The policies of the American Solidarity Party come as a breath of much-needed fresh air in the stale and suffocating atmosphere of contemporary politics.
I was greatly heartened to read Paul Gottfried’s excellent essay in The Imaginative Conservative in which he lambasts so-called “conservatives” for their abandonment of all that has always been meant by conservatism. Why he wonders is “nation-building abroad,” which is nothing but a clumsy euphemism for imperialism, a “conservative” value? And why is the sacrifice of American jobs on the altar of globalism a “conservative” value? And why have self-styled “conservative” pundits nailed themselves to the homosexual mast? Why have they abandoned marriage to the enemies of the family? Why do they want war with Russia to protect transgendered people in Ukraine from Russian “homophobia”? What has any of this to do with “conservatism”?
I should confess that I have paraphrased Mr. Gottfried’s words with more than a liberal use of license, lest he should be accused of putting his case in exactly the manner in which I have characterized it. I will, however, quote verbatim the answer that he gives for all of the questions raised by this bogus “conservative” posturing. “Such sea changes,” he states, “are at least partly ascribable to the transformation of the American conservative movement, when it fell under the influence and finally, control of the neoconservatives, who blew in from the left.” The result of this fusion of Trotskyism and neo-conservatism is that the very word “conservative” has, says Mr. Gottfried, lost “any substantive meaning.”
The consequence of such a situation is that the two-party system in the United States offers a “choice” between the radical relativism of the so-called left and the radical relativism of the so-called right. It’s a choice between two forms of idiocy, Tweedledumb or Tweedledumber, with the only question remaining which is which, i.e. which is dumb and which is dumber. It is akin to the proverbial choice between the devil and the deep blue sea, except it is much worse. If forced to choose between drowning and the devil, only an imbecile or a politician would choose the latter.
Switching metaphors, we might say that this situation is attributable to the plutocratic wolf in sheep’s clothing, the Democrats and Republicans serving as the seemingly attractive and therefore electable “sheep” doing the bidding of their lupine donors. This being so, we should rejoice at anything which shakes to its foundations this two-party monopoly, what might be called this twotalitarianism. We should rejoice that Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump have shaken things up a bit, regardless of what we think of their policies, though it’s a shame that the corrupt Democrat establishment managed to beat down Mr. Sanders and nominate the horrific Hillary Clinton.
Bernie Sanders might be an old-school socialist who still believes that Big Government needn’t become Big Brother, in spite of all historical evidence to the contrary, but at least he’s not an establishment marionette. Mr. Trump might be inept, tactless, and largely clueless, but at least, like Mr. Sanders, he has no strings attached. They show that it’s possible to break out of the asphyxiating grip of the plutocrats.
There is, however, another way that this twotalitarianism can be shaken and that’s through the supporting of other parties. Even if such parties have no chance of winning in this election, their growth might attract a maverick donor or a group of maverick donors to back such an option in the future. They will also serve as a powerful lobbying presence if they can gain enough popular momentum. Since this is so, I’d like to draw attention to the American Solidarity Party and its exciting platform, which bears all the hallmarks of the common sense solutions offered by Catholic social teaching, subsidiarity, distributism, and localism, all of which are so sorely needed in our beleaguered society and economy.
The American Solidarity Party (ASP) believes that political economy (economics) is a branch of political ethics, i.e. that economics is a derivative of philosophy. It, therefore, rejects all models of economic behavior based on greed or naked self-interest. Seeking to build an economy that is “fair, transparent, and democratic,” the ASP advocates models of production and distribution that are “local, responsible, and sustainable.” It supports “the creation of family-owned businesses and worker cooperatives,” opposing macroeconomic political regulations designed to inhibit competition from smaller firms. It calls for “the repeal of subsidies which encourage urban sprawl and discourage local farming and production.”
Having declared its commitment to subsidiarity, distributism, and localism in the aforementioned policy platforms, the ASP also shows its commitment to dismantle corrupt and bureaucratic Big Government in its demand that funds generated by the Social Security program be used solely for the payments out to recipients, rather than the current use of such funds for other purposes. Nor does corrupt and self-serving Big Business escape the ASP’s attention. It calls for “increased oversight of the banking industry and personal accountability for fraudulent behavior.” It also seeks to tackle the corrupt collusion between Big Government and Big Business in its call for amendment of the Federal Reserve Act, enabling direct investment in public works.
The ASP supports the creation of public investment banks and private credit unions at the state and local levels, and seeks to tackle the usurious debt burden carried by those with unmanageable student loans, advocating deflation of the student-debt bubble through partial forgiveness of student loans and the restoration of bankruptcy protection for debtors. In further measures to tackle the evils of usury, the ASP supports “stricter controls on consumer credit, including limits on interest and regulation of credit-card companies and payday-loan and title-loan stores”.
In a radical advocacy of distributist and localist principles, which tackle the problem of Big Government collusion with Big Business, the ASP believes that “the surest path to really free trade is the removal of obstacles to domestic productivity, such as payroll taxes, government subsidies for cheap energy and big agriculture, and the hoarding of productive land for speculative purposes.” It also opposes the hydra-headed evils of globalism, opposing “regulations and loopholes” in trade agreements “that protect special interests at the expense of consumers,” especially those globalist agreements which offer “favorable trade status for countries in which workers are exploited, and to agreements that favor international corporations over local producers.” In similar anti-globalist vein, the ASP calls for “reform or replacement of international trade organizations (such as the World Trade Organization, World Bank, and International Monetary Fund) in the interest of transparency, accountability, and fairness to all nations,” opposing “the use of international financial pressure to restructure the economies of debtor nations.”
For those of us that are weary of Tweedledumb and Tweedledumber the policies of the American Solidarity Party come as a breath of much-needed fresh air in the stale and suffocating atmosphere of contemporary politics. It will be good for all of us if the ASP prospers. Its voice is that of an all-too-rare common sense in the midst of the present uncommon madness.
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I like the enthusiasm and idea, but unlike Europe America does not have a proportional parliamentary system and such a party would never be elected to office anywhere. We should be happy one of the two insurgency candidates this year got the nomination of a major party and continue to build cross party coalitions and push the major parties in a more honest direction.
Thank you for your article. I am a member of the National Committee for the ASP, and we are very humbled by the interest and energy coming our way lately. We just hope to work to build it into something concrete, to be a real force in the nation, and not to simply retreat into enclaves.
“Mr. Trump might be inept, tactless, and largely clueless”, seems to be your estimation of him. Many of us find him plainspoken, combative, and clued-in (to the corruption in our government). Given the task in front of him, those traits should serve him well. He uses social media better than any politician out there. If he says things that aren’t PC and sometimes wishes they had been better stated, that’s fine also. Of course he is not our Catholic ideal, but he is far better than the faux Catholic politicians we currently have before us. Not being a professional politician, he is bound to make mistakes. At least you do cite the fact that he has completely shaken up the elite donor class who indeed, warrant use of the term “twotalitarianism”.
I also do not agree with your 3rd party suggestions. I think movements within the existing parties, such as the Tea Party movement within the Republic party would be far more effective. A third party movement at this time could quite possibly put the election in Clinton’s hands, which would be a complete disaster for this country.
Now that your fears of Clinton winning are gone, how about joining the ASP?
I’ve been reading up on the American Solidarity Party, and I think their ideas would be a welcome addition to the American political scene. It would be great if folks across our nation starting exploring and discussing such ideas as subsidiarity, distrbutism, and a seamless garment of life approach to society’s most vulnerable members.
All that said, it should be pointed out that the ASP is a truly tiny organization (even by third party standards). Their national convention was held online, and they are ,I believe, currently on the ballot in one state (Colorado). For the ASP to become a player in U.S. national politics will be an uphill struggle indeed.
Sounds a lot like the Trump platform.
Mr Breck, on the matter of immigration, the ASP supports amnesty and a path to citizenship. They oppose escalating the militarization of the border. Donald Trump has ,to put it mildly, a different view on this issue.
Re: 60-million
The author of the instant article, Joseph Pearce, is a write of genius. So perhaps I misunderstand him? It appears that Mr. Pearce is advocating voting for a third party candidate in the upcoming election. An election that may prove to be very close indeed. The choice is between the party of death and a candidate who has built her political career on the bodies of 60-million aborted babies. Half of the slaughtered innocents being babies of color and 90% of their mothers being baptized Christian women.
The alternative is a party that has been ever so reluctantly the party of life and with a standard bearer who has built his busy career on, well, gambling; but a gambler who is the clearly superior moral choice when it comes to the protection of innocent human life.
It should, I think, be clear to a follower of Jesus Christ for who to vote for this November.
God bless
Richard W Comerford
The ASP is also on the ballot in Texas, as per an e-mail I received recently from the VP nominee. As opposed to Mr. Comerford’s post, they are a very valid moral choice for a follower of Jesus Christ.
Mr. TimW:
Thank you for your reply. You posted in part: “they are a very valid moral choice for a follower of Jesus Christ”.
The pro-life plank of the ASP platform is no more pro-life than its Republican counterpart. ASP also has absolutely no chance of winning. However it does have an excellent chance, in the predicted close race, of sinking the pro-life Republican Party while putting the pro-death Democrat Party in power. Quite simply a Christian’s vote for ASP is a vote taken away from the the pro-life party and indirectly given to the pro-death party. Under these circumstances voting for ASP is providing material support for the continued mass slaughter of innocents and is a violation of the 5th Commandment.
It is noteworthy that since Mr. Trump wrapped up the pro-life party’s nomination Catholic intellectuals have come forward with one argument after another not to vote for the pro-life party. Why I do not know. Even the once great pro-life stalwart, Mr. Mark Shea has argued in favor of voting directly for Mrs. Clinton – a woman who has built her political career on the bodies of 60-million innocent Americans.
You and I will both die. God will judge us. Let us not at that terrible moment have innocent blood on our hands.
God bless
Richard W Comerford
It might behoove Mr. Comerford to remember that there are only a handful of battleground states where one’s vote truly matters. Most states are decisively in either the Red or Blue column, Folks in those states can feel free to vote their conscience.
Mr Comerford might also want to bear in mind that the American Solidarity will only be on the ballot in a few states (at the most). If Donald Trump doesn’t win the presidency, it won’t be the fault of the ASP.
An approach that says another party cannot possibly win is a self-fulfilling prophecy. While most Americans take this approach the elitists that run the twotalitarian party, as Mr. Pearce rightly calls it, will continue to laugh at us all for believing the propaganda they publish in the various media. Further, a vote for a third party is not a vote for the Democratic party but is a vote against this twotalitarian party and for the third party; to think otherwise is to fall for the either/or binary thinking the party sells, it is to presume that a conservative has ever had any reason to vote for the big business wing of this party.
It is time that conservatives en masse tell the big business wing of the twotalitarian party that it needs to go. Those that call themselves “fiscal conservatives” will of course continue to vote for that wing as growth in GDP and getting “government out of the way” of Big Business is the extent of their “ethics.” Perpetual war is what these “conservatives” desire as they can write their own checks paid for by taxpayer dollars which is a good gig if you can get it proclaiming yourself the party of “life” while also attempting to bomb the Middle East into democracy, the same form of totalitarian democracy the Democratic wing wants for the world. This in part explains why some Republicans can vote for Clinton in this election without batting an eye, Mr. Pearce’s twotalitarian thing again.
What this country direly needs is its new Sam Adams and Patrick Henrys, but in the meanwhile I’ll do my part and vote for an alternative party, the Constitution Party although I thank Mr. Pearce for bringing to our attention the ASP.
Mr: A. Alexander Minsky:
Thank you for your reply. You posted in part: “It might behoove Mr. Comerford to remember that there are only a handful of battleground states”
Really? Do you know what they are? Do the experts agree? Are the experts always right? Are the polls accurate? More importantly did the pro-life ASP advise its adherents in the States under question to to vote for the GOP in order to save the lives of innocent Americans?
“where one’s vote truly matters.” In the USA voting, like bearing arms, is both a right and a duty. It always matters.
and in part: “Mr Comerford might also want to bear in mind that the American Solidarity will only be on the ballot in a few states”
Again do you know which States? Are they so called battle ground States? Most importantly did the pro-life ASP advise its adherents in the States under question to to vote for the GOP in order to save the lives of innocent Americans?
and in part: “If Donald Trump doesn’t win the presidency, it won’t be the fault of the ASP”
And you know this how? With the lives of millions of innocent Americans in peril why risk it?
God bless
Richard W Comerford
Mr. Kevin Mack:
you posted in part: “An approach that says another party cannot possibly win is a self-fulfilling prophecy.”
In the case of ASP it is also a true and accurate statement.
and in part: “the elitists that run the twotalitarian party, as Mr. Pearce rightly calls it”
Mr. Pearce appears to have forgotten that in this race the Republican elites do not control Mr. Trump. Hence his popularity.
and in part: “vote for a third party is not a vote for the Democratic party”
At this stage of the campaign a vote for ASP or any other third party is a vote for Marx and against Christ. It all boils down to the Ten Commandments. We either adhere to them or not. “Thou shalt not kill”.
God bless
Richard W Comerford
Mr. Comerford, actually a vote for a third party is a vote taken away from the GOP. That’s it. You can’t say it is “indirectly given” to the party of death. (You and I agree that voting for Hilary Clinton is evil.) The phrase “indirectly given” isn’t a sound logical tool, as your reply to Mr. Minsky indicates your counterargument boils down to a series of “Who knows?” statements.
You also can’t say it is “providing material support for the continued mass slaughter of innocents and is a violation of the 5th Commandment”, as that’s assuming what we’re actually arguing. In other words, your saying it does not make it true. In fact, a vote for the ASP is a vote for life. Their party platform supports many pro-life causes, as Mr. Pearce pointed out. You are being willfully ignorant if you truly believe that the “pro-life plank of the ASP platform is no more pro-life than its Republican counterpart”. Their platform is readily available on their website. You have only to read it.
You have made up your mind to vote for Mr. Trump. Your moralizing about it to others who are as vehemently pro-life as you – and probably more so based on your championing of Mr. Trump – doesn’t cause me concern about my particular judgement. I assume you’re an older fellow, perhaps the Baby Boomer generation? (If my assumption is false, forgive me.) The binary view you have of these types of issues is really a view that needs to die along with so much else many Baby Boomers have given us in the last 40 years.
Mr. TimW:
Thank you for your reply. You posted in part: “The phrase “indirectly given” isn’t a sound logical tool”
Thank goodness.
and in part: “In fact, a vote for the ASP is a vote for life.”
Not if it puts Mrs. Clinton and company in the White House. A woman who has built her political career on the bodies of 60-million slaughtered Americans.
and in part: “You are being willfully ignorant if you truly believe that the “pro-life plank of the ASP platform is no more pro-life than its Republican counterpart”. ”
Both planks are available online. I think the Republican pro life plank is far, far stronger than the ASP plank. In fact the ASP plank is wimpy. It is f the Marxist seamless garment variety. Frightening really.
and in part: “You have made up your mind to vote for Mr. Trump.”
No. I am morally obligated to vote for the protection of innocent life.
and in part: “doesn’t cause me concern about my particular judgement.”
It should. The murder of innocents is one of teh four sins that cry out to heaven for vengeance.
and in part: “The binary view you have of these types of issues is really a view that needs to die along with so much else many Baby Boomers have given us in the last 40 years.”
The Ten Commandments are a bit older than 40-years. They do not go out of fashion with Almighty God.
Life is short. Death is certain. And the world to come will last forever. Vote accordingly.
God bless
Richard W Comerford
Historically both major parties conformed to the climate of public opinion and favored eugenics, the millieu from which the birth control and abortion movements came. It was a Republican Supreme Court that originally gave us Roe v. Wade and the “constitutional” “right” to an abortion. “Pro-life” President Reagan, who signed a bill legalizing abortion when he was California governor, named three justices to the Supreme Court, two of them pro-choice. Pres. Bush Sr. named two, one of them pro-choice. Pres. Bush Jr. named as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court a man who testified before Congress under oath that he regarded Roe v.Wade as settled law. Even when the “pro-life” Republican Party controlled the Presidency and Congress, they did not even vote to refund Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider, or take away tax breaks relating to abortion, let alone remove abortion from the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court. After decades of betrayal and the enactment of little more than cosmetic pro-life measures, the only reasonable conclusion is that, at least at the federal level, the Republican Party’s profession to be pro-life is a fraud. I will not demonstrate it here, it has been done elsewhere, but Mr. Trump has also been demonstrated to be an unreliable, flip-flopping, lying fraud and con man. Christians who refuse to reckon with the above and continue to vote for Republican liars and fraudsters, and to recommend that others do so, are going to be tainted with their guilt. Every day we continue to vote for and invest in Republican fraudsters and fail to start, vote for, and invest in, our own genuine, authentic pro-life party is another day of guilt for which we will owe an account to our Maker.
Mr. Ross S. Heckmann:
You posted in part:
“Christians who refuse to reckon with the above and continue to vote for Republican liars and fraudsters”
In this election one does not vote for either Republicans or Democrats. One votes for the unborn, the unwanted and the forgotten. That means Mr. Trump.
God bless
Richard W Comerford
Mr. Comerford,
Where “control Mr. Trump” is concerned, he has at the bequest of the Republican elites, such as Reince Priebus, already toned down some of his rhetoric on issues, immigration for example, and spin to the contrary is just that. If elected he will prove to be a typical Republican politician or both the Democrats in Congress for obvious reasons, and the Republicans also, will stonewall him with the result being Mr. Trump will add to the problem we have in this country of the imperial presidency which uses executive orders “to get things done” and he may well use them more than the current imperial president which is the opposite scenario any conservative who values the rule of law should want even if one supports what a Trump executive order might do. The next president can after all always reverse their predecessor’s order.
On a vote for a third party being for the Democrats, again a vote for a third party is a vote for a third party, nothing else and to say it is a vote for the Democrats merely repeats the GOP propaganda line that’s been put out there for decades to gain and keep power. For Republicans to assume that they should have a conservative’s vote and to say that should another party get that vote “it is a vote for the other (Democratic) party” is truly a desperate argument made to shame conservatives into helping the GOP gain and keep power only to prove once again that it has little if anything to do with a conservative perspective, unless one confuses Big Business with private property. Join others of us in voting for a truly conservative party and we can rid ourselves of this false dichotomy between two evils.
Had you remained merely with the social issue of abortion you would have held some ground but by going to things economic and adding the red scare of Marxism to your case the argument unravels considering Clinton was the first woman to sit on the Walmart board of directors, supposedly a paragon of “capitalism” hence why she’s tried to distance herself from her own historical record particularly while running against Bernie Sanders. Certainly Big Business Republicans love the Walmart story. Also, during the 2008 presidential primaries she visited UAW employees here in Detroit and said that American jobs “need to be protected,” then went to a fund-raising luncheon in Silicon Valley the following week and told the CEOs of corporations there that Congress needs to “increase the number of H1Bs.” To one crowd she is a protectionist akin to Mr. Trump, to another crowd a thoroughgoing “capitalist” seeking cheaper foreign labor. Go figure, but then it’s not a difficult equation to work since she is a politician seeking office, and I might add came from a Republican family so perhaps the apple didn’t fall too far from the tree. The main financial backers of George H.W. Bush moved to Bill Clinton in 1992; that should tell you something as, in truth, both Marxists and capitalists are materialists who don’t much care about moral issues unless they fall under the classes, “social justice” or “private property.”
On the last point, I don’t presume to know what candidate God would want us to support in this election, but perhaps as with the prophet Elijah He would have us to know that He has kept in store a remnant that will vote for a party such as the ASP or CP that truly supports principles a Christian can get behind as opposed to the masses that will once again vote for a party that has bowed the knee to the image of Baal.
Mr. Kevin Mack:
Thank you for your reply. You posted in part:
“On a vote for a third party being for the Democrats, again a vote for a third party is a vote for a third party, nothing else and to say it is a vote for the Democrats merely repeats the GOP propaganda line that’s been put out there for decades to gain and keep power.”
So I vote for ASP and its wimpy seamless garment pro-life plank. Mr. Trump looses. And Mrs. Clinton continues the Democrats reign of terror against the unborn. And when I die and face my Maker how am I going to explain that?
and in part: “Join others of us in voting for a truly conservative party and we can rid ourselves of this false dichotomy between two evils.”
Compare the ASP and Republican pro-life planks. The ASP plank looks like it was written by the Catholic Chicago Archdiocese while being coached by Saul Alinski.
and in part: “Had you remained merely with the social issue of abortion you would have held some ground but by going to things economic and adding the red scare of Marxism”
What economics? Marxism is not about economics it is about power. These days it boils down to a choice of either Marx or Christ. Marxism grants the politician ultimate power without the restraint of religion. To include power over innocent human life. See Leo XIII and Rerum Novarum.
and in part: “I don’t presume to know what candidate God would want us to support in this election”
It is the unborn baby who’s bodily parts will soon be up for sale.
and in part: “He has kept in store a remnant that will vote for a party such as the ASP or CP that truly supports principles a Christian can get behind”
Did you read the ASP platform? It is oh so pretty and politically correct. It would hardly offend anyone. To include jihadists. No meat eating Christian would have anything to do with it. Not to mention that ASP is tinged with a creepy cult of personality regarding its dear leader.
God bless
Richard W Comerford
This essay highlights the very sad state we’re in, and how there are no decent third parties out there that our worthy of support.
I am a big advocate of subsidiarity and distributism properly understood. I was therefore excited to read of a party advocating these principles, and would love to give it my support. Sadly, what Mr. Pearce relayed consisted more of confused and dangerous economics, ham-handed leftism and populism, and samplings of the various flaky and crackpot ideas and misconceptions that float around the political fringes in the U.S.
It is NOT the case the Social Security money is used for things other than paying Social Security benefits. Now, Social Security funds are held in the form of what are essentially non-negotiable government bonds, and as bonds they are debt, so they can be said to serve as a source of hidden debt. But that is a different thing from spending Social Security money on other things. If you’re not going to hold the funds as government bonds you need to settle on some other way to hold them; unless you go with gold bars, it’s going to be somebody’s debt of some sort. Any group that deliberately confuses people on this issue (or is itself confused on this issue) is unworthy of support or attention.
As for debtor nations, nobody forces them to restructure their economies. If they want debt relief, they have to demonstrate that they are pursuing economic and fiscal policies that will make it possible to repay their restructured debt. I suppose this party wants us to subsidize unending waste and irresponsibility.
As for student loan debt, debt forgiveness was one of the very specific things that America’s Founding Fathers were most afraid of. Once you go down that road, there’s no turning back. You have destroyed rule of law and the security of private property and contracts. Why should prudent people who didn’t take on excessive debt be forced, by the federal government, against their will, to bail out foolish people who did? Do that and it’s all over.
And, this group wants even stricter “controls” on consumer credit than our now in place (even though we have very strict consumer credit laws already), further limiting people’s options and constraining our economy.
It claims it wants to “restore” bankruptcy protections, but bankruptcy protections have not gone away. (Basically, they appear to pretty much want to let everybody off scot-free on their debts, again paid for by you.)
Mr. Pearce says the group wants to get rid of “government subsidies for cheap energy.” What precisely does this mean? I am unaware of any such subsidies. What Mr. Pearce doesn’t mention is that the party DOES explicitly call for massive government subsidies for expensive energy — wind and solar.
And, he says that they want to abolish economics based on “greed or naked self-interest.” Again, I don’t know precisely what this means. All economics is in some way based on self-interest. If this party thinks they’re going to eliminate self-interest, they are utopians of the most extreme variety and should be ignored on that basis. As for greed, it is a vice, not a basis for economics. It is part of the human condition. It’s fine to oppose vices, but wishing won’t make them go away.
Besides a sad demonstration of the bankruptcy of our third parties, this is a sad demonstration of the general flakiness and half-baked nature of so many “Christian” and “Catholic” attempts at public policy advocacy. As is typically the case, I don’t think the people behind this party actually know very much about politics, economics, law, or serious philosophy.
Mr. Comerford,
You wrote,
“So I vote for ASP and its wimpy seamless garment pro-life plank. Mr. Trump looses. And Mrs. Clinton continues the Democrats reign of terror against the unborn. And when I die and face my Maker how am I going to explain that?”
What economics? Marxism is not about economics it is about power. These days it boils down to a choice of either Marx or Christ. Marxism grants the politician ultimate power without the restraint of religion. To include power over innocent human life.
Did you read the ASP platform? It is oh so pretty and politically correct. It would hardly offend anyone. To include jihadists. No meat eating Christian would have anything to do with it. Not to mention that ASP is tinged with a creepy cult of personality regarding its dear leader.”
You would equally have a difficult time of it explaining to your Maker that you voted for a party that claims to be pro-life yet supports bombing the Middle East ostensibly to bring democracy to it. Many innocents have died because of this bombing.
On Marxism, it becomes a philosophy of life and thus encompasses many things including a perspective upon economics, or what they might call social justice. But since you care about the cultural aspect of it more and “the restraint of religion,“ which is something I’d agree with, the Republican Party does not show this restraint of religion considering Mr. Trump spoke well of sexual deviants while the convention applauded, and the Republican Party for the first time at their convention had one give a speech to the Convention, again with applause. That is the Republican Party going full on being politically correct. Republicans since the day after Mitt Romney lost the 2012 election have spoken of “expanding the tent” of the Party so I guess this is one way they have decided upon to expand the tent and perhaps by the next election they will go full on Twotalitarian Party and toss pro-life to the wolves as well since “fiscal conservatives” have never liked the “social issues” conservatives anyway. Mr. Trump was likely to get my vote until I saw the Convention and had to face just what the Republican Party is. It is after all about power and the Republicans need to play the politically correct game as well if they want power.
On a personality cult and creepiness, the human race is inclined to make saviors out of those that would put themselves forward as such. Perhaps Mr. Trump does not wish to be considered a savior but many follow him as though it were so, and I find both that and equating the Republican Party with the Savior disturbing.
This will be my last comment in this thread as TIC is a place for conservatives to have friendly and substantive discussion and by the tone of your latest comments I think this thread has run its civil course so you can have the last word if you think it necessary.
Mr. Comerford, I would respectfully suggest that you may be conflating politics and Christianity in ways that could prove detrimental to the latter. A quote from the author and Evangelical pastor Gregory Boyd may prove pertinent here: For Christians the question is never for whom are you going to vote. The questions is always for whom are you going to bleed.
Mr. A. Alexander Minsky:
Thank you for your reply. You posted in part: “you may be conflating politics and Christianity in ways that could prove detrimental to the latter”
Christ has to “conflate” ever aspect of our lies.
and in part: “quote from the author and Evangelical pastor”
I am a Latin Rite Roman Catholic
and in part: “For Christians the question is never for whom are you going to vote”
A Christian always votes for Christ and in this election for the unborn.
and in part: “The question is always for whom are you going to bleed.”
And so what is new? “And you will be hated by all men for my name’s sake” Matthew 10:22
Yesterday and today while on this philosophizing was going on 3-4,000 American babies were surgically murdered in their mothers’ wombs each day. More than half were babies of color. 90% of the mothers were baptized Christians.
ASP has no chance to win. It can however keep the baby killers in power. The ASP pro-life plank is the usual, counter productive, seamless garment, Marxist cop out. Its entire platform is warmed over Marxist Theology of Liberation. It has a creepy dear leader cult.
I think Mr. Pearce is a great man but to publish this article at this time gives aid and comfort to the enemies of innocent human life.
God bless
Richard W Comerford
Thank you Mr. Pearce for your article. I enjoy all your writings. As a Ukrainian American, you probably can guess, I take issue with your comment on Ukraine…. Do you truly believe that the war in Ukraine is because neo-conservatives, “want war with Russia to protect transgendered people in the Ukraine from Russian “homophobia”?” As with Donald Trump’s recent comment about “Putin not going to go into Ukraine,” you seem to have similar lack of knowledge concerning the situation. Ukraine was invaded, after it gave up its nuclear weapons for the sake of its own security and defense of its borders, agreed to by Russia and the United States. This itself should make you, and any member of the human race, condemn what has happened. I myself and many Ukrainians are mystified by Roman Catholics fawning over Putin, blind to the immoral actions of his regime, especially its persecution of Ukrainian Greek-Catholics and Polish Roman Catholics in occupied Ukraine. As for your insinuation that it is all over gender rights, what real major law change in Ukraine do you have as evidence? Yes, there is pressure on the Ukrainian nation as there is on Russia from the “Gender Imperialists” but condemn them, don’t condemn a nation that is trying to fight for its survival. Your article, in its dismissal of Ukraine, contradicts the principles listed on the party website: The American Solidarity Party stands for the sanctity of human life, the necessity of social justice, responsibility for the environment, and hopes for the possibility of a peaceful world. If you want to learn something about the real situation in Ukraine, talk to Bishop Boris Gudziak, the Ukrainian American Bishop in Paris. Talk to our English speaking Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk of your concerns. Speak to George Weigel, the only high profile American Catholic that has supported our Church and nation. Come over to the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv to teach for a year, meet those who have suffered under the old Soviet regime and the Neo-Soviet one of Putin’ creation. Live the Solidarity you profess with other nations and fellow Catholics. We are the only ones ever to renounce the nuclear option, and solidarity with the Ukrainian nation is the only option for world peace.
Thanks for taking the time to share this. God be with you in these difficult times.
Well my goodness. This comment section has made for an interesting read, gentlemen. This election in particular necessitates the unity of conservatives to protect innocent life, so I can understand a vote for Trump, as unpalatable as that may be. The cards have been dealt, and I consider that a wise decision for this election. We must, however, begin looking ahead to future elections. Although the GOP is generally pro-life, it is certainly not more pro-life than the ASP. Being pro-life is not only about protecting the unborn- it is also about respecting the dignity of all human life. Mike Maturen said it best when he said that Democrats only care about babies after they are born and Republicans only care about them until they are born. ASP members care about them from womb to tomb (see podcast listed below for exact quote). That means offering support to moms who have had unplanned pregnancies after the birth of their babies- not necessarily through big government, but through local organizations devoted to that purpose. Their pro-life platform also calls for the abolishment of the death penalty and the prohibition of physician-assisted suicide because they respect all life. In this regard, their pro-life platform is far, far stronger than that of the GOP.
As a Catholic, neither major party represents me as a whole. I believe in a fair tax coded- one that neither rewards nor punishes the rich. I believe that people should immigrate legally, but also that it should be easier to do so. I believe in helping those who need to get back on their feet, but also that “teaching a man to fish” preserves his dignity. I believe in promoting social policies and welfare reform that respect the value of the family. I don’t believe that it takes a village to raise a child- just a family. Most importantly, I believe that all life is precious, and that the only reason to take it is in direct defense of innocent life. This is why the ASP is for me.
I, like many others this election cycle, have whined and complained that there isn’t a party to represent me. But fellas, there will never be a party to represent us until we stop choosing the lesser of two evils when we vote. If we want a party that will represent our beliefs, we have to get out there and create it. If you don’t believe that ASP is that party, that’s ok. But if you find that neither major party represents you, then don’t whine about it. Don’t sit around and hope that the two major parties will put forth some decent candidates. That is the easy route, but look where it got us this election cycle! We need to be forming a third party that represents us right now so that we have a viable chance of winning elections in the future. We can’t wait for someone else to form a party that we support. We are that someone! If we come together, we can get the support we need to have candidates placed on the ballot for the next election cycle….
God Bless!