The Country Party, which is organized only inside Wyoming, has 2,000 signatures on its petition to be a qualified party. The party hopes to be finished by December 1, 2011. The Country Party needs 3,740 valid signatures by June 1, 2012.
Wyoming is likely to have six ballot-qualified parties in 2012, the most in its history. The others are expected to be Libertarian (which is already on), Constitution, and Americans Elect.
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http://wycountryparty.org/ – The party’s website, for those interested. It seems to be a libertarian party, and it’s founding principles are, word for word, the motto for Judge Andrew Napolitano’s libertarian TV show, Freedom Watch.
The Country Party is somewhat libertarian, but also has much in common with the Tea Party.
If a single label were to be applied to the Country Party, it would be “tenthers” or “strict constructionists”. Supporters of the party believe in state’s rights, believing that issues like education, healthcare, marijuana, abortion and marriage should be decided by state legislatures and by the people, and that the central government should not be involved in any issues other than those identified as the enumerated powers, and that the meaning of the commerce clause is that the central government should guarantee that interstate commerce is fair and regular, and nothing more.
You’d think that many of those state rights would be trumped by individual rights. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, should be the issue, not states rights on matters.
The idealist notion that individuals are sovereign is out of touch with the real world. In reality, governments trample individuals’ rights all the time. The question is this – how do we minimize the damage done by government? The answer does not reside in Washington, DC – rather it resides in the legislatures of the 50 states. That’s what the Wyoming Country Party will be focused on – 90 legislators in Cheyenne.