Third Parties in California - Essay Example

California Politics: Third Parties in California Word count: 3,222 Page count: 11 Overview In the current partisan system of California, are the alternative or third parties going to be able to compete with the two main majority parties This paper asserts that third parties will succeed, as they have throughout history, but not to the extent that they might want. What are the factors that will cause third parties to fail or succeed An assessment is given on their possibilities. It is easy to develop ideas about all political parties based on emotional interests. There are many political blogs to back this up. It is often a love/hate relationship with them. But analysis of factual evidence will show that there has always been a need for political parties that work toward interests for the common good, ones that are often neglected by majority party leaders. Data shows the ongoing desire on the part of the voter to have third parties involved in all levels of politics (Gizzi. 2000). It is also easy to be opposed to third parties because of their lack of ability, generally speaking, to win elections. This paper will show that the future of third parties lies in their importance to the structure of society. They are vents for dissatisfactions. They provide avenues of discussion on issues of controversy. They challenge incumbents to reanalyze their positions (Nader. 2002). California's politics has long been considered liberal by anyone's standards despite the fact that there have been 32 Republican governorships to the Democrat's 17 (Nichols 1998). At one point in history the Republican party was considered liberal but its evolution toward conservative attitudes changed how people perceived the party (Cresap 1954). The contemporary Republican party again has the governor's post, but is generally regarded as more liberal than conservative in many areas. Recent news concerning abortion rights may push the image of the California governor back toward conservative lines, however. This paper shows the see-saw action of politics that is always trying to find balance within its culture. Third parties become more "radical" when the majority parties are perceived to have become more extreme, or too lax. If events occur that actually prove the majority parties to have been overly conservative, or liberal, then the public begins looking for alternative leaders. Progressives have made the mistake of ignoring the importance of governorship for too long and have now realized its importance. Even Democrats fell behind because of this failing leaving Republicans to scoop up governor positions throughout the country (Gizzi. 2000). In 2000, Pat Buchanan said, "At no time in history has voter allegiance to traditional political parties been at such a low." (Gizzi 2000) The distancing from voters' main concerns, the corruption and the same-old, same-old of the two majority parties has caused a lot of disinterest. According to Micah Sifrey in "Crashing the Parties . . ." the Reform Party has enough longevity and experience to offer up a many federal-level candidates. The City Council of Arcata, California, currently has a majority of Reform Party members. In 1996, 9.6m citizens voted for third party presidential candidates, despite the third parties' 'tenuous existence' (Sifrey. 1997). Two thirds of independent California voters have said that a two-party system is inadequate and a third party is needed, and a strong one may eventually evolve from the political situation in California today (Lesher, et al. 2006). "Or it might mark an entirely new political paradigm . . . a no-party state." (Lesher, et al. 2006) 1990 was the turning point when Democratic registration in California dropped below 50% for the first time since the 1950's. The electorate has now 2.3 more million voters and almost 90% are registered outside the two majority parties. Of the California registered voter population that numbers 16.5m, 6.7m are Democrats, 5.5m Republican and those who "decline to state" number 2.9m, or 18% (Lesher, et al. 2006). This leaves 765,429 registered voters who have affiliated themselves with third parties, namely Green Party, American Independent, Libertarian, Natural Law, Peace and Freedom Party and "Miscellaneous" (Gale. 2005). The 2005 elections in California saw many third party candidates vying for electoral seats. Green Party won 4 of the 5 races they attempted, gaining a seat as Board of Trustee of Pasadena City College, being reelected in San Mateo's Water and Sanitary District, and winning without contest in Marin County. They now hold 65 elected offices across California (Feinstein. 2005). Methodology This paper is organized into historical and contemporary sections to attempt a short overview of the subject matter. The methods for procuring information and data about the subject matter have been to access information from Questia online library and the local library. A thorough review of related literature was the first step, followed by internet searches for magazine and newspaper accounts that produced numerous examples of politics in California and information about third parties. No primary research was done for this paper but use of the internet makes secondary research much more up-to-date and detailed. Examples of useful information via internet sources are: the Los Angeles Times newspaper's search engine and archives, Bibliomania's search engine and catalogue, Questia's extensive search engine and writing advice. Limitations to use of the internet for research purposes are: the 'freshness' of links provided by search engines, i.e. some news stories are not archived and cannot be found at the original site, limitations to the amount of information or data available, and volumes of irrelevant material. Understanding of how to do a search on the internet helps a great deal to find more directly relevant sources. A Short History of Third Party Successes The Act of 1901 created a legal structure for party organization in California (Cresap. 1954). Conventions were mandatory for cities of over 7,500 people. The first primary in California was in 1909 after they enacted their direct primary law (Cresap. 1954). One of the first third parties was the Lincoln-Roosevelt League that formed in secret with plans to get control of the Republican party. California's tradition of nonpartisan politics is "rooted" in an era of Progressivism. The progressive movement was a reform program that responded to the changes brought about by the industrial age (Columbia Ency. 2004). Growing slums were developing from the increase in number of people moving to cities to work. Business 'bosses' had dug into the political scenes. Reform candidates won their seats by promising urban changes, such as municipal ownership of public utilities and improvements in the housing code system. California soon began their own reform programs after the Wisconsin governor of 1901 became the model reformer and won an anti-lobbying law that was aimed at the big companies. He raised the taxes on corporations and created a railroad commission. The adoption of the secret ballot emerged as a result. Progressives also advocated for the unfortunate workers, gaining worker's compensation, child labor laws, pensions and minimum wage. When the Green Party allied themselves with Ralph Nader in 1996, many progressives or independents thought they had found a viable candidate for President. Nader's consumer advocacy background energized third party thinking. More interest in alternative politics was created than any time since the 1850's (Nichols 1996) when the "radical" Republicans ousted the Whigs. According to a CNN/USA Gallup poll (Nichols. 1996) at the time, 63% of those questioned were interested in a third party candidate. The Socialist candidate of 1996 said, "Eventually, I think people will wake up and (realize that) we need to be there." (Nichols. 1996) Factors of Success Some of the biggest third party triumphs in California have come about as a result of a division in the majority parties. 1855 saw J. Neely Johnson win as governor, as a member of the "Know-Nothing" Party, an organization that was anti-Catholic and Native American. A pro-labor Workingman's Party won a third of the delegates' seats in the 1878 convention. And in 1912 the Progressive Party's candidate won the presidency with Theodore Roosevelt (Gale. 2005). Specific issues. The reasons that third parties exist at all are numerous, but generally depend on issues that have been sidestepped by the majority leaders, such as corporate taxation, nuclear power, morality issues, civil rights, etc. So specific issues that voters want addressed more aggressively will become a success factor if the party addresses it well. Third parties have their influence. Legislation is passed that would not have been but for third party pressure (Smith 1989). Strengthening public action. Ralph Nader called for "strengthening citizen participation in our political economy" (Nader 2002) as #1 in his "First Stage Goals for a Better America". The number of third parties is proof that this is happening all the time. Kevin Zeese, Green Party senatorial candidate, calls for an "uprising by the (Green Party) membership" (Smith, et al. 2005) to invigorate the party and overcome the rifts between party members. A radical wing of the Green Party, Greens for Democracy and Independence (GDI), says that the Green Party must become "the political expression of the living social movements" to win against the majority parties. An increasing number of young professionals in the independent parties (Lesher. 2006). Articulate, politically experienced progressives are an increasing part of third party membership. Whereas in the past these parties tended to rely on unprofessional citizens to run their campaigns, there are people involved now who have political degrees, or political or legal experience to offer. In California as well as other states, there are third party candidates with name recognition who have held elected seats for years (Lesher. 2006). Greater number of minorities who are voting (BAMPAC 2006) (Gale. 2005) (CdoF 2005). BAMPAC is one of the US's leading Political Action Committees, among the top 25 PACs in the country. As a non-partisan committee, their objective is to mobilize the support of Black Americans toward common sense action. A poll taken of 100 black voters showed that 60% are Democrats, and 26% were independent. Only 15% are Republican (BAMPAC 2003). Women, Afro Americans, and Latinos are all represented in California's leadership (Gale. 2005). Increased experience within the third parties in campaign strategies Despite the label of liberalism applied to many independent voters, California's reputation for being "green", moderate and being fiscally conservative can be attributed to independents (Lesher 2006). The Reform Party's maturity has allowed it to run several federal candidates and the Green Party has a majority in the City Council of Arcata, California. New Party influence on a national level has been strong, garnering a Congressional seat (Sifrey. 1997). A combination of name recognition, electoral experience, and progressive platforms can create a candidate for third parties that can win. A shift of power to the states and the importance of governor positions (Nichols. 1998) In 1998, former U.S. Representative Dan Hamburg ran for governor of California on the Green Party ticket. According to former State Senator Myrth York, "Governorships matter . . . can shift the whole dynamic in a state." He believes that a few progressive party governors would change the "dialogue" of the whole country. (Nichols. 1998) Realistic party platforms One objection to many third parties is a radical platform. Yet one group, The Libertarians, have won hundreds of electoral seats over the decades. But the platforms of many third parties focus on their desire to make big changes in the status quo. One bit of realism any party has to face with its platform is its length on paper: the need to keep it short. Ralph Nader's platform is on one page of his book, Crash!ing the Party. The American Reform Party has a very specific agenda listed on their website that focuses on campaign and electoral reforms. The Constitution Party has constitutional limits in government and biblical foundations in law as its platform. The Natural Party offers solutions to health care, energy woes, agriculture, crime, taxes, education and more on their website. Some parties such as Green Party are in flux, having a large agenda and differing ideas about how to shape their platform (Smith, et al. 2005). Communication technologies. "The sophistication and impact of Internet activism seems to be growing" (Wikipedia 2006) and this is where third party organizers can find supporters for their causes. Reaching the opinion leaders who affect the thinking of the public is much more likely on the internet. And people who are disabled or otherwise unable to participate in meetings can offer support via internet. While there can be some polarizing effects from cyber hounds who "debate" issues with disparaging commentaries about candidates they don't like, there is a lot of possibility for some unity in opinions. A coalition party that combines interests and agendas between third parties (Couperus. 2001) While there is legislation that makes it difficult for parties to merge sometimes (Sifrey. 1997), there are many examples of cooperative efforts unifying the forces of two or more groups. Some are major parties organizing alongside non-partisan committees for a common goal. The New Party has been aided by alliances with the labor movement (Sifrey. 1997). According to their national chairman, Joel Rogers, laws opposing 'fusion' work to lock elections in for the two majority parties, while only allowing the "occasional self-financing independent celebrity" into a race for an electoral seat. Factors of failure. But a failure to win a seat is not necessarily a failure to achieve the goals that are set by the third party. Many third party efforts are aimed at making a strong statement, such as the one that the Green Party made with Ralph Nader. Failure to win can result from: A lack of organization among different factions of a third party A lack of funds available for campaigning A lack of focus and ability to communicate party platforms A lack of a known name as leader or realistic platforms that are viewed as extreme An inability to draw minority voters into their party (Great Valley. 1999) The Future of Today's Alternative Parties Coalition parties may emerge as they find strength working together rather than against each other. An example of this is The American Reform party that has joined the California Instant Runoff Voting Coalition, and others to bring legislation to the State Assembly (Couperus/ARP 2001). A Clean Money Campaign was organized by 2004 by several different parties. The future of third parties may be to join together over a set of issues and strengthen their goals by finding a representative to run for office. Green Party numbers have been growing in the past 4 years. When they ran a "slate" for seven statewide partisan offices in 2002, they had unprecedented success, gaining more votes than ever before (Feinstein. 2005). The Democrats swept the elections but were hard pressed to do so and spent $10-$16 a vote, whereas the Green Party candidates spent as little as $.50 a vote and got a lot of attention (Feinstein and Jan. 2002). Ralph Nader states, in Crash!ing the Party, "Too many people mistakenly believe either that it is not possible for any degree of civic energy to affect the powers that be, or that it takes multitudes and a great disruption of regular living practices to do so." But he goes on to say that "remarkably few active people" caused the changes for many issues such as women's rights, minority rights, workers' rights and more. Third parties come about because of someone's daring to confront the status quo and try to change it. Summary Third party politics have a solid place in American history, having affected serious changes for the better for hundreds of years. The problems third parties face trying to get support of voters is always about looking like they already have the support of the voters. Besides the problem of money that third parties generally have (Perot's party excluded), it is true that winners win, and third parties struggle to look like winners. To sum up, third party politics have an essential place in our society but their path is long and difficult and winning is rarely an option. They are a direct reflection of the attitude of the voters. The voters often believe in third party objectives but compromise in favor of a party that is most likely to win. Works Cited Black America's Political Action Committee (BAMPAC) 2006. http://www.bampac.org/default.asp Accessed 2/3/06 and 2003 Poll http://www.bampac.org/opinion_polls2003.aspindex=1. California Dept. of Finance (CdoF). Statistics on Third Parties. http://www.dof.ca.gov/html/fs_data/stat-abs/TOC_PDF.HTM Accessed 2/3/06 Cresap, Dean R., 1954. Politics in the Golden State. Haynes Foundation. Los Angeles. Pg. vii Couperus, Nancy. 2001. News from the American Reform Party of California. May 9, 2001. www.americanreform.org/California. Accessed 2/3/06 Feinstein, Mike and Jan, Greg. 2002. Greens Grow as a State Force in California Politics. www.cagreens.org/greenfocus/greensgrow.html. Accessed 2/3/06 Feinstein, Mike. 2005. California Greens Win Four of Five Races. www.cagreens.org/greenfocus/05W_Four_of_Five.html. Accesses 2/3/06 Gale, Thomson. 2005. California - Political Parties. www.city-data.com/states/California-Political-parties.html Accessed 2/3/06 Gizzi, John. 2000. The Third-Party Impact. World and I magazine. Vol. 15, issue 9, pg. 46 Great Valley. 1999. Population Distribution by Ethnicity. www.greatvalley.org/.../ econ00/pop_distro.aspx Accessed 2/3/06 "Internet activism." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 5 Mar 2006, accessed 2/3/06 . Lesher, D., Baldassare, M. 2006. California's independent streak. L.A. Times newstory. 2/19/06 www.city-data.com/states/California-Political -parties.html Accessed 2/3/06 Nadar, Ralph. 2002. Crash!ing the Party. St. Martin's Press. New York. Pp. 186+ Natural Law Party 1996. http://primary96.ss.ca.gov/e/party/naturallaw.html Accessed 2/3/06 Nichols, John. 1996. California Dreamin': Third-party activists get going in the Golden State. The Progressive. Vol.60, Issue 3, pg. 30+ Nichols, John. 1998. Going for Governor. The Progressive. Vol. 62 Medved, Michael. 2003. America's Irrelevant Third Party. The American Enterprise. Vol. 14, issue 1, pg. 7+ The Columbia Encyclopedia, 2004. Progressivism. Columbia U. Press. New York. Pg. 38819 Sifrey, Micah L. 1997. Crashing the Parties: The Fate of Third Party Movements Hangs before the Supreme Court and the F.E.C. The Nation magazine. Vol. 264, issue 5. Pg. 23 Smith, A., Hill, F., Leas, J., Campbell, C., Woods, C. 2005. Which Way Forward Opinion for the Green Party. www.cagreens.org/greenfocus/05W_GDI_on_Tulsa.html. Accessed 2/3/06 Smith, H. 1989. The Power Game. Ballantine Books. New York. Pp. 41, 53. Thayer, William. 2004. Biography of President Garfield. Summary. www.bibliomania.com/2/-/frameset.html Winger, Richard. 2006. Greens Recruit Former Pasadena Mayor to Run for Congress. www.ballot-access.org/. Accessed 2/3/0 From the writer: The original was written according to the outline you provided which included a summary, etc. But I have now reduced the areas you suggested and enlarged upon the other parts. The amount of information I accumulated for this project was not entirely pertinent to this topic because they want to discuss other things than why parties win or lose, so I extracted as much as I could. The format of the paper now is to show the progression in historical terms of the strength of third parties in California, based on my argument that third parties have played a significant role for as long as the democracy has been around. To leave out much more of the history is to break my argument down to only current politics, which is not very strong for third parties. You want a strong argument. If you don't show where the Progressivism came from, the progressive parties of today lose some of their integrity. In addition, your instructor called for a summary, as most papers have, and which I shortened up for you. There are now 11 pages. Further pages would need to be negotiated. Thank you. Read More