Third Parties

1. The Dark Horses of the American Political System Third Parties

2. Today we will.... • Define “third” parties • Examine the role of third parties • Study at past third parties • Analyze third parties today....

3. Third Parties: “They Ain’t Got a Chance” Ralph Nader: 2000, 2004 Ross Perot: 1992, 1996 • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4o-TeMHys0

4. Third Party Any political party organized in at least a few states, other than the two current leading parties Jesse Ventura, Independent Governor of Minnesota, 1999-2003

5. History of American Third Parties Third Parties in the U.S. receive great attention, but in fact “have not assumed the importance that all the academic attention on them suggests.”

6. History of American Third Parties No minor third party as ever come close to winning the presidency • Only eight third party candidates have won any electoral votes • Only five, including Theodore Roosevelt in 1912 and Ross Perot in 1992 have won more than 10% of the popular vote

7. The Purpose of Third Parties

8. Purpose of Third Parties Ralph Nader and the Green Party in 2000 “The electoral progress of third parties is in direct proportion to the failure of the two major parties to incorporate new ideas.”

9. Purpose of Third Parties Lincoln-Douglas Debates, 1858 Though very rare, a third party may replace one of the major parties • 1856, the Republican Party replaces the Whig Party

10. Purpose of Third Parties Third Parties have influence • Major parties often take on the ideas of third parties • In 1992, both the Republican and Democratic Parties took on Perot’s reform government ideas about reducing the deficit George Bush (Republican), Ross Perot (Reform), & Bill Clinton (Democrat) during 1992 Presidential debate

11. Purpose of Third Parties: • Once the major parties incorporate their ideas, third parties burn out • Populist Party platform was assimilated into the Democratic Party in 1896 William Jennings Bryan, Democratic candidate for President, 1896

12. Past “Third” Parties

13. Prohibition Party (1869) • The Prohibition Party (PRO) is a political party in the United States best known for its historic opposition to the sale or consumption of alcoholic beverages. • It was an integral part of the temperance movement and, while never one of the leading parties in the United States, it was an important force in American politics in the late 19th century and the early years of the 20th century. • It has declined dramatically since the repeal of Prohibition in 1933, and is now a fraction of its previous size, having earned only 643 votes for president in the 2008 election. • It advocates a variety of socially conservative causes, including "stronger and more vigorous enforcement of laws against the sale of alcoholic beverages and tobacco products, against gambling, illegal drugs, pornography, and commercialized vice.“ • It is the oldest existing third party in the US.

14. Populist Party (1891) • The People's Party, also known as the "Populists" was established in 1891. • It was most important in 1892-96, then rapidly faded away. • Based among poor white cotton farmers in the South (especially North Carolina, Alabama and Texas), and hard-pressed wheat farmers in the Plains states (especially Kansas and Nebraska), it represented a radical crusading form of agrarianism and hostility to banks, railroads and elites generally. • It sometimes formed coalitions with labor unions, and in 1896 endorsed the Democratic presidential nominee, William Jennings Bryan.

15. Progressive Party (1912) “Bull Moose” • Social Policies • A National Health Service to include all existing government medical agencies. • Social insurance, to provide for the elderly, the unemployed, and the disabled. • Workers' compensation for work-related injuries. • An inheritance tax. • A Constitutional amendment to allow a Federal income tax. • The political reforms proposed included • Women's suffrage. • Direct election of Senators. • However, the main theme of the platform was an attack on the domination of politics by business interests, which allegedly controlled both established parties. The platform asserted that • To destroy this invisible Government, to dissolve the unholy alliance between corrupt business and corrupt politics is the first task of the statesmanship of the day.[5]To that end, the platform called for • Strict limits and disclosure requirements on political campaign contributions. • Recording and publication of Congressional committee proceedings.

16. States-Rights Democratic Party (1948) • The States' Rights Democratic Party was a short lived segregationist, socially conservative political party. • It originated as a breakaway faction of the Democratic Party in 1948, determined to protect what they portrayed as the Southern way of life beset by an oppressive federal government. • Supporters assumed control of the state Democratic parties in part or in full in several Southern states. • The States' Rights Democratic Party opposed racial integration and wanted to retain Jim Crow laws and white supremacy. • Members of the States' Rights Democratic Party were often called Dixiecrats.  • Lead by George Wallace

17. Perot’s Reform Party (1992) • The Ross Perot presidential campaign of 1992 began when Texas industrialist Ross Perot opened the possibility of running for President of the United States as an independent candidate on the February 20, 1992 edition of Larry King Live. • Though he had never served as a public official, Perot had experience as the head of several successful corporations and had been involved in public affairs for the previous three decades. Spawned by the American dissatisfaction with the political system, grassroots organizations sprang up in every state to help Perot achieve ballot access following his announcement.  • Perot focused the campaign on his plans to balance the federal budget, further economic nationalism, strengthen the war on drugs and implement "electronic town halls" throughout the nation for direct democracy. His views were described as a combination of "East Texas populism with high-tech wizardry." • On Election Day, Perot appeared on every state ballot as a result of the earlier draft efforts. He won several counties and finished in third place, receiving close to 19 percent of the popular vote; the most won by a third-party presidential candidate since Theodore Roosevelt in 1912. • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfMW3xYhitQ&NR=1 • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xT8jS3Y1aQ

18. Current Third Parties

19. Reform Party (1996) • The Reform Party of the United States of America was founded in 1996 by Ross Perot. • Perot said Americans were disillusioned with the state of politics—as being corrupt and unable to deal with vital issues—and desired a viable alternative to the Republican and Democratic Parties. • The party has nominated centrist candidates like Ross Perot, conservatives like Pat Buchanan, and liberals like Ralph Nader. • The party's most significant victory came when Jesse Ventura was elected governor of Minnesota in 1998. • Since then, the party has been fraught with infighting.

20. Reform Party Platform • The Reform Party platform includes the following (Know 2-3): • Maintaining a balanced budget, ensured by passing a Balanced Budget Amendment and changing budgeting practices, and paying down the federal debt. • Campaign finance reform, including strict limits on campaign contributions and the outlawing of the Political action committee • Enforcement of existing immigration laws • Opposition to free trade agreements like the North American Free Trade Agreement and Central America Free Trade Agreement, and a call for withdrawal from the World Trade Organization. • Term limits on U.S. Representatives and Senators. • Direct election of the United States President by popular vote.

21. Green Party (2001) • The Green Party of the United States (GPUS) is a voluntary association of state green parties, and has been active as a nationally recognized political party since 2001. • Prior to national formation, many state affiliates had already formed and were recognized by other state parties. The Association of State Green Parties (ASGP), a forerunner organization, first gained widespread public attention during Ralph Nader's presidential runs in 1996 and 2000. • With the founding of the Green Party of the United States, the party established a national political presence. GPUS became the primary national Green organization in the U.S., eclipsing the earlier Greens/Green Party USA, which emphasized non-electoral movement building. • In 2005, the Green Party had 305,000 registered members in states allowing party registration, and tens of thousands of members and contributors in the rest of the country. • During the 2008 elections the party had ballot access in 31 states, making it the fourth largest party in the United States (the third largest being the Libertarian Party, with ballot access in 46 states, and the fifth largest being the Constitution Party, with ballot access in seventeen states).

22. Green Party Platform • The Green Party of the United States of America emphasizes environmentalism,  social justice, respect for diversity, peace and nonviolence. • Their "Ten Key Values," which are described as non-authoritative guiding principles, are as follows: • Grassroots democracy • Social justice and equal opportunity • Ecological wisdom • Nonviolence • Decentralization • Community-based economics • Feminism and gender equality • Respect for diversity • Personal and global responsibility • Future focus and sustainability • The Green Party does not accept donations from corporations. Thus, the party's platforms and rhetoric critiques any corporate influence and control over government, media, and American society at large. • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcplth2zpMQ • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58EQSXfGZ8U&feature=related

23. Constitution Party • The Constitution Party is a right-wing United States political party. • It was founded as the U.S. Taxpayers' Party in 1992. The party's official name was changed to the Constitution Party in 1999; however, some state affiliate parties are known under different names. • The party's goal as stated in its own words is "to restore our government to its Constitutional limits and our law to its Biblical foundations."  • The party puts a large focus on immigration, calling for stricter penalties towards illegal immigrants and a moratorium on legal immigration until all federal subsidies to immigrants are discontinued.  • The party absorbed the American Independent Party, originally founded for George Wallace's 1968 presidential campaign.

24. Constitution Party Platform • Preamble to the platform: • The preamble of the Constitution Party platform "gratefully acknowledges the blessing of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as Creator, Preserver and Ruler of the Universe and of these United States," and supports the Constitutional provision in Article VI, Section 3 that "no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States" and calls on all those who love liberty and value their inherent rights to join with them in the pursuit of their goals. • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_SobkISNrY

25. Libertarian Party (1971) • The Libertarian Party is the third largest political party in the United States. • The political platform of the Libertarian Party reflects its brand of libertarianism, favoring minimally regulated, laissez-faire markets, strong civil liberties, minimally regulated migration across borders, and non-interventionism in foreign policy that respects freedom of trade and travel to all foreign countries. • In the 30 states where voters can register by party, there are over 225,000 voters registered with the party. • Hundreds of Libertarian candidates have been elected or appointed to public office, and thousands have run for office under the Libertarian banner.

26. Libertarian Party Platform • "As Libertarians, we seek a world of liberty; a world in which all individuals are sovereign over their own lives and no one is forced to sacrifice his or her values for the benefit of others." • Its Statement of Principles begins: "We, the members of the Libertarian Party, challenge the cult of the omnipotent state and defend the rights of the individual." • The platform emphasizes individual liberty in personal and economic affairs, avoidance of "foreign entanglements" and military and economic intervention in other nations' affairs and free trade and migration. • It calls for Constitutional limitations on government as well as the elimination of most state functions. It includes a "Self-determination" section which quotes from the Declaration of Independence and reads: "Whenever any form of government becomes destructive of individual liberty, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to agree to such new governance as to them shall seem most likely to protect their liberty." • It also includes an "Omissions" section which reads: "Our silence about any other particular government law, regulation, ordinance, directive, edict, control, regulatory agency, activity, or machination should not be construed to imply approval.“

27. Libertarian Video • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMvKck3KvfU • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAiYlaGxyV0&feature=related

28. The Rent is Too Damn High Party • Well....... • I think the name explains itself....... • Here is a video... • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4o-TeMHys0