New Party Finds Getting Started a Big Challenge
By Inside Politics | The Fayetteville Observer | June 28, 2010 (Original Context)
Terry Hardison says he has a tough job trying to persuade conservatives to leave the GOP and embrace a new party.
Organizers of the Constitution Party of North Carolina hope to get enough valid petitions from voters to be recognized by the state and listed on 2012 ballots.
Another third party, the Libertarians, had to go through the same process to become legit with the state.
Hardison, a pastor of a Wake County church, is one of the organizers of the Constitution Party. He said it has gathered about 2,000 signatures since renewing the effort last year.
They need more than 100,000 signatures.
Hardison said the Constitution Party is recognized in about 38 states. He said the party's principles are similar to the Republican Party.
And that's a problem for some Republicans. Some fear the new party might siphon away conservative votes in an election and won't sign the petition, he said.
Organizers for the Constitution Party of North Carolina are going to gun shows, festivals, county fairs, tea party events - the type of grass-roots stuff that requires little money.
The party opposes abortion and promotes gun rights. It also, according to its website, "vigorously opposes all socialist government programs that take from one citizen to give to another, and the erosion of our borders and sovereignty."
Hardison, 62, oversees the party's petition drive in a 13-county region in central North Carolina, including Cumberland, Harnett, Lee and Sampson.
He is registered as unaffiliated, he said, because the state doesn't recognize the Constitution Party.
Those who join are asked to pay a $15 annual membership fee. How many have done so, he didn't know off hand.
Hardison said the state's laws for ballot access and the country's traditional two-party system limits the choices people have when they step into an election booth. He wants that to change.
Many clergyman don't get involved in politics. He thinks more should. He said his motivation is to promote the gospel and religious freedom. He's pastor of Charity Freewill Baptist Church in Wendell.
"I think we have a responsibility as pastor and church folks to defend the Constitution," he said.
For more information, log on at constitutionpartync.com.
News 14 Carolina TV Interview
Posted by Jordon M. Greene | State Treasurer | June 11, 2010
Terry Hardison, State Chaplain and Central Region Director of the Constitution Party of North Carolina, and Kevin Hayes, State Events Coordinator and Wayne County Director are interviewed about the Constitution Party of North Carolina on News 14 Carolina.
Does North Carolina Need A Third Party?
By Jeff Gerber | Letter to the Editor in The Enquirer-Journal | June 3rd, 2010 (Original Context)
Having been a life long Republican, I have seen how many elected officials have compromised on their parties platform for various reasons, including winning a re-election or perhaps to gain popularity among their constituents. The same goes for members of county, state and federal government executive committees. Some candidates will go as far as changing their voter registration to win an election where one or the other party dominates registered voters. Perhaps this is why unaffiliated voter registration is on the rise - a lack of trust of either party.
Although there are still many true conservative Republicans and some Conservative Democrats still out there who hold their parties core beliefs true, there are other options that must be explored.
The time is right for a third party. We’ve watched unprecedented bantering between both republicans and democrats. They are just two sides of the same coin. The solution is to get back to the basics. Just as athletes need to review sport fundamentals when in a slump, its time for America to do the same. Let’s get back to what really made this county great, limited government and personal responsibility.
Hardison Speaks at the Raleigh Tax Day Tea Party About Traditional Values
By Jordon M. Greene | State Treasurer | April 15, 2010
Terry Hardison, State Chaplain and Central Region Director of the Constitution Party of North Carolina, delivers his speech to the Raleigh Tax Day Tea Party. In his speech Terry emphasises the need for a return to traditional values and to stand up for the life of the unborn. While at the Raleigh Tax Day Tea Party the Constitution Party of NC was also able to gather signatures and spread the word about our growing Party.
LaVerdiere Delivers Wake County Resolution to Board of Commissioners
By Jordon M. Greene | State Treasurer | April 5, 2010
Chuck LaVerdiere, Vice-Chairman of the Wake County Chapter of the Constitution Party of North Carolina delivers the Party's newest resolution condemning the decision of the Wake County Board of Commissioners for using tax-payer funds for coverage of elective abortions in their healthcare insurance.
Constitution Party of NC Endorses Jeff Gerber for NC House District 68
By Jordon M. Greene | State Treasurer | April 1, 2010
The Constitution Party of North Carolina is pleased to announce our first ever official endorsement of a candidate for public office which goes to Jeff Gerber, candidate for North Carolina House of Representatives in District 68. We strongly believe that Jeff Gerber will be a true constitutional-conservative voice in the North Carolina House and will continue to fight for traditional values and the life of the unborn.
Gerber has already shown his effectiveness in pushing for the successful passage and enactment of Jessica's Law, which implemented a mandatory 25-year to life sentence for anyone convicted of raping a child under age 13. Jeff Gerber's latest legislative advocacy, which he will take with him as an elected representative in the NC House, is the Unborn Victims of Violence Act being pushed by Gerber's new coalition, The Justice for All Coalition. The Unborn Victims of Violence Act would require that a person who murders a pregnant woman be charged with two murders instead of only one, unlike North Carolina's current law, and serve true justice to those who harm the life of the unborn.
We hope that you will visit Jeff Gerber's campaign website at www.GerberForNCHouse.com to learn more about Jeff and how he plans to make North Carolina a better place with principle and effective leadership.
Constitution Party Lets Its Voices Be Heard
By Jim McNally | Statesville Record and Landmark | December 17th, 2009 (Original Context)
A meeting of the burgeoning political group called the Constitution Party of North Carolina (CPNC) on Tuesday night in a Statesville restaurant brought to mind a famous soliloquy from a mid-1970s movie called "Network."
In the film, a confluence of events pushes a news anchorman to his breaking point, and he tells his viewers that despite the fact the world is heading in the wrong direction, all may not be lost. But the political climate has to shift.
However, before anything can really be accomplished, and before any change can really come, says the fictional newsman Howard Beale, people have to find a fire inside themselves. Indeed, Beale says, people have to get angry and they have to voice that anger.
So he instructs his viewers to open their windows and shout in the most impassioned voice they can muster, "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore!"
The CPNC leaders who spoke at the Golden Corral didn't use those words, exactly, but they did point out the folly in supporting either of the two major political parties that have had a stranglehold on the electorate for the past century and a half.
"We're pretty upset at the way the government is going," said Mike Moorefield of Statesville. "And we think it's time to change."
New Political Party Looks for Support in Kinstond
By Rachel Gallaher | Eyewitness News 9 | October 18th, 2009 (Original Context)
Members of the Constitution Party came out in Kinston on Saturday to rally support for their political organization.
They want to get at least 85,000 signatures so their party can be recognized on ballots.
Their goal is to get it done by 2012.
They say people who sign don't have to change their political party and that it's just a way to support the new organization.
The party's regional director says the party is not anti-government but that it stands for good government.
Supporters want to inform people about the constitution.
"We are losing our rights and once again, if we don't realize we have those rights, first and foremost, we won't know that we've lost anything," said Terry Hardison, the Regional Director of the Constitution Party of North Carolina.
In addition to drumming up support for the party, members also talked about local issues including the annexation plans in Kinston.
Emerging Political Party Caters to Conservatives
By Phillip D. Brown | Richmond County Daily Journal | March 27th, 2009 (Original Context)
One local man’s passion for politics was reawakened after he was introduced to the Constitution Party during the last election cycle.
Richard Singletary was just one voice in a huge Internet movement that gathered behind Republican Presidential Candidate Ron Paul, whose message is a return to the limited federal government prescribed in the Constitution.
“We’ve got to go back to the Constitution,” Singletary said. “This country was founded by plain, everyday people, just like you and me, for the people, not for the politicians and bankers.”
Paul’s “Campaign for Liberty” drew people like him into the political arena after they thought they’d never support another politician.
It was through Paul’s endorsement of Chuck Baldwin, the presidential candidate of the Constitution Party, Singletary found about the party he’s joined.
No longer BFFs: Chuck Baldwin and Ron Paul
By Matt Saldaña | Independent Weekly | October 8, 2008 (Original Context)
In an April 2008 Internet column, Baptist pastor and conservative talk-radio host Chuck Baldwin wrote, "I am convinced that only a miracle can save America now."
"I am expecting God to grant such a miracle," continued Baldwin, a former Florida state chairman in Jerry Falwell's Moral Majority. "Beyond that, I am willing to do my part to place myself in a position to let God use my voice and my vote to accomplish this miracle. And if that means voting for someone who 'has no chance of winning' in order to let God take the glory for whatever victory results, it is the least I can do. So, who will join me?"
At the time, Baldwin was endorsing presidential candidate Ron Paul, whom he called the "only choice" for conservative Republicans. Now, with a tepid endorsement from Paul, Baldwin is counting on a miracle in his run for president on the Constitution Party ticket—which strictly interprets the U.S. Constitution and seeks to "restore American jurisprudence to its Biblical foundations."
However, Paul's support for Baldwin—over Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr—seems to have evaporated. Following his endorsement, Paul has refrained from mentioning Baldwin on his Web site, and Baldwin's name is conspicuously absent from the Meetup site of the Triangle Campaign for Liberty, the local chapter of Paul's national network of supporters.
"There are tons of Ron Paul supporters who aren't happy with Baldwin, who are still going to vote for Barr," said Dana Mazer, organizer for the pro-Paul group.
One local man’s passion for politics was reawakened after he was introduced to the Constitution Party during the last election cycle.
In an April 2008 Internet column, Baptist pastor and conservative talk-radio host Chuck Baldwin wrote, "I am convinced that only a miracle can save America now."