The official positions of the Constitution Party are stated in its platform. Articles and transcripts in this newsroom contain the opinions of the authors and are not necessarily to be construed as representing the official positions of the Constitution Party.

Lancaster, PA: As part of the $787 billion redistribution of wealth, tax–and- borrow plot hatched in Washington last week, Americans who already pay hefty fees for broadband will now be on the hook for $7.2 billion to pay for their country neighbors’ internet access.

The Constitution Party, the fastest- growing third party in America reminds Americans that the Constitution does not allow federal domestic aid.

The party, which calls for a return to limited, Constitutional government, a genuinely free marketplace and individual liberty says Americans will not prosper as long as government forces them to pay for everyone else’s “wants.”

The “stimulus” package contains plans for a dog park in California, two dog parks in Maine, a convention center in Texas, a little league park in Puerto Rico and a bike trail in Indiana.

“Certainly it could be argued that all of these are desirable and worthy projects. But taking money from other Americans to fund these projects is not only morally wrong, it is Constitutionally wrong. Individual liberty ends when money is forcibly siphoned from hard working taxpayers to pay for ‘equalizing’ other people’s lifestyles,” said Constitution Party National Chairman Jim Clymer.

“This is exactly the kind of federal meddling that got us into this economic mess,” he observed.

Clymer, an attorney in private practice who has defended individual rights cases, added, “A closer look at this ploy shows it’s little more than payback for big corporations. Big telecommunication companies like Verizon lobbied successfully to insert language in the provision that makes competition by the little guys impossible.”

Clymer referred to requirements that those winning federal grants to bring broadband to “underserved” rural areas must not be sole proprietorships like small ISPs which operate in most rural areas. The bill states that only “telephone” companies and large cable carriers can access the pork in this bill. “We’re seeing business as usual in Washington,” he further noted.

“This is what happened with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac which came to rely on government guarantees against loss. The federal government forced these entities into making loans to unqualified buyers. And as we’ve seen, when it cajoles industries into “doing good” with these types of incentives we get a convoluted mix of politics and business and it does not work,” Clymer said.

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