Political Parties Essay, Research Paper
As I quickly near the legal voting age, I find myself faced with a big decision
; should I register as a democrat, as my forefathers before me have or , check
into some of these other political parties. -After much consideration, I decided
to see what all the commotion was about. What a surprise it was to me to see
that there were parties other that Democrats, Republicans and Liberals.
Political parties server some useful purposes in the U.S. political system.
They are , in fact , handy vehicles for accomplishing one essential purpose of
politics….winning elections (1)
In the upcoming pages, I have given at least a brief description of the Political
Parties I have found. The ones that interested me the most I researched more
in depth.
Until I began researching this paper, I really never dreamed there was this
many political parties…..I had only heard of Democrats and Republicans. Boy
was I in for a surprise .
1. American Reform Party – free-standing, national group that formally split
from Ross Perot and his Dallas-based Reform Party.; On October 3 to 5,
1997, an historic convention of state Reform Pprinciples of reform espoused
by Ross Perot, the new party has formally split from Mr. Perot and his
Dallas-based Reform Party. arty officials was held in Schaumburg, IL. The
American Reform Party (ARP) was established as a democratic, self-
governing, and free-standing national party.
(2)http://dir.yahoo.com/Government/U_S__Government/Politics/Parties/
2. Communist Party U.S.A. ; Marxist-Leninist working-class party that
unites Black, Brown and white, men and women, youth and seniors.
For some reason, I could not even be attentive to this info. I guess it is a
predjudice instilled in me since a child
3. Confederate Party of America – Now this caught my eye. I am a
member of the Confederate Sons of America (ggrandfather and ggrandfather
were Confederate Soldiers)so I thought this one would really be worth
looking into, but as it turnd out, I do not believe a lot of common sense is
used here. The Confederate Party believes in abolishing the IRS and
establishing a National Sales Tax (NST) and is supposed to be a party of
common sense. The Confederate Party believes in a government that our
founding fathers designed — a government that serves us — the people. The
citizens of the United States are not servants to the government. Americans
should not be enslaved nor dependent upon a government that consistently
violated the Constitution of the United States of America. Election after
election has given us Republican and Democratic administrations that are
incapable of managing the nation’s affairs competently, justly, or lawfully.
The Confederate Party supports State’s Rights and ensuring the unalienable
right of every American to Life, Liberty, Property, and the Pursuit of
Happiness by defending the Constitution of the United States of America. We
believe in abolishing the IRS and establishing a National Sales Tax
4. Constitutionalist Party – new political party dedicated to the
advancement of human liberty and adherence to the U.S. Constitution.
?Creator’s Rights Party
5. Democratic Party ?Democratic Socialists of America ,
Democratic Party stands not only for working people, but for bringing people who are
poor and disenfranchised into the system to make us all a part of a better society.
Democrats often refer to themselves as the Part of Hope, and refer to their counterpart,
The Republicans, as The Party of Memory. Democrats believe in moving on. As Senator
Ted Kennedy once said, “…the fundamental appeal of the Democratic Party has always
been grounded in the principles of fairness,opportunity , equal justice for ail and a firm
belief that the mission of government is not to stand on the sidelines,but to be active in
pursuing these goals for the people.” (4)
Our family has been democrats for generations but when I ask my dad for a
definition of a democrat. His reply was simply , ” Hes a damn good man”.
You don’t even want to know his definition of a republican.
6. Green Party This Party’s first priority is said to be value-based politics, in
contrast to a system extolling exploitation, consumption, and non-sustainable
competition.They believe in an alternative, independent politics and active,
responsible government. They believe in empowering citizens and
communities and offer hope and a call to action.
7. Labor Party , A dream it is, sounds good but would never work
Goals:
1. Amend the Constitution to Guarantee Everyone a Job at a Living Wage
2. Pay Laid-off Workers Two Months Severance for Every Year of Service
3. Restore Workers Rights to Organize, Bargain and Strike
4. End Bigotry: An Injury to One Is an Injury to All
5. Guarantee Universal Access to Quality Health Care
6. More Time for Family and Community
A 32-Hour, 4-day Work Week , Double-time Minimum for All Overtime,
An Hour Off with Pay for Every two Hours of Overtime, 20 Mandatory
Paid Vacation Days for All , One Year Paid Leave for Every Seven
Years of Work
7. Protect Our Families ?Paid Family Leave, Flexible Working Schedules,
?Affordable Child and Elder Care for All, Mandatory Minimum Pensions for
All, ?Guaranteed Adequate Annual Income for All
8. Ensure Everyone Access to Quality Public Education
9. Stop Corporate Abuse of Trade
10. End Corporate Welfare as We Know It
11. Make the Wealthy Pay their Fair Share of Taxes
12. Revitalize the Public Sector
13. End Corporate Domination of Elections
14. Build A Just Transition Movement to Protect Jobs and the Environment
15. Enforce Safety & Health Regulation with Worker Inspectors
16. Reclaiming the Workplace: Job Design, Technology and Skill
I think the Labor Party would be ideal for me. Seems to me that they simply
want more money for less work. I would love this , but realistically , no
company could afford to meet their demands, and if they did, their services to
consumers would be outrageous. Sounds good on paper though
8. Libertarian Party
NO MORE INCOME TAX, STOP INTERNET CENSORSHIP, PRO-
CHOICE ON EVERYTHING, END THE WAR ON DRUGS, The
Libertarian Party is America’s third largest and fastest growing political party.
Libertarians engage in a variety of projects, working for everyone’s liberty on
every issue.
The Libertarian Party was created in December of 1971 by people who
realized that the politicians had strayed from America’s original libertarian
foundation, with disastrous results. Their vision was the same as that of
America’s founders — a world where individuals are free to follow their own
dreams in their own ways, a world of peace, harmony, opportunity, and
abundance.
Libertarians are practical; we know we can’t make the world perfect. But, it
can be better. Libertarians will keep working to create a better, freer society
for everyone. As William Allen White said: “Liberty is the only thing you
cannot have unless you are willing to give it to others.”
Libertarians believe in the American heritage of liberty, enterprise, and
personal responsibility.
Libertarians recognize the responsibility we all share to preserve this precious
heritage for our children and grandchildren. : Libertarians believe that being
free and independent is a great way to live. We want a system which
encourages all people to choose what they want from life; that lets them live,
love, work, play, and dream their own way. :
The Libertarian way is a caring, people-centered approach to politics. We
believe each individual is unique. We want a system which respects the
individual and encourages us to discover the best within ourselves and
develop our full potential. :
The Libertarian way is a logically consistent approach to politics based on the
moral principle of self-ownership.
or her own body, action, speech, and property. Government’s only role is to
help individuals defend themselves from force and fraud. ;
The Libertarian Party is for all who don’t want to push other people around
and don’t want to be pushed around themselves. Live and let live is the
Libertarian way.
The Liberterian Party, now that is exactly what it would be….. a party. I
would nearly guess that this party was established during the 60’s era. Sounds
like a no restrictions/ no moral kind of government to me. Sounds like fun,
but what happens when the partys over?
9. National Patriot Party – affiliates in 26 states, including several with
ballot status. Its focus is on democratic political restructuring and fiscal
reform. . The Patriot Party, founded in April 1994, was, in essence, an
experiment. Pro-third partyists who had become politically active through the
Perot ‘92 campaign and independents based among what have been
traditionally Democratic Party and liberal constituencies — African
Americans, Hispanics, gays and progressives — came together in hopes of
creating a new party. Claiming to have set out to create something unique and
specifically suited to this moment in American political life — a moment in
which the vast majority of Americans, from different walks of life, are deeply
alienated from and distrustful of our government and its two party rule. Ross
Perot’s 1992 campaign had thoroughly exposed this and the Patriot Party
wanted to create a political instrument that was responsive. The Patriot Party
is not a party based on any ideology — not conservative, not moderate, not
liberal– but has a vision of including all Americans, regardless of ideology, in
a new kind of party oriented toward political and fiscal reform and
government accountability.
10. New Party The New Party is a progressive political organization taking
root around the U.S. By starting small and thinking long-term, They are
building a multi-racial, lively and creative political organization that can, over
time, break the stranglehold that corporate money and corporate media have
over our political process.
For the last five years they have focused on local elections, and have won
more than 200of our first 300 races. This fall, for example,they won 7 of 7
races in Little Rock – electing New Party members tothe City Board, County
Board, and State Legislature.They now have 4 members on the 10-person
City Board, andare launching amajor campaign toend urban sprawl and invest
in poor neighborhoods.
And in Montgomery County, MD, they helped elect the former director of
Common Cause to the County Council, unseating a15-year incumbent
conservative.They now have 4 members on the 9-person council and are
fighting to win an ambitious Living Wage and Responsible Development
ordinance.
Attempting to do the same thing in other cities across the country – from
Chicago to Missoula, Long Island to Minneapolis. Hoping to demonstrate
that by building strong coalitions, recruiting a real membership base, and
focusing on the issues people care about, progressives can win and govern
effectively.
11.Pansexual Peace Party – Platform and propaganda of this radical grass-
roots party. The Pansexual Peace Party (PPP) is a grass-roots political party
based in the United States of America. The principal premise of the PPP is
that peace is possible. The primary purpose of the PPP pages is to promote
positive political progress and the partnership paradigm through prurient
propaganda. The specifics of public policy which the PPP advocates are
complex, and are outlined below. The basic underlying ethic is maximization
of peace, freedom, creative expression, and the glorification of human
sexuality. This of course entails the minimization of violence, authority,
indoctrination, and sexual repression. The motto of the PPP is the Wiccan
Rede, and the PPP aligns itself with all political and social organizations
which are working to reduce the harm that human beings inflict on one
another as well as on the rest of the earth. The political philosophy of the PPP
is rooted in many diverse philosophical and spiritual traditions.
The PANSEXUAL PEACE PARTY in no way advocates the overthrow of
any existing government. We condemn all acts of violence, including but not
limited to sabotage, assault, theft, bombing, assassination, and torture.
Mankind without a common authority , is predatory. Society released , as
occasionally happens, from the respect and dread of government promptly
exhibits the most violent and terrible tendencies. (3)
It is my opinion that this is a unrealistic point of view, If you take away
athority , you are asking for violence
12. Puritan Party – aims to revive the nation as a theocracy.
While I am a God Fearing young man, I have no desire to head back into the
days in which one could be put to death for fornication.
13. Republican Party At the time of its founding, the Republican Party was
organized as an answer to the divided politics, political turmoil, arguments and internal
division, particularly over slavery, that plagued the many existing
political parties in the United States in 1854. Abolishing slavery. Free speech. Women’s
suffrage. were the early goals of the republican Party, Reducing the government.
Streamlining the bureaucracy. Returning power to the states is the platform that they now
represent
On July 6, 1854, in Jackson, Mich., the Republican Party formally
organized itself by holding its first convention, adopting a platform and
nominating a full slate of candidates for state offices. Other states soon
followed, and the first Republican candidate for president, John C.
Fr?mont, ran in 1856 with the slogan “Free soil, free labor, free
speech, free men, Fr?mont.”
With the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860, the Republicans firmly
established themselves as a major party capable of holding onto the
White House for 60 of the next 100 years.
Very little interest did I get in this area
14. United States Independent American Party – united by a common
Religious Right ideology.
A bit more liberal than the Puritan Party but still seems to pick out certain
religious ideas and try steadfastly to promote them while litterally ignoring
others
15. Workers Party USA – working-class party that fights against capitalism.
I never could understand exactly what this meant. It seems that this party
seems to promote the idea that workers and their superiors should share the
same priviledges and pay. Could end up with”Too many chiefs and not
enough indians”
I hope by my research I have enlighened you , the reader , on some of the
many choices facing you. To sum it all up I must say, While the party one
affiliates onself with can tell you a lot about a man, get to know the
individuals goals , hopes and dreams.
More important than anything, be sure and vote ! Many issues have been
decided by a one vote margin, so never think your vote does not count !
Good Luck on deciphering all the political jargon out there and remember if
not satisfied with your decision , you can always change parties.
As long as there are persons with different ideas and dreams there will be
differant politacal parties forming. We have the right to do that . That is a
guaranteed right we inherited though The Constitution of The United States of
America. It truly is great to be an American.
(1)Anonymous. “The Volume Library”, Copyright, The Southwestern Company 1992
(2)Anonymous.
“http://www.dir.yahoo.com/Government/U_S_Government/Politics/Parties/”
(3) The Lincoln Library of Essential Information, The Frontier Press Company , Buffalo
New York, First Edition, 1924, Twentfifth Edition, 1961, Library of Congress
Catalog Number 24-14708
(4)http://www.kydemocrat.com/faqs.htm