THE INDEPENDENT AMERICAN PARTY - COMMITTEES OF CORRESPONDENCE

[Sharon Rondeau]

I have recently been in contact with the coordinator for my region of the above party. While most of us understandably are not thinking about political parties right now, I believe this group and the Constitution Party represent the majority of us here. In my opinion, the Republican Party is no longer a viable option.

Something that all of us can do now is to contact the coordinator in your area and join the Committee of Correspondence, which is explained on their national website, www.usiap.org. You don't have to join the party to become part of this campaign.

The IAP has researched the impact of letter-writing on our elected representatives and found that 100-200 letters on a given topic can be enough to sway a vote in the direction of more liberty rather than more government. If all of us here volunteered to write letters to Congress targeting specific legislation, we would be part of an organized campaign aimed at limiting the expansion of government.

The IAP does not have a presence in all states; therefore, their official position is that if there is no IAP candidate, they support the Constitution Party. In fact, the IAP is seeking to merge with the Constitution Party. In reading both of their platforms, I found them to be practically identical.

The coordinator explained that the most significant difference is the "Committees of Correspondence." The Constitution Party wants to get its own candidates elected from the beginning, which is, of course, ideal. The IAP, on the other hand, uses the letter-writing campaign to attempt to influence those who are already in office, however flawed they might be perceived to be.

If all of us here and on other patriotic sites volunteer to join the C of C and flood our Congressmen with letters on each important bill, we can start making a difference right now while we evaluate behind whom we should throw our support at the end of next year.