U.S. Taxpayers Party of Michigan
| U.S. Taxpayers Party of Michigan | |
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| Basic facts | |
| Location: | Dorr, Mich. |
| Type: | Political party |
| Affiliation: | Constitutionist |
| Top official: | William Mohr II, Chair |
| Founder(s): | Bob Tisch |
| Year founded: | 1982 |
| Website: | Official website |
The U.S. Taxpayers Party of Michigan is the Michigan political party affiliate of the national Constitution Party. The group is headquartered in Dorr, Michigan.[1]
Background
According to the party's website, the U.S. Taxpayers Party of Michigan (USTPM) aims to "limit the federal government to its delegated, enumerated, Constitutional functions and restore American jurisprudence to its original Biblical common-law foundations."[2]
The UTSPM was established by Bob Tisch in 1982 as the Tisch Independent Citizens Party. The group affiliated with the national U.S. Taxpayers Party in 1994 and changed its name to the U.S. Taxpayers Party of Michigan. When the national U.S. Taxpayers Party changed its name to the Constitution Party in 1999, the USTPM maintained its name due to the political party name change requirements under Michigan law.[3]
Platform
The party's stated platform is composed of 19 main issues:[4]
- Abortion
"We affirm the God-given legal personhood of all unborn human beings, without exception." - Taxes and spending
"The USTPM and the Constitution Party opposes any taxes in excess of the minimum needed to fund the enumerated functions of government." - Restitution instead of incarceration
"The Courts should be required to impose restitution where possible for crimes against property perpetrated by first-time offenders." - Ballot access
"Current requirements for a party to gain ballot access are prohibitively expensive which creates restrictive unreasonable mandates, hindering the voice of the people and the free flow of political ideas." - Part-time legislators
"Improve the quality of Michigan laws by replacing the professional politicians in our legislature with citizen legislators." - Seventeenth Amendment
"If the Amendment was not properly ratified, our representatives to the U. S. Congress must be required to take action to rescind the 17th amendment, so that the election of our U.S. Senators will be returned to the Michigan State Legislature, as was originally intended." - Government transparency
"Transition all investment funds of Michigan governments (state, county, city, village, township, etc.) to public trusts, and allow full transparency of investments." - Right to keep and bear arms
"We affirm that all laws, which support the prosecution of persons using firearms in the commission of crimes against real persons or property, should be strictly enforced." - Environment
"The USTPM wholeheartedly supports realistic efforts to preserve the environment and reduce air, water, and land pollution." - Drinking water treatment
"Dental health in Europe and Japan is on a par with the United States, without the use of chlorine and fluoride." - Education
"We support the unimpeded right of parents to provide for the education of their children in the manner they deem best, including home, private or religious." - Property rights
"As property rights are to be upheld by any legitimate government, it will be vigorously pursued in all of the legislation put forth by any USTPM member elected to office." - Farming
"There should be no federal control of intrastate farming, farm markets or husbandry." - States' rights
"We object to the federalization of issues that belong in the purview of the individual states." - Immigration
"The USTPM does not support any form of comprehensive immigration reform, a codeword for amnesty." - Usury laws
"Any bank, credit card company, or other providers of credit, who have a physical presence in this state, to comply with the usury and consumer protection laws of this state." - Tort reform
"Make any attorney involved in filing frivolous law suits jointly liable for the cost of defending against the suit." - English language
"Eliminate the use of multiple languages on state documents, forms and ballots. Use only English-speaking teachers in public schools. Parents should provide for their children’s training in languages other than English from their own resources." - Social security
"Revise the existing social security system, with the intention to transform it to a true privately managed retirement trust fund."
Rules and bylaws
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The state party is governed by a set of rules and bylaws. Typically, these give structure to the different levels of organization—local, county, and state committees—and establish protocol for electing committee members. The bylaws also typically give details on the party's process for nominating and sending delegates to the national party convention during presidential elections. As of March 2016, the rules and bylaws of the U.S. Taxpayers Party of Michigan were not publicly available.
Convention
As of March 2016, no information was available regarding the 2016 state convention of the U.S. Taxpayers Party of Michigan.
Past elections
The following table details the U.S. Taxpayers Party of Michigan's vote share in statewide elections since 1998:
| Party vote shares, 1998-2014[5] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Office | Candidate | Party total | % of race total |
| 2014 | Governor | Mark McFarlin | 19,368 | 0.6 |
| 2014 | Secretary of State | Robert Gale | 34,447 | 1.1 |
| 2014 | Attorney General | Gerald T. Van Sickle | 30,762 | 1.0 |
| 2010 | Governor | Stacey Mathia | 20,818 | 0.6 |
| 2010 | Secretary of State | Robert Gale | 41,727 | 1.3 |
| 2010 | Attorney General | Gerald T. Van Sickle | 60,778 | 1.9 |
| 2006 | Governor | Bhagwan Dashairya | 7,087 | 0.2 |
| 2006 | Attorney General | Charles Conces | 36,477 | 1.0 |
| 2002 | Governor | Joseph Pilchak | 12,411 | 0.4 |
| 2002 | Secretary of State | Charles Conces | 26,253 | 0.8 |
| 2002 | Attorney General | Gerald T. Van Sickle | 27,186 | 0.9 |
Leadership
The following individuals hold leadership positions with the U.S. Taxpayers Party of Michigan:[6]
- William Mohr II, Chair
- Donna Brandenburg, Vice chair
- Kyle Maas, 2nd Vice chair
- Megan Mohr, Secretary and Treasurer
Recent news
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Michigan Secretary of State, "Michigan political party status," accessed March 11, 2016
- ↑ U.S. Taxpayers Party of Michigan, "Statement of Purpose," accessed March 11, 2016
- ↑ U.S. Taxpayers Party of Michigan, "The History of the US Taxpayers Party," accessed March 11, 2016
- ↑ U.S. Taxpayers Party of Michigan, "Our platform," accessed March 11, 2016
- ↑ Michigan.gov, "Previous Election Information," accessed August 11, 2015
- ↑ U.S. Taxpayers Party of Michigan, "Meet Our State Leadership," accessed October 17, 2023
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