A New US People's Party?

[Swammerdami]

(I couldn't find a better thread than this for this post.)

I am accustomed to thinking of the U.S. as leading the way, among developed countries, on the misguided march toward right-wing politics. Thus I was startled and pleased to see an opposite, more optimistic opinion at Monthly Review:

One of the principal concerns of progressives right now is how to sustain that activism, how to prevent it from being demobilised. Much of the future rests on the ability of the left to do that. There’s been no other country—certainly no European country, or Australia, New Zealand or Canada—that has seen such a powerful resurgence of the left [as in the U.S.], or one that is so solidly, generationally specific and anchored. And of course, youth of colour, the coming plurality of the American population, played a central role in this—particularly the Black women who built Black Lives Matter. After Sanders’ concession, you faced the possibility that tens of thousands of young people who had been active in his campaign would just become pessimistic and disorganised, when instead their activism was recycled by BLM. We must conserve and nurture activism above all. [Swammi's emphasis]

What am I, a professed centrist, doing seeking opinions at Monthly Review? Frankly I find "centrist" U.S. media to be bankrupt of ideas these days. Also I'm an advocate of the "push on the pendulum" view of politics. There is little danger of extreme leftism in America's near-term future; instead we must push leftward as hard as we can to save America from the right-wing chasm into which it is plummeting.

 

[lpetrich]

Taking a journey into etymology, both major US parties have names that roughly mean "People's Party".

• The Ohio People’s Party Kicks Off Ballot Access Petitioning - EIN Presswire
• The People's Party Registers in Oregon
• The People's Party Registers in California and Colorado
• The People's Party Opens Candidate Nominations, Will Compete for Congress in the Midterms

So the MPP has registered in ME, CA, CO, OR, and OH, and it is working on other states. So far, blue to purple states.

That last one is good news, since it means that the MPP will be more than a supporter of vanity Presidential runs, a party like the Green Party.

"We’re looking for candidates with a history of activism, organizing, and service to their communities. People who have lived the profound injustices the corporate parties have imposed on this country,” said National Coordinator Nick Brana, the former national political outreach coordinator with Bernie 2016 and electoral manager with Our Revolution.

...
While the party is focused on electing a slate of federal candidates, nominations are also open for state and local candidates. Following candidate vetting, selection, and training, the first candidates will be announced by early summer. They will be running at a time when two out of every three Americans wants a major new party, an all-time high. Candidates will be running on overwhelmingly popular policies such as Medicare for all, monthly stimulus checks, and abolishing the legalized corruption of corporate money in politics.

"The party will have its national founding convention in the fall of this year."

 

[Harry Bosch]

Taking a journey into etymology, both major US parties have names that roughly mean "People's Party".

• The Ohio People’s Party Kicks Off Ballot Access Petitioning - EIN Presswire
• The People's Party Registers in Oregon
• The People's Party Registers in California and Colorado
• The People's Party Opens Candidate Nominations, Will Compete for Congress in the Midterms

So the MPP has registered in ME, CA, CO, OR, and OH, and it is working on other states. So far, blue to purple states.

That last one is good news, since it means that the MPP will be more than a supporter of vanity Presidential runs, a party like the Green Party.

"We’re looking for candidates with a history of activism, organizing, and service to their communities. People who have lived the profound injustices the corporate parties have imposed on this country,” said National Coordinator Nick Brana, the former national political outreach coordinator with Bernie 2016 and electoral manager with Our Revolution.

...
While the party is focused on electing a slate of federal candidates, nominations are also open for state and local candidates. Following candidate vetting, selection, and training, the first candidates will be announced by early summer. They will be running at a time when two out of every three Americans wants a major new party, an all-time high. Candidates will be running on overwhelmingly popular policies such as Medicare for all, monthly stimulus checks, and abolishing the legalized corruption of corporate money in politics.

"The party will have its national founding convention in the fall of this year."

I've been wondering where all the republican campaign money has been going! Now we know! Great news for those who don't want US democracy anymore!

 

[Jarhyn]

Taking a journey into etymology, both major US parties have names that roughly mean "People's Party".

• The Ohio People’s Party Kicks Off Ballot Access Petitioning - EIN Presswire
• The People's Party Registers in Oregon
• The People's Party Registers in California and Colorado
• The People's Party Opens Candidate Nominations, Will Compete for Congress in the Midterms

So the MPP has registered in ME, CA, CO, OR, and OH, and it is working on other states. So far, blue to purple states.

That last one is good news, since it means that the MPP will be more than a supporter of vanity Presidential runs, a party like the Green Party.

"We’re looking for candidates with a history of activism, organizing, and service to their communities. People who have lived the profound injustices the corporate parties have imposed on this country,” said National Coordinator Nick Brana, the former national political outreach coordinator with Bernie 2016 and electoral manager with Our Revolution.

...
While the party is focused on electing a slate of federal candidates, nominations are also open for state and local candidates. Following candidate vetting, selection, and training, the first candidates will be announced by early summer. They will be running at a time when two out of every three Americans wants a major new party, an all-time high. Candidates will be running on overwhelmingly popular policies such as Medicare for all, monthly stimulus checks, and abolishing the legalized corruption of corporate money in politics.

"The party will have its national founding convention in the fall of this year."

I've been wondering where all the republican campaign money has been going! Now we know! Great news for those who don't want US democracy anymore!

There was a prototype of this running as Legal Marijuana Now in Minnesota. It was funded by republicans and is ironically the reason that marijuana failed to get legalized this year here.

 

[lpetrich]

(Recent People's Party activities...)

I've been wondering where all the republican campaign money has been going! Now we know! Great news for those who don't want US democracy anymore!

There was a prototype of this running as Legal Marijuana Now in Minnesota. It was funded by republicans and is ironically the reason that marijuana failed to get legalized this year here.

How did that work? How was its Republican funding exposed?

How Republicans Are Trying to Use the Green Party to Their Advantage - The New York Times - "The G.O.P. has sought to help Green Party candidates in previous election cycles to siphon votes from Democrats. This year is no different — but it hasn’t always worked."
Sept. 22, 2020

Four years ago, the Green Party candidate played a significant role in several crucial battleground states, drawing a vote total in three of them — Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania — that exceeded the margin between Donald J. Trump and Hillary Clinton.

This year, the Republican Party has been trying to use the Green Party to its advantage again, if not always successfully.

In Wisconsin, a G.O.P. elections commissioner and lawyers with ties to Republicans tried to aid attempts by Howie Hawkins, the current Green Party presidential candidate, to get on the ballot there, which were ultimately unsuccessful. In Montana, state regulators found that the Republican Party violated campaign finance laws as part of an effort to boost the Greens in five down-ballot races, including for senator and governor.

Wisconsin's top court keeps Green Party off ballot, allows absentee balloting to resume | TheHill
Luckey v AMT SD.pdf (court decision on Montana GOP support of the Green Party)
Official finds Montana GOP violated campaign finance laws

Supporters of the president have also been trying to advance the candidacy of Kanye West, the billionaire hip-hop artist, confident that he can cut into Mr. Biden’s vote total. Democrats have portrayed the effort as a “dirty trick” and exploitative of Mr. West, who has bipolar disorder.

...
Republican efforts to aid the Green Party are not new. In 2016, a billionaire backer of President Trump, Bernie Marcus, the co-founder of Home Depot, provided support to Jill Stein, the Green candidate, according to people with knowledge of the strategy, who said the effort was done with the knowledge of some officials at the Trump campaign and its chairman at the time, Paul Manafort.

...
Sometimes Republican aid is done without the Green Party’s knowledge, but sometimes it is overt. Carl Romanelli, the Green Party Senate candidate in Pennsylvania, acknowledged receiving financial support from Republicans to help him get on the ballot in 2006.

...
Sometimes the Green Party itself is not only unaware of Republican efforts but has tried to restrain them. In 2009, the party filed a lawsuit in Florida to determine who had arranged for five unknown candidates to appear on the Green Party line.

Ronald G. Meyer, a Florida elections lawyer who handled the case for the party, said they found “that a Republican operative recruited a bunch of college-student-aged people, some waitresses and college kids, and paid their qualifying fees.”

Asked about ballot chicanery, Mr. Hawkins said, “These people plays these games, and they are just hacks for the two parties.”

The Green Party's Presidential candidates are IMO not much more than vanity candidates, much like Kanye West.

 

[lpetrich]

That raises a serious problem about the People's Party. Will it be a serious party? Or a supporter of vanity Presidential candidates?

Vanity candidates like nearly all 3rd-party candidates. Greens, Libertarians, Constitution Party, you name it.

Bret Weinstein's Unity Party of last year - Unity2020 - A Plan to Save Our Republic - is as limited as most third parties are - the only thing that was ever discussed was the Presidency. Not Congress, not state governments, not local governments. Only the Presidency. That party came up with the idea of having someone from the Left and someone from the Right run as co-presidents -- and selected Tulsi Gabbard and Dan Crenshaw. Neither of them seemed interested.

Given that both of them came out of Congress, one might expect the Unity Party people to have at least a tiny bit of interest in Congress, but they don't. All it seems to be is BW and his friends gabbing about politics.

 

[Rhea]

In my opinion, it is ALWAYS a vanity party until they show they can focus on real down ballot candidates.

Elect a People’s Party Judge, Town Selectman, State Senator, County Commisssioner. THEN you can wield some conversation beyond a vanity candidate for house or senate. ANd only THEN can you be anything other than a vanity spoiler for your own hopes in the presidential race.

IMHO no serious party ignores local politics.

 

[lpetrich]

I agree. It's better to be a new Working Families Party than a new Green Party.

The party's home page: The People's Party | Free Of Corporate Money

Some recent news:

The People's Party Registers In Oregon
The People's Party Has Officially Registered In Oregon!
2021 Apr 26
So the PP is now registered in CA, CO, ME, OH, OR

Meet Our New Executive Director
The People’s Party Is Announcing Zeynab Day As The Executive Director Of The National Party
2021 Jul 14
She was once Communications Director for Brand New Congress.

BNC was founded in 2016 by some Bernie Sanders campaigners with the goal of electing people to Congress with a platform much like Bernie Sanders's platform. They originally wanted to run some 400+ candidates, one for every open seat, but for 2018, they settled on 30 candidates. All of them ran as Democrats except for one Republican and on independent. Of the non-independents, only 9 won their primaries, and only 1 won in the general: AOC. Her district, NY-14 is a safe Democratic seat, so the real fight was in the primary.

For 2020, BNC supported 46 candidates, and of these, 10 won in the primaries, and 4 in the general election, though 2 were incumbents: AOC and Rashida Tlaib. The two newcomers were Jamaal Bowman and Cori Bush.

For 2022, BNC now supports 10 candidates, with likely more on the way.

Justice Democrats is an offshoot of BNC, founded in early 2017. For 2018, it endorsed 79 candidates, of whom 7 won general elections: 3 incumbents and "the Squad": AOC, RT, Ayanna Pressley, Ilhan Omar.

For 2020, JD supported 16 candidates, with 12 winning primaries and 10 winning general elections: 7 incumbents and 3 newcomers: Marie Newman, Jamaal Bowman, and Cori Bush.

For 2022, JD now supports 4 candidates, with likely more on the way.

BNC and JD run their candidates as Democrats, with only two BNC exceptions in 2018. But they succeeded in unseating some big-name Democrats: Joe Crowley, Michael Capuano, Dan Lipinski, Eliot Engel, Lacy Clay.

Will the People's Party do likewise? What will it do to attract voters who usually vote Democratic?

 

[lpetrich]

Volunteer Newsletter | Issue 1 | April 2021
Volunteer Newsletter | Issue 2 | May 2021
Volunteer Newsletter | Issue 3 | June 2021
Volunteer Newsletter | Issue 4 | June 2021 (really July 2021)

From May 2021,

The People's Party is looking for our first slate of candidates to run in the 2022 elections! We're aiming to run a dozen or more federal races, including seat or two in the U.S. Senate. That's why we have opened up our applications for nominations.

The People's Party is seeking future representatives with strong ties to their communities, who will fight for the voices of their constituents and work hard to make change at the congressional level. This first wave of campaigns will help us to lay the foundation and build out national and local infrastructure to support races for seats at every level of government.

Much like BNC and JD.

From June 2021,

California - Because the state only provides a once-yearly release of party enrollment, we're looking into how to receive more frequent updates so we know where we stand and how much farther we have to 9o to reach our goal. We're also looking into the registration issue some voters in LA have experienced.

Colorado - The State Central Committee is up and running and the state platform and rules committees are getting to work. Plans are being rolled out to get more petitions out there and grow the state party membership.

Florida - The State Organizing Committee is up and running and working on bylaws! It shouldn't be long before we're registered in the state of Florida!

Maine - We're ramping up our efforts to hit this year's enrollment target which should become lot easier now that nice weather has arrived!

Maryland - Expect a State Organizing Committee soon!

Massachusetts - The State Committee has been formed and is formalizing their bylaws this month. Members can now affiliate with the People's Party in MA!

Missouri - The Provisional State Committee has been formed and the petitioning is expected to begin in August. The State Organizing Committee process is underway and we should see formalized bylaws soon!

New Jersey - The State Organizing Committee is about to get started.

New York - The State Organizing Committee should be getting started in the next few weeks.

Ohio The petition iS live!

Oregon - The petition is live! Bylaws were just delivered. Members can now affiliate with the People's Party of Oregon! Vermont - The initial State Committee has been formed.

Washington - The State Organizing Committee will be starting soon. The state party has already formed and fundraising will be underway soon!

That's enough to do Congressional races, state, and local ones in several states. So even if they don't have a presence in all 50 states, they can still try to elect Congresspeople where they can.

 

[Harry Bosch]

I agree. It's better to be a new Working Families Party than a new Green Party.

The party's home page: The People's Party | Free Of Corporate Money

Some recent news:

The People's Party Registers In Oregon
The People's Party Has Officially Registered In Oregon!
2021 Apr 26
So the PP is now registered in CA, CO, ME, OH, OR

Meet Our New Executive Director
The People’s Party Is Announcing Zeynab Day As The Executive Director Of The National Party
2021 Jul 14
She was once Communications Director for Brand New Congress.

BNC was founded in 2016 by some Bernie Sanders campaigners with the goal of electing people to Congress with a platform much like Bernie Sanders's platform. They originally wanted to run some 400+ candidates, one for every open seat, but for 2018, they settled on 30 candidates. All of them ran as Democrats except for one Republican and on independent. Of the non-independents, only 9 won their primaries, and only 1 won in the general: AOC. Her district, NY-14 is a safe Democratic seat, so the real fight was in the primary.

For 2020, BNC supported 46 candidates, and of these, 10 won in the primaries, and 4 in the general election, though 2 were incumbents: AOC and Rashida Tlaib. The two newcomers were Jamaal Bowman and Cori Bush.

For 2022, BNC now supports 10 candidates, with likely more on the way.

Justice Democrats is an offshoot of BNC, founded in early 2017. For 2018, it endorsed 79 candidates, of whom 7 won general elections: 3 incumbents and "the Squad": AOC, RT, Ayanna Pressley, Ilhan Omar.

For 2020, JD supported 16 candidates, with 12 winning primaries and 10 winning general elections: 7 incumbents and 3 newcomers: Marie Newman, Jamaal Bowman, and Cori Bush.

For 2022, JD now supports 4 candidates, with likely more on the way.

BNC and JD run their candidates as Democrats, with only two BNC exceptions in 2018. But they succeeded in unseating some big-name Democrats: Joe Crowley, Michael Capuano, Dan Lipinski, Eliot Engel, Lacy Clay.

Will the People's Party do likewise? What will it do to attract voters who usually vote Democratic?

Great News for Trump! Wahoooooo

 

[lpetrich]

Paula Jean Swearengin on Twitter: "I deeply apologize ..." / Twitter

I deeply apologize to all of my supporters that supported my endorsements of people that lied to us & disappointed us.

Millions of people put in time & hard earned money to elect "progressives" that ended up being a political arm to the corrupt establishment.

I'm so sorry.

New political party forming in Missouri | Local News | myleaderpaper.com

"Steve Mann, state coordinator for the Missouri People’s Party, said supporters are collecting signatures on petitions as part of the effort to certify the party."

Mann said he hopes the party would have candidates lined up to run for state auditor and for the U.S. Senate in November 2022.

“We also are looking at people who want to run for the (General Assembly),” he said.

The party could also work on local levels.

“But we’re really aiming for statewide access,” Mann said.

Asked to describe where the People’s Party would fit in between the traditional Republican and Democratic parties, Mann bristled.

“We reject that definition,” he said. “There’s no left-right; there’s up and down. There is the 1 percent at the top and the rest of us, the 99 percent, at the bottom. The left-right idea is being pushed by the people at the top who want the rest of us to fight each other.”

Mann said his party’s primary platform reflects issues Americans support, as borne out by polling.

“A majority of Americans support getting money out of politics, internet neutrality, no more endless wars, Medicaid for all, free college education and a guarantee of housing. Those are some of the issues we support,” he said.

Mann said the People’s Party is a natural successor to the Green Party, which he said suffered from disorganization.

The party also wants local candidates. But if he is right about the Green Party, then that may be a side effect of supporting vanity presidential runs.

So for, the PP has been organizing in CA, CO, ME, OH, OR, and this adds MO.

 

[Harry Bosch]

Paula Jean Swearengin on Twitter: "I deeply apologize ..." / Twitter


New political party forming in Missouri | Local News | myleaderpaper.com

"Steve Mann, state coordinator for the Missouri People’s Party, said supporters are collecting signatures on petitions as part of the effort to certify the party."

The party could also work on local levels.

“But we’re really aiming for statewide access,” Mann said.

Asked to describe where the People’s Party would fit in between the traditional Republican and Democratic parties, Mann bristled.

“We reject that definition,” he said. “There’s no left-right; there’s up and down. There is the 1 percent at the top and the rest of us, the 99 percent, at the bottom. The left-right idea is being pushed by the people at the top who want the rest of us to fight each other.”

Mann said his party’s primary platform reflects issues Americans support, as borne out by polling.

“A majority of Americans support getting money out of politics, internet neutrality, no more endless wars, Medicaid for all, free college education and a guarantee of housing. Those are some of the issues we support,” he said.

Mann said the People’s Party is a natural successor to the Green Party, which he said suffered from disorganization.

The party also wants local candidates. But if he is right about the Green Party, then that may be a side effect of supporting vanity presidential runs.

So for, the PP has been organizing in CA, CO, ME, OH, OR, and this adds MO.

What are the endless wars?! These people are such hypocrites. I'd respect them far more if they just came out and said that they wanted 4 more years of Trump.

 

[RVonse]

Paula Jean Swearengin on Twitter: "I deeply apologize ..." / Twitter


New political party forming in Missouri | Local News | myleaderpaper.com

"Steve Mann, state coordinator for the Missouri People’s Party, said supporters are collecting signatures on petitions as part of the effort to certify the party."

The party could also work on local levels.

“But we’re really aiming for statewide access,” Mann said.

Asked to describe where the People’s Party would fit in between the traditional Republican and Democratic parties, Mann bristled.

“We reject that definition,” he said. “There’s no left-right; there’s up and down. There is the 1 percent at the top and the rest of us, the 99 percent, at the bottom. The left-right idea is being pushed by the people at the top who want the rest of us to fight each other.”

Mann said his party’s primary platform reflects issues Americans support, as borne out by polling.

“A majority of Americans support getting money out of politics, internet neutrality, no more endless wars, Medicaid for all, free college education and a guarantee of housing. Those are some of the issues we support,” he said.

Mann said the People’s Party is a natural successor to the Green Party, which he said suffered from disorganization.

The party also wants local candidates. But if he is right about the Green Party, then that may be a side effect of supporting vanity presidential runs.

So for, the PP has been organizing in CA, CO, ME, OH, OR, and this adds MO.

What are the endless wars?!

Um, maybe the war we were just in Afghanistan?..and before that Iraq...and before that Vietnam. Fox news has been criticizing Biden's recent withdrawal of Afghanistan but perhaps it would be worth considering these new people party movements might be influencing Biden to more middle class friendly leadership??? Could it be possible??? Ive also noticed with my amazement that Biden did not take down Trump's tariffs with China....IMO that is huge. I mean supporting American workers over free trade apologist's and bankers??? Whatever reasons for Biden changing his historical positions, I for one am glad it is finally happening.

These people are such hypocrites. I'd respect them far more if they just came out and said that they wanted 4 more years of Trump.

You have a conspiracy theory with Loren to share with us?? Hurry up and get the tin foil hats from Jimmy Higgins...I want to know everything about this!

 

[Harry Bosch]

What are the endless wars?!

Um, maybe the war we were just in Afghanistan?..and before that Iraq...and before that Vietnam. Fox news has been criticizing Biden's recent withdrawal of Afghanistan but perhaps it would be worth considering these new people party movements might be influencing Biden to more middle class friendly leadership??? Could it be possible??? Ive also noticed with my amazement that Biden did not take down Trump's tariffs with China....IMO that is huge. I mean supporting American workers over free trade apologist's and bankers??? Whatever reasons for Biden changing his historical positions, I for one am glad it is finally happening.

These people are such hypocrites. I'd respect them far more if they just came out and said that they wanted 4 more years of Trump.

You have a conspiracy theory with Loren to share with us?? Hurry up and get the tin foil hats from Jimmy Higgins...I want to know everything about this!

Amigo! You are calling me a conspiracy theorist? Wow, pot calling the kettle black. You have been the one claiming that Trump really won the vote - despite having no evidence for your claim! Who is the one calling for conspiracies! But yes, it is my opinion that the founders of the "US People's Party" primary goal is to crash the democratic party. Allow the republicans to win a few elections, then in desperation, pray for the People's Party to reshape the dems and bring on a far left utopia. My claims are based on listening to the founders being interviewed on the Joe Rogan show. But's it my opinion. I'm not alleging that it is fact (as you have alleged that Trump was screwed in the 2020 election without evidence).

Secondly, not sure what your rambling argument is regarding the endless wars. We aren't fighting in Vietnam. We aren't fighting in Iraq or Afghanistan. Biden ran on getting the US out of Afghanistan, then he did it. Unlike Trump. Biden does what he says. The people's party real problem should be mostly with the republicans. It was a republican that invaded Afghanistan and Iraq. It was democrats who got us out of each country.

The People's Party are going to help Trump to get elected in 2024.

 

[Cheerful Charlie]

The sad part is, The People's party may very well siphon off Democratic Votes and Independent votes guaranteeing a GOP win. The best bet might be to run as a Democratic caucus. This tactic has been a bust since Ralph Nader and the Green party.

 

[TomC]

The sad part is, The People's party may very well siphon off Democratic Votes and Independent votes guaranteeing a GOP win. The best bet might be to run as a Democratic caucus. This tactic has been a bust since Ralph Nader and the Green party.

This is quite the problem.
On the one hand, busting the Demopublican/Republocratic monopoly on USA politics would be a great thing. In the long term. In the short term, say the next ten years, efforts like the People's Party are more likely to siphon votes from politicians trying to improve things than politicians serving the elite.
Resulting in effects like the current SCOTUS who don't find Texas's new law worth ruling on.
Tom

 

[Harry Bosch]

The sad part is, The People's party may very well siphon off Democratic Votes and Independent votes guaranteeing a GOP win. The best bet might be to run as a Democratic caucus. This tactic has been a bust since Ralph Nader and the Green party.

This is quite the problem.
On the one hand, busting the Demopublican/Republocratic monopoly on USA politics would be a great thing. In the long term. In the short term, say the next ten years, efforts like the People's Party are more likely to siphon votes from politicians trying to improve things than politicians serving the elite.
Resulting in effects like the current SCOTUS who don't find Texas's new law worth ruling on.
Tom

I might have been a little harsh on Rvonse. He has recently taken back his Trump conspiracy comments recently. But regardless, I just think that Trump is a uniquely terrible president in our history. He did try to steal the election. To be frank, it was a lot of bureaucrats and lower level politicians (mostly republican) who upheld our election system. And the supreme court. If we are stupid enough to reelect Trump, whose to say that Trump won't stack the deck next time with his crazy Q supporters. If another Bush were running in 2024 or some kind of half way reasonable republican, fine, then ask the dems to fall on the sword. Run the stupid People's Party. Demand your change. Fight the fight! Wahoo. Maybe after splitting the democratic vote and losing the next several elections that a demoralized left may turn to the saviors of the People Party. But this will be at a great cost. And the left has already borne this cost. The People's Party is really just Ralph Nader repackaged. Nader split the democratic party, and Bush won. The result of that is that republicans control the supreme court. If we give in to the people's party we will never get the supreme court back again.

 

[lpetrich]

The sad part is, The People's party may very well siphon off Democratic Votes and Independent votes guaranteeing a GOP win. The best bet might be to run as a Democratic caucus. This tactic has been a bust since Ralph Nader and the Green party.

The spoiler effect? Yes, the Greens were likely spoilers in the 2000 and 2016 Presidential races.

There's another potential problem with the People's Party, that it may become primarily a vehicle for vanity Presidential candidacies, as the Green Party has become. But at least that party's leaders are talking about having local and state and Congressional candidacies. Does anyone in the Green Party do that?

Competition with Democrats will be a big problem there also - how does a candidate get voters that usually vote Democratic?

But I agree that it would be better off as a faction in the Democratic Party. That's how the recent wave of progressive Congresspeople got elected. Otherwise, they would have gotten crushed in the general elections by the Democrats in their races.

• 2016: Ro Khanna vs. Mike Honda
• 2018: AOC vs. Joe Crowley, Ayanna Pressley vs. Michael Capuano, Rashida Tlaib vs. Brenda Jones (strongest opponent for open seat)
• 2020: Marie Newman vs. Dan Lipinski, Cori Bush vs. Lacy Clay, Jamaal Bowman vs. Eliot Engel

 

[Gospel]

Considering the sheer difference between both the Democratic and Republican parties today and their yesteryears, I don't get why the party name matters. Just jump on the main tickets and fight. It's not like either of the major parties are anything like what they once were. The Democratic party will be the Green Party in the 2050s for all we know. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[TomC]

The spoiler effect? Yes, the Greens were likely spoilers in the 2000 and 2016 Presidential races.

Let me explain what I think this really means.

People like Nader, the Green party, and Sanders helped get presidents like Bush and Trump elected.

That gave the USA things like 9/11
Afghanistan
The invasion of Iraq
Massive federal deficits
The recession of 2008

Heightened ethnic divisions
Increased federal deficits
C19 disaster
Jan 6 insurgency
Erosion of public trust in USA institutions

That's what we got from such efforts, for starters. I see no rational reason to think that this new political effort will be better.


Frankly, were I an evil billionaire, I'd strongly support The People's Party. People like them are better at getting taxes cut and corporate welfare spent than Hillary Clinton ever thought about being.
Tom