AP U.S. Government: 2014 3rd Party Projects
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.
15 comments:
The Peace and Freedom Party was founded on June 23rd, 1967 that "committed to socialism, democracy, ecology, feminism, and racial equality." This party appeals to women, minority groups(word "race" or "racial" only occur twice in this party's official website, and it was only mentioned in the same tiny paragraph that advocates the equality between men and women), people with low income and no capital in hand, and the environmentalists. The Peace and Freedom Party strongly advocates sexual equality, environmentalism, health care, abortion, education, and the economy. This party fights for "political repression and corruption" that kick the low income people out of the communities, favor regulation of health insurance premiums, criminal sentence reductions, Native American Gaming compact, and opposed of water bonds, rainy day funds, and drug testing of doctors or malpractice. The party nominated Leonard Peltier in the 2004 presidential election, Ralph Nader in the 2008 presidential election, and they nominated Roseanne Barr for President and Cindy Sheehan for vice president in the 2012 presidential election. Currently, the Peace and Freedom Party has Adam Shbeita in the U.S. House of Representatives from California district 44. Under the Top Two Voting( that is all the candidates run for office altogether, but only the top two vote-receivers get the tickets for General Election) in California, the Peace and Freedom Party failed to achieve the top two of the candidates temporarily. Most important, they did successfully nominated nominees for the presidential elections, and some members did gained offices. As of 2014, the Peace and Freedom party had 59,000 registered members, and it posts events and meetings to organize their members and organizes tenant unions, peaceful protests, and campaigns. They also provide services to multilingual voters and assistance, people with disabilities, retired workers, public library for education, health care, and taxes.
The Peace and Liberty Party is a California-based left wing party with some influences in few other southern states. They have specific policy preferences and strongly advocate equality. California had 38.5 millions population as in 2013, and 19 millions(nearly half) among them are female. California is relatively a young and minority-majority state. With it's unpopularity (59,000 members to nearly 38.5 millions population) and the Top Two Voting system, it is difficult for a third party to be successful.
Carrie Kesecker
The Libertarian Party was founded in 1971 after meeting several times at the home David F. Nolan, eight activists founded the Libertarian Party on December 11. The Libertarian Party's slogan is " Minimum Government, Maximum Freedom." The Libertarian Party is mostly going to appeal to young people. Young people do not want the government and other people telling them want to do. The Libertarian Party does not believe in government involvement in and is pro-choice, pro-civil rights and pro-guns rights.
Most of the candidates they have fielded have been for local offices. For example, many libertarians hold the office of township auditor or township supervisor. Most of their success has been in local elections. Their failures have been when they run for higher offices. For example, when John Buckley ran for U.S. Senate in West Virginia as a Libertarian in 2014 he only received 1.6% of the vote. According to the Libertarian Party's website they have more then 250,000 members. I will continue later.
The Communist Party USA (CPUSA), founded in 1919, is a political party that appeals to minorities, radical leftists, and advocates for gender equality. Their party's philosophy is based on Marxism-Leninism, and their main goal is to replace capitalism with socialism.They want equality for all genders, races, workers, and nonworkers, despite sexuality or religion. They claim to be the party for the working class; they believe that everyone that wants a job should get one, and until they are able to do so, they should be given unemployment benefits. They want free healthcare and college education, higher taxes for the wealthy, less taxes imposed on the lower class, and they want to provide affordable housing for the homeless. They have fielded multiple candidates for president, including William Foster and Gus Hall, but have not ran a candidate since 1988. Every year they that they have not ran a candidate, though, they have endorsed the democratic candidate for office. They have had no success, having never had a candidate elected into office. Their membership during the 1900's fluctuated, ranging from 5,000 to 75,000. The last record of their membership was from 2002, when they consisted of a membership of 20,000 individuals and groups in 28 of the 50 states. CPUSA can be broken down statewide and in some cases city wide, depending on the amount of members in the particular area. Instead of offering services for signing up for their party, they require a due of $5 monthly.
Will be continued later..
Courtney DeBlick
The Light Partywas founded in 1984 by Da Vid Raphael, M.D. The Light Party's slogan is "Health, Peace, & Freedom For All." The Light Party promotes organic foods, holistic medicines, health insurance, solar energy, nuclear disarmament, and flat tax. Therefore, this party appeals to environmentalists, conservationists, green activists, and preservationists. The Light Party is a synthesis of the Republican, Democratic, Liberatarian, and the Green parties combined. According to their website, they have only fielded one candidate to office, except the name was not included.It does not appear of any organization within the party. The Light Party practices a seven point synergestic program which addresses and is currently trying to reolve current socioeconomic and ecological challenges. The Light Party is currently expanding he network of people and organizations who are truly committed to the healing and regeneration of the U.S. and the rest of the world. To be one of the 1500 members of the Light Party it costs $44 . If you do become a member then you will be mailed six Priceless Atrainment Music CDs, 2 Atrainment Music Video Programs designed to "Inspire, Delight, Heal & Enlighten." You also receive the Weekly Light Party's PSA's and Networking Guide. In my opinion, I don't think this party more successful because their group isn't that large, their message isn't being publicized well enough to be recognized, and they've only fielded one candidate to office.
Carrie Kesecker
You can join the Libertarian party for 25$. The Libertarian Party is well organized. The Libertarian Party has a chair, vice-chair, secretary, treasurer, at larger representatives, and regional representatives. There are 8 Libertarian Party regions.
When you join the Libertarian party and pay the 25$ fee you receive a membership card and a one year subscription to LP News, the Libertarian Party's newspaper. They also offer email updates and other merchandise such as shirts,bumper stickers and door hangers.
In my opinion the Libertarian party is unsuccessful because not everyone wants no government involvement and because people do not value liberty and freedom as much as they use to. People might agree with some of the Libertarian Party's beliefs but not all of them. Also, people take liberty for granted now a days because they never had to got through a time when they did not have liberty and freedom so they do not understand how valuable it really is.
The Prohibition Party was founded in 1869. It is the oldest third party still in existence at this time. This party appeals primarily to nondrinkers, that are also Christians, anti-drugs, and against communism. As a past party message states "If you are a reform minded conservative and a nondrinker, the Prohibition wants you." There main belief is that alcohol is bad and they wish to get rid of it.
They have had five successful position taken as elected officials. These include a Florida governor, a Californian state assemblyman, same person was also a U.S. representative for California. They haf a mayor of a town in Kansas, who was the first female mayor in united states. Then there was also a Pennsylvania tax assessor, who is the only Prohibition Party office holder in the 21st century. Another success for the party was the 18th amendment. Their parties popularity during this time period is why the amendment was passed.
Within all of my sources that I looked at I could not find how large their membership numbers are, and this is probably due to them being very small now. They however organized well with a Chairman Toby Davis Executive Secretary, James Hedge, Vice Chairman, June Griffin, and Secretary William. They also have people to contact for information, about their party, in fourteen states, including West Virginia. I however could not seem to find any information within my sources about any services they provide for their members.
In my opinion the reason for this party's decline in recent years is because people are more accepting of alcohol now and it is not seen as negative now as it was. They may have other issues that they support, but prohibition is their main goal, so with the decline of prohibition thoughts, the decline in the political parties standings. This is well noticeable when looking at votes for there presidential candidates. In 1892 they had 270,770 votes and in 2012 their candidate only got 519. This is also significant because our country's population has grown sense 1892. It is in my opinion doubtful that this party will be come relevant in our country in the near future.
The Green Party of the United States was formed in 2001 from the ASGP which was formed in 1996 to fill a void in national green Politics and to help existing state parties develop. This party appeals to individuals who are big on environmental issues and want peace throughout the world.
"10 Key Issues Of The GP"
1.) Grassroots Democracy- Everyone should have a say.
2.) Non-Violence- No weapons or war!
3.)Ecological Wisdom- We need to recognize that we are all part of nature.
4.) Social Justice and Equal Opportunity- All persons should have the rights and opportunity to benefit equally from the resources given to us from the environment.
5.) Decentralization- More power for more people and less power in DC.
6.)Community Based Economics and Economic Justice- Create a vibrant and sustainable economic system.
7.) Feminism and Gender Equality- Women should be able to do the same things as men and be paid the same too.
8.) Respect for Diversity- We believe it is important to value diversity and to promote the development of respectful relationships.
9.) Personal and Global Responsibility- Economic Justice
10.) Future Focus and Sustainability- Motivated by long term goals.
Other issues the Green Party believes in is that they are renewing democracy with absolutely no support of corporate donors. Some candidates from the Green Party are: Cynthia McKinney (Presidential Nominee in 2008), Rosa Clemente (VP Nominee in 2008), Jill Stein (Presidential Nominee in 2012), Cheri Honkala (VP Nominee in 2012), Bob Henry Baber (WV candidate for US Senate), Dan Lutz (Dis. 66 Charlestown,WV candidate for House of Delegates), and Jason "Shake" Anderson (Candidate Oakland Mayor).
The Green Party has had many failures including: Jesse Johnson from West Virginia, he ran for President in 2008 and No one voted for him.
The Green Party of the United States is one of the two largest Third parties with a total of 250,682 members as of 2013. Some services they have to offer are:
1.) Registering to become a Green is showing that you care about the world and its future.
2.) We need more people to help us get stronger.
3.) You can still vote in the general election.
4.) No donations from any corporations.
5.) The Green Party is the Party of Peace!
In my opinion this party is not a successful party because of three big things; no money, too small, and only some people agree with them. If you have a person running from your party with a nickname "Shake"you will most likely not be successful. Also not taking money from corporations hurts you a lot! You won't be as rich as the major parties and you will certainly not have any attention from the people. Lastly 250,682 people is not a lot at all! The state of West Virginia has more people than that! Myspace still might have more people than that! If you are trying to get people elected you need way more people than taht.
The Constitution Party was founded in 1992 by Howard Phillips and was originally called "The U.S. Taxpayer's Party." According to the party website, the goal of the Constitution Party is to restore American jurisprudence to its Biblical foundations and to limit the federal government to its Constitutional boundaries.
The Constitution Party commits itself to seven principles. The party describes itself as being 100 % Pro-life under every circumstance, and they also believe a marriage should only be recognized between a man and a woman. The Constitution Party champions state's rights, American sovereignty, property rights, and above all, calls for "The Constitution to be interpreted according to the actual intent of the Founding Fathers."
The party was recognized by The Federal Election Commission as a national party in 1996, and founder, Howard Phillips was nominated to be the party's first presidential candidate. In 1996, the party also achieved ballot access in 39 states. Delegates attending the National Party Convention in 1999 voted to change the name to "Constitution Party."
Today, The Constitution Party is the third largest party by registered members in The U.S. with approximately 370,000 members.
The Constitution Party is organized into state parties all subservient to the National Party. The National Party is controlled by an executive committee; the current chairman is Frank Fluckiger.
The Constitution Party appeals to conservative Christians, veterans, and older Americans. The party has close ties with many veteran interest groups and opposes gun control. On the party's website, various pieces of literature are available and also, they provide members with an annual newsletter.
The Constitution Party has fielded a Presidential candidate in every election since its founding. They have failed in all attempts to elect candidates to national offices. Currently, Rick Jore, a Montana state legislator, who was sworn into office in 2006, is the highest elected official of the party.
In West Virginia during the 2014 Midterm Election, Constitution Party candidates ran for U.S. Senate, State Senate, and The House of Delegates, but lost to Republicans.
I believe The Constitution Party has not been more successful to date because it takes very extreme stances on issues such as abortion, marriage equality, and gun rights, which alienates many potential voters. Also, the Party is essentially a very right splinter of the Republican Party. They probably lose many conservative voters to the Republican candidates.
Josh Turner
Formed by Ross Perot and his supporters from his citizen action organization during the 1992 elections, United We Stand America, the center-conservative Reform Party was founded in 1995 as an alternative to the Republican and Democratic political parties. This party would appeal to those who oppose the two-party system because, want reform within the campaigning system, and who believe the president and congress must maintain a higher ethical and moral standard (their initial belief was, in a nutshell, that corruption is consuming the government). They oppose the expansion of free trade, and are opposed to American membership/involvement in multilateral free trade agreements, such as the NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement), WTO (World Trade Organization), and the GATT (General Agreement on Trades and Tariffs) because one of their goals is to promote American jobs. Interestingly, the Reform Party takes no stance on their view of major social issues such as abortion or gay marriage because "social issues or values issues should not be our focus as a party". Ross Perot is, by far, the most significant candidate from this party because he collected 8% of the popular vote (8,085,294 votes) in the 1996 presidential election (he received 19% in the 1992 election, which helped jumpstart the party because he was allowed matching federal funds for the following election). The next closest candidate by significance was Jesse Ventura, who won governorship over Minnesota in 1998; he served one term. The party, in its prime, was considered a strong third party (Perot received 8% of the popular vote in '96) before in-house fighting (caused by what members of the party viewed as Perot rigging their presidential primary in 1996) splintered the party into a shadow of its former self. I was unable to find anything on the current membership of the party. However, they have two elected officials - Deputy Mayor Kevin Kennedy of Belleville, New Jersey, and Trustee (basically a city council member) Bob Acker of Mead, Colorado. The Reform Party is organized into a four-member National Council with seven Regional Representatives currently led by Chairman David Collison. Service-wise, they have an online merchandise store that was recently launched.
My opinion on why the Reform Party hasn't been successful as of late is that the infighting about whether Ross Perot used the party as a vehicle to increase his image as a candidate or if he actually wanted to create a genuine political party practically dissolved the party; in either case, the party's influence has been reduced to nil because of that.
Kendall White continued:
In my opinion, the CPUSA has not been very successful because of their extreme views and their small membership. They want to completely change the country from capitalism to socialism, and their extreme left-wing views drive away many right-wing and moderate individuals.
Ashley Griffin
The U.S. Marijuana Party was founded in 2002 by former Alabama Libertarian Loretta Nall after Nall was arrested for possession of marijuana. This party appeals towards socially libertarian and those who are for the legalized possession of the cannabis. U.S. Marijuana party is huge on the prohibition of marijuana and the drug war. This party, according to the party website, want to remove penalties for those who are eighteen years or older who consume cannabis, demand the right to use any medication our healthcare providers, and to release of all people imprisoned on marijuana charges and that their criminal records be expunged. They are fed up with "intrusion" in their personal lives and the urine testing in work or school because of marijuana. No candidates have ever fielded office though the have supported Gary Johnson from the Libertarian party in the presidential election in 2012. As for candidates, they have yet to even get one in office, but the issues they stand for have been agreed upon in some states, with restrictions, such as Oregon and Washington. Their Membership, from what I could find in my research, is decent. They are organized in chapters of only eight states (Colorado, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Utah) The party has link for you to follow them on Twitter, like Facebook pages, subscribe on their Youtube channel, Register for an account on the party website, blog posts, smoke rally, petition signings, and donations.
With a single-issue party that is also a third party, such as the U.S. Marijuana Party, it is difficult to even get recognized. With being such a party, you are limited to a much more inclusive audience. When compared to the two major parties, the Democrats and Republicans try to appeal to a much broader audience. Once a party has stated it's hardcore belief on a certain issue that may be controversial, they automatically limit their audience hence why the have a small amount of votes and slim chance of winning.
The Pansexual Peace Party was founded by Jimi Freidenker,in 1992, based on wiccean beliefs,This party appeals mainly libertarians and to left winged liberals, especially those avid about pro-chocie, the legalization of gay marriage, and universal health care. The party also supports the legalization of all and any drugs, any way to decrease the gap between rich and poor, sexual education taught in schools from grades 3rd to 12th, and condemning all acts of violence and believe war is never the answer. This party believes they can fix these issues and bring peace through freedom,sex, and the glorification of the human body.The Pansexual Peace Party has many slogans and phrases used to grab the attention of potential members, the most common being : "Vote for Pleasure", "Sex is good! Sex is great! Yay sex!" and "Drop acid not bombs".
The Pansexual Peace Party has never had candidate for office, saying they are more concerned with raising awareness of their party. Despite their efforts, or lack there of, they still remain one of the smaller third parties with only 114 members, according to a prezi by Alex West. Jimi Freidenker states that they don't take themselves too seriously. Due to the fact that they don't take themselves seriously their party has not had any substantial successes or failures, as well as no real organization and no services to their members. However, if you wish to be a member of the Pansexual Peace Party you can fill out a form on their website and they will respond to you with an email confirming your membership. Being a third party is not, in my opinion, the only reason that this party has not been more successful. They lack any real organization or determination, if they don't take themselves seriously why should we?
Robyn Ball
Matthew Tarallo
The Justice Party was founded in December of 2011 by Rocky Anderson. The vision of the party is a peaceful nation where social, economic, and environmental justice prevails. The Justice Party is big on corrupt justice and too much money involved in politics. All people are welcomed to join the party regardless of political party affiliation. Even though this party is split from the Democratic Party. You'd fit in with this party if you believe that the systematic corruption in government is caused by undue influence of concentrated sources of wealth, and the growing poverty and economic insecurity in the U.S. is inexcusable, and the destruction in the environment must be stopped.
Rocky Anderson was the former mayor of Salt Lake City. He ran for president in 2012, and his vice president was Luis J. Rodriguez, an activist and author from California. There are currently no Justice Party members holding office in the United States. Another Justice Party affiliate ran for something in the 2012 election; Daniel Geery ran for U.S. Senator in Utah. The failures of the Justice Party includes Anderson and Rodriguez losing in the 2012 Presidential election. Geery losing in his 2012 election and Justice Party affiliate Torin Nelson withdrew from Utah's 4th Congressional District in 2012. Some positoves include when Anderson was put on the ballot in 15 states and secured an official write-in status in 15 additional states in 2012.
30 people with no help of T.V. crews put Rocky Anderson on 30 states official ballots in 2012. There is no clear number of followers for this party but they do have 5,355 "Likes" on Facebook. Also, on a site called Fundly.com, the Justice Party is raising money and currently right now they have 499 supporters and they have raised $27,761 and their goal is $100,000. There is currently 724 days left to donate money. Otherwise, their membership is very small.
Their official website shares their comments and point of view on The events that happened in Ferguson, Missouri.(www.justicepartyusa.org) They also have two current chairpersons in Laura Bonham and Jonathan Ruga. They also have an ideology in pluralism, social democracy, progressiveness, and environmentalism. The Justice Party doesn't really offer any services. But you are allowed to volunteer and donate money to them. They do not offer any "gifts" or "prizes" for becoming a member either.
The party was created in 2011, so its' following isn't big yet. Their founder isn't really well known. Rocky Anderson doesn't have billionaire hookups or friends to help him become the President of the United States anytime soon.
Tiffany Youngblood
The American Independent Party (AIP) was founded in 1968 in California. The AIP believes that a "limited constitutional government, with emphasis on the rights of several states to govern their own local affairs and educational systems without federal bureaucratic or court interference". It is a religious based third party and in their party platform it states "...all governments are under God whether they like it or not". In their party platform, they believe that humans are people from the beginning of development, marriage is between a man and a woman and the law should enforce it. Aside from religion and politics, the AIP supports the 2nd amendment, securing the border and adhering to current immigration laws. They believe America's foreign policy should be in our best interest and not the world's opinion.
The AIP appeals to right-wing conservatives and fails to accommodate to immigrants, liberals, gays, and Pro-Choice citizens. By doing this, they are slimming down the number of votes they could receive in an election.
The AIP was founded in 1968 by Governor George C. Wallace of Alabama. Wallace ran as its first presidential nominee in 1968 and gained nearly 14% of the votes (10 million votes). The Wallace Campaign believed the AIP should only be used if Wallace wished to run as a third party ticket again, and the AIP members in California wished to a legitmate party. Wallace officially left the party in 1970 and moved to the Democratic party. The AIP experienced another spilt in recent years after an ongoing battle for chairman thus creating the Constitutional party.
Membership for the AIP is solely in California and it includes Chairman, officers, and national committeemen. The exact number of members could not be found and no services were broadcasted on any affiliated website for the AIP.
Ashley Campbell
Nazi American Party
The party was founded in 1959.
The party appeals to people who think that the white working class should be the people in charge.
The party stands for white men and women to be able to work and be in their homes safely. Also that the Aryan nation should be self sufficient and that the Aryan nation should only help those who are also Aryan.
The only candidate to ever run for office in this party is Lincoln Rockwell. He ran for president in 1965.
The only thing that they have ever really tried was for Rockwell to run for president and he failed at that miserably.
Membership for the party is very low.
They use a website to recruit members.
The only thing they offer is a sense of mind that you are a better race than everyone else.
The party hasn’t been successful because it is literally a party full of nazi.
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