COALITION FOR A
CONSERVATIVE MAJORITY
A Part of
the Conservative Revolution in America
While the Conservative
Political Movement is not a new feature on the American landscape, the rise of hundreds
(or thousands; no one knows) of new citizens groups engaging in conservative grassroots
activism is. The political makeup of the new activist groups varies across the spectrum,
and most of their members are newcomers to the political process. It is a phenomenon that
is puzzling to the media, a serious concern to much of the political establishment, and
often a misconception to other conservative individuals who have not become involved in
its sometimes-mystical nature. What is most often referred to generically as the “Tea
Party” movement can probably best be described by what it is not, rather than what it
is. For example, it is not an extension of any political party, although one of its goals
is to transform our political parties. Nor is it an independent third party movement, for
its members realize that third-party movements are self-defeating. It is not ubiquitous in
its political philosophy, although it uniformly opposes big government, deficit spending,
high taxes, and government’s disregard for State and Federal Constitutions. It has no
leader or uniform organization, factors which serve as sources of its strength. It is
neither a political action committee nor a 527(c) non-profit organization, although some
of its organizational members may be. What it is, then, is a loose-knit group of patriotic
citizens whose ideological forbearers could be seen tossing crates of tea into Boston Harbor
almost 240 years earlier.
The History
of CCM and the Denver Metro Chapter
The Coalition for a
Conservative Majority was launched in November 2007, the brainchild of former House
Speaker Tom DeLay. It's goal was to create local conservative grassroots organizations
throughout the United States, whose charters would be to reestablish conservative
principles and values among voters in key electoral states. Selected as the first National
Chairman was longtime conservative politician, activist, and columnist Ken Blackwell.
Denver was selected
among the first eight cities to host a local chapter. Chapters were also established in
Colorado Springs and Phoenix. The first meeting of what would eventually become the Denver
Metro Chapter of CCM was held in April 2008.
CCM was just one of
several new conservative organizations that were established during and after the 2008
elections, and found that it was competing with these new groups for public support and
donations for its activities. Despite some initial successes, the leadership in Washington
found it difficult to meet its financial obligations. In May 2009, CCM ceased operations
as a national organization. Some of the local chapters opted to carry on promoting the
conservative agenda, including those of Denver and Colorado Springs. These two chapters
agreed to form a new blanket organization, CCM-Colorado, to perform many of the
centralized functions formerly done by the group in Washington, D.C., while maintaining
their autonomous identities and activities.
In November, 2009 the
Denver and Colorado Springs Chapters met with leaders from most of the Tea Party, 9.12,
and Liberty organizations from around the state and signed the "Maple Jar
Accords", later named the "Gettysburg Accords", forming a statewide
informal coalition of conservative organizations. This new coalition was dubbed
"Operation Avalanche". It has built a strong and viable network for coordinating
the goals and activities of its members.
The Denver
Chapter's Core Beliefs and Values
We believe:
In equality of opportunity for all
Americans. However, this does not mean
equality in results. We are opposed to any
government intervention to enforce equal outcomes.
That a government of the people, by
the people and for the people requires an educated populace.
Ensuring quality public education is a proper role of all levels of government. For
the states, this includes establishing content. The role of the Federal Government is to
establish minimum standards of accomplishment. Quality education must include the study of
our nation’s historical, societal, and cultural values, which have been largely
neglected in the last fifty years.
That the Constitution is the bedrock
for Law in the United States and, as such, is not to be altered or changed merely to
satisfy contemporary opinion or values except through the clearly defined amendment
process. The function of the Judiciary is to interpret the Constitution, not to rewrite or
redefine it. Nor is it the role of the Judiciary to establish new Law.
That our fundamental rights, which
our Constitution protects, flow from Natural Law, and are the basis of our nation’s
concept that we are “free people”. This
means no matter how beneficial the result of a government or societal action may be, these
fundamental rights cannot be abridged to obtain that result.
That separation of Church and State
does not mean a rejection of our nation’s spiritual
foundations. All of us in the
Denver CCM agree that our fundamental notion of “being free” ultimately rests on
another notion that was articulated by our founding fathers:
that each of us answers to a personal authority that stands above any state or societal
authority. Since the concept of a deity is,
for some of us, the foundation for our personal authority, our
members of all religious persuasion accept public prayer, and public display of
such phrases as “in God we Trust”, or “Under God”, because they
recognize its value in fighting those in our country who are bent on setting the
individual subservient to the state.
That the only economic role of
government, other than the implementation of fiscal and monetary policies, is to insure
that markets remain free by enacting regulations, which insures that no entity gains
long-term monopolistic control over our financial structures or over the supply of
products. Manipulation or control of the
economy by government through nationalization, product or industry subsidies, or any other
direct controls over the free market, causes serious misallocation of economic resources. Short-term subsidies to encourage technological
R&D might be appropriate, but should be pursued with great care.
That government at all levels should
be kept to a minimum to ensure liberty and economic freedom.
First, power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Second, government solutions create
inefficient allocation of economic resources. Third,
government action can lead to undue restriction of individual rights and of personal
development. Fourth, government social
programs can and do usurp individual accountability and responsibility for ourselves and
for each other. Fifth, government
social programs can violate separation of Church and State if such programs fund
activities, which are against someone’s religious principles. Sixth, the responsibility of the federal
government to “promote the general welfare” does not give the federal
government the right, much less the responsibility, to usurp, replace or supersede
local or state programs. Seventh, the government’s ONLY explicit
responsibility for promoting the general welfare is to create laws and regulations that
govern our interactions with each other and with society, and the associated rules of law
for resolving conflicts and creating restitution for harm inflicted on society,
individuals, or the environment.
That while we should promote wise and
judicious care for the environment and our national resources, our nation’s economic
well-being should not be sacrificed at the altar of
environmental concerns.
That all Americans have an obligation
to our fellow man, not to our government. Rather,
we believe that our government has an obligation to us.
We hold in the highest esteem, anyone
who gives of their life in service to the rest of us, either literally through the
military or police, or figuratively as a public servant.
That when we as a free people select
persons to have power and authority over us, then such persons are required to maintain
the highest ethical standards, and we expect them to never forget that their
responsibility is to use their authority and power to serve us rather than to control us.
That government should not
redistribute wealth through manipulation of taxes or by
any other means. We believe
that the disposal of what a person legitimately earns or acquires should be at that
person’s discretion, not the government’s, other than through fair and
reasonable taxation. We believe that businesses should be taxed at rates low enough to
allow them to be competitive in the international marketplace.
We believe that the federal, state,
and local government should practice fiscal and monetary responsibility. Deficit spending
by any government should be undertaken only when absolutely necessary, such as in time of
war or disaster.
That the Federal Government’s
primary responsibility is to provide for the national defense. To meet this
responsibility, it must at all times ensure that the means and willingness exist to meet
all threats to our nation’s security, both foreign and domestic. It must provide the
manpower and equipment to be capable of confronting and eliminating threats anywhere in
the world, at any time. It must honor its treaties and commitments, and will not abandon America’s
allies in times of danger.
That the United States is a sovereign
and independent nation, and will not subjugate its interests, its security, its rights and
freedoms, or its economic well-being to any international organization.
This is what we believe in, and forms
the legacy that we will strive to pass on to future generations, just as it was passed to
us by our forefathers. If you share these beliefs and wish to help us promote them, click HERE.
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