{"id":21149,"date":"2021-02-02T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-02-02T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/realprogressives.org\/?p=38756"},"modified":"2021-02-02T13:00:00","modified_gmt":"2021-02-02T13:00:00","slug":"the-3rd-party-resurgence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2021\/02\/02\/the-3rd-party-resurgence\/","title":{"rendered":"The 3rd Party Resurgence"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\u201cThe men the American people admire most extravagantly are the most daring liars; the men they detest most violently are those who try to tell them the truth.\u201d <\/em> <\/p>H.L. Mencken<\/em><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
This article is part of a three-part series on the history of parties and partisan politics in America.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe Democratic Party is ideologically bankrupt. \u2026 They have no ideology. Their ideology is opportunism.\u201d <\/p>Bernie Sanders<\/em><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
The millennium marked the beginning of the end for the duopoly. A third-party resurgence was, and is, underway. Here are just five party examples: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Green Party<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 <\/em><\/strong>2001<\/em><\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A federation of state Green Parties, the national Green Party of the United States is a truly left party. Focusing on Ecosocialism and ecopolitics, their policies are far more progressive than those of Bernie Sanders or Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, and the Green Party has advocated for its stronger positions longer than any \u201cprogressive Democrat.\u201d Currently possessing ballot access in 26 states, the Green party is well established. They also have 160 officially recognized Green elected officials throughout the country as of 2020. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The platform calls for a Green New Deal, Medicare For All, a UBI, Democracy Reforms, and pretty much every other progressive policy you can think of. Their 2020 presidential nominee, Howie Hawkins, broke the Green Party mold by being MMT-friendly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
American Solidarity Party<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 <\/em><\/strong>2011<\/em><\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A Christian democratic party, the American Solidarity Party (ASP) is often branded as centrist. However, they are center-right, like the Democratic Party and the Movement for a People’s Party. Describing themselves as socially conservative, they focus on upholding the Constitution, strong families, voluntary associations, and local communities. They believe in strongly defending religious freedoms. They are also staunchly anti-choice. Even when I have confronted thousands of ASP members (social media is miraculous) with the fact that restrictive abortion laws lead to more abortions<\/a> and more dead mothers, they simply double-down on their anti-choice \u201cabortion is murder\u201d rhetoric. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
They sometimes claim to be ‘progressive’, but they only support a nominal social safety net and a vague transition to more renewable energy. They do not call for the bold, systemic changes necessary to save human civilization and, therefore, human families. Ironic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Movement for a People\u2019s Party<\/strong> (MPP)<\/strong> \u2013 <\/strong>2020<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Following the media wave of their so-called ‘People\u2019s Convention,’ the MPP formed and declared itself a new major party in America. Putting aside the fact that you cannot just declare ‘major party status’, the MPP is rife with problems. Run as a top-down entity with celebrities, spokespeople, and advisors, MPP leaders have compared rank-and-file organizers to ‘Salvation Army bell ringers’ that should not and do not have any say in their campaigns.<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n
People have been calling for the party to reform itself to\u00a0operate\u00a0with\u00a0some form of\u00a0democracy. Leadership\u00a0is either restrictive, non-responsive,\u00a0or absent in Slack, their online workspace.\u00a0\u00a0The MPP has used\u00a0Twitter to admit, several\u00a0times, they\u00a0do not\u00a0want to be a left\u00a0party, they\u00a0want to conform to red-state voters,\u00a0and they\u00a0plan\u00a0to use\u00a0(unprincipled) populism to win elections.\u00a0Clearly, the\u00a0MPP\u00a0wants\u00a0to be another\u00a0ineffectual\u00a0big tent\u00a0party like the Democrats.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n