This is a synthesis of Jack’s Center Party Statement of what he believes should be our core beliefs and platform principles

The State of Our Nation

The leadership of our government is in a disastrous state. Our elected officials place partisan loyalty and personal self-interest ahead of the critical needs of our people and Country.

Our political leadership’s behavior is destructive. Their partisan name-calling and accusations have driven many Americans into polarized “tribes” to the point that many cannot contemplate marrying into the other party! Their language is hateful, vitriolic, and often intentionally deceitful.  This can only lead to further escalations, the potential for violence, and attacks on our democracy.  Some would seek to have their states secede from our Union. Trust in our politicians and the institutions they serve is perilously low, with Congressional approval consistently below 25 percent.

Our Country is in serious trouble. Contrary to our politician’s declarations, the State of our Nation is not good. Polling this April showed 62 percent of Americans believe we are going in the wrong direction.

These behaviors and the blame for our sorry condition is equally shared by the Democratic and Republican Parties who are defined and driven by their most extreme elements. Both parties are in a downward spiral, unable to reverse their trend towards more extremism.

The Center Party

America needs a new third-party that will be known for its behavior and reputation as much as its positions on public policy. The Center Party is organized around this principle: how we engage and behave is at the core of our culture.

• Centrist candidates, elected officials and party members know that diversity in thought, opinions and beliefs was and still is the foundation of America. Centrists are able to disagree and debate differing views with respect. We want to engage in these discussions, not silence them. Centrists believe respectful relationships facilitate American unity; and that American unity is our most important strength as a Nation.
• Centrists reject hateful, vitriolic, polarizing and misleading language. We reject “spin”. We favor straightforward and transparent communication. We debate the issues, and not the motives of those we disagree with. We tell the truth.
• Centrists are practical and realistic. Differences will always exist in American politics. Relentless partisan politics that stake out a “my way or the highway” position have paralyzed our government. Disagreement on the means to achieve the many shared goals we have should not result in the end of the discussion. Negotiation and compromise are essential to protect our country, democracy, our freedom, and to get America moving forward again.

The Center Party is defined by our culture, our behavior, and the personal qualities of our leaders and members. We are defined by how we engage, to include everyone in the discussion respectfully. America can trust Centrists.

Public Policy

The Center Party lives in a big tent that embraces diversity of thought and opinions. With that said, Centrists are aligned around the following broad public policy beliefs:

National Security: We believe that the defense and security of America, our democratic principles and our freedom is our government’s primary and most important responsibility. Therefore, we believe in strong national defense capabilities that can deal with today’s modern threats. We believe that we need to be careful stewards of our money when dealing with the Military Industrial complex, but generous with our veterans.

Fiscal Responsibility: Our government graciously helps many of those in need and yet there are still many needs unmet in our country where wealth disparity is undoubtedly very great. Despite spending huge sums in the Trillions of dollars, both taxed and borrowed, this situation has not materially changed over many years. Being fiscally responsible means we recognize both the need to provide social help now and the financial danger that our enormous accumulated debt poses to us and our children. The Center Party is uniquely positioned to carefully balance the competing social needs and tax revenue streams.

Free Enterprise and Capital: We are committed to free enterprise and the free flow of capital to businesses as the basis of the American economy which serves the American worker and consumer. We believe these principles enable innovation and the motivation to work hard at businesses both small and large, fostering job creation, creativity, and improved standards of living through strong wages for the benefit of all Americans. While anti-discrimination, anti-trust and anti-pollution protections provided by the government are necessary to protect working Americans and the environment, the manner in which they are implemented must be carefully balanced to prevent unnecessary costs and unintended consequences that drag down wages and job growth, especially to small businesses.

Immigration: A country without secure borders is not a country. Our immigration policies are in constant flux from one presidential administration to another. Immigration is a divisive subject that can and must be solved with rational policy that will secure our borders and concurrently enable the migration of temporary and qualified permanent immigrants into our country to enable our economy to thrive.

Second Amendment and Crime: Our Constitution gives Americans the right to keep and bear arms. This right is not without limitation. Large weapons obviously made exclusively for military use is one limitation.  The Center Party believes that new “red-flag” laws designed to prevent mentally disturbed individuals from having guns will become useful tools to protect public safety if they are made practical for police to implement and preserve due process for all citizens. The recent large increases in crime are not the result of too many guns, but rather the implementation of reduced bail for repeat offenders and the demonizing and defunding of police. The Center Party believes that correcting bad police behavior requires civilian oversight but not the defunding of police or treating criminals like they were the victims.

Personal Choice: We believe that each American should be free to choose how to manage their personal health, whether that be a woman’s freedom to choose how to manage her personal reproduction or the freedom to choose whether to be vaccinated, not just for Covid, but for any disease. This freedom to choose is intertwined with all our other freedoms, religious, privacy, life, self-defense, our pursuit of happiness, and they are intensely personal such that government should never tell us how we are allowed to express them.

Health Care: The Center Party believes that America has a better overall health care system than the rest of the world as measured by the rapid availability of the largest variety of treatments to the greatest proportion of the population in need. We believe there is still more that can be done to improve our system. The Center Party is committed to engaging all sides, especially doctors, hospitals and care providers, with comprehensive discussions on improving the cost and availability of healthcare to all Americans, employed or not.

The Center Party is committed to making public policy decisions that are guided by what’s right for all of America – to improve the lives of ordinary people regardless of race, sex, national origin or wealth. America can trust the Center Party.