Really? Is that what we’re supposed to say? Honestly, I don’t know (which is why I’m putting up this entry).

Is Memorial Day a “happy” holiday? Sure, we celebrate the lives of those who have fought and died protecting this country, its allies, and its Constitution. And yes, I’m a firm believer in happy remembrances instead of constant self-pity at the death of those close to us. But is the holiday really a “happy” holiday?

I tend to think not. At the same time, I don’t think that you can rightly walk around saying, “Somber Memorial Day” or “Blessed Memorial Day” to everyone. That might get awkward for any number of reasons. Maybe, as a society, we’ve decided to just throw the word “happy” in front of Memorial Day so we can have something to say to each other. Or maybe there are so many people who are jacked up about the three or four day weekend that they get that they don’t understand the true meaning of the holiday and thus tack “happy” on the front of the holiday’s name since they are happy to be out of work for a few days.

I don’t know. I’d be interested to hear if any of you have some thoughts on what we’re supposed to say today.

Constitution Party presidential candidate Chuck Baldwin and his running mate Darrell Castle wound up with close to 179,000 votes, showing even with no ads and comparatively little media attention, the message of liberty resonated with many.

The tally was a 24% increase over the party’s vote total in 2004. However, this year we were not on the ballot in California or Pennsylvania, and in 2004 those states accounted for 33,000 votes. The Baldwin/Castle ticket even grabbed 3,418 write-in votes in Texas, the highest for any write-in candidate in that state.

While the Constitution Party lists their final tally to be “close to 179,000” votes, Wikipedia lists their total for 2008 as 181,342. Not too bad, really. Both the Libertarians and Ralph Nader finished ahead of the Constitutionalists, but they got a few thousand more votes than the Green Party. More from their message:

In addition to larger percentages of votes, 20 states will remain ballot qualified meaning fewer time-consuming and costly ballot-access campaigns will be necessary going forward. This is a 33% increase over 2004.

Many people do not realize that one of the biggest hurdles that young political parties have to overcome is actually getting on the ballot! You don’t just “wind up” on the ballot – you have to actually collect signatures and petition to be on the ballot in each state. It’s not the easiest process and as the quoted message above alludes to, it’s not an entirely quick process either.

It would appear that the Constitution Party made a decent showing for a third party with no financing and no advertising in the 2008 election. America needs a strong third party at the national level – could it be this one?

The Constitution Party strongly champions the principles of government laid down by our Founding Fathers in the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, principles which have been abandoned by our political establishment. Unlike other political organizations, we do not believe these principles are outdated. We recognize that the Constitution of the United States of America is the supreme law of the land and must be enforced.

As you can see, this is a party that is strongly in favor of states’ rights and restoring the Constitution to its proper place as the pinnacle of American democracy. That may be hard to do in today’s society since so many of today’s common thoughts (i.e. equality of all peoples) are not specifically cited in the Constitution. Of course it would only take a normal person to realize that the Constitution implies equality for all people, but who wants to get bogged down in that type of argument? More from their website:

Seven Principles of the Constitution Party are:
1. Life: For all human beings, from conception to natural death;

2. Liberty: Freedom of conscience and actions for the self-governed individual;

3. Family: One husband and one wife with their children as divinely instituted;

4. Property: Each individual’s right to own and steward personal property without government burden;

5. Constitution: and Bill of Rights interpreted according to the actual intent of the Founding Fathers;

6. States’ Rights: Everything not specifically delegated by the Constitution to the federal government is reserved for the state and local jurisdictions;

7. American Sovereignty: American government committed to the protection of the borders, trade, and common defense of Americans, and not entangled in foreign alliances.

There you have the states’ rights listed as point number 6. I’m actually a big fan of point number 7 regarding American sovereignty. No, I’m not an isolationist, but I think it’s time our troops leave Japan and Germany… We could use their expertise, knowledge, and sheer manpower in other areas of the world (like Afghanistan) or right here in our own country! We forget that not only do we have the most powerful army in the world, we have the most intelligent. America could use that intelligence within our own borders.

The first two points and the fourth one are pretty much a statement of what all Americans are looking for in their federal government. No controversies there. The third point seems to be one that the majority of Americans agree with, but not the folks in certain areas of the country. Definitely not going to get a Constitution Party Mayor in San Francisco any time soon! Point 5 can become dicey as the intent of the Founders can be interpreted in a few different ways. I would assume that the Constitutionalists would be in favor of a rigid interpretation of the Founders’ intent. In some cases that might not be such a bad thing.

I joined the Constitution Party mailing list and added a link to their national party and their New Jersey state party to the links on the side of this blog. Like I said earlier, I always like keeping up with what third parties are up to – this country needs a third party to emerge as a real contender!