AP Government & Politics: Minor Parties
Charles Chy
Party One: Constitution Party
Platform Planks
1. Pro-Life
Party Two: Green Party
Platform Planks
1. Democratic Political Reform
2. Anti-Gun Control
2. Social Justice – Equal rights for
all
3. Ecological Sustainability
3. Anti-tax
Party Three: Libertarian Party
Platform Planks
1. Laissez Faire – Less regulation,
lower taxes
2. Drug decriminalization
3. Gun rights
Party One: American Nazi Party
Party Two: Radical Women
Basic Summary: As the name suggests, the party is
composed to Nazis, skinheads, fascists, etc. The
American Nazi Party is an extreme political party
that advocates only white non-Semitic Europeans
should hold citizenship.
Party Three: Prohibition Party
Basic Summary: A revolutionary socialist and feminist
party that advocates overthrowing the current capitalist
rule of the American Government and replacing it with a
structure that would guarantee rights for women and all
others that are oppressed.
Party Four: U.S. Marijuana Party
Basic Summary: Conservatives that want religious
based political reform and a prohibition on alcohol.
This is an ultra-conservative group that espouses the
ideology of the older days and wants to bring back
the prohibition, which would make alcohol illegal.
Party Five: Pansexual Peace Party
Basic Summary: This party strongly pushes for the
legalization of marijuana and boasts other libertarian
views. They believe that the civil liberties of Americans
have been unjustly restricted by the current legislation
which provides severe penalties for drug users.
Party Six: Revolutionary Communist Communist Party
USA
Basic Summary: Based upon the teachings of Mao
Zedong, the group pushes for a rejection of the current
capitalist system. The party does not believe in political
change through the election system but rather attempts to
spread their ideology through revolutionary tactics.
Basic Summary: A party based on witchcraft, the
Pansexual Peace Party’s only real political assertion
is that sex is good. The PPP has not produced any
candidates and do not take their agenda very
seriously.
1. There could be several reasons why minor parties exist even though the political climate in America only
fosters two main competitors. First, individuals with a strong, vested belief in their political agendas would
refuse to conform to either of the major party’s platforms and find that the only suitable alternative would be to
create their own or find an existing minor party that was more consistent with their beliefs. Second, minor
parties, specifically the Green Party, have been able to influence the direction of elections by taking votes away
from one side or another. By introducing third parties, individuals are able to mitigate the effects of the
“duopoly” so their efforts have tangible results. Lastly, these groups can represent a more social medium than a
political one for their participants. By joining into these minor parties individuals may be able to find others
who share similar beliefs and that alone would make it worth the time.
2. I would not vote for a minor party in 2010 for a few reasons. First, I’m pretty politically indifferent, so it’s
likely that multiple parties would coincide with my political ideologies since my only main stance is the
government shouldn’t kill their people meaning I don’t find anything wrong with voting for a major party.
Second, I’m unlikely to vote in any election that is not a presidential election and the next one is in 2012 so I
would not be casting votes for a minor party in 2010 anyhow. Third, since it is extremely unlikely that the
minor party will have any significant effect on the election, I’d default to voting for a party that might actually
come to power, else my vote would have been for no reason. Finally, there tends to be more benefits to voting
for a major party, for instance, maybe a free car ride or water bottle; and I’m easily persuaded to vote for the
party that offers the most incentives because it shows they care.