Very Important Coming Event

With the political events of this week unfolding, many people are asking, "Who can we trust any more?" The CPMN has never wavered in it's allegiance to high ideals and constitutional principles. We are not, nor have we ever been influenced by elite insiders for political expediency. We may see more people come out for our convention than we have ever seen before. This is the event you won't want to miss!





News from CPMN Chair Tammy Houle

Aristotle said, "A truly ethical life can only be lived by someone who participates in the political process." This could be paraphrased as, "It is not ethical to abdicate your responsibility to someone else."

Louis Brandise said, "The most important political position is that of the private citizen." The founders of our nation gave us a representative republic which is to be governed of the people, by the people, and for the people. We, friends, are those people. The time is here for each one of us to step up and do our part.

On May 8th, the CPMN will be hosting our 2010 Endorsing Convention at the Brookdale Public Library. We are thrilled with anticipation about the men who have stepped forward to seek our endorsement for the Minnesota Senate and House and US Congress. But it will all be of no avail if they are unable to meet the qualifications to be on the ballot next November. State statute requires that candidates for Minnesota Senate and House districts get 500 signatures between May 18th and June 1st. Candidates for US Congress must get 1,000 signatures on petitions for the Secretary of State during that same time period. The signatures have to come from eligible voters within the district where the candidate is running.

These courageous men of valor and integrity who are willing take the high road and run for office outside of the "big-box" two-party system need our support. We must help them get the signatures necessary to be on the ballot. And it's not as hard a job as one might think. After having done it every two years, here are some tips we have learned through experience.

First of all, the idea is to catch people in good spirits, and go where there are lots of them. In the past, parades have been very good settings to collect signatures since there are many people sitting idle for a good hour before the procession starts. However, since the petitioning period has been moved up this year from July (when there are lots of parades) to May, we will need to think of other types of events to target. Athletic events, like baseball and soccer games, may be good venues as long as we don't disturb anyone during the action, only between innings or periods. Another place that we should be able to seek and get assistance is at churches. If we approach the pastor ahead of time and ask him for permission to greet people after services, perhaps he will even be willing to make an announcement for us to alert the people in the congregation.

When you go out to approach people, dress comfortably but conservatively. People will sign a petition just because you ask them to if you seem like a nice enough person. Petitioning is not a time when we are trying to get our message out. We are on a mission to get as many signatures as possible. There will be other times to discuss issues. For those who are interested in our views, we can hand them a CPMN business card.

A simple way to make your request is to say, "May I have just a minute or two of your time? I promise this won't take long. I would like to offer the voters of Minnesota more choices when they go to the polls in November by getting a third party candidate on the ballot. According to state statute, the candidate has to get ____ signatures on a petition to qualify. Will you consider signing his petition? Your signature does not indicate support for the candidate or party. The petition goes directly to the Secretary of State to be counted. The names won't be on any mailing list, nor will you receive any phone calls. Would you be willing to help?"

It works best to have the petitions on a clipboard or heavy cardboard with large rubber bands to hold the papers stationary. Actually having multiple boards with many copies of the petition on each is best. You can often explain the request once and yet circulate many petitions at one time to a group of people. It's important to keep many pens on hand, so that if one runs out of ink, you are not left without any writing instrument.

On a fresh petition sheet, watch the first signature carefully to ensure it is complete. People will cut corners which can invalidate the sheet. They tend to do what has been done before. If the first line is filled out correctly, chances are the whole page will be complete.

As soon as the candidates have been endorsed on May 8th, we will send out an email alert with copies of the petitions in an attachment for you to print copies. We will have a detailed map as to where the candidates' district lines lie, so you can go to their respective districts to help. We will also have a collection time and location for each candidate so they can have all petitions in hand when they go into the Secretary of State on June 1. It is critical for those who believe in constitutional government to do all they can in this effort. If you have questions or suggestions please feel free to call me at 507-644-3183.



Editorial - How Much Does Government Cost YOU?

Most people don’t think about how much they pay for their government, because the money is generally taken out of paychecks a little at a time and forwarded directly to the government. Basically it’s out of sight and out of mind. Many are naïve enough to think they don’t pay for the cost of government, because they get a refund at year’s end.

Take a few minutes to understand the cost of government, not just in trillions of dollars that we hear about on the nightly news, but your individual cost. Get out your W-2 forms and property tax statements and fill in the blanks below. You’ll likely be shocked when you get your total! If you don’t have five years of statements, do one year and multiply by five for a fairly close approximation of your share.

2005
2006
2007
2008
2009

Got your answer? That’s actually just part of your cost for government, and now you know why they take it a little bit at a time. If people had to write a check for all this at the end of the year, then things would probably change pretty quickly.

Debt is a very large problem in this country. Wouldn’t you have enjoyed that money to pay off your mortgage? How about credit cards? Maybe this would have been good to add to your retirement account. Perhaps you would have liked to donate it to your favorite charity or church.

This editorial is about how much your government costs YOU, but if you’d like to take the exercise further, multiply your five year total by the number of homes on your street or block.

Have you reached millions of dollars yet? How much would this money have helped you or your neighbors to do that new roof or driveway? How about some landscaping? Are there other projects that might keep your neighborhood from deteriorating?

Now, back to just your cost. Did you know that you personally pay for tax increases on businesses? The reason is because businesses don’t pay taxes – THEY COLLECT TAXES. “What!” you say. You read correctly. When government taxes businesses, the cost of those taxes is added to the cost of the product or service they offer. Then you pay those taxes when you purchase from them. I don’t know what percentage of a product’s price would be taxes, but considering how many business taxes and government requirements there are, I’ll bet it’s a substantial percentage. Now add sales tax you pay when you purchase their product.

When you start to get an idea of what kind of money we’re talking about, consider that Democrats and Republicans have spent ALL of it and put many trillions more dollars on the credit card to be paid later. The parasitical nature of government is to suck you dry financially and bring you into the collective. Anything goes as long as they keep power and keep growing. If you and everyone else in America still had those dollars the government steals from you, imagine what you might do. Imagine how our economy would work if all that money could be put to productive use instead of being used to create more tax eating government agencies and employees who will create even more to justify their existence.

The Constitution Party was founded to limit the federal government to its constitutional boundaries and to restore civil government to the principles our country was founded upon. Perhaps if CP candidates and like minded people would get elected, the next time you fill out that chart above, the numbers will be a little more in your favor.

Other Items of Interest
(The For Whatever It’s Worth Section)

Will this article make you mad or make you cheer? Either way, it will hopefully be food for thought. What if the shoe was on the other foot?
http://www.lewrockwell.com/barnett/barnett22.1.html

Why does Switzerland have the lowest crime rate in the world? This video would be back-up for the Constitution Party’s stance on the second amendment to the Constitution of the United States.



What Can You Do?

One of the common questions asked by people getting involved with the Constitution Party is, “What can I do for the party?” One of the major ways to help is to make the party known. The more people who see the Constitution Party, the more comfortable they will be coming on board.

With this in mind, you should see a second attachment to this e-mail which is a PDF format, two sided “Slim Jim” brochure. These can be printed for little cost and distributed in many ways. Can you afford a ream of paper and some ink or toner? That would be 1500 Slim Jims to pass out introducing people to the Constitution Party. Now you know at least one thing you can do.

Editor’s Notes

Comments by authors in this newsletter are not necessarily the policies or viewpoints of the Constitution Party of Minnesota. If you receive this newsletter by Post Mail and can receive it by e-mail, please contact me at cpmn@peoplepc.com. Contributions to the party may be made by sending a check to CPMN, 36235 US Hwy 71, Redwood Falls, MN 56283 or online at http://www.cpmn.org. Anyone desiring to be added to or removed from the mailing list, please send a message to cpmn@peoplepc.com or CPMN, 10142 Boone Circle, Bloomington, MN 55438

Letters to the Editor of 200 words or less may be submitted for publication by the 20th of the preceding month to the above address. Letters must include name, city, state and a way to contact you. Please also write: “Letters to the Editor” in the subject line.

Published monthly by the Constitution Party of Minnesota, 36235 US Hwy 71, Redwood Falls, MN 56283

Tammy Houle, Chair dthoule@redred.com
Wayne Zimmerschied, Vice Chair zimmwayne@yahoo.com
Vivian Krech, Secretary loukrech@comcast.net
Leo Heinze, Treasurer cpmn@embarqmail.com
Stephen White, Newsletter Editor cpmn@peoplepc.com


The Constitution Party of Minnesota does not accept tax money and does not participate in the Minnesota Personal Refund Program. Therefore, your support is very important to growing this party and pursuing restoration of freedom.
Please support the party as you are able!
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