It has now been more than one month since the Fall General Election and, hopefully, most of us have taken some time to "decompress" and relax just a little from the pressure of the campaign season. But don't get too comfortable! Those who oppose us are not taking a holiday by any means!

Our Presidential/Vice-Presidential ticket ran a marvelous campaign this year. Michael Peroutka and Chuck Baldwin represented our Party and our Platform in a very honorable and honest manner. Nationwide, votes for the Constitution Party's ticket rose by nearly 40% compared to the 2000 ticket! That is significant growth - especially when one considers we received virtually NO media "help" whatsoever. Other minor parties saw their percentages remain the same or even fade.

As far as Wisconsin is concerned, our totals were down from what they might have been due to the clerical error that kept Michael's and Chuck's names off our ballots. But they were still in the race as write-in candidates and did quite well. We are still deciphering what the exact numbers were since the counties apparently combined all write-in votes together and submitted them to the WSEB as "scattering". We are working to learn the accurate vote totals for Peroutka/Baldwin and will report them out in a later mailing.

Our next challenge is getting prepared for the Spring General Elections. It is extremely important that we seize upon the energy and optimism generated by the Fall campaigns to propel us forward. Typically, the election that follows a hard-fought National effort is a difficult one. People are tired; some are yet dealing with various disappointments; others are just plain discouraged. All of these responses are what the enemies of freedom are counting on. The best way to defeat any army is to let them defeat themselves.

But we must pick up and go on! The offices that are available to us this Spring are important LOCAL offices where we can exercise our values and principles amongst our friends and neighbors. At our recent National Committee Meeting in Nashville, Franklin Sanders (one of our guest speakers) challenged us to get out there and serve our communities by seeking, obtaining and holding LOCAL public office. His logic was sound: we must win the hearts of our fellow citizens before we can really ever win their heads (aka votes, support, etc). We must demonstrate that we are not a collection of wild-eyed, extremist "nuts" who wish to force upon them some terrible doctrine or public policy. Remember, we must do our duty before God and man.

How many of you have already taken out nomination papers for the city council, village board, town board, school board, or county board seats that are up for election in April? The time is now! These papers must be completed and returned to the appropriate clerk's office by 5 pm on January 4th. We need you to run for these offices in your community - where people know you and need your principled influence in the public square. If you have already decided to run for one of these offices, please let us know so we can support your campaign. If you have not, please give serious, immediate consideration to the idea and - hopefully - get those papers in circulation!

'Tis the time of the year to renew your CPoW membership. A 2005 membership application has been included for your convenience (green sheet). We have not altered the dues structure for 2005 but have added a few new areas that we believe will be helpful to the fight to Restore the Republic. One item of special interest is our new LIBERTY CLUB. We want to use this club as a means to encourage friends and members to financially support the CPoW on a regular (monthly) basis. More details will follow in our next mailing. For now, it is very important to us that we begin to receive completed 2005 membership forms.

As we close out another year, let us count our many blessings. We still live in freedom (although this is being challenged every day). We have the privilege to still have our voices heard in the public square (although not with any help from the "fourth estate"). We still have the ability to worship our God and Creator as our consciences dictate (although those who push hard for "tolerance" would have it otherwise). As we celebrate (and I hope you do CELEBRATE!) the arrival of God's wondrous gift to mankind, let us re-commit ourselves to doing all we can to honor Him in every aspect of our lives. Have a wonderful Christmas and a blessed New Year!

For God, Family, Republic,

Randy W. Hamby
Chairman