Kevin Jenkins

kevin@thespectrum.com

ST. GEORGE – A Nevada cattle rancher, who was at the center of a sometimes-violent range war over private grazing rights on federal lands, will speak Saturday in St. George as part of a political summit that is trying to create alternatives for voters dissatisfied with the Democratic and Republican parties.

The Independent American Party bills itself as a "non-party party" that encourages voters to reject the country's bipartisan "duopoly" and elect individuals based on their particular qualifications rather than party affiliation, IAP National Chairman Kelly Gneiting said Tuesday.

Cliven Bundy will be the summit's final speaker, addressing "The Improper Role of Government" as the climax of the daylong event that also features speeches by Gneiting, IAP candidates and former Arizona Sheriff Richard Mack, the president of the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association and an author-lecturer popular with constitutional conservatives.

Gneiting said IAP members believe strongly in Constitutional rights, including the Second Amendment's guarantee for bearing arms, but he said the party doesn't expect Bundy's appearance to lead to confrontational security problems.

Gneiting said the party is recognized in Utah and New Mexico, and through other-party affiliation in Arizona and Oregon. But the IAP supports select candidates belonging to six different parties in states where the IAP is not recognized, and if the IAP had its way, there would be no "spirit of party" in the country's politics, he said.

As an example, the IAP supports a Libertarian in New Jersey, even though Gneiting regards the Libertarian Party as worse than the "duopoly" because of its anarchist leanings, he said.

"It's not about us, it's about America," he said. "We want to empower citizens to make correct choices."

The summit will include a brief drive to recruit write-in candidates ahead of this year's registration deadline.

The party draws much of its inspiration from statements made by leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the majority of its members are LDS and Utah residents. But Gneiting said the party's platform is not about the religion of its members, and specific religious doctrines are not discussed in relation to party activities.

The party's platform does acknowledge "the providence of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob," following a vote three years ago to expand its view of divine influence over American law from the time of Jesus Christ back farther in time to the era of God's appearance to Moses and the delivery of the Ten Commandments, as described in the Bible.

That allows for the inclusion of Muslims, Gneiting said, citing a Californian who belongs to the party. California is the state with the second largest amount of IAP members.

"We're not trying to attract the 4 percent (of Americans) who are Mormon; we're trying to attract the 100 percent who should be behind the Constitution," Gneiting said.

"Abraham Lincoln said, 'Let the Constitution be the political religion of the nation,'" he said. "We have a strong opinion that with God, all things are possible. … We believe our heritage is Judeo-Christian, but tyranny can be in religion, too. We want freedom in all ways."

Follow Kevin Jenkins on Twitter, @SpectrumJenkins.

If You Go

• What: Independent American Party Summit.

• When: Saturday, 10 a.m. to about 5 p.m.

• Where: Lexington Hotel and Convention Center, 850 S. Bluff St., St. George.

• Cost: Free.

• Agenda: Visit the party's website at independentamericanparty.org.