constitution.

All existing functions of the Executive branch that are outside of those Enumerated Powers must be eliminated.

All spending and regulation by the Legislative branch that lies outside the Enumerated Powers must cease.

Judges who attempt to legislate from the bench, or who abandon the clear principles of our Constitution, must be checked if liberty and justice are to prevail in our society once again.

We demand a return to adherence to the provisions of the Tenth Amendment: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."

Peace through Strength

We believe in a supremely strong, prepared, and well-equipped civilian-controlled United States military, and a bold, visionary and intelligent program of principled constructive engagement with the rest of the world. For us, "peace through strength" is not a mere slogan. It is the means of survival for our country in a very dangerous and often hostile world. Our friendship should be a sought-after possession of all men and women of good will everywhere in the world. Our enmity should be something that all rightfully fear.

As Ronald Reagan opposed and defeated the designs and desire of the Soviet Union to dominate the world and place it under the tyranny of their Evil Empire, we stand unalterably opposed to all who approve of, plan or commit terrorist acts. Since the first principle of America is the protection of innocent human life, any who would use acts of terrorism targeted at innocent civilians to forward their political, ideological or religious aims incur our effective and determined enmity.

Sovereignty

We completely oppose any action that surrenders the moral, political or economic sovereignty of the United States and its people, and demand the immediate restoration of that sovereignty wherever it has been eroded.

We demand the immediate securing and continuous vigilant maintenance of our sovereign territory and borders. We oppose any private or governmental action that rewards illegal entry into the United States in any way, and demand speedy and full enforcement of our laws concerning all such activities.

Repeal of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Amendments

We consider the federal income tax to be destructive of our liberty, privacy, and prosperity. Therefore, we are working to bring about its complete elimination and the repeal of the Sixteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. We recommend that the current system be replaced by an equitable, simple, noninvasive, visible, efficient tax, one that does not destroy or even infringe upon our economic privacy and liberty.

We also call for the repeal of the Seventeenth Amendment. Its enactment greatly reduced the power of our state legislatures and state governments – which are much closer to the people – and damaged our system of federalism.

Marriage and the natural family

We seek the passage of a Federal Marriage Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and oppose all attempts everywhere to redefine marriage as being anything but what it has always been: the union of one man and one woman. Since the natural family is the basic God-given institution of our civilization, and the nursery of our future, it must be protected from all who would destroy it.

America’s Principles work

America's Independent Party is a principled party, but it is also a practical party. We believe that America's Principles work whenever the people diligently put them into practice.

We invite all like-minded Americans to join with us in our fight to restore and protect Liberty.

Truly, this is intended to be AMERICA’S Independent Party.

Approved in Convention August 20, 2008

© 2008 America’s Independent Party

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