Why have third parties had such difficulty becoming effective in the American political system? Each pair of students must post your findings on your assigned third party on this thread no later than FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 21. All students must read each post and respond in writing to the prompt by the time you return from Thanksgiving break.
16 comments:
Lindsay Unger and Logan Webster
The Constitution Party was founded in 1992. It appeals to very, very conservative people, mostly really religious people who want to "Restore America to 'One Nation Under God.'" The party is centered on returning the government to the limits set by the Constitution. They believe in eliminating spending on unconstitutional spending, ensuring individuals the right to bear arms, withdrawal from the UN, they oppose abortion under all circumstances, and wish to dismantle the federal reserve and restoring constitutional money. Howard Philips, Chuck Baldwin, and Darryl Castle all ran for president and failed. No one from the Consitution party has ever won a seat in any form of federal government. There are a couple thousand members in the party. They organize themselves into section of the country, Eastern, Southern, Western, and Midwestern with local headquarters in most states. Because they are very small and pretty unsuccessful, they don't offer an services. They believe that the GOP does not embrace the limits that the Consitution places on the governments, and will not restore it to that state. The party is based on rigid Christianity, and makes the Republican party seem very liberal.
The Prohibition party was founded in 1869, and it is one of the oldest third parties. Most of the individuals in this third party are extremely conservative. They are strongly against drugs, alcohol, communism, and are very conservative when it comes to sexual activities and sexuality. They have fielded candidates such as John Bidwell, who's last campaign got him 273,000 votes. Other candidates include Earl Dodge, who was nominated for president six times and Jack Fellure, who had an all time low of 140 votes in 2004. No information was found to suggest an amount of followers for this party. This may be because the leaders did not want to show how little support they have or how bad their failures of voting really are. They are organized through special standing. One person is elected in each state to share information with the followers in that area. There is also a chairman (Toby Davis), executive secretary (James Hedges), vice chairman (June Griffin), and a secretary (William Bledsoe). The Prohibition Party website did not provide any services to which we could find.
Maggie Micale and Chelsea Breeden
Kinsey and Aidan project PART ONE!!!
The American Nazi Party was founded in 1959 by Lincoln Rockwell, who was also the only presidential candidate ever nominated from their party. Unfortunately he was murdered by a member of his own party. More recently John Bowles ran for the presidential nomination on the Republican ballot in 2008. Now, as of 2012, he is the first and only lobbyist for the American Nazi Party.
This party appeals to people typically antisemitic, far right conservative, white supremacists. They identify as being socialists, but their political model actually closer resembles those of constitutional conservatives. The "socialist" label is used as a distractor from the actual ideology of their platform.
Neo-Nazi's ideology revolves around white nationalism and antisemitism. Their policy clearly reflects these beliefs, and are clear in their pursuit of de-nationalization of minorities, illegal immigrants, the mentally ill, and members of the LGBT community.
Part 2:
We could not find an exact number of members in the Constution party, probably because there are very few of them and they don't really want to broadcast just how few there are.
Part 3:
The Constituion part is so unsuccessful because they have very limited and excluding views on many social topics, and they are very set in their views. Therefore they will never gain enough of a following to win any elections.
The Canary Party was founded in the spring of 2011 by a groups of parents whose children suffered from neurological and autoimmune disorders. They decided that if anything was to be done about the epidemic levels of chronic illness among children, political pressure would get bring attention to the issue. We can assume the Canary Party has a very small membership due to its recent establishment and narrow issue focus. Members of this party include citizens who are victims of medical injury, relatives or acquaintances of someone who has suffered/suffering from mental illness or mental retardation, and people who generally support the belief of health care. The belief of this party is that the medical field is not paying attention to the sick people in our society, therefore, they are completely for healthcare. They, however, are against the belief of forced medication. The Canary Party has not had much success or failure due to the fact it has only recently been discovered, they have been able to raise a lot of attention to their beliefs. They have not fielded anyone for office, but recent articles claim that they are to make a notable impact on the 2014 elections. Like most third parties, they are set up in organized chapters across the United States holding a chairman, president, vice president, executive director, and a senior executive board member. Being a member of the Canary Party entitles you to a monthly newsletter, the first to know the newest updates about the party, and being able to petition along side the party and voice your opinion to the party. It has been so difficult for third parties to become viable options in the political system because there are so many of them and each stands for something different, creating a very narrow membership. They are unable to grab citizen's attention because they cannot compete among the Democrats or Republicans.
The Canary Party was founded in the spring of 2011 by a groups of parents whose children suffered from neurological and autoimmune disorders. They decided that if anything was to be done about the epidemic levels of chronic illness among children, political pressure would get bring attention to the issue. We can assume the Canary Party has a very small membership due to its recent establishment and narrow issue focus. Members of this party include citizens who are victims of medical injury, relatives or acquaintances of someone who has suffered/suffering from mental illness or mental retardation, and people who generally support the belief of health care. The belief of this party is that the medical field is not paying attention to the sick people in our society, therefore, they are completely for healthcare. They, however, are against the belief of forced medication. The Canary Party has not had much success or failure due to the fact it has only recently been discovered, they have been able to raise a lot of attention to their beliefs. They have not fielded anyone for office, but recent articles claim that they are to make a notable impact on the 2014 elections. Like most third parties, they are set up in organized chapters across the United States holding a chairman, president, vice president, executive director, and a senior executive board member. Being a member of the Canary Party entitles you to a monthly newsletter, the first to know the newest updates about the party, and being able to petition along side the party and voice your opinion to the party. It has been so difficult for third parties to become viable options in the political system because there are so many of them and each stands for something different, creating a very narrow membership. They are unable to grab citizen's attention because they cannot compete among the Democrats or Republicans.
Madison Slusher and Emily Cocchiaro
The Pansexual Peace Party, originally called the Pansexual Peace and Liberation Coalition, was founded in 1992 by Reverend Jimi Freidenker. The PPP would appeal to those who consider themselves very, or extremely liberal. Improving education, creating Universal health care, and decreasing the gap between the rich and the poor are issues the PPP care very deeply about. Members embrace sexual tendencies, gay marriage, the legalization of hemp farming, and sex education for young adults. The PPP also wishes to promote peace throughout the country between humans and the earth. "Vote for Pleasure" is the official slogan for the Pansexual Peace Party. Unfortunately, the PPP has yet to field any cadidate for office. The PPP is a small third party and has not had any real successes or failures. At this time the PPP does not offer any services but may however in the future when the party grows in size.
Anotehr reason the PPP has not been very successful is the fact that the system is made so that it hampers third party success. Another reason that they have not been a success is because they do not take themselves seriously. Those who organize it have made few efforts to get more support or field candidates. They simply put forth little effort to gain followers. Because they don't take themselves seriously, few people do. This also contributes to their lack of success.
Unfortunately because they have made few efforts to get more information out, we were not able to find any information about how this third party is organized or how large the PPP is.
Kinsey and Aidan part TWOOO:
The only real successes they have had would be gaining their first lobbyist in 2012. Their membership numbers are unknown since no one wants to admit to being a Nazi. They have a headquarters in Arlington, Virginia. However they have no exceedingly well organized chain of command or hierarchy. They don't offer any "services" or contribute much to todays political universe.
The U.S. Marijuana Party was established in 2002 by Loretta Nall for people who do smoke marijuana and people that want to protect marijuana usage in America. The people that follow this third party have a very strong desire to end the war on drugs that has been going on in this country for a very long time. They seek to remove all penalties regarding marijuana and the complete usage of adults over the age of eighteen to use marijuana legally. They seek for all power to be in the hands of the people and in order to get their point across they hold protests and rallies in different areas across the United States. The U.S. Marijuana Party is completely against government intrusion into the personal lives of American people, especially those who smoke and/or consume marijuana in any way. Every person in this party refuses urine testing at work and at school they find it very exploiting, they also refuse armed home invasions and disagree with the possibility that they could be thrown into prison for possession or use of marijuana. They demand that all people currently imprisoned for marijuana related offenses be released and have the ability to responsibly grow, possess, and use marijuana as they wish and sell it with a tax to create a better economy.
When researching this third-party it is apparent that the way Richard J. Rawlings currently runs this party is very organized and demanding on their party principles. About three pages of their website explain how they demand certain things from the government, everyday Americans and followers that choose to follow this party. The party is organized in chapters throughout the country, anybody anywhere has the ability to create their own chapter and get the message out around their area if they so please.
The U.S Marijuana Party believes in freedom and the ability for the twenty-million people who use cannabis, those who follow the party, and people unable to help the party to break free from the government and express themselves in their own way. "People should not be in prison for a natural plant," is one quote that is most commonly used to prove their point to followers and some government officials that question this third party's patriotistic beliefs.
The Communist Party USA was founded in 1919. Most members of this party are African Americans, liberal extremist, the poor, and women. They are very much against war, capitalism, fascism. The Communist Party strongly supports abortion, socialism, and racial equality. They have not fielded a person for office since 1988. The Communist Party USA is organized through community clubs. They meet once a month and every four years, a national convention is held. There is no record of membership, which leads us to believe their membership may be small. We also could not find what services were offered the through the Communist Party USA.
Kerri Shetler and Jerri Napfel
The Libertarian party was founded December 11, 1971. The Libertarian party is the third largest third party in the United States. The people of the Libertarian party believe in the philosophy that there should be " small government, large freedom" That basically means that they don't like the government telling them what they should do, and they should be able to make their own choices and suffer the consequences. For example, The seatbelt laws, the people of the libertarian party feel it is not the governments place to tell them that they must wear seatbelts. They believe that if something goes wrong then they can only blame themselves because it was their choice not to wear the seatbelt.
The Libertarian party have a good amount of people involved in politics. Most recently, Ken Kaplan ran against New Jersey Senator Chris Christie. He lost, but he came in second place. Also in the 2012 presidential race Gary Johnson ran against Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. He didn't make it very far because he didn't have the funding to. The Libertarian party is based in Washington D.C. They have a convention every two years to discuss the party's platform, elect officers, and nominate national candidates. The Libertarian party is best known for wanting to end welfare, they want to improve charity, and improving education. The nice thing about the Libertarian party is that they are not too liberal, but at the same time not to conservative. They are a good moderate party.
Whitney Chapman & Matthew Summers
Rachael and Maggie Schultz Green PArty
The Green Party of the United States is a left-wing confederation of the majority of states in America. Their platform is an extreme left-wing one: their main views commit to environmentalism, non-violence, social justice and grass roots organizing. They have extreme views on world peace, securing nature and encouraging ecological education, equality and justice for all, and opposing large corporations. The Green Party is a partner of the European Federation of Green Parties, and in the early 1990's, the Green Party arose in different states, and solely became a centralized awareness group (non-electoral in the 1990's). In 2001, however, the party became an official electoral group.
In 2000, the Green Party advocated Ralph Nader to be a candidate for the election. Nader created great controversy in the 2000 election, and carried 2% of the nation's vote. This was a great accomplishment for the greens, by raising their awareness. The Greens have 250,682 members nation-wide. The Green Party appeals to environmentalists, gay rights activists, feminists, racial equality activists, and so on. In 2000, in the presidential election, they fielded Ralph Nader and Winona LaDuke. In 2004, David Cobb and Pat LaMarche. They currently hold no seats in Congress, but do have 133 elected officers nation wide.
The Green Party has two committees: the Green National committee and the green senatorial campaign committee. From there, it holds four caucuses: the black caucus, the lavender greens, the women's caucus, and the youth caucus. They provide encouragement and reforming many aspects of American political culture. The Green Party had not been very successful in generating lots of activity, gaining members, or winning elections because of their extremism. They have extreme views on world peace, which includes cutting the national defense budget by 50%. Since only 13% of Americans feel that the military is stronger than it needs to be (according to Gallup Polls), this may break the Green Party's reputation. By putting strong views out there, they are repelling potential joiners.
Kristen and Nico worked together on this project by the way. It was not only me as my previous comment would suggest.
Rachael Kesecker and Maggie Schultz Part One:
The Green Party was founded in 1984 as a federation of state green parities. It first captured the public's attention during Ralph Nader's presidential campaigns in 1996 and 2000. It is one of the largest third parties, having around 305,000 registered members, and has run a presidential candidate in every election since 1996. The party has no representation in the House of Representatives or the Senate, but several Green Party members hold elected state positions.
The Green Party appeals to people on the more liberal side of the political spectrum. It's members are typically environmentalists, feminists, and procurers of peace and social equality. Green Party members generally heavily support gay rights, are pro-choice, and strive for gender and racial equality. Members typically strongly oppose the current two-party system and wish to disband it. They fight for the end of corruption in government and politics, and encourage people to join their party rather than list themselves as Independents or "No Party Affiliation" because they don't like either of the two main parties.
The party has ten key values that are the basis of their political platform. The Green Party supports grassroots democracy, meaning that they believe every single person living in the United States that is eligible to vote should be doing so. They promote social justice and equal opportunity for all, shunning racism, class oppression, sexism, homophobia, ageism, and disability. The Green Party firmly promotes ecological wisdom, noting that we must be aware and respectful of our limited natural resources. They advocate non-violence and global peace, also striving for the decentralization of wealth. They believe that decision-making should remain at the individual and local level as much as possible, assuring that civil rights remain intact for all citizens. The Green Party supports independently owned and operated companies as well as co-operatives and public enterprises. They wish to raise the standard of living for the average citizen by creating jobs at a local level. Gender equality is a big issue on their list, and they hope to balance out the male dominated society in which we currently live. The Green Party respects diversity and values cultural, ethnic, racial, sexual, religious, and spiritual diversity, and promotes healthy relationships that weave amongst those lines. They want people to recognize their personal and global responsibility, meaning that people should be more aware of how their actions affect other people and our world as a whole. Lastly, the Green Party's actions and policies are motivated by long-term goals. They seek to protect natural resources, safely dispose of the waste we create, develop an economic system that does not depend on continual expansion, and create a world in which future generation will be able to thrive.
Rachael Kesecker and Maggie Schultz Part Two:
The Green Party wishes to raise minimum wage in order to set a higher standard of living for all Americans. They believe that the ever-widening gap between the rich and poor is destructive of democracy and creates an uneven playing field for economic opportunity, but that public welfare that depends on hand-outs from the corporate rich reduces democracy by the same amount. They also are advocates of Single-Payer Health Care which is a publicly funded health care insurance program administered at the state and local levels. It comes with comprehensive lifetime benefits, including dental, vision, and mental health care, substance abuse treatment, medication coverage, hospice, and long-term care. The Green Party also wishes to reform the criminal justice system. Instead of throwing everyone in jail, they would like to offer alternatives to incarceration, such as positive approaches to punishments that build hope, responsibility, and a sense of belonging. Prison sentences should be a last resort for only the violent criminals. The justice system should treat substance abuse as a medical problem, not a criminal one. Any convicted person that has a drug or mental problem should be sent to treatment centers, not be incarcerated. Most members of the Green Party believe that all drugs should be legalized for medical purposes as a way to end the so-called "War on drugs". They promote the legalization of Marijuana, not only for medical purposes but also for recreational use.The Green Party also wishes to completely abolish the death penalty.
In the 1996 and 2000 presidential elections, the Green Party fielded Ralph Nader with Winona LaDuke as his running mate. In 2000, the two gained 2.74% of the overall vote, a huge success for any third party. David Cobb ran with Pat LaMarche in 2004, Cynthia McKinney with Rosa Clemente in 2008, and Jill Stein with Cheri Honkala in 2012. Cynthia McKinney is the potential Green Party presidential candidate for 2016. The Green Party organizes their participation in a way that promotes doing and not just saying. Social and political change is made through engagement, so all Green Party members are encouraged to be active in promoting the party's beliefs and ideas while attempting to turn them into a reality.
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