Core Principles

Core Principles

The Southwest Michigan Tea Party Patriots is a true grassroots organization. We are not united with a single political party or leader; however, we are united by our Core Principles:

• Respect for the Constitution - Our government is a Republic and we expect elected officials to write laws that respect the United States Constitution as written, free from judicial activism.  

• Limited Government - Government of all levels is too expansive, powerful and obtrusive.  As such, it removes and inhibits individual freedom and liberty.  We support and strive to return "our" Government to its original scope and size.  One which is/was:  less intrusive. more manageable, free from special interests, refrains adjustment to every whimsof the few, protects the majority and represents a government that answers to the people as intended by the Founding Fathers.

• Separation of Powers - The proper role of the Legislative Branch should utilize plain language to write laws, within the scope and limits of the Constitution. It protects the rights and liberties of the individual citizen as expressed in the Federalist Papers.

The proper role of the Executive Branch is to execute and enforce the Constitution and laws written by the Congress, whether the President agrees with the law or not.  The Executive Branch never interprets law nor direct the Attorney General to abstain from enforcement of United States Law.

The proper role of the Judicial Branch is to strictly interpret the Constitution and laws as written by the legislature. Judges who legislate from the bench ("judicial activism") steal Constitutional authority, usurp intent and thus prohibit liberty from the people.

• Protection of Individual Rights - As conceived in the Declaration of Independence, our nation guarantees that each individual is endowed by his Creator with certain unalienable rights, those being; "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness." It is the responsibility of the Federal Government, as defined in the Constitution, to protect the individual rights of the American citizen.  Never to create or legislate new law inconsistent with Capitalism, a Free Market, or intrude on the Private Sector.

•Fiscal Responsibility and Transparency - Fiscal responsibility is the duty of "every" elected official.  Balanced budgets, zero earmarks and transparency of expenditures is paramount to public trust. Budget deficits represent generational theft and degradation of the United States.

• Free Trade and Commerce - Free trade between individuals, groups, entities and corporations is crucial to maintain a prosperous and free society. Intrusion by the Federal Government in the Banking, Financial, Communications, Agricultural, Educaiton and the Private Sector is not acceptable.  Any governmental collusion with corporations, unions or special interest groups is a violation of the Constitution.

• Taxes - We support the movement to replace the current Tax Code System with a fairer, flatter, more equitable system.  Several options exist such as the "Fair Tax".  The United States is a capitalist nation where citizens have the right to prosper and accumulate individual wealth.  We vigorously oppose all policies which attempt to redistribute individual wealth and earned income through the confiscation of tax revenue.