FROM THE FLOOR

A Daily Report on the America First Party Founding Convention

by Ryan Walters

Friday, August 9

The Founding National Convention of the America First Party convened at 9:00 AM on Friday August 9, 2002. The major agenda item for the delegates for this convention is the consideration and adoption of a party platform.

The tremendous unity of the previous days' business carried over into the opening of the convention. The tone was set during a flag unveiling ceremony which was held when the state flags of all affiliated states represented in the party were displayed in the convention hall.

Chairman Dan Charles gave an excellent welcoming speech to the delegates, in which he laid out the goals of the party - to "liberate" those who agree with our principles but who are trapped in other parties, and to become the majority party in the country.

The delegates heard first an informative address from Platform Committee Chairman Roger Simmermaker on the subject of "Buy American." Roger encouraged the delegates not only to buy "Made in the USA" products, but to adopt a "Buy American" policy, purchasing those products produced by American-owned companies. Such policies will provide for more American investment rather than foreign investment. More information on this important topic can be found in the second edition of Roger's book, "How Americans Can Buy American," which is due out soon.

After the lunch recess, delegates got down to the business of adopting a party platform. Platform Chairman Roger Simmermaker presented the platform report to the delegates. While this convention report will not be able to print all the language of the platform, the following is a brief synopsis of the proceedings of the day.

Party unity, so prevalent during the meetings thus far, did not falter during platform discussions. The Platform Committee divided the document into five parts, each part containing a different area of public policy. The agenda for Friday called for work to be completed on Parts One and Two, and half of Part Three. However, the excellent work of the Platform Committee, under Chairman Simmermaker's leadership, coupled with the spirit of unity among the delegates, allowed the delegates to complete work on all of Part Three and a good start on Part Four by the end of the day.

Part One of the America First Party Platform is entitled "Preserve And Protect Our People And Our Sovereignty" and contains planks on foreign policy, the 2nd Amendment, and immigration. With only one minor change made to the Immigration Plank, the entire section was overwhelmingly adopted. Part One calls for the withdrawal of the United States from all globalist institutions such as the United Nations, WTO, and NATO; strong support of the 2nd Amendment; a ten-year moratorium on immigration; protecting our sovereignty; and a constitutional use of our armed forces.

Part Two is entitled "Promote Economic Growth and Independence", and contains planks on the federal budget, trade, and tax reform. A few minor changes were made to some of the planks, such as adding more stringent language demanding adherence to the 10th Amendment, and ending all appropriations to the United Nations.

A resolution was offered by National Chairman Dan Charles to replace the existing plank entitled "Tax Reform." Overwhelmingly approved by the delegates, this new plank calls for an end to the income tax and property taxes, and the use of tariffs and excise taxes to raise at least fifty percent of all federal government revenue, with the remainder being raised from user fees and sales taxes.

Part Three of the platform is entitled "Encourage the Traditional Values Of Faith, Family, And Responsibility" and contains planks on the issues of life, education, homosexuals in the military, marriage, religious expression, parental primacy, the role of government in moral issues, and cloning and genetic manipulation. The delegates passed this part of the platform overwhelmingly, although some outside the party might view it as the most contentious of all the sections.

The delegates voted to add a specific plank containing support for the issue of adoption, and specifically to make it easier.

National Chairman Dan Charles stated that he felt the language for the life plank should be strengthened. He offered an amendment to be added to the life plank that states the following:

"The America First Party recognizes that life begins at conception and continues until natural death. We seek to remind medical practitioners that when treating a pregnant woman, a doctor in fact has two patients - the mother and the unborn baby. We support the overturning of Roe v. Wade and seek the passage and vigorous enforcement of legislation which protects the right to life, regardless of age or state of gestation."

Mr. Charles' plank passed overwhelmingly.

The convention began work on Part Four of the platform, but decided to recess for the day before the section was completed. Convention duties are ahead of schedule, and the remainder of the platform will probably be completed by the lunch recess on Saturday. Once the platform is adopted, it will be one that our members can be proud of and that our candidates can run on with great success.

After the convention has completed its work on the platform, the National Secretary will post it in its entirety on the party's website by noon Sunday for all to see.

Ryan Walters is Chairman of the America First Party of Mississippi.