Dollars & Dimes
"Important elements of democracy existed in the infant American republic of the 1780s, but the republic was not democratic. Nor, in the minds of those who governed it, was it supposed to be. A republic -- the res publica, or 'public thing,' was meant to secure the common good through the ministrations of the most worthy, enlightened men. A democracy -- derived from demos krateo, 'rule of the people' -- dangerously handed power to the impassioned, unenlighted masses."
-- Sean Wilentz, "The Rise of American Democracy: Jefferson to Lincoln," W.W. Norton & Company, 2005, page xvii of preface.
In recent decades, we have considered two political parties -- the Democratic and republicans in control of most elections. There have been a few minor third party candidates, generally annoying pests, that may have influenced the outcome of presidential elections. But the numerous third parties accounted for a small percentage of voters.
Yet 2024 has changed the landscape, with independent voters now outnumbering either the Democratic or republican party. In fact, independents out-voted either major party for the first time. Perhaps, as members of the Democratic Party, we should remember the words of President Lyndon Johnson six decades ago: "We must change to master change."
This obviously doesn't mean compromising our values, or leaving the party. It does mean studying history, rather than memes, and focusing on the relatively rapid growth of the number of independent voters. And considering some of the implications of numerous third parties.
One of the interesting features of the antebellum America in the mid-1800s was the number of parties that were active in national political life. Now, we all remember the felon saying people didn't know that Lincoln was a republican. Hopefully, every person aged 7 and over knows that. But less hopeful is encountering people who don't know that the Democratic and republican parties were very different in that era.
They represented different sides on the issue of slavery, which led to the Civil War. Republicans then understood the war was about slavery; republicans today hypnotized into believing that it was abo0ut states' rights. Thus, we see that being that ignorant about true history is dangerous. It leads people to want to ban actual history books from school libraries, so that children do not learn how barbaric slavery was, nor the KKK/ Jim Crow eras that followed.
I assume most here are familiar with the "Know Nothing" party, true name: "American Party." It's #1 issue was those darned Irish catholic immigrants. They formed dangerous gangs, those darned Irish. Getting drunk, stealing, and fighting. There was the "Constitutional Unity Party," that advocated relying on the US Constitution as a living docu8ment. There was the "Whig Party," mainly in New England and New York -- including the doctor who used to live in this house.
The Whigs had split off from the "National Republican Party." They were primarily a middle class party. Among other things, they were aware of class warfare. There was the "Free Soil Party." They denounced the 1852 Compromise. And you also had the "Liberty Party," which had a more conservative wing that sought progress through traditional means, and a radical branch that was against slavey, included women activists, and demanded equal rights for all.
Then, of course, came the Civil War, which historians note came between the Golden Age and the Gilded Age. The "Gilded Age" took its name from the 1873 novel by Mark Twain, about greed and political corruption. Now, obviously, thing are very different today, for they did not have cell phones back then. Still, for an exercise few will think interesting, let's consider the various third parties of the modern era that have made it to being on the ballot in national elections.
Let's look at the 2022 statistics. The Green Party had .19% of registered voters. The Constitution Party had .11%. The Libertarian Party had .06%, and the Working Families Party had .05%. Coming in a distant last place was the Reform Party, with under 4,500 members nation-wide.
And there are numerous ones even smaller than the Reform Party, that never make it onto the ballot. These include, but are not limited to, the Christian Liberty Party. Anyone here that can identify both which candidate they backed in 2024, and the most noble goal of their wholly crusade to end the cruel oppression of white christian nationalists in America wins a free subscription to my posts on DU. Enter as many guesses as you want.
So, the combined total of these minority parties is .41%. Yet, since the republican party and Russian intelligence now bought the Green Party, it grew. This, despite the fracturing of the Green Party of the United States (GPUS) in the 1990s, when it was being co-opted from its original intent. Many here still blame Ralph Nader's 2000 Green Party run for Al Gore's having the USSC say he lost Florida, despite having more votes. Fewer blame the state's Jewish population for giving Pat Buchanan almost as many votes in Florida, thanks to the infamous butterfly ballots.
If one thinks Ralph played a role, in 2016, Jill Stein got close to a million & a half votes. That was more than the combined number of GPUS (aka Green PUS) votes in the last three elections. However, she was not a factor nation-wide in 2024. Her getting 22% in Dearborn does stand out. But not as much as the number of independent voters being larger this year than either the Democratic Party or the republic party.
There can be honest and sincere differences of opinion regarding exactly what our party can and must do to combat the greed, corruption, and attempted destruction of the rule of law in an age gilded with fool's gold. A good number of people I respect on this forum agreed with the campaign's bringing Dick Cheney on stage. I didn't, because I viewed it as stepping over a dollar to pick up a dime.
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