Wednesday, April 24, 2013

IPR Interview: Joshua Fauver Talks About Constitution Party National Committee Meeting in Baltimore

Originally published on IPR on April 24th. 

Joshua Fauver is a Constitution Party activist from Louisiana. He is the Vice-Chairman of the Clarion Call to Unite Committee (CCTUC). He is also the Southeast Regional Coordinator for Robby Wells’s 2016  presidential campaign. In March of this year, he announced his candidacy for the Louisiana House of Representatives in the 21st District in 2015. Here’s his Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/JoshuaFauverforStateRep

 



  • Krzysztof Lesiak 
     





    Alright. So, before we get into what transpired in Baltimore, could you tell us about your involvement with the CP, like how long you have been involved, what your positions are/were, and also a little bit about your 2015 campaign for Louisiana state representative?













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    Sure. I became involved in the Constitution Party officially in April of 2012. I had begun talking to them in March of that year an agreed to become more involved after the Louisiana Republican caucus as I was still interning for the Youth For Ron Paul Campaign. I actively campaigned on behalf of Virgil Goode after the caucus. I held the position of Chairman of the Young Constitutionalists very briefly and have recently announced my intentions to run for State Representative in Louisiana’s 21st district. Our current representative is a two term incumbent Democrat who has never been challenged outside of his own party so I feel really good about my chances.












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    Krzysztof Lesiak 
     





    Ok. So how did you feel going into Balitmore’s meeting on April 20th? What were your expecations?



















  • I felt good going into the Baltimore meeting on April 20th. I had sat in the executive national committee meeting on the 19th, and nothing of any real dire concern was brought up. My expectations were that things would be normal. I had seen the agenda, we had received one when we registered for the meeting and I was expecting we would follow it and things would be relatively normal.












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    How many people (estimate) were there at Saturday’s meeting? What states had the biggest representation, if you know this info? Was there general enthusiasm in the crowd, considering this was months after Virgil Goode’s surprising under-performance in the election?


















  • I believe the estimate was something like 53 people. It was around 50. I honestly couldn’t tell you what state had the largest representation.I would say the enthusiasm was good. A lot of people were excited about what Jenifer Young has going on in her state and the progress she is making there.


















  • Is she Wyoming’s state chair?



















  • I believe so. Yes.



















  • Ok. So what was the first major thing to happen once the meeting was called into session? Was it the topic of Young Constitutionalists?



















  • I couldn’t tell you that. I was about an hour late to the meeting on the 20th.



















  • Ok, so what was the topic being discussed at hand when you came in?



















  • Don Shrader was discussing party building when I came in.



















  • Alright, according to my article, Young Constitutionalists was dissolved. It was supposed to be the youth arm of the CP per my understanding. You were its chairman. Why was it decided to be dissolved? Was there any opposition to this?



















  • I knew the topic was going to be discussed. Randy Stufflebeam had a discussion about it Friday night. There were stipulations in the resolution passed in St. Louis that we had not noticed to be totally honest. We failed to meet those stipulations. We knew we would most likely be dissolved on Saturday, but I don’t know if there was opposition to dissolving the organization. It must have been done during the first hour of the meeting, during my absence. No one provided me with any details on the matter after it happened.



















  • So what were some of those stipulations? And what was your reaction to finding about this dissolution happening before you arrived at the meeting?



















  • Well, like I said, Randy and I talked about it Friday night. I knew it was going to happen, I wish I had been there for it, but I knew it was going to happen. Some of the stipulations were having by laws and such drawn up by the Spring meeting. Something both Randy and I failed to get done.


















  • So there were never any Young Constitutionalist college chapters being discussed ( I assume this would be part of the organization’s goal)?


















  • We were certainly discussing them. I was contacted by several college aged students who were interested in starting a chapter on their campuses. Problems with prioritizing time arose for me when I became involved with Free and Equal and I know Randy was running an exploratory committee for a Senate campaign, and had the day to day responsibilities of being the vice chairman of the party. I’m aware it isn’t a great excuse, but the bylaws just didn’t happen.



















  • Ok. Now to the huge issue, the Clarion Call to Unite Committee (CCTUC). Were you representing them? Why did the CP overwhelmingly pass a resolution saying that they won’t support or affiliate with the CCTUC and its efforts? Did this come as a surprise to you?



















  • You might say I was representing them. I wasn’t there to do that however. I went to represent Louisiana. I can’t tell you why the C.P voted on a resolution saying the will not support our efforts. I wasn’t there. This too was done during that one hour period when I was not present. It wasn’t on the agenda they had given us, nothing discussed alluded to the idea it would come up during the meeting on the 20th. In fact, I asked Mrs. Joan Castle if anything of any real importance would come up, she said not to her knowledge. In fact, I didn’t even discover that this resolution was voted on until this afternoon, which is shocking to me. Both Randy and Frank knew full well I supported this matter and didn’t even bother telling me after my arrival that it had been voted on.



















  • At least one individual told me the CCTUC was rejected because Robby Wells, a 2016 independent presidential candidate, is involved with it. You and Cody Quirk are involved with Well’s efforts to a degree to, as is Constitution Party of VA co chair Aaron Lyles, who is Well’s co campaign manager and Virgil Goode’s second cousin. Apparently, the person I talked to believed Wells isn’t widely liked in the CP. Do you think that because of him CCTUC was not endorsed by the party?



















  • Being that no on from the party told me anything about the matter I don’t believe I can answer that question accurately. But perhaps the idea has merit, as long time party activist Darrel Castle did announce his interests in seeking the party’s nomination in 2016 on the same day the CCTUC chose not to endorse the efforts of the CCTUC. Though I can’t say that is the case, perhaps it is. I don’t know. Again, no one from the party informed me of the vote to begin with.



















  • The C.P chose not to endorse the efforts of the CCTUC I mean.



















  • Do you think Wells will seek the CP nod in 2016? I believe he said he’s running independent now as part of the CCTUC efforts to bring in people and then come back into the CP. If he doesn’t, Castle will likely be the nominee. What’s your opinion of Castle representing the party as its presidential candidate?



















  • That will have to be a decision that is made closer to 2016. Right now Robby is concerned with getting his name out there and building a team and support across the country. As far as Mr. Castle goes, I don’t him well enough to make an informed opinion on him as the party’s candidate.



















  • What do you think overall of the CP’s meeting? Was it productive and successful? What does the CCTUC plan on doing now?



















  • Obviously my opinion of the meeting has changed as the report on the vote I was unaware of came in. I’m not happy at all with what transpired in Baltimore. I was totally blindsided when I found out about the resolution that was passed. I would hardly call their decision not to endorse our efforts a success. I think it will hinder the growth of the party. I believe we are going to continue our efforts at unifying the parties. I still believe it is necessary for our goal of restoring constitutionally limited government. We will continue with or without the Constitution Party’s blessing.



















  • Anything that you think we missed, that you would like to add?



















  • No, I think that about covers it.

















  • Thanks for your time.





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