AFR Mission Statement

"Ron Paul Revolution Needs a Third Political Party"

With economic collapse ravaging all nations today and Darth Vaders of the Potomac callously ursurping our most basic rights, the political revolution spawned by Ron Paul could not be more timely. If freedom and the Constitution are to be saved for future generations, this man and his movement will certainly be recorded in the history books as dramatic sparks that helped to ignite the restoration.

This being said, however, we at AFR believe it was a big mistake for Congressman Paul to have run for the presidency as a Republican! In AFR's view, the past 40 years of "big government conservatism" demonstrate conclusively that trying to change Republicans into Jeffersonians will never bear fruit. The Republican Party sold out the cause of freedom when it abandoned the Goldwater movement for Richard Nixon in 1968, and then furthered its capitulation by accommodating the neo-con infiltration of the '70s and '80s.

But this is not the fault of rank-and-file Republicans. It is the fault of our corrupt system which destroys the integrity of all politicians after they have been in Washington for a while. They dare not opt for principle in front of the voters because they fear they will not get re-elected. It's basically been this way since 1913 when Congress enacted 1) the Federal Reserve and 2) the progressive income tax.

These two institutions have given politicians the power to confiscate our earnings so as to redistribute wealth and buy votes. Through "fiat money inflation" from the Fed and "progressive tax rates" from Congress, the statist establishment gains the revenue to relentlessly expand government by promising an ever-increasing array of subsidies and favors to the special interests at the expense of the productive middle class. This has compelled Republicans to ideologically merge with the Democrats to play the tyrannical game of dispensing pork and privilege. It's the only way to get elected.

Most Republican politicians begin their careers with the desire to slay this spending dragon on the Potomac. They imagine themselves as Jimmy Stewart in the famous movie Mr. Smith Goes to Washington; but they soon cave in to the reality of the system and realize they must tax and spend like the Democrats in order to be re-elected. They learn early on that the easiest way to power is to maintain the tools of wealth redistribution, i.e., fiat money inflation and the progressive income tax. And they will rise up in opposition to smear any maverick who attempts to attack their use of these tools. This is why they treated Congressman Paul in the 2008 campaign like a skunk who showed up at the garden party.

Contrary to present thinking, the evil of this predicament cannot be ended by trying to vote "more conservative" Republicans into Congress. Those that we manage to elect eventually cave in to the system just like their predecessors. Very few possess the intellect and integrity to become Ron Pauls, and those who do gradually get worn down, give up, and return to the private sector. This is the nature of the beast we created in 1913 and the nature of humans.

Thus the evil of our present political system can never be ended by trying to change Republican behavior. It can only be ended by changing the monetary and tax systems that lie at the root of the contemptible "vote buying" in which our politicians partake. End these two evils of fiat money inflation and confiscatory taxation, and we end the terrible vote buying that feeds the growth of the Leviathan. But this will never be done by the Democrat Party or the Republican Party because their candidates are big beneficiaries of fiat money inflation and confiscatory taxation. It is these two evils that get them re-elected to power. The necessary change can only come from without, from a third-party that is not tied to perpetuating the system.

Think about it. Freedom activists have been trying to take over the Republican Party for 40 years now, yet Republican politicians get more and more brazen in their statism with each passing decade. The reason why is that without a third political party in the field, there is no counteracting force to mandate that Republicans try to distinguish themselves from the Democrats and work for the necessary monetary and tax reform that would restore limited government.

Without the people being aware of why we need small government, and why radical reform of the Federal Reserve and the tax system is necessary to bring it about, they will not demand that the Republicans change their stripes. If there is no demand from the voters, then good ol' human nature gets in the way, and Republicans take the path of least resistance, which is: join with the Democrats to tax and spend so as to assure their re-election every two years in the House and every six years in the Senate.

No Legitimate Choice at Election Time

This then is our problem. The people are never offered an opposing vision to statism at election time. Republicans are now one and the same with collectivist liberals, and they are not about to embrace a small government perspective as long as they and the Democrats possess their present monopoly over the political system and the national TV election debates. The use of fiat money inflation and confiscatory taxation to buy votes will not vanish until this "Demopublican" monopoly is broken.

The only hope to do this is with a third political party. Ron Paul is the man to lead such a party; but it must be a real third-party that can actually pose a threat to the statist establishment. It cannot be just another conventional third-party like the ones we see operating in America today, such as the Libertarian Party and the Constitution Party. These parties needlessly marginalize themselves because they don't understand the fundamental law of politics -- incrementalism. They both have ideal visions of the way that society should be organized, and they attempt to implement their visions all at once through the political process.

For example, when asked what tax policy they advocate for the country, Libertarians reply that the income tax should be totally abolished and government should be stripped down to a minimal state that can exist upon excise taxes and tariffs. Now this is a beautiful vision of a truly limited government. It would be wonderful to have an America like that. But this is not a credible political platform to be gained through a political campaign; it is rather an "ideal" that could be approached in 50 to 100 years.

The members of the Constitution Party respond in the same way. Both of these parties wish to instantly implement their visions of the ideal in total. There is no acceptance of the need for incrementalism upon which all of politics is based. As a result, both of these parties are marginalized as foolishly utopian. They are viewed by the people as not living in the real world. They end up getting at best 1% of the vote every year. They remain obscure fringe voices, no national media pursue them, no big money flows into their coffers, and most importantly they are never invited to the three national TV election debates in September and October.

Participation in the national TV election debates is absolutely mandatory if a candidate and a party are to change the role of government in America. More than anything else, it is the first requisite of success for a political party. The election debates are televised on the major networks to 60-70 million viewers who then spread the opinions and policy recommendations gleaned from the candidates' performances to their friends and neighbors at office water coolers, bar hangouts, and church gatherings in the ensuing weeks. In this way, probably as many as 100 million voters are reached. The debates are thus of crucial importance, for they legitimize and give credibility to a candidate and his party.

This is why statism dominates our country today. Both Democrats and Republicans preach the necessity of "big government" every election year, and they possess a monopoly over the conveyance of policy information in these all-important debates. As a result, there is no effective counter vision being presented to the voters at election time that will demonstrate both the necessity and the means of restoring a small, limited government.

But if a third-party could gain entrance to these national election debates, then the Democrat / Republican "monopoly of ideas" would be broken, which would allow the counter vision of freedom to be presented to the people. And if history is any judge, people always choose freedom if given the choice.

Until we give Americans a clear choice between big government and small government, there can be no end to our march toward tyrannical centralization of political power in Washington. Butthe provision of choice must be done in a rational way that does not sound utopian and extremist to voters. Unfortunately the Libertarian and Constitution Parties are incapable of doing this. Since these two parties sound utopian and extremist, they never garner more than 1% of the vote and thus never pose a viable challenge to the Washington establishment.

In conclusion, if a third-party wishes to become a legitimate force for freedom, it must offer radical enough change to differentiate itself from the Demopublicans, but not so radical that it becomes marginalized like the Libertarian and Constitution Parties. This will get the party the necessary 15% in the polls to qualify for the crucial TV election debates every election year, where it can then impact policy in a dramatic way.

Taking On the Demopublicans

Americans for a Free Republic has developed an innovative plan to do this that we call the "Two Pillars Strategy." It will avoid the fundamental errors of today's conventional third parties and challenge the statist establishment in Washington with formation of the CONSERVATIVE AMERICAN PARTY.

The Conservative American Party will unify all conservatives and libertarians into a vibrant grassroots force. The key to this unification will be its Two Pillars of reform for our monetary system and our tax system.

Because of the way the Two Pillars plan is structured, it will stop the growth of the Federal Government cold and begin its automatic reduction. Imagine a government that is relentlessly shrinking every year instead of relentlessly expanding. This reform plan will do it, which will easily get the party the necessary 15% in the polls to qualify for the all-important national TV election debates. This will give the freedom movement a powerful voice in America every election year for the first time in over a century!

The Two Pillars Strategy combines radical reform of the Federal Reserve and the income tax system to substantially reduce government, but it does so in a rational, practical manner. Thus it will not be seen as "utopian and extreme" by the people and will not marginalize the party as Libertarians and Constitutionalists do to their parties. This will get the freedom message in front of 100 million voters and allow us to effectively challenge the obtuseness and corruption of the Demopublicans.

Space prohibits a detailed discussion here as to how all this will take place. But for a thorough analysis of the plan, see The Ron Paul Revolution: Why We Must Form a Third Political Party to Win It, by Nelson Hultberg (on our Home Page). It explains in layman's language how the Two Pillars Strategy of monetary reform and tax reform will work and why such a plan is the only hope to stop our relentless march toward tyrannical government.

There is a massive groundswell of Americans out there that now senses an alternative political vision must be formed. To give the reader a hint of what the Conservative American Party and its Two Pillars Strategy will create, imagine America with zero percent inflation every year, a totally neutered Fed that can no longer debase the currency, a simplified 10% flat tax that no longer redistributes wealth and can be figured in ten minutes every April, millions of jobs coming back from overseas, and capital flowing into America from all over the world to recharge our sputtering economy.

AFR's third-party strategy will bring this about. It is big time, TV oriented, major league politics that will rock the nation and make history. Millions of voters will rally around such a cause. At least 15%-20% of the American people are thoroughly fed up and will firmly commit to the Two Pillars of reform for the Federal Reserve and the income tax. Americans want a prudent, rational program that will offer them freedom, order, and justice in their lives. They want a party that will end Washington's relentless expansion and domination of our society.

The Conservative American Party (if led by the right candidate) will have a huge, galvanizing appeal, which will allow it to bring in major money and capture 15%-20% of the vote in 2012, then 35% in 2016 and victory in a three-man race. The Demopublican establishment's corrupt game of buying votes through debasement of the currency and confiscatory taxation will be over. Big government will die, and freedom will be reborn.

Help Spread the Word

If you the reader are fed up with both the Democrats and Republicans, and if you are in agreement with what has been said here, we need your support. Make others aware of our cause. Email our home page to everyone you know.

Then take the next step. Purchase a copy of The Ron Paul Revolution: Why We Must Form a Third Political Party to Win It. Become conversant with its ideas and spread them to your friends and neighbors. It shows how we can restore the country to what she was meant to be. All Americans will find a powerful inspiration and hope for the future in its message. Click here to read a review of the book