Chuck Baldwin

Baldwin was born in La Porte, Indiana on May 3, 1952, to Edwin J. "Ed" Baldwin and his second wife, Ruth. Baldwin graduated from La Porte High School in 1971 and attended Midwestern Baptist College in Pontiac, Michigan, for two years. He met Connie Kay Cole there and married her on June 2, 1973. Though he originally had planned on a career in law enforcement, Baldwin felt called to evangelistic ministry; He additionally received bachelor's and master's degrees in theology through correspondence programs from Christian Bible College of Rocky Mount, North Carolina. ==Ministry==

On June 22, 1975, Chuck and Connie Baldwin and four other individuals held the first meeting of what would become the Crossroad Baptist Church in Pensacola, Florida; Baldwin was the founding pastor. According to the SPLC, "He preached an anti-abortion, anti-gay, fundamentalist gospel, and the church grew rapidly. It became a Christian evangelical Mecca, complete with a mock graveyard that honored aborted fetuses." By 1985, the church had gone through repeated building programs and been recognized by President Ronald Reagan for its unusual growth and influence. ==Political activity==

Prior to joining the Republican Party in 1980, Baldwin had been a registered Democrat, like his father. In August 1994, Baldwin had a call-in radio show on the Christian Patriot Network. He considered himself an independent affiliated with the Constitution Party. In 2006, Baldwin said his only organizational memberships were in his church, the Constitution Party, Gun Owners of America, and the National Rifle Association of America. women in the military, and the Iraq War, and emphasized the Bible, traditional family values, and the need for Constitutionally limited government. According to Political Research Associates, "Peroutka’s 2004 failed presidential campaign was well-known for touting conspiratorial claims". the League of the South (accepted by Peroutka at its 2004 national convention), the Southern Party of Georgia, Samuel T. Francis, Alex Jones, Howard Phillips, and Taki Theodoracopulos. Pat Buchanan also stated there was a chance he would vote for Peroutka, counting them as "a Buchananite party", but eventually endorsed Bush. The ticket came in fifth with 143,630 votes (0.12%) and spent $728,221, somewhat less per vote than either George W. Bush or John Kerry. It was the only third party to increase its share of the vote in 2004. 2006-2008: Ron Paul and the Black Regiment In the Constitution Party's April 2006 national convention in Tampa, Florida, a heated disaffiliation vote forced members to choose between one of two anti-abortion positions. The assembly voted not to disaffiliate the Independent American Party of Nevada over the more exceptive position of its gubernatorial candidate, Christopher H. Hansen. Baldwin voted in favor of disaffiliation, favoring the more conservative position. Baldwin remained with the party, but several conservative state parties subsequently voted to leave the national party, believing it to have unacceptably compromised the anti-abortion plank of its platform; rump factions have been orchestrated by the national Constitution Party in some of these states. On August 30, 2007, Baldwin wrote an informal endorsement for Ron Paul for the GOP nomination: "Conservative Republicans have only one choice for president in 2008: Congressman Ron Paul of Texas"; more formal endorsement of Paul came in a December video. That same month, Baldwin said: In April 2007, he launched an appeal for pastors to join the Black Regiment, a network of "spiritual leaders" who support values such as strong borders, resisting abortion and homosexuality, and repudiating George Bush's "unconstitutional" policies. Members decline to register their churches with the IRS for purposes of federal tax exemption. 2008 presidential campaign Baldwin's vice presidential run, and Peroutka's withdrawal from the national Constitution Party, led to active 2006 speculation that Baldwin would seek the presidential nomination in 2008. Baldwin responded in October that "I have learned to never say never, but I have no desire to run. [It] would require several 'miraculous' signs of reassurance that, frankly, I cannot see happening. However, I am always open to God's will." He repeated this stance through March 2008. Baldwin announced on April 10, two weeks before the national convention was held in Kansas City, Missouri, that he would make himself available for the party's nomination at the convention, while "not 'running, but continuing to seek God's will. A Nolan Chart writer conveyed speculation that Baldwin's availability may have been responsive to the sudden candidacy of former ambassador Alan Keyes, who strongly favored the Iraq War. Baldwin, a noninterventionist, admitted others "have urged me to place my name in nomination". Baldwin was nominated on April 26, 2008, after what was described as the most contentious battle in the party's 16-year history. He received 383.8 votes, ahead of Keyes, who drew 125.7 votes from delegates; Keyes had abandoned the Republicans for the Constitution Party (one month before the Constitution Party convention), After Ron Paul withdrew from the Republican campaign in June, he remained neutral about making a presidential endorsement. On September 10, Paul held a National Press Club conference at which Baldwin, Green Party nominee Cynthia McKinney, and independent candidate Ralph Nader all agreed on four principles—quickly ending the Iraq War, protecting privacy and civil liberties, stopping increases in the national debt, and investigating the Federal Reserve—and on their opposition to the Democratic and Republican parties ignoring these issues. Paul's advice at the conference was to vote for whichever third-party candidate one has the most affinity to, because "we must maximize the total votes of those rejecting the two major candidates." However, on September 22, 2008, Paul stated his neutrality was "due to my respect and friendship and support from both the Constitution and Libertarian Party members ... and I'm a ten-term Republican congressman. It is not against the law to participate in more than one political party." Paul then gave his endorsement to Baldwin: "Unsolicited advice from the Libertarian Party candidate ... has [persuaded] me to reject my neutral stance in the November election. I'm supporting Chuck Baldwin, the Constitution Party candidate." Paul later clarified that though he would vote for Baldwin, he recognized the diversity of his support base and could not bind anyone's conscience. A former Paul primary backer, Houston term limits pioneer Clymer Wright, also contributed to the Baldwin campaign. Baldwin wrote specifically against the candidacies of Barack Obama and John McCain, and those of vice-presidential nominees Sarah Palin and Joe Biden. In his campaign, he said that the September 11 terrorist attacks might have been an "inside job," attacked Republicans for not eliminating federal departments, called for closing of the Education and Energy departments of the Federal Government and the IRS and Federal Reserve, and called for the U.S. to withdraw from the United Nations, "a sinister organization run by Marxists, socialists and communists". In March 2011, he wrote an article in support of the American Redoubt strategic relocation movement originated by novelist and blogger James Wesley Rawles. This plan designates five western states (Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, eastern Oregon, and eastern Washington) as a safe haven for conservative Christians. In a June 9, 2011 article, Baldwin outlined his reasons for choosing the Flathead Valley of western Montana for his family's home. He cited Montana's freedom-loving people, its recognition of the right to keep and bear arms, and a feeling of strong conviction, following prayer: "“We know there’s a fight coming. We know there is a line being drawn in the sand, and we want to be in the right place. The good ground is right here in Montana,” He established a new church in Montana, the Liberty Fellowship, based in the Kalispell area, where congregants have included survivalist Randy Weaver and neo-Nazi activist April Gaede. In December 2019, Rawles listed Baldwin first in a list of "key leaders and promoters of the American Redoubt movement". 2012 campaign for lieutenant governor In November, 2011, Republican Montana gubernatorial candidate Bob Fanning selected Chuck Baldwin as his running mate. Baldwin withdrew his candidacy for lieutenant governor on February 12, 2012, several months before the June primary. Also in 2013, Baldwin became the national chaplain of the anti-government Oath Keepers group. In 2014, he gave a sermon at an armed stand-off between anti-government activists led by Cliven Bundy and federal agents at Bundy's ranch in Nevada. The COVID-19 pandemic Although he told congregants that he believed COVID-19 to be real, Baldwin preached that federal and state public health measures against it were a "pretext for civil tyranny", a form of "Medical martial law" and a "psychological ops campaign against the American people". Baldwin resigned from his Oath Keepers position in April 2020, due to the group's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The group pledged support for public health measures such as suspending public gatherings, to which Baldwin responded: "By resorting to gross fearmongering and hyperbole, you have joined the mainstream media and Big Government medical hacks in attacking virtually every constitutionally protected liberty upon which our country was founded." Baldwin called Anthony Fauci a "Big Pharma fascist" in 2020. ==Political positions==

Moral issues Baldwin has several beliefs typically distinctive of Independent Baptists. For example, he believes in the primacy of the local New Testament church, considers homosexuality as a "moral perversion", favours strict abstinence from drinking and smoking, and strict diet and exercise. and that it is losing the "inner toughness" of masculinity. Islam In 2002 he wrote a booklet, "What Every Christian Should Know About Islam". It says that "The Muslim religion has been a bloody, murderous religion since its inception." However, more recently, he has argued that Zionism constitutes a greater threat to America than Islamic terrorism, and urged Christians to draw distinctions between different sects of Islam. the Security and Prosperity Partnership, and the Free Trade Area of the Americas. He would also effect United States withdrawal from the United Nations and has pledged to push the UN out of its New York City offices. and said his presidency would result in troop withdrawal from Iraq. He has written that "the Mexican government is deliberately and systematically working to destabilize and undermine the very fabric and framework of American society." He strongly opposes "amnesty" for illegal immigrants and would try to end illegal immigration. Baldwin has long been a critic of neoconservatism, and argues that recent wars that America has fought in the middle east are "waged on behalf of the Zionist state" [of Israel]. He is especially critical of attempts at regime change in Iraq, Libya, Syria and Iran, considering American involvement therein to be intended to assist Israel in the creation of a "Greater Israel" that would make "Israel the dominant political and military force in the region". and speaking favorably of General Smedley Butler's anti-war book War is a Racket. Antisemitism and anti-Zionism Baldwin believes that the "castrated churches" of America are terrified of "Judaizers". Baldwin argues that, "Zionists heavily influence—if not outright control—the mainstream news media, the major motion picture industry, the popular entertainment industry, mainstream Christian religion, and the U.S. government. I'll say it straight out: Zionism is not only a 'clear and present danger' to the liberties of the American people; it is the BIGGEST danger to the liberties of the American people." and is responsible for the deaths of innocent Palestinians and hundreds of thousands of other Arabs, arguing that laws against such boycotts violate Americans' civil rights. He argues that "Christian Zionists" are influenced by the Scofield Bible, which he considers heretical. and arguing that Shapiro is not a true conservative. Economy Baldwin says he would end all federal income taxes and phase out the Internal Revenue Service. He has said that as president he would streamline the federal government and tap oil reserves in Alaska, the Dakotas, and the Gulf of Mexico. He believes the United States should return to the gold standard. Baldwin believes that "the South was right in the War Between the States" (referring to the American Civil War), He uses the term "War for Southern Independence" and "War of Northern Aggression". In 2010, he spoke at a Neo-Confederate "Alabama Secession Day Commemoration" linked to the League of the South. Individual liberties Baldwin "believe[s] the federal 'war on terror' and 'war on drugs' are mostly a cover for power-hungry, Big Government zealots to trample constitutional government and squash freedoms and liberties, which are supposed to be protected by the Bill of Rights and Declaration of Independence". He opposes the Patriot Act and related legislation and orders, saying that it "deprives the people of their rights secured under the Fourth and Fifth Amendments under the guise of 'combating terrorism' or 'protecting national security. In relation to airplane captain Don Carty profiling a customer's credentials and behavior, Baldwin stated that "profiling of all sorts is a very necessary tool for effective law enforcement. Only morons would try to hamper a lawman's ability to bring criminals to justice by removing this tool from them." Regarding the separation of church and state, Baldwin believes that "America was deliberately and distinctively founded as a haven for Christians" and he supports the public display of the Ten Commandments in government buildings. He says that freedom of association in health care is important: "I strongly support the freedom of choice of practitioner and treatment for all citizens for their health care. ... The government should not have the power to force people to receive immunizations or vaccinations." He also would eliminate the Food and Drug Administration as unconstitutional. Baldwin supports freedom for homeschooling and private schooling and wants to disband the U.S. Department of Education; he says that he would be the best friend homeschoolers have ever had in the White House. According to Political Research Associates, he believes revolution is preferable to gun control. He says that in his opinion, people like Morris Dees, head of the Southern Poverty Law Center, try to "pander the market of fear, trying to convince everybody that anyone with a gun, any person who wants to own a gun, and anyone who would consider themselves part of a citizen militia is a threat to our government and to our society". He takes a critical view of the federal government's handling of Randy Weaver, the Branch Davidians, and Hutaree. Baldwin firmly opposes abortion (which he sees as "murder" and says his presidency would end abortion. He opposes female military combat service, saying in 2010 it "does not serve the interests of combat effectiveness. Neither does it serve the interests of family and child rearing." He also opposes mixed service, and homosexual service. ==Recognition==

Baldwin has received two honorary doctor of divinity degrees, from Christian Bible College and from Trinity Baptist College in Jacksonville, Florida. ==Bibliography==