Victoria Spartz successfully bought the Republican nomination for Indiana’s 5th Congressional District (INCD5) in the June 2 primary. Her positions on issues are deplorable. We should begin with her misunderstanding of The Constitution. 1/10

“Our constitutional republic was created with limited government functions to protect the individual rights to Life, Liberty and Property,” she states on her campaign website. 2/10

The word “property” appears once in The Constitution of 1787: “The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States;...” Art. IV, sec. 3. 3/10

This is not an individual’s “property,” but that of the United States. Besides, The Framers, in 1787, excluded non-whites, people who did not own land, and women from those who have “rights,” but they provided for the process of amendment. Art. V. 4/10

“Property” appears three (3) times in Amendments. “[N]or shall any person ... be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.” Amend. V. 5/10

Those two mentions in one Amendment, the Fifth, underline the importance of due process of law. That was part of the Bill of Rights - the first ten (10) amendments - and was ratified after The Convention. 6/10

The other mention of “property” is in the Fourteenth Amendment: “nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law...” Amend. XIV, sec. 1. That is one of the Civil War amendments. 7/10

The Civil War brought several significant changes to the USA, foremost of which was abolition of slavery. Another significant development was recognition that a strong central government was necessary to curb States’ actions. 8/10

A Constitution of “limited government functions,” of which Ms. Spartz speaks, was jettisoned. We need a strong central government to protect our rights - primarily from the States. The civil rights movement fought the States for decades. 9/10

As a last word for today, I have to say an aspect of her campaign more repugnant than any other is her blind support for trump. Any candidate for political office who supports trump should be rejected by the voters. 10/10