Independent American Party
National Platform

10.  GOVERNMENT

Function

We believe that to maintain freedom, our political institutions must be founded upon faith in God and upon moral laws and principles embodied in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution for the United States, the Bill of Rights, and the Holy Scriptures. We believe that the function of government is to protect life, liberty, property, and the fundamental and God-given rights of the people, and that anything more than this is usurpation and oppression. We believe it imperative to achieve a substantial reduction in government size and budget at all levels while maintaining a strong and efficient national defense. We also deem it imperative to expose and eliminate government promotion of all principles, policies and agendas that threaten our Constitution including Socialism, Marxism, Fascism, Nazism, and Secular Humanism.

We support a requirement that all government positions, agencies, activities, etc. be held fully accountable to moral and Constitutional law. We oppose sovereign immunity claims at the federal, state and local level that remove government and its agents from accountability.

Bureaucracy

We favor abolishing regional governments, run by appointed bureaucrats, that impose direct federal control on metropolitan areas and undermine state and local sovereignty. We favor the abolishment of all unconstitutional federal agencies and entities which usurp legislative, executive and judicial powers. We advocate and promote the supervision of public servants by the people they are elected to represent.

States Rights

We assert that the Constitution guarantees all powers, not delegated to the federal government, belong to the states or the people. We maintain that additional federal powers are available only by Constitutional Amendment. It is self-evident that no state or local governments can accept funds from the federal government and remain independent in performing their sovereign functions. We oppose intrusion of the federal government in areas that rightfully belong to the states. We favor abolishing federal control of all lands, except for necessary forts, military bases, post offices, etc., as enumerated in, but limited by, the Constitution. We support the return to the states of all lands unconstitutionally seized, acquired or controlled by the federal government (10th Amendment), and those taken unconstitutionally as tribute for that state to join the Union.

Elections

We support the right of every citizen to seek public office in accordance with the qualifications and principles set forth in the U.S. Constitution. We oppose unfair ballot access laws that favor the two-party monopoly which discriminates against all other parties. We oppose the use of tax money for financing political campaigns or political party activities. We favor abolishing the Federal Election Commission, and support restoring control and verification of the electoral process at the state and local level. We oppose any amendment to abolish the electoral college, which would destroy another of our checks and balances. We favor criminal prosecution for vote fraud and electronic manipulation of vote tallies.

Commentary:

The Proper Role of Government    (Address by Ezra Taft Benson)
The Declaration of Independence    (National Chairman's Letter - February 2002)
Platform - Government     (National Chairman's Letter - February 2004)

State Sovereignty    (National Chairman's Letter - July 2002)

By Political Means    (National Chairman's Letter - January 2003)