Constitution Party Candidates Preach Conservative Message in Uphill Campaigns

WASHINGTON - After a court ruling that eased ballot access for third parties, the Constitution Party heads into Tuesday's elections with three candidates on the Maryland ballot for the first time ever -- and a mission to save the country from ruin.

"The goal is more important than building a party -- it is about restoring America," said Steven J. Krukar, the Constitution Party nominee in the 5th District congressional race.

Neither Krukar, the party's Senate hopeful, Thomas M. Trump, nor party presidential nominee Michael A. Peroutka expects to win next week. But none of them intends to give up the fight, either.

Their message needs to be heard, Krukar said, because "the nation is going off a cliff, and I don't know if it can survive much longer." He and others said the goal is not electoral victory but voter education -- at least this year.

Most political observers said it is good that the Constitution Party candidates do not expect to win -- because it's not going to happen.

"Their agenda is not going to fly in Maryland -- it might fly in the Bible Belt, but Maryland is not the Bible Belt," said Blair Lee, a political columnist with the Gazette.

That agenda includes Constitution Party claims that most actions taken by the federal government -- everything from collecting income taxes to building roads -- are illegal and unconstitutional. Equally important is that voters understand that the founding fathers intended our laws to be crafted according to Judeo-Christian principles.

John Lofton, a spokesman for Peroutka's campaign, said that American presidents who vow to protect the Constitution are "lying to God" when they exceed their constitutional authority, and that has profound implications for the nation.

"That's why you see planes crashing into buildings, because they're lying to God and we are under God's judgment," Lofton said.

Peroutka, a Millersville lawyer, was nominated at a party convention in June while Krukar and Trump were recruited by the state party after a 2003 court ruling that lifted cumbersome petition requirements for third-party candidates to get on the ballot.

Under the old system, candidates had to collect thousands of signatures to get on the ballot. Under the new rules, once a party collects enough petitions to be officially recognized, it can nominate candidates without making them collect their own petitions.

The Constitution Party's long-term goal is to cultivate successful state parties and run strong candidates, said national Chairman James Clymer. He insists that will only happen if candidates spend a lot of time -- and, more importantly-- a lot of money on their campaigns.

"You've got to run a smart campaign and part of that is spending money," said Clymer, who has raised slightly over $130,000 in his bid for a Senate seat from Pennsylvania.

Clymer, who got 6 percent in a recent poll, said it would be hard for candidates to overcome their obscurity if they were not willing to raise money for advertising and literature.

Trump, a Baltimore financial analyst, had not raised the $5,000 that would require him to file with the Federal Election Commission. Krukar, a flight attendant from Bowie, raised $6,400 for his campaign, according to an Oct. 23 filing.