"An Open Letter from Scott Bradley Regarding the Utah Republican Platform":

While, as a former member of the Utah Republican State Central Committee for the last five years (and for many years prior to that, a party activist), I supported and support most of the Utah GOP platform, I do not support the direction that the party has consistently followed, both at the state and national levels, for a very long time. A party platform, unfortunately, is not a constitution, and is treated by the party leadership less as a binding document than as an advertisement which is designed to capture voters who have high hopes in the sound principles espoused in the platform. Like most sophisticated ads, the platform often misrepresents the product which is delivered by those who are elected to office. If, as is so widely believed, the Utah GOP is as staunchly conservative and constitutionalist as the language of the platform suggests, then why does the party (through those it places in office) so consistently support policies which are generally un-Constitutional, and in many instances even anti-Constitutional? Why does the Party consistently sabotage the efforts and campaigns of genuine conservatives in primaries, and in general violate the framework of the limited government which is essential to liberty? It would appear that most of those who come to hold office immediately disregard their oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States, and even ignore the Party Platform that the rank and file party members thought they were voting for when they elected them.

The problem is that a political party is much more than a platform. It is an organization driven by the agendas of those in leadership and by what the rank and file members are willing to tolerate in exchange for what they perceive as a place at the table. The fact is that the GOP, at all meaningful levels of influence, is driven by conciliatory, establishmentarian interests that differ little from those that control the Democrats. This is why, as was remarked years ago by Hugh D. Scott, the late Republican Senator/Congressman from Pennsylvania who served during the Nixon Administration, the conservatives always get all the rhetoric, but the liberals get all the action.

As a principled constitutionalist, I am fed up with my time and talents being harnessed by individuals who are happy to court my efforts and my vote, but side with the monied, liberal establishment once in office.

It is no longer enough to console ourselves that, by enlisting our talents with the GOP, at least we're "slowing things down."

At some point, every sincere constitutional conservative will have to decide whether to continue riding on the (slightly) slower of two freight trains conveying our beloved country over the cliffs of socialism, or whether to join the growing movement for a genuine restoration of limited constitutional government.

I understand that the latter course will not be a popular one, at least at first. Those of us willing to stake our reputations on unswerving principle will be ostracized, criticized, misunderstood, even traduced, by friends, co-religionists, and even family. But so it was with the Founding Fathers. Many of them lost their fortunes, and some even their lives, in defense of liberty -- whereas, gifted men that they were, they could certainly have found a "place at the table" with the best and brightest of the British Empire, had they chosen the path of accomodationism.

I believe with all my heart that the Constitution will be saved somehow, but I do not believe that it will be accomplished by the GOP, because it is an organization designed to acquire and hold on to political power, not to reform our government.

The Constitution Party of Utah, on the other hand, is designed to restore constitutional government, and is made up of men and women of sound understanding and unshakeable principles. It has been growing by leaps and bounds over the last couple of years, suggesting that a movement is underway whose momentum will soon be unstoppable.

I would encourage you to take a close look at the Utah Constitution Party, and not to rely too much on what you may have heard about it from its enemies.

My only "contract with America" will be my oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States. That oath is sacred to me. However, in addition to that overarching principle, I assure you that the good and sound principles found within the Utah Republican Party Platform which conform to the principles found within the United States Constitution will be embraced, fostered, and practiced by me whether or not I hold office.

Best wishes,

Scott N. Bradley

Candidate for the United States Senate

(Emphasis added)