| This thread has been locked, it will not receive new replies. |
| Locked on 09/05/2009 7:06:55 AM PDT by Religion Moderator, reason: |
Posted on 09/04/2009 8:15:01 PM PDT by Congressman Billybob
The last time a new American political party came into being, one strong enough to elect a President, was in 1854. As you have guessed, that was the Republican Party. Its first elected President was Abraham Lincoln in 1860.
Many third party and independent campaigns have been mounted since then. The Progressive Party around 1900 managed to elect Governors and majorities in the legislature of several states. Their high water mark was in 1912, when former President Teddy Roosevelt chose that Party as his vehicle to run again when the Republicans declined to nominate him, again. (No, there never was a “Bull Moose Party.” Don’t send letters and postcards claiming that there was.)
What’s the relevance of this ancient history to the off-year, congressional election in 2010? Well, take a look at that history and see what seems familiar.
The Republican Party began with a meeting in Ripon, Wisconsin, in 1854. Present were members of the Free Soil Party (favoring continued homesteading rights) and Conscience Whigs (northern Whigs separated from their southern members over slavery). The meeting was led by a disgruntled Democrat (who also split with his Party on slavery).
Remember this point. The new Party was created by people who had been elected under other party labels, but became dissatisfied with their current parties’ stands on key issues. The current two major parties are both fractured over key issues, including taxes, public debt, growth of government regulations, and respect for the Constitution.
All new party efforts since 1854 have failed at the national level. The reason for that unbroken history of failure is because all those new party efforts sought to reinvent the wheel and create parties from scratch. All successful efforts up to 1854 followed a different path. In the successful examples, elected officials changed their party labels, and later captured the support of voters who’d made the same shifts.
In 1856 the Republican candidate, John Fremont, won a third of the votes though his Party wasn’t one of the two strongest parties, going into that election. By 1858, the Republicans held a majority in Congress, not because they had elected a majority of the Senators and Representatives. They elected many. But the Members who put them over the top had been elected under other party labels, but switched to the Republicans.
All right, what is the situation of the current major parties? The Democrats are split into three groups, the hard left, the center, and the moderate right. There is no love lost between the right and left wings of that Party. Votes coming up in Congress will probably demonstrate that the wings of the Democrats hate each other enough so they will refuse to vote together.
The Republican Party is also fractured, into the hard right, and the squishy moderates. The hatred within the Party may be less, but the refusal to hold together for votes in Congress will be equally apparent.
And where do the American people stand? They have contempt for both the Republican and Democrat Parties. On the issues, public opinion is more against the Democrats than Republicans. Experts on both sides of the aisle expect the Democrats to lose seats in both Houses of Congress in 2010. But because the Republicans are also disrespected, they will probably will not win a majority in either House.
Some Republicans talk of “rebranding the Party.” Such efforts will fail. Just because the cat has kittens in the oven, doesn’t make them biscuits. However, if a majority of Republicans and a minority of Democrats all support these four issues -- obey the Constitution, cut taxes, reduce government control of lives of Americans, and support term limits – as a group they will dominate the elections and control both Houses of Congress.
What label will they adopt? The Tea Party Party is too casual. They will dump the current leaders of both Houses of Congress, assuming that Senator Reid has not already been dumped by his Nevada constituents, a preliminary shock heralding the coming earthquake.
No pundits are currently talking about this new party possibility. It is a long shot. But those who ignore the political history of American parties do not even realize this has happened several times before, and can happen again.
- 30 -
About the Author: John Armor practiced in the US Supreme Court for 33 years. John_Armor@aya.yale.edu His latest book, on Thomas Paine, is available here: www.TheseAreTheTimes.us (Note the suffix, .us)
- 30 -
John / Billybob / Ben
What it would take is a mass migration of the more conservative members of the GOP.
Why two threads?
Call it The Bull Moose Party.
I like The Integrity Party.
Excellent. Word needs to get around. Thank you for illuminating a possible scenario.
The Common Sense Party
“Call it The Bull Moose Party.”
Since it involves polititions call it “The Bull Shit Party”.
Yes, and why two parties in opposition to Obama and the Democrats?
Circle Jerk Party.
The Tea Party has been around since before either the Democrat or Republican parties.
Nawww, ya gotta give it some zing, some modern pizazz: XtreMePaRtY v2.0! OK, I’ll sit down now...
Thanks for the history lesson John; very interesting...and relevant. Most of us saw Ross Perot make his meteoric rise (and fall) and have been wondering ever since what the trick to make it stick is.
Yes, I’ve been saying this for some time. Ordinarily, third parties are a waste of time. But once in every 100 or 150 years, a major party dies, and a new party is born. I think we’ve about reached that stage with the Republican party.
To your article I would only add that the new party wouldn’t have a chance in hell unless it also appeals to social conservatives. Right to life, marriage, and family. These are election winners, and would be necessary to bring conservative Evangelicals and Catholics on board.
That is in addition to the positions you have mentioned, not instead of any of them.
Circle Jerk Party.
Mass Debators?
I like The Constitution Watchdog Party.
Third Parties do not win elections. The only way for a 3rd party to succeed is for the Republican or Democrat Parties to die.
There are still people who will never vote for a Republican as long as they draw breath. It still surprises me at the number that are like that. They can “hate” what the Dems are doing but will never vote Republican.
If we could get them over that “tattooed on the butt” Dem vote the Left would never again win an election.
I am not for a 3rd party, but if the Republican Party cannot be taken over by the true Americans, it might be the only peaceful way to repair this train wreck.
Good post. I would suggest the Constitution Party but that label is already taken.
Restoration party maybe? Freedom party? Capitalist party? Free market Party?
Just throwing some ideas out there!
WE THE PEOPLE PARTY.
This would emphasize that they work for us.
FR members going to Washington DC for the conservative march on the mall - how about floating the idea about a new party along the lines mentioned above? Find Republican candidates that will pledge both conservative ideas and pledge to jump to the new party once it gets rolling. Run these Republicans in 2010 and have the new party up and running in time to run a pres. candidate in 2012. Also get the word out to conservative leaning Democrats that relief is on the way in 2010 & 2012.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.