** Media Availability **

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 7, 2022

CONTACT: Tracey Miller, 202-660-1628, Tracey.Miller@theacru.org

Media Availability: Lt. Col. Allen West and Lori Roman, President, ACRU

A Black Man’s Defense of the Constitution

Naples, FL — In rebuttal to a recent story by journalist Elie Mystal referring to the United States Constitution as “trash,” American Constitutional Rights Union Executive Director Lt. Col. Allen West writes, “the situation in America is no longer about political parties. It is now about two very different philosophies of governance, constitutional conservatism and progressive socialism…Marxism. The crux of the matter comes down to the relationship between the individual citizen and the institution of government.”

Former Congressman Lt. Col. West recently announced his new role with ACRU, stating on social media, “If you want to know why I am thrilled to be the Executive Director of the ACRU, read this [Mystal’s] article. This is the seminal ideological war in which we find ourselves against the progressive socialist left.”

ACRU President and CEO Lori Roman stated: “We are thrilled that Allen West will continue his lifelong commitment to fighting for the United States by serving as the Executive Director of the American Constitutional Rights Union and ACRU Action Fund.”

West explains the contrast to Mystal’s “constitution is trash” claim, “Constitutional conservatives embrace the premise of equality of opportunity and in the writings of English political philosopher John Locke and his theory of natural rights — life, liberty, and property. Thomas Jefferson codified Locke’s natural rights theory in our Declaration of Independence — life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Mystal’s condemnation of our Constitution is based upon the skin color of the writers, the framers, which is insidious. Was it not Dr. King who advocated that we judge based upon the content of character, not the color of skin?”

The bottom line, according to West: “And we must understand, the left does not believe in the three branches of government, but rather the three branches of rule — media, academia, and the courts. The left does not believe in natural rights theory, no. They believe that their ideological agenda forms the basis of rights, which they can bestow and rescind.”

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American Constitutional Rights Union is a non-partisan, non-profit public policy organization dedicated to defending all Americans’ constitutionally protected civil rights.