What other "3rd" Parties are out there?

[@DCGoldPants]

I know about the Green and Reform.

But, does anybody have a list of all the smaller parties that get no play?

[@DCGoldPants]

Nevermind, I found some.

THE THIRD PARTIES:

(Listed in Alphabetical Order

Note: "One-State-Only" parties are listed on ONLY on the STATE pages)

America First Party - The America First Party was founded in 2002 by a large group of "Buchanan Brigade" defectors who splintered away from the declining Reform Party to form this uncompromisingly social conservative and fair trade party (with a strong foundation in the Religious Right movement). The views of the party largely echo those espoused by commentator Pat Buchanan during his three Presidential bids. The AFP vows to "protect our people and our sovereignty ... promote economic growth and independence ... encourage the traditional values of faith, family, and responsibility ... ensure equality before the law in protecting those rights granted by the Creator ... [and] to clean up our corrupted political system." Within a month of the AFP's founding, ten former Reform Party state chapters formally broke away from the RP and affiliated with the AFP. By the August 2002 National Convention, the AFP had affiliates in around 20 states -- and they hoped to be organized in nearly all 50 states by the end of 2003. Within a year, those hopes were dashed. The AFP's national chair, vice chair and treasurer all resigned in mid-2003 after a hardcore group affiliated with ultra-right militia movement leader Bo Gritz purportedly grabbed control of key party elements for a short while. Others in the AFP denied this, saying the Gritz complaints were just a pretext to mask serious financial problems and personality divisions within the party that really caused the collapse. So -- for whatever reasons -- many AFP state parties apparently left the national party for the same reason. The AFP National Convention -- set for July 2003 -- was cancelled. The party even abandoned the possibility of fielding a Presidential candidate in 2004. A Buchananite AFP faction started to rebuild the shattered party in 2004, and vows to again field candidates in 2006.

American Party - The AP is a very small, very conservative, Christian splinter party formed after a break from the American Independent Party in 1972. US Senator Jesse Helms (R-NC) and Governor Mel Thomson (R-NH) both flirted with the American Party's presidential nomination in 1976, but both ultimately declined. The party won its strongest finish in the 1976 presidential election -- nominee Tom Anderson carried 161,000 votes (6th place) -- but has now largely faded into almost total obscurity. The party's 1996 Presidential candidate -- anti-gay rights activist and attorney Diane Templin -- carried just 1,900 votes. Former GOP State Senator Don Rogers of California -- the 2000 nominee for President -- did even worse as he failed to qualify for ballot status in any states. The party -- which used to field a sizable amount of state and local candidates in the 1970s -- rarely fields more than a handful of nominees nationwide in recent years, although they do claim local affiliates in 15 states. Beyond the pro-life, pro-gun and anti-tax views that you'd expect to find, the American Party also advocates an end to farm price supports/subsidies, privatization of the US Postal Service, opposes federal involvement in education, supports abolition of the Environmental Protection Agency, supports repeal of NAFTA, opposes minimum wage laws, opposes land use zoning regulations and opposes convening a Constitutional convention. Of course, the AP also opposes the United Nations, the New World Order, communism, socialism and the Trilateral Commission. As in 2000, the party's 2004 Presidential ticket failed to qualify for the ballot in any states.

American Heritage Party - The AHP, formerly the Washington State affiliate of the USTP/Constitution Party, broke away from that group in 2000 because of religious grounds (i.e., while the CP is clearly a Religious Right party, it is not explicitly a Christian party). Thus, the AHP describes itself as "a political party that adopts the Bible as its political textbook and is unashamed to be explicitly Christian ... [and] whose principles are drawn from Scripture." The AHP planned to become a national conservative party, with the ultimate goal of fielding candidates around the nation in coming years. The party previously fielded some candidate for Congress, Governor and local offices in Washington in 1998 -- but ran just one local candidate in 2000 and another one in 2002. No candidates since then, and the party now seems focused on teaching their views through a 60-hour study course.

American Independent Party - Governor George C. Wallace (D-AL) founded the AIP and ran as the its first Presidential nominee in 1968. Running on a right-wing, anti-Washington, anti-racial integration, anti-communist platform, Wallace carried nearly 10 million votes (14%) and won 5 Southern states. Although Wallace returned to the Democratic Party by 1970, the AIP continued to live on -- although moving even further to the right. The 1972 AIP nominee, John Birch Society leader and Congressman John G. Schmitz (R-CA), carried nearly 1.1 million votes (1.4%). The 1976 AIP Presidential nominee was former Governor Lester Maddox (D-GA), a vocal segregationist -- but he fell far below Schmitz's vote total. The AIP last fielded its own national Presidential candidate in 1980, when they nominated white supremacist ex-Congressman John Rarick (D-LA) -- who carried only 41,000 votes nationwide. The AIP still fields local candidates in a few states -- mainly California -- but is now merely a state affiliate party of the national Constitution Party. For the past three presidential elections, the AIP simply co-nominated the Constitution Party's Presidential nominee.

American Nazi Party - Exactly what the name implies ... these are a bunch of uniformed, swastika-wearing Nazis! This party is a combination of fascists, Aryan Nations-type folks, "White Power" racist skinheads and others on the ultra-radical political fringe. As a political party, the American Nazi Party has not fielded a Presidential candidate since Lincoln Rockwell ran as a write-in candidate in 1964 (he was murdered in 1967 by a disgruntled ANP member) -- nor any other candidate for other offices since the mid-1970s (although a loosely affiliated candidate ran for Congress in Illinois in a Democratic primary in 2000). The ANP believes in establishing an Aryan Republic where only "White persons of unmixed, non-Semitic, European descent" can hold citizenship. They support the immediate removal of "Jews and non-whites out of all positions of government and civil service -- and eventually out of the country altogether." This miniscule party -- while purportedly denouncing violence and illegal acts -- blends left-wing economic socialism, right-wing social fascism and strong totalitarian sentiments.

American Reform Party - The ARP, formerly known as the National Reform Party Committee, is a group that splintered away from Ross Perot's Reform Party in 1997. The ARP claimed the Perot organization was unfocused and anti-democratic when the memberships' views clashed with Perot's views. In 1998, the ARP fielded some candidates for state and federal offices in "Reform Party" primaries against candidates backed by Perot's Reform Party with mixed results. The ouster of Perot's allies from control of the Reform Party at the 1999 national convention looked like a move towards ending the split. However, the restoration of control to the Perot forces in early 2000 and the subsequent hostile takeover of state party affiliates by the Pat Buchanan followers killed any move by the ARP folks to rejoin the Reform Party. Instead, the ARP ultimately shifted towards the left and opted to "endorse" (but not co-nominate) Green Party Presidential nominee Ralph Nader in the 2000 elections. Since then, the ARP has become virtually invisible on the political scene -- fielding only four state/local candidates nationwide in 2002 (plus co-endorsing several other third party candidates) and no Presidential candidate in 2004. The ARP vows to rebuild, and launched some new state affiliate parties in 2004-05.

Christian Falangist Party of America - A "Falangist" -- just in case you've forgotten -- is a follower of the authoritarian political views advocated by the late Spanish dictator Francisco Franco (to wit: largely a blend of 1930s fascist ideology, strong nationalism and conservative Catholic theology). Outside of Spain, Falanagists in Lebanan succeeded in electing Bashir Gemayel as President in 1982 -- but he was assassinated by Muslim terrorists before taking office. In addition to Franco and Gemayel, other deceased heroes of the movement include Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, Austrian fascist Engelbert Dollfuss, and Argentinian dictator Juan Peron. The CFPA wants to bring these Falangist politics to the Americas. As for the ideology, the CFPA appears to be closely affiliated with the Lebanese branch of the Falangist movement. The CFPA, founded in 1985, "is dedicated to fighting the 'Forces of Darkness' which seeks to destroy Western Christian Civilization." The CFPA site explicitly defines "Forces of Darkness" as being "Radical Islam, Communism/Socialism, the New World Order, the New Age movement, Third Position/Neo-Nazis, Free Masons, Abortionists, Euthanasianists, Radical Homosexuals and Pornographers." Numerous attacks against Islam can be found throughout the CFPA site (which also likely explain that CFPA's strong support of Israel). Yet, despite this lengthy list of foes that it wishes to destroy -- umm, "defend" themselves against (the wording they use) -- the CFPA helpfully notes it is "not a hate organization and does not condone acts of violence or hatred towards those of differing or opposing viewpoints and lifestyles, nor does it condone racism in any form." The CFPA desires to be a "direct action" political movement and promises to "bring excitement to the otherwise boring American political arena." The CFPA fielded it's first candidate in 2004: CFPA National Chairman Kurt Weber-Heller was a write-in candidate for President.

Communist Party USA- The CPUSA, once the slavish propaganda tool and spy network for the Soviet Central Committee, has experiences a forced transformation in recent years. Highly classified Soviet Politburo records, made public after the fall of Soviet communism, revealed that the Communist Party of the Soviet Union illegally funneled millions of dollars to the CPUSA to finance its activities from the 1920s to the 1980s. The flow of Soviet dollars to the CPUSA came to an abrupt halt when the communists were ousted from power there in 1991, ultimately causing a retooling of CPUSA activities. Founded in 1924, the CPUSA reached its peak vote total in 1932 with nominee William Z. Foster (102,000 votes - 4th place). The last national CPUSA ticket -- featuring the team of Gus Hall and Angela Davis -- was fielded back in 1984 (36,000 votes - 8th place). While the party has not directly fielded any of its own candidates for over a decade, the CPUSA has backed some candidates in various local elections (often in industrial communities) and engaged in grassroots political and labor union organizing. In the 1998 elections, longtime CPUSA leader Hall actually urged party members to vote for all of the Democratic candidates for Congress -- arguing that voting for any progressive third party candidates would undermine the efforts to oust the "reactionary" Republicans from control of Congress. As for issues, the CPUSA calls for free universal health care, elimination of the federal income tax on people earning under $60,000 a year, free college education, drastic cuts in military spending, "massive" public works programs, the outlawing of "scabs and union busting," abolition of corporate monopolies, public ownership of energy and basic industries, huge tax hikes for corporations and the wealthy, and various other programs designed to "beat the power of the capitalist class ... [and promote] anti-imperialist freedom struggles around the world." The CPUSA's underlying communist ideology hasn't changed much over the years, but the party's tactics have undergone a major shift (somewhat reminiscent of those used by the CPUSA in the late 1930s). After the death of hardline communist leader Hall in 2000, Gorbachev-style "reform communist" activist Sam Webb assumed leadership of the CPUSA. The CPUSA also maintains online sites for the People's Weekly World party newspaper, Political Affairs monthly party magazine, and the CPUSA's Young Communists League youth organization.

Constitution Party- Former Nixon Administration official and Conservative Coalition chairman Howard Phillips founded the US Taxpayers Party in 1992 as a potential vehicle for Pat Buchanan to use as a third party vehicle -- had he agreed to bolt from the GOP in 1992 or 1996. The USTP pulled together several of the splintered right-wing third parties -- including the once mighty American Independent Party -- into a larger, more visible political entity (although some state affiliate parties operate under names other than the USTP). Renamed as the Constitution Party in 1999, the party is strongly pro-life, anti-gun control, anti-tax, anti-immigration, protectionist, "anti-New World Order," anti-United Nations, anti-gay rights, anti-welfare, pro-school prayer ... basically a hardcore Religious Right platform. When Buchanan stayed in the GOP, Phillips ran as the USTP nominee in both 1992 (ballot status in 21 states - 43,000 votes - 0.04%) and 1996 (ballot spots in 39 states - 185,000 votes - 6th place - 0.2%) -- and as the Constitution nominee in 2000 (ballot status in 41 states - 98,000 votes - 6th place - 0.1%). The party started fielding local candidates in 1994. Still, for a new third party attempting to grow, the party has fielded disappointingly few local candidates since 1998 (and the few they have fielded have not performed well). The party received a brief boost in the media when conservative US Senator Bob Smith -- an announced GOP Presidential hopeful -- bolted from the Republican Party to seek the Constitution Party nomination in 2000 (although Smith exited from the Constitution Party race just two weeks later). At the 1999 national convention, the party narrowly adopted a controversial change to its platform's preamble which declared "that the foundation of our political position and moving principle of our political activity is our full submission and unshakable faith in our Savior and Redeemer, our Lord Jesus Christ" -- although the party officially invites "all citizens of all faiths" to become active in the party. Any national candidate seeking the party's nomination is explicitly required to tell the convention of any areas of disagreement with the party's platform. In Spring 2002, Pat Buchanan's 2000 VP runningmate Ezola Foster and many Reform Party leaders from California and Maryland defected to the Constitution Party, providing a nice boost to the party. Conservative attorney Michael Peroutka is the CP's 2004 Presidential nominee. The CP's old site is still online, too.

Constitutional Action Party - The CAP is a tiny Religious Right party that wants to abolish the federal income tax, ban all abortions, end Affirmative Action, impose protectionist trade tariffs, fight pornography and end federal involvement in education. CAP founder Frank Creel wrote Politics1 in January 1999 that the CAP "has had virtually no success since its 1995 founding. It has no local chapters anywhere, no candidates for office and no prospect of running a presidential candidate in 2000. There is little to no prospect that we will be able to hold a convention anytime soon. ... Only some sort of economic or other catastrophe will produce conditions favorable to the emergence of a new party." Still, the CAP keeps it small web site online, and recently updated the design. The CAP fielded its first candidate in 2002, when CAP Chair Frank Creel ran for Congress in Virginia.

Family Values Party - This ultra-conservative, theocratic party seems to exist mainly to promote the frequent federal candidacies of party founder Tom Wells. Wells explained that God spoke directly to him in his bedroom on December 25, 1994 at 2:00 a.m. and "commanded him to start" the FVP. To be exact, Wells said God specifically told him to encourage people to stop paying taxes until the public funding of abortion ends. The FVP political platform is largely derived from religious fundamentalism, including many specific citations to Bible passages. This "party" remains largely an alter-ego of Wells -- who always seems to be running as a write-in candidate for President or Congress (or both).

Freedom Socialist Party / Radical Women - The FSP -- formed in 1966 by a splinter group of dissident Trotskyites who broke away from the Socialist Workers Party -- describe themselves as "revolutionary feminist internationalists ... in the living tradition of Marx, Engels, Lenin and Trotsky." That's they reason they also refer to their entity as "Radical Women." They use the typical heavy-handed rhetoric found on most ultra-left party sites (example: "the masses will sweep every obstacle out of their path and ascend to the socialist future"). The FSP has party organizations in the US, Canada and Australia. In 1998, the FSP fielded a handful of local candidates in Washington, California and New York. The FSP has never fielded a Presidential candidate.

Grassroots Party - Originally launched as a Minnesota-based liberal party, the tiny GRP advocates the legalization of marijuana, promotes hemp farming and the establishment of a national system of universal health care (among other things). In general ideology, the GRP is very similar to the Greens -- but with a much stronger emphasis on marijuana/hemp legalization issues. The GRP fielded their first Presidential nominee -- Dennis Peron -- in 1996 (5,400 votes). In 1996, the GRP won permanent "major party" ballot status in Vermont. The Vermont affiliate was initially more libertarian and "states rights" oriented in philosophy than its leftist sister party in Minnesota (linked above) -- and 2000 Presidential nominee Denny Lane, came from this group (on the ballot in only one state and captured just 1,044 votes - 12th place - 0.001%). Since 1996, most Minnesota GRP activists jumped to either the Green Party or the Democratic Grassroots Caucus. In 2002, many of the libertarian-leaning Vermont GRP leaders bolted to the Libertarian Party -- a move that has restored the Vermont faction to largely being a leftist, marijuana/hemp legalization party. The remnants of the Minnesota GRP disbanded and merged into the Liberal Party of Minnesota in 2002.

Green Party of the United States (Green Party) - The Green Party -- the informal US-affiliate of the left-wing, environmentalist European Greens movement -- scored a major achievement when it convinced prominent consumer advocate Ralph Nader to run as their first Presidential nominee in 1996. Spending just over $5,000, Nader was on the ballot in 22 states and carried over 700,000 votes (4th place - 0.8%). In 2000, Nader raised millions of dollars, mobilized leftist activists and grabbed national headlines with his anti-corporate campaign message. Nader ignored pleas from liberal Democrats that he abandon the race because he was siphoning essential votes away from Al Gore's campaign -- answering that Gore was not substantially different than Bush and that his own campaign was about building a permanent third party. In the end, Nader was on the ballot in 44 states and finished third with 2,878,000 votes (2.7%) -- seemingly depriving Gore of wins in some key states. More significantly, Nader missed the important 5% mark for the national vote, meaning that the party will still be ineligible for federal matching funds in 2004 (Note: a third Nader run is still possible as he said "I haven't ruled out going in 2004" in February 2002). Until 2001, the Greens are largely a collection of fairly autonomous state/local based political entities with only a weak (and sometimes splintered) national leadership structure that largely served to coordinate electoral activities. This faction -- formerly named the Association of State Green Parties (ASGP) -- is the larger and more moderate of the two unrelated Green parties. The ASGP voted in 2001 to convert from an umbrella coordinating organization into a formal and unified national party organization. Other useful Green Party links and information can also be found at the Green Parties of North America (unofficial), Green Information (unofficial), Green Pages (official online magazine), Green Party News Circulator (official - recent news clippings about the party) and Green Party Election Results sites (unofficial). The official youth wing of the party is the Campus Greens. Strong local Green Parties exist -- with ballot status -- in a handful of states. The Green Party Platform 2000 sets forth the party's official views. The Green Alliance is an officially sanctioned, national network of Green Party political clubs.

The Greens/Green Party USA (G/GPUSA) - The G/GPUSA is the older, smaller and more stridently leftist of the two Green parties. While the GPUSA also nominated Nader for President in 2000, Nader rejected the G/GPUSA nomination and embraced the other Green party. Prominent Nader campaign strategist Jim Hightower described the two Green factions as follows in 2001: "There are two Green party organizations -- the [Green Party of the US] whose nomination Ralph accepted and the much smaller one [G/GPUSA] ... on the fringes ... [with] all sorts of damned-near-communistic ideas." Some in the G/GPUSA protested that Hightower's comments were a bit unfair -- but read the G/GPUSA 2000 Platform and decide for yourself. While the Green Party and the rival G/GPUSA appear to be very similar -- they advocate tactical (and some ideological) differences and somewhat compete with claims to the titular leadership of the national Green movement. The G/GPUSA largely emphasizes direct action tactics over traditional electoral politics. A majorty of the G/GPUSA delegates voted that the party's 2001 convention to merge into the Green Party of the US -- but the motion ultimately failed for lack of the required 2/3 majority. That outcome prompted many of the G/GPUSA activists to independently jump to the Green Party of the US -- forming a new leftist caucus within the Green Party of the US -- and leaving the G/GPUSA as a sizably diminished and more dogmatically Marxist party.

Independence Party - After two years of openly feuding with Ross Perot's allies in the Reform Party, Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura and his supporters bolted from the party to launch the new Independence Party in February 2000. In departing, Ventura denounced the Reform Party as "hopelessly dysfunctional" and far too right-wing (in its embrace of Pat Buchanan's candidacy). While this splinter party shared the Reform Party's call for campaign finance and other political reforms, Ventura's organization disagrees with the more social conservative and trade protectionist views espoused by many new leaders in the Reform Party. The IP -- which is entirely under the control of Ventura and his allies -- describes itself as "Socially Inclusive and Fiscally Responsible." Like Ventura, the IP is pro-choice, pro-gay rights, pro-medical marijuana, pro-gun rights and fiscally moderate. The IP fielded a slate of Congressional and state candidates in Minnesota in 2000. Ventura said he hoped to take this Minnesota party national and possibly field a Presidential nominee in 2004. However, as of 2002, the IP had nascent affiliate parties organizing in just a handful of states. Ventura's retirement decision in 2002 was also a blow to the IP. Retired Congressman Tim Penny -- a former Democrat -- was the IP nominee for Minnesota Governor in 2002, but he finished a distant third. Also in 2002, IP co-founder Dean Barkley became the first IP member to serve in Congress when Ventura appointed him to the US Senate to complete the two months of a term left open by the death of the incumbent. The Independence Party Campus Network is the student wing of the party.

Independent American Party - The small Independent American Party has existed for years in several Western states -- a remnant from the late Alabama Governor George Wallace's once-powerful American Independent Party of the 1968-72 era. Converting the unaffiliated IAP state party organizations -- united by a common Religious Right ideology (similar to the Constitution Party) -- into a national IAP organization was an effort started in 1998 by members of Utah IAP. The Idaho IAP and Nevada IAP subsequently affiliated with the fledgling US-IAP in late 1998 ... and the party established small chapters in 15 other states since then. The various IAP state parties endorsed Constitution Party nominee Howard Phillips for President in 1996 and 2000. In December 2000, the IAP's national chairman issued a statement noting that third parties in general registered a "dismal" performance in the Presidential election -- and questioned the IAP's future participation in Presidential campaigns. Instead, he suggested that the IAP limit itself to congressional, state and local races in the future. In 2001, the IAP voted to formally associate with the Independent National Committee (INC), an umbrella organization for like-minded third parties. Based upon that affiliation, the IAP in 2002 "adopted" over 50 candidates from various other conservative parties.

Labor Party - The Labor Party is a liberal entity created in 1996 by a sizable group of labor unions including the United Mine Workers, the Longshoremen, American Federation of Government Employees, California Nurses Association and many labor union locals. The party says it was formed because "on issues most important to working people -– trade, health care, and the rights to organize, bargain and strike -– both the Democrats and Republicans have failed working people." Ideologically, they seem close to the style of the late, labor-friendly Vice President Hubert Humphrey and US Senator Scoop Jackson wing of the Democratic Party circa 1960s. A new party, they endorsed their first state and federal candidates in 1998 in Wyoming ("Green/Labor Alliance") -- and two more candidates in local races in California and Ohio in 2001 -- but none since then. This group seems closely aligned ideologically with the New Party. The Labor Party has adopted a policy of "running candidates for positions where they can help enact and enforce laws and policies to benefit the working class and where we can best advance the goals and priorities of the Labor Party." The party also gets involved in local and state ballot initiatives. The Labor Party held a national convention in 2002 and seems to be making some efforts to revive itself as a forum for the debate of issues.

Libertarian Party - The LP, founded in 1971, bills itself as "America's largest third party." Libertarians are neither left nor right ... they believe in total individual liberty (pro-drug legalization, pro-choice, pro-gay marriage, pro-home schooling, anti-gun control, etc.) and total economic freedom (anti-welfare, anti-government regulation of business, anti-minimum wage, anti-income tax, pro-free trade, etc.). The LP espouses a classical laissez faire ideology which, they argue, means "more freedom, less government and lower taxes." Over 400 LP members currently hold various -- though fairly low level -- government offices (including lots of minor appointed officials like "School District Facilities Task Force Member" and "Town Recycling Committee Member"). Typically, the LP fields more local candidates than any other US third party -- although the LP has clearly been eclipsed by the Greens in size since 1996 in terms of having the largest third party following and garnering the most media attention. Former 1988 LP Presidential nominee Ron Paul is now a Republican Congressman from Texas -- although Paul is still active with the LP. The LP's biggest problem: Ron Paul, former NM Governor Gary Johnson, PJ O'Rourke, the Republican Liberty Caucus and others in the GOP are working to attract ideological libertarians into the political arena -- arguing they can bring about libertarian change more easily under the Republican label. LP Presidential nominee Ed Clark carried over 921,000 votes (1.1%) in 1980. Subsequent nominees for the next dozen years, though not as strong as Clark, typically ran ahead of most other third party candidates. LP Presidential nominee Harry Browne carried over 485,000 votes (5th place - 0.5%) in 1996 and 386,000 votes in 2000 (5th place - 0.4%). The LP has affiliates in all 50 states. The LP web site features a link to the World's Smallest Political Quiz ... take the quiz and see if you're a libertarian (a bit simplistic -- but interesting just the same). Keep up on the latest from the LP by reading the Libertarian Party News online. The College Libertarians also maintain a web directory. A "reform" faction (anti-Browne) within the party attempted to wrest control in 1999-2000 away from the incumbent leadership (pro-Browne), alleging that the controlling faction among the incumbents have serious ethical conflicts of interest as to which favored consultants receive the bulk of the LP's money (note: the incumbents denied the allegations and held control of the LP's top posts ... but this internal dissention is likely to continue for a long while). Michael Badnarik is the LP's 2004 Presidential nominee. Other related sites are: American Liberty Foundation (Browne's group) and GrowTheLP.org (LP outreach).

Light Party - The Light Party is is a generally liberal party -- falling somewhere between the Greens and New Age feel of the now defunct Natural Law Party -- and seems strongly centered around of party founder "Da Vid, M.D., Wholistic Physician, Human Ecologist & Artist" (he was also a write-in candidate for President in 1992, 1996, 2000 and 2004 -- and seems to be the only visible leader of the party). This San Francisco-based party's platform promotes holistic medicine, national health insurance, organic foods, solar energy, nuclear disarmament and a flat tax. Da Vid claims the party has "millions" of supporters -- but he counts everyone who supports any position advocated by the party. The party does not seriously seek to elect candidates but advance an agenda. Not that it has anything to do with politics, but the party does sell a nice CD of relaxing New Age music.

Natural Law Party - The Natural Law Party was a New Age entity founded and run by followers of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (the founder of the TM movement -- a movement that some have labeled as a cult). The NLP -- under the slogan "Bringing the light of science into politics" and using colorful imagery -- advocated holistic approaches, Transcendental Meditation , "yogic flying," and other peaceful "New Age" and "scientific" remedies for much of our national and international problems. The party ran nuclear physicist John Hagelin as the NLP Presidential nominee in 1992 (ballot status in 32 stares - 39,000 votes - 0.04%), 1996 (ballot status in 44 states - 7th place - 110,000 votes - 0.1%) and 2000 (ballot status in 39 stares - 7th place - 83,000 votes - 0.08%). The NLP also made a failed bid to capture control of the Reform Party in the course of the 2000 campaign -- working with the Perot forces to thwart Pat Buchanan's efforts -- although the NLP did attract some supporters from the breakaway factions within the disintegrating Reform Party. The NLP also made a brief grab for control of the Green Party, but that effort quickly fizzled. In 2002, the NLP tried a new strategy of stealthy infiltration by running NLP activists as candidates under various party labels including NLP, Democratic, Republican, Green and Libertarian. In 2003, the NLP endorsed the Presidential candidacy of Democratic Congressman Dennis Kucinich. In April 2004, the NLP suddenly shuttered its doors and announced that it would was disolved as a national party. However -- and the reason it remains posted here -- is that the NLP cut loose their various state affiliate parties to decide individually whether they also wished to disband or continue to function as independent state parties. It appears that at least a few state NLP groups are still functioning in 2004 -- but not many. The NLP seems to have entirely abandoned using electoral politics to advance their agenda and, instead, are now advocating something they call the US Peace Government.

New Party- This leftist party advocates a "democratic revolution" to advance the cause of "social, economic, & political progress" in America. Their agenda is much in the style of the Western European socialist and labor movement -- and somewhat similar to that of the late-1990s formed Labor Party (but the NP has more of a controlled growth outlook on environmental issues). Rather than fielding their own national slate or local candidates, the New Party has taken to largely endorsing like-minded candidates from other parties (mainly pro-labor Democrats like Chicago Congressman Danny K. Davis) and focusing on grassroots organizing. An amusing question: if the New Party lasts for 50 years, will they rename themselves the Old Party (or the "Fifty-Something" Party)? The New Party, to date, has endorsed candidates in about 400 local races around the country, and has active affiliate chapters in some communities. The NP site details the party's long-term strategy.

New Union Party - Founded in 1980 by defectors from the Socialist Labor Party, this DeLeonist militant democratic socialist party "advocates political and social revolution" but denounces violence and is "committed to lawful activities to overthrow the capitalist economic system." The NUP fielded its first candidates in 1980 -- but has fielded few candidates since then. The site features party history, an archive of past articles and an online "Marxist Study Course."

Peace & Freedom Party - Founded in the 1960s as a left-wing party opposed to the Vietnam War, the party reached its peak of support in 1968 when it nominated Black Panther leader Eldridge Cleaver for President. Although a convicted felon, Cleaver carried nearly 37,000 votes (ironically, Cleaver ultimately became a Reagan Republican in the early 1980s -- then a crack addict in the late 1980s -- before emerging as an environmental activist in the late 1990s). Famed "baby doctor" Benjamin Spock -- a leftist and staunch opponent of the Vietnam War -- was the PFP Presidential nominee in 1972. Since then, the small party has largely been dominated by battling factions of Marxist-Leninists (aligned with the Workers World Party), Trotskyists and non-communist left-wing activists. The PFP today is small, with activities largely centered in California. In 1996, the PFP successfully blocked an attempt by the WWP to capture the PFP's Presidential nomination (and a California ballot spot) for their party's nominee. In a sign of the party's serious decline in support, the PFP's poor showing in the 1998 statewide elections caused the party to lose its California ballot status. Likewise, they were unable to regain official ballot status by successive failed petition attempts for the 2000 and 2002 elections. However, the PFP finally regained its ballot status in 2003 -- and is already fielding candidates in 2004 for Congress and other offices.

Prohibition Party- "If you are a reform-minded conservative and a non-drinker, the Prohibition Party wants you," exclaimed an official party message in 2002. The Prohibition Party -- founded in 1869 and billing themselves as "America's Oldest Third Party" -- espouses a generally ultra-conservative Christian social agenda mixed with anti-drug and international anti-communist views. The party's strongest showing was in 1892, when John Bidwell received nearly 273,000 votes (2.3% - 4th place). Long-time party activist Earl F. Dodge has run as the Prohibition Party's presidential nominee in 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, and again in 2004. Dodge received just 208 votes in 2000 -- the party's worst electoral showing ever. The party also fields a few local candidates from time to time -- but 2002 was the first time since the 1860s that the party failed to field any candidates for any public office. An additional party-related organization is the Partisan Prohibition Historical Society, a group of party activists (somewhat independent of Dodge's control) that want to turn Prohibition Party policy into law. The anti-Dodge folks -- led by new National Chairman Don Webb -- seem to have wrested control of the party by fall 2003, and have now demoted Dodge to just be the party's "provisional" nominee for President. This is largely a matter of semantics, as Dodge will continue to run as the party's nominee and the party will be stuck semi-backing him as he secures ballot status in Colorado. The rival ticket led by Gene Amundson -- supported by the party leadership -- will also be on the Colorado ballot under another name.

Reform Party - Once of rapidly growing, populist third party, the Reform Party shifted far to the right in recent years -- but then experienced massive waves of conservative defections away into the Constitution Party and the new America First Party in 2002. First, some history: after running as an Independent in 1992, billionaire Texas businessman Ross Perot founded the Reform Party in 1995 as his vehicle for converting his independent movement into a permanent political party. In 1996, Perot ran as the Reform Party's presidential nominee (8,085,000 votes - 8%). Although an impressive showing for a third party, it was much less than the 19 million votes Perot carried as an independent candidate back in 1992. The party traditionally reflected Perot's center-conservative fiscal policies and anti-GATT/NAFTA views -- while avoiding taking any official positions on social issues (although much of this group seemed to hold generally libertarian social views). The RP was plagued by a lengthy period of nasty ideological battles in 1998-2000 involving three main rival groups: the "Old Guard" Perot faction, the more libertarian Jesse Ventura faction, and the social conservative Pat Buchanan faction. A fourth group -- a small but vocal Marxist faction led by RP activist Lenora Fulani -- generally backed the Perot faction during these fights. To make this even more confusing, the Perot faction ultimately turned to Natural Law nominee and Maharishi follower John Hagelin as its "Stop Buchanan" candidate for President. After several nasty and public battles, the Ventura faction quit the RP in Spring 2000 and the old Perot faction lost control of the party in court to the Buchanan faction in Fall 2000 (and Perot ultimately endorsed Bush for President in 2000). That gave the Buchanan Brigade the party's $12.6 million in federal matching funds. Within months, the Buchanan allies won control of nearly the entire party organization. Along with Buchanan's rise to power in the party, the party made a hard ideological shift to the right -- an ideological realignment that continues to dominate the RP. In the aftermath of the 2000 elections, it is clear that Buchanan failed in his efforts to establish a viable, conservative third party organization (comprised largely of disenchanted Republicans). Buchanan was on the ballot in 49 states, captured 449,000 votes (4th place - 0.4%) -- and later told reporters that his foray into third party politics may have been a mistake. His weak showing also meant that the party is ineligible for federal matching funds in 2004. The new RP had the opportunity to become the leading social conservative third party (think of it as a Green Party for the right) -- but more internal conflicts made this impossible. In Spring 2002, former Buchanan VP runningmate Ezola Foster and the California and Maryland RP leaders jumped to the Constitution Party. Almost simultaneously, the entire RP leadership in nearly 20 other states (the core of the Buchanan Brigade folks) defected en masse to form the new America First Party -- delivering a demoralizing and devastating blow the the future viability of the RP. The remaining pieces of the RP now appear to be trying to reorganize back into a more centrist party -- similar to the original one Perot wanted to create in the 1990s. But -- without Perot's involvement (and deep pockets) -- even a new, centrist RP may have serious trouble rebuilding itself. The RP appeared to be on the verge of bankruptcy by late 2004, with less than $50 remaining in its bank account.

The Revolution - This party -- simply named "The Revolution" -- seems to be an ideological hybrid between libertarianism and environmentalism, with a dash of New Deal liberal views thrown into the mix. The Revolution's 20-point platform calls for the legalizations of all victimless crimes (drugs, prostitution, etc.), the use of clean energy to stop global warming, massive tax cuts, an end ot corporate welfare, military spending cuts, an emphasis on human rights in foreign policy decisions, abolishing the CIA, government funding of the sciences to encourage "altruistic scientific and technological projects," and a promise to "repeal five times as many laws as we pass." The party's leader -- a digital culture journalist and cyberprankster who uses the pen name R.U. Sirius -- made a whimsical write-in bid for President in 2000.

Socialist Party USA - The SPUSA are true democratic socialists -- advocating left-wing electoral change versus militant revolutionary change. Many of the SP members could easily be members of the left-wing faction of the Democratic Party. Unlike most of the other political parties on this page with "Socialist" in their names, the SP has always been staunchly anti-communist. Founded by labor union leader, ex-Democratic elected official and pacifist Eugene V. Debs in 1900, the SP was once a mighty national third party. Debs himself was the SP nominee for president five times between 1900 and 1920. Debs received over 900,000 votes (6%) in 1912 -- the SP's best showing ever. Former minister and journalist Norman Thomas was the SP Presidential nominee 6 times between 1928 and 1948 -- his best showing being 883,000 votes (2.2%) in 1932. The SP also elected congressmen, mayors and other officials throughout the 20th Century (largely during the 1910s through 1950s). The withered and splintered so much that, by the last 1972, it barely existed. The Democratic Socialists of American and the Social Democrats USA --both linked below -- are the other splinter groups from the original Debs/Thomas SP. Activist from the old SP reconstituted the party in 1976 and began to again field SP national tickets for the first time in over two decades. Peace activist and former SP-USA National Chairman David McReynolds was the party's 2000 Presidential nominee, earning ballot status in seven states (7,746 votes - 8th place - 0.01% ...plus a bunch more write-in votes in New York and other states where election officials refused to tabulate individual write-in votes). The 2000 showing was a far cry from the SP glory days, but a major improvement over the party's 1996 showing. For 2004, former Democratic State Senator Walt Brown of Oregon is the SPUSA Presidential nominee. The party's youth wing -- the Young People's Socialist League -- has been in existence since the 1910s. Another official -- and very useful -- SP-USA resource is the Socialist Party USA Campaign Clearinghouse. The SP-USA's Socialist Net is a resource site covering the international democratic socialist movement and the American Socialist Foundation and an SP-USA affiliated educational group.

Socialist Action- Socialist Action is a Trotskyist political party originally founded by expelled members of the Socialist Workers Party. While the SA shares the SWP's pro-Castro views, the SA still tries to retain its Trotskyist ideological roots (versus the SWP, which has drifted away from Trotskyism towards a more Soviet communist ideology). The SA states that they "oppose the Democrats and Republicans, all capitalist political parties, and all capitalist governments and their representatives everywhere ... [and] Stalinist and neo-Stalinist regimes from the ex-Soviet Union to China." To date, this group of communists have fielded some local political candidates in San Francisco and a few other communities. Youth for Socialist Action is the youth wing of the party.

Socialist Equality Party- The Socialist Equality Party (SEP) was originally named the Workers League (WL). The WL was founded in 1966 as a Trotskyist communist group closely associated with the electoral campaigns of the Socialist Workers Party (SWP). The goal of these Trotskyist groups was a build a working-class labor party in the US affiliated with the International Committee of the Fourth International (the global Trotskyist umbrella network). They believe that "the egalitarian and internationalist legacy of the Russian Revolution" could have succeeded, but was "betrayed by Stalinism" and its progeny. When the SWP drifted away from Trotskyism in the early 1980s, the WL broke with the SWP and began fielding its own candidates. The WL fielded its first Presidential ticket in 1984. The WL later renamed itself as the Socialist Equality Party in 1994. The Michigan-based SEP regularly fielded Congressional and local candidates in several states in the late 1980s and 1990s. 1996 SEP Presidential nominee Jerry White was on the ballot in only three states and captured just 2,400 votes. After 1996, the SEP failed to field any candidates for any office until an SEP member competed in the 2003 California gubernatorial recall election (6,700 votes - 14th place out of 135). The SEP subsequently announced that it would field a 2004 Presidential ticket and as many Congressional candidates as possible. The SEP is very realistic about its chances for success in the election, acknowledging that they will "win only a limited number of votes." To the SEP, the campaign is an opportunity to "present a socialist alternative to the demagogy and lies of the establishment parties and the mass media." The SEP plans to use the 2004 race as a platform to "lay down the programmatic foundations for the building of a mass movement for a revolutionary transformation of American society." Part of that platform invovles replacing captialism with a Marxist system. The SEP also vows to remove all US soldiers from the Middle East, denounces imperialism, promises to "dismantle the Pentagon war machine" and eliminate weapons of mass destruction held by the US, and adopt "a socialist foreign policy based on international working class solidarity." If the SEP ticket gets on any ballots in 2004, they are unlikely to draw many votes. The SEP's news site -- the World Socialist Web Site (WSWS) -- is updated daily with articles, analysis, history, etc., written with a hardcore internationalist, Trotskyist perspective.

Socialist Labor Party - Founded in 1877, the SLP is a militant democratic socialist party. More moderate members of the SLP bolted to create the Socialist Party USA in 1901. The SLP ran Presidential tickets in every election between 1892 and 1976 (the SLP's final presidential candidate won 9,600 votes in the 1976 race). The high cost of fielding a Presidential ticket and restrictive ballot access laws caused the SLP to abandon future Presidential races in favor of nominating candidates for lower offices. The SLP -- which bills itself as the party of "Marxism-DeLeonism" -- still fields a few local candidates (mainly in New Jersey). The site features party history, info on Daniel DeLeon, a Marx-Engels archive, links and more. The SLP newspaper The People, first printed in 1891, also publishes regularly updated online editions.

Socialist Workers Party - Originally a pro-Trotsky faction within the Communist Party USA, the SWP was formed in 1938 after the CPUSA -- acting on orders from Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin -- expelled the American Trotskyites. The SWP was for many years the leading voice of Trotskyism in the USA. Since the 1980s, the SWP has drifted away from Trotskyism and moved towards the brand of authoritarian politics espoused by Cuban leader Fidel Castro's style of Marxism (the SWP sites calls Castro's Cuba "a shining example for all workers"). The SWP has run candidates for President in every election since 1948 -- plus local candidates in various states. Marxist political organizer James Harris was the SWP Presidential nominee in 1996 (ballot status in 11 states - 8,500 votes - 0.01%) and 2000 (ballot status in 14 states - 7,378 votes - 9th place - 0.01%). You can also read the SWP's newspapers The Militant (English) and Perspectiva Mundial (Spanish) online. It appears that SWP National Chair Martin Koppel will be the SWP Presidential nominee in 2004 -- even though he is constitutionally ineligible because he is a foreign-born, naturalized US citizen.

Southern Independence Party - The Southern Independence Party is a splinter party founded by dissident members of the now defunct Southern Party. While the rival factions of the SP reached a brief truce and reunification in 1999, it fell apart within months. Members from the "re-united" SP had sharp disagreements with SP Chair/Founder Jerry Baxley's leadership style and opted to launch this rival entity -- even though both parties espoused nearly identical ideological agendas. Others split off from the SP and vowed to form an "Independent Southern Party." Lots of bitter fighting, accusations and name calling going on between these rival camps. The SIP fielded a few candidates in 2000 -- but no signidficant activity since then. The SIP also outlived the SP, which disappeared in 2004. An unofficial SIP page is amusingly named Aw, Shucks!.

U.S. Pacifist Party- This tiny political party fielded a write-in candidate for President in 1996, 2000 and 2004, and a US Senate candidate in Colorado in 1998. The party opposes military actions in all circumstances and wants to transform the US military into "a non-violent defense and humanitarian service corps." The USPP platform advocates generally left-wing political stances and slashing the military budget to "zero." Staunchly opposed to nuclear weapons, the USPP believes that "unless nuclear weapons are deactivated, and nonviolent means developed to take the place of military violence for achieving justice and peace, civilization is doomed." To date, the USPP has run party founder Bradford Lyttle -- a lifelong activist for pacifism -- as a write-in Presidential candidate three times. While the USPP website indicated that Lyttle was also 2004 write-in candidate, the 75-year-old Lyttle did not wage an active campaign that year. No updates to the USPP site since the site's webmaster died in 2003. As of 2005, Lyttle was still organizing local peace marches around his Chicago homebase.

Veterans Party of America- The Veterans Party is a new entity, founded in 2003. The party vows to "give political voice for the first time since 1776, to the men and women who were willing to give the ultimate sacrifice for this country. No longer will they have to grovel and beg and fill out paperwork for years just to get what they proudly earned and were promised." The VPA fielded a few candidates in 2004, including a US Senate candidate in Florida. The party is not limited only to veterans, but is also intended to advocate for the families of US veterans. The party has already registered in eight states, and is in the process of attempting to organize in dozens of additional states. As for issues, the party avoids many of the social/morality issues. "If you want religious issues, go to your congregation and discuss it there ... Morals and morality come from your family not the govt. so if you want to tell other people how to live their lives, how to think, how to dress or what they can and cannot do to their bodies, then become a prison warden, or a political party in some middle eastern country and rule there," explains the party's platform preface. The Veterans Party wants to represent the rights and needs of veterans across the political spectrum -- which is why the party's top priority is improving the lives of those who served.

We The People Party- Former town councilman Jeffrey Peters founded this small party and ran as the WTP's write-in nominee for President in 2000. A politically centrist entity, the WTP bills itself as "the American People's Party." Peters competed in the 2000 New Hampshire Democratic Presidential primary in an attempt to capture some media attention for the nascent WTP's "campaign reform" platform but received just 156 votes (9th place) -- and ended up bitterly complaining that the media ignored him and labeled him a "fringe candidate." Peters grabbed a few headlines for his WTP Presidential campaign in early October 2000 with his "Boston TV Party" -- when he vowed to dump some TV sets into Boston harbor to protest the exclusion of third party candidates from the first Bush-Gore Presidential Debate. The WTP vowed to "build a powerful Coalition of Independents to win back The White House for the people in 2004" -- but the site (and party) have shown no activity since 2003.

Workers World Party - The WWP was formed in 1959 by a pro-Chinese communist faction that split from the Socialist Workers Party. Although the WWP theoretically supports worker revolutions, the WWP supported the Soviet actions that crushed worker uprisings in Hungary in the 1950s, Czechoslovakia in the 1960s and Poland in the early 1980s. The WWP was largely an issue-oriented revolutionary party until they fielded their first candidate for president in 1980. WWP Presidential nominee Monica Moorehead was on the ballot in 12 states in 1996 (29,100 votes - 0.03%) -- and was again the WWP's Presidential nominee in 2000 (ballot status in 4 states - 4,795 votes - 10th place - 0.004%). The militant WWP believes that "capitalist democracy produces nothing but hot air" and that "the power of the workers and the oppressed is in the streets, not in Washington." FBI Director Louis Freeh attacked the WWP in his May 2001 remarks before a US Senate committee: "Anarchists and extremist socialist groups -- many of which, such as the Workers World Party -- have an international presence and, at times, also represent a potential threat in the United States" of rioting and street violence. The well-designed site features regularly updated news stories from a pro-Cuba/pro-China communist perspective, so expect lots of dogmatic stories denouncing the US government, sexism, racism, the police and capitalists. The WWP also sponsors or directs numerous popular front groups including International ANSWER, All People's Congress, International Action Center, Nicaragua Network, Alliance for Global Justice, Pastors for Peace, and many others.

OTHER PARTIES:

(This "Other" category is for parties that have yet to field or endorse any candidates for office.)

American Falangist Party - The AFP is the newer and smaller of the two Falangist political parties in the USA (the Christian Falangist Party, above, being the other one). A "Falangist" -- just in case you've forgotten -- is a follower of the authoritarian political views advocated by the late Spanish dictator Francisco Franco (to wit: largely a blend of 1930s fascist ideology, strong nationalism and conservative Catholic theology). Outside of Spain, Falanagists in Lebanan succeeded in electing Bashir Gemayel as President in 1982 -- but he was assassinated by Muslim terrorists before taking office. The AFP states they are "dedicated to the application of these ideas to the Americas." The AFP supports: abolishing the IRS and Federal Reserve System, returning to the silver standard for US dollars, ending "the materialistic, hedonistic, selfish and carnal emphasis" in US culture, "the unification of all the Countries in North, Central and South America into a Confederation of Falangist States," creating one mandatory net portal entrance for all X-rated web sites "so that parents only have to block one web address to prevent their children from viewing pornography or other objectionable material," banning all abortions and repealing gay rights laws, legalizing the right of US citizens "to own fully automatic assault weapons" and demanding the freedom of Falangist political prisoners being held captive in Syria. In addition to Franco, other deceased heroes of the AFP include Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, Austrian fascist Engelbert Dollfuss, Argentinian dictator Juan Peron, and Depression-era US Senator Huey Long (D-LA). The AFP appeared to be in a dormant state of hibernation during 2001-02, but now are regularly updating their website again.

American Patriot Party - The APP is a new entity, founded in 2003. The party "is founded on the basic principals set forth by our founding fathers, that the federal government should only have the powers set forth in the framework of the Constitution and all other power to be delegated back to the states. Although everyone has thier own opinions on all issues, we believe it is up to the states to decide what should and should not be mandated, banned or regulated." The APP supports a crackdown on illegal immigration, making English fluency a requirement of US citizenship, abolishing the IRS and repealing the federal income tax, imposing steeper taxes and tariffs on imported goods, abolition of the centralized Federal Reserve System, withdrawing the US from the Untied Nations, imposing a foreign policy of non-interventionism, and ending federal involvement in education. No candidates fielded to date, but the APP have formed a party chapter in one state and are organizing chapters in several others. The APP vows that their candidates will be "statesmen, not politicians."

American Socialist Party - Despite the word "Socialist" in their title, this new group, founded in 2004 and based in Arizona, is far out of the traditional definition of socialist parties. The ASP denounces "immorality, and materialism," supports "the removal of illegal immigrants ... [and the imprisonment of] businesses/officials who hire, or allow them to enter," sees capitalism as "failing," and -- in a language that make them sound more like a crypto-fascist group -- promises to "defend you and your family if faced with government officials intimidating you, or, violating your rights, with the same force." From the ASP website's repeated attacks the problem of illegal immigration (an "invasion"), that is clearly a top concern. However, the platform comes off more like a vanity thing a few friends threw together one night over some beers, as it appears somewhat incoherant and largely inconsistent with any recognizable socialist ideology.

Constitutionalist Party - This quasi-libertarian new party "seeks to improve America and preserve the freedom of the people by supporting a closer adherence to the Constitution." As for specific issues, the CP is pro-choice (but believes abortion issues need to be decided at the state level), pro-gun rights, anti-death penalty, anti-Affirmative Action quotas, anti-regulation of sexual activities between consenting adults, pro-medical marijuana, pro-flat tax, pro-tax cuts, and anti-United Nations. The entire, detailed platform is posted on the CP site. No site updates since early 2001.

Democratic Socialists of America - The DSA is the official US full member party of the Socialist International (which includes Tony Blair's UK Labour Party, the French Parti Socialiste and nearly 140 other political parties around the globe). Unlike most other members of the Socialist International, the DSA has never fielded candidates for office. The DSA explains their mission as follows: "building progressive movements for social change while establishing an openly socialist presence in American communities and politics." Thus, the DSA is less like a traditional US political party and much more like a political education and grassroots activism organization. The other US full member of the Socialist International is the Social Democrats USA (linked below). Both DSA and SD-USA each claim to be the one true heir to the ideological legacy of Eugene Debs and Norman Thomas -- and neither one ever fields any candidates. The DSA -- then named the Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee (DSOC) -- split from the SDUSA in 1972 in a rift over the Vietnam War (SDUSA supported the war and opposed McGovern for President; DSOC supported McGovern and opposed the war).

Knights Party - The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) is a white supremacist, anti-Jewish and anti-Catholic group founded shortly after the Civil War by former CSA General Nathan Forrest. Over the years, the KKK spread a reign of violence and terror across the South -- although the Klan's power has virtually disappeared over the past forty years. At various points in history -- most prominently in the late 1800s, the 1920s and the 1950s-60s -- the KKK actively participated in electoral politics by backing various Democrats and Republicans (examples included Indiana Governor Warren McCray, Alabama Governor John Paterson, and 1924 Presidential candidate William McAdoo). Most recently, former KKK national leader David Duke ran for office several times in the 1980s and 1990s. In 2003, the KKK is trying a new approach: creating its own political party. The Knights Party is headed by Pastor Thomas Robb, the leader of a prominent Klan faction (the Klan is fragmented in the modern era into lots of small, rival splinter groups). The party -- which is openly associated with the KKK (which it described as "America's Largest, Oldest, and Most Professional White Rights Organization") -- espouses a white supremacist line and a staunch view against foreign immigration into the US. No known candidates fielded yet under the Knights Party banner.

Libertarian National Socialist Green Party - Politically correct Nazis? These Libertarian Green Nazis are either the strangest conglomeration of diametrically opposed political ideologies of a political party I have ever seen -- or one of the most wry political practical jokes found anywhere on the net (I'm not certain which conclusion is correct, but I strongly suspect the latter). This party purports to be comprised of atheist, peaceful, pro-gay, pro-drug legalization, anti-racist, environmentalist Nazis who acknowledge the Holocaust likely occurred (but are neutral as to its justification) and oppose the government sponsored killing of Jews, Christians & gays and the disabled. The LNSGP "rejects Judeo-Christian moral standards, victim mentality political behavior, capital-centric value systems, and authority." While membership is open to anyone regardless of their race or sexual orientation, individuals who openly profess a belief in either Judaism or Christianity are denied party membership. Articles, platform, FAQ and graphics. Worth a visit -- even if only to decide for yourself if this is a joke or if it is serious. In the past -- and as an indicator that the LNSGP is probably a practical joke -- the LNSGP's site had sections dedeicated to claims of participation in a public service project named the "Jewish Community Brothership" (to "Communicate the modern interpretations of Nazism and its implications for Jews in today's multicultural Reich") and some links to very bizarre "news" articles (example: "Nazi Moon Bases Established in 1942").

Multicapitalist Party - This quirky party supports "capitalism for all people equally" -- but it is hard to tell exactly what that means. The MP equally denounces capitalism ("The rich riding on the backs of the poor") and communism/socialism ("The weak riding on the backs of the strong"). Instead, the MP claims to be an economic ideology whereby "the government insures that every citizen will become a successful capitalist and land owner without excessive taxation or loss of privacy or freedom." Beyond the economic issues, the party believes all social issues (drugs, sex, abortion, criminal punishment, etc.) should be decided by a direct democratic vote of the nation in plebiscites -- with the states individually following the positions held by a majority of the voters in each state.

Pansexual Peace Party- The PPP is a generally left-wing party that has yet to field any candidates -- they don't take themselves too seriously -- and, oh yeah, and the PPP is founded on Wiccan (i.e., witchcraft) roots. Check out the PPP platform plank on sexual issues, which carries the title: "Sex is Good! Sex is Great! Yea, Sex!" The PPP site also contains a short but harsh anti-libertarian essay. To date, the PPP's political activities seem confined to printing some PPP t-shirts and bumper stickers. Jimi Freidenker is the founder and "Chairentity" of the PPP.

Pot Party - The Pot Party is exactly what you'd expect -- a bunch of marijuana legalization advocates ("mandate pot growing") ranging in age -- seemingly -- from late teens to middle aged. In fact, their current tag line seems to be: "A movement to pretty much legalize marijuana." One profile of a Pot Party leader boasts that he won High Times magazine's "Bong-of-the-Month" Award. Unlike the denials of a certain recent national politician, these people quite obviously, proudly and regularly inhale. No real candidates fielded to date (but they did endorse an unsuccessful candidate in 2000 for the Green Party's nomination for US Senator from California). They also seem to be actively involved in an online fantasy government entitled the USA Parliament (official description: "A coalition of US voters based on votes cast, where 1/100th of the votes cast elects one of the one hundred members of parliament"). The party currently has state chapters formed in California, Illinois and Virginia.

Progressive Labor Party - The PLP is a New York-based, militant, Stalinist-style communist party dedicated to bringing about a world-wide, armed, communist revolution. The PLP abhors democracy, elections, freedom of nearly any sort, capitalism and religion -- while praising dictator Joseph Stalin's Soviet Union as their role model. Because they denounce all elections as "frauds," the PLP vows to never field any candidates for public office (for these guys, its either armed victory or nothing at all). Lots and lots of online ideological articles written in the typical dogmatic communist style ... with titles like "The Hoax of the 1932-33 Ukraine Famine," "Fascism Grows In The Auto Industry," "The Road to Revolution." Articles in English, Spanish, Russian, German, etc.

Revolutionary Communist Party USA- The RCP is based upon the teachings of the late Chinese Communist Party Chairman Mao Tse-tung (a form of communism derivative of Leninist-Stalinist Marxism). The party strongly denounces capitalism and advocates a "Marxist-Leninist-Maoist Programme" as "a battle plan for destroying the old and creating the new [and] is a kind of road map for how to win the revolution." Even the RCP's logo is consistent with the proletarian revolutionary theme (i.e., note the red flag flying from a rifle bayonet). The RCP clearly advocates change through revolution (and various popular front groups), not elections -- so don't look for any RCP candidates on the ballot. RCP Chairman Bob Avakian and his writings also recieve extensive coverage on the party's official site. With Avakian currently hiding in France to evade arrest in the US, Maoist activist C. Clark Kissinger seems to be running the day-to-day operations of the RCP. The party's newspaper -- Revolutionary Worker -- is available online in English and Spanish versions. Prominent RCP popular front groups include Refuse & Resist! and the the anti-war Not In Our Name project.

Social Democrats USA - Like the Democratic Socialists of America (above), the SD-USA is the other official US full member party of the Socialist International. Like the DSA, the SD-USA has never fielded candidates for office. The SD-USA is a group more ideologically centrist, more staunchly anti-communist and more directly aligned with the Democratic Party than the more traditionally leftist DSA. In fact, the views of the SDUSA in 1972 caused the DSA (then named the DSOC) to splinter away in a ideological rift. The SDUSA refused to support George McGovern for President that year because of his opposition to the Vietnam War -- versus the DSOC, which supported McGovern and an immediate end to the war. While both DSA and SDUSA claim to be the one true heir to the ideological legacy of Eugene Debs and Norman Thomas.

The Third Party- The Third Party's site states that it is working towards fielding a candidate for the 2004 Presidential election. Frustrated by traditional partisan politics and the quality of national media coverage of elections, this party proposes to seek "direct input" from the public to mold this new politically centrist party into a vehicle that unifies America in the 21st Century. The posted forum page is creatively entitled "Convention Floor." In the interests of promoting an informed electorate, The Third Party's site even provides links to the web pages of all the competing US political parties.

U.S. Marijuana Party- The US Marijuana Party (USMJP) is -- as you would expect -- a marijuana legalization entity espousing generally libertarian views. "The civil rights of Americans have been compromised by the war on drugs. Because the vast majority of citizens who use any illegal substance use only marijuana, the war on drugs is basically a war on marijuana. If you can pull the plug on the war on marijuana, you end the war on drugs as we know it. You shut down the prison industrial complex, and you restore the liberties that have been eroded because of this futile war on marijuana," explains the USMJP. The party -- which already has chapters formed in several states -- is seeking marijuana legalization on a state-by-state basis. The USMJP is seeking to field candidates in the various state to raise the public profile of the drug debate -- but none fielded to date on any ballots under the party banner. The USMJP was founded in 2002.

Workers Party, USA- The WP-USA is a hardcore Marxist-Leninist political party founded by Michael Thorburn in 1992. The party was established to "bring the working class out as an independent class force." The WP-USA shares much of the CPUSA's ideology -- and likely is a splinter group with CPUSA origins. While the WP-USA has yet to field any candidates, the Chicago-based party publishes a bi-weekly newspaper named The Worker and a quarterly theoritical journal named -- not surprisingly -- The Worker Magazine. The WP-USA site features an extensive on-line archive of dogmatic screeds largely denouncing "monopoly capitalists," Western imperialism, the USA, etc. -- and praising the working class and "revolutionary politics." Thorburn's Anti-Imperialist News Service ("assisting the people's struggles against war and militarism") is also affiliated with the WP-USA.

World Socialist Party of the USA- The WSP-USA are seemingly utopian Marxists. They believe true socialism can only work when it is established worldwide. They renounce violence, Soviet-style totalitarianism, money and all forms of leadership. They advocate a classless, "wageless, moneyless, free access society" without any national borders. They don't run candidates nor endorse other socialist or left candidates as they believe a vote for ANY candidate under the current system is a vote in support of capitalism. Understanding that world socialism "has clearly not yet been established," they believe that "democratically capturing the State through parliamentary elections is the safest, surest method for the working class to enable itself to establish socialism" -- although they have yet to field any US candidates in the period to date since the international WSP was founded in 1904.

[DC_Skins]

Great info Bufford, thanks for posting. :applause:

[Mr. Nostril]

I'm personally quite fond of the Pansexual Peace Party.

I also love the Pot Party's slogan: "A movement to pretty much legalize marijuana."

[@DCGoldPants]

Its pretty sad that with all those other choices, they all suck.

[Kurd Cudins]

The American Party? Now that's a creative bunch... :doh: Does anyone want to join my party, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen w/ a penchant for Buggery.

[Mass_SkinsFan]

If the "Constitution Party" didn't have that "Jesus Christ, Lord & Savior" line in their platform I'd definitely be looking at them as a serious alternative to the current two party system. They have a branch here in Massachusetts and I talked to them a couple years ago. Sounded good until they got to the Christian thing.

[Thanos]

LORD help us.:doh:

[Cskin]

Dems and Repubs aren't going to allow for a third party. They have it to good... all the money they can court and none of the responsibility and accountability.

Take the immigration issue. Americans overwhelmingly want the border secured with both physical and technological assets and THEN the illegals identified and accounted for. What do the politiciians propose?

**Amnesty and the same dog and pony show at the borders that have allowed nearly 15 million of illegals into this country the last 10 years.

**In state tuition for illegals.

**Free healthcare for illegals

**Driver's licenses for illegals

**Voter's rights for illegals.

:doh: We're fooked until critical mass is reached and AMERICAN CITIZENS throw the career ****roaches out of Washington and say NO MORE!!!!!

[Mr. Nostril]

I advocate a one party system, because then maybe people would realize that we need to fight against this and allow more parties in. Even if this didn't work, a one party system would be better than two identical parties that pretend to fight alot.

[Cdowwe]

Good info thanks Bufford