In the wake of the 2008 presidential nominating convention in Kansas City, Tom resigned from the Constitution Party. For four years, Tom had been the state PR coordinator for the Constitution Party of Tennessee. Going into the CP convention, there was no clear presidential candidate. Alan Keyes formally withdrew from the Republican Party on Tue, 15 Apr 2008. He had been interviewed by senior CP officials. But, shortly before the convention, a "campaign" suddenly appeared to nominate 2004 vice-presidential candidate Chuck Baldwin. He did get the CP nomination for president. But, the process has sent fissures through the Constitution Party.

Hence, the creation of the new America's Independent Party.

Created in May of 2008, AIP surpassed the Constitution Party in August of that year to become the third-largest political party in the United States.