Everybody over the age of 18, I think, is familiar with two political parties here in America, the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. However, there are other political parties to know about for sure. They may not be nearly as well known or popular as the main two political parties in America, but they’re not going anywhere. Since we are in the midst of another election cycle, with the November General Election quickly coming upon us, what time is better than right now to remind voters you have choices when it comes to which political party you want to be a part of.
So in today’s Civics column, we’re sharing a reprint of a column first published in November 2020.
The Green Party of the United States (GPUS) is a federation of Green state political parties in the United States. The party promotes green politics, specifically environmentalism, nonviolence, social justice, participatory, grassroots democracy, gender equality, LGBTQ rights, anti-war, anti-racism, and eco-socialism. On the political spectrum, the party is generally seen as left-wing.
The GPUS was founded in 2001 as the Association of State Green Parties (ASGP) split from the Greens/Green Party USA (G/GPUSA). After its founding, the GPUS soon became the primary national green organization in the country, eclipsing the G/GPUSA, which was formed in 1991 out of the Green Committees of Correspondence (CoC), a collection of local green groups active since 1984. The ASGP, which formed in 1996, had increasingly distanced itself from the G/GPUSA in the late 1990s.
The Greens gained widespread public attention during the 2000 presidential election when the ticket composed of Ralph Nader and Winona LaDuke won 2.7% of the popular vote. Nader was vilified and scapegoated by Democrats, who accused him of spoiling the election for Al Gore, the Democratic candidate. Nader maintains that he was not a spoiler in the 2000 election, and some independent analysts agreed.
The Socialist Party USA, officially the Socialist Party of the United States of America (SPUSA), is a democratic socialist political party in the United States. SPUSA was founded in 1973 as a successor to the Socialist Party of America, which had been renamed Social Democrats, USA a year before.
The party is officially committed to multi-tendency democratic socialism. Along with its predecessor, the Socialist Party USA has received varying degrees of support when its candidates have competed against those from the Republican and Democratic parties. SPUSA advocates for complete independence from the Democratic Party. Self-described as opposing all forms of oppression, specifically capitalism and authoritarian forms of communism, the party advocates for the creation of a “radical democracy that places people’s lives under their own control.” A “non-racist, classless, feminist, socialist society,” in which:
“The people own and control the means of production and distribution through democratically-controlled public agencies, cooperatives, or other collective groups.”
“Full employment is realized for everyone who wants to work.”
“Workers have the right to form unions freely, and to strike and engage in other forms of job actions.”
And, “production of society is used for the benefit of all humanity, not for the private profit of a few.”
In October 2019, the Socialist Party nominated Howie Hawkins for President of the United States in the 2020 election. Hawkins has also received the Green Party 2020 presidential nomination and is running for that of various state-level parties, such as the Liberty Union Party in Vermont, in a bid to unite the “Non-sectarian Independent Left” behind a single campaign.
The Communist Party USA, officially the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA), is a communist party in the United States established in 1919 after a split in the Socialist Party of America following the Russian Revolution.
The history of the CPUSA is closely related to the American labor movement and communist parties worldwide. Initially operating underground due to the Palmer Raids starting in the First Red Scare, the party was influential in American politics in the first half of the 20th century and played a prominent role in the labor movement from the 1920s through the 1940s, becoming known for opposing racism and racial segregation after sponsoring the defense for the Scottsboro Boys in 1931. Its membership increased during the Great Depression, and it played a key role in the Congress of Industrial Organizations. The CPUSA subsequently declined due to events such as the beginning of the Cold War, the Second Red Scare, and the influence of McCarthyism. Its opposition to the Marshall Plan and the Truman Doctrine was unpopular, with its endorsed candidate Henry A. Wallace under-performing in the 1948 presidential election. Its support for the Soviet Union increasingly alienated it from the rest of the left in the United States in the 1960s.
The CPUSA received significant funding from the Soviet Union and crafted its public positions to match those of Moscow.
The Tea Party movement is an American fiscally conservative political movement within the Republican Party. Members of the movement have called for lower taxes, and for a reduction of the national debt of the United States and federal budget deficit through decreased government spending. The movement supports small-government principles and opposes government-sponsored universal healthcare. The Tea Party movement has been described as a popular constitutional movement composed of a mixture of libertarian, right-wing populist, and conservative activism. It has sponsored multiple protests and supported various political candidates since 2009. According to the American Enterprise Institute, various polls in 2013 estimated that slightly over 10 percent of Americans identified as part of the movement.
The Tea Party movement was launched following a February 19, 2009 call by CNBC reporter Rick Santelli on the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange for a “tea party,” several conservative activists agreed by conference call to coalesce against President Barack Obama’s agenda and scheduled a series of protests. Supporters of the movement subsequently have had a major impact on the internal politics of the Republican Party. Although the Tea Party is not a party in the classic sense of the word, some research suggests that members of the Tea Party Caucus vote like a significantly farther right third party in Congress.
The movement’s name refers to the Boston Tea Party of December 16, 1773, a watershed event in the launch of the American Revolution. The 1773 event demonstrated against taxation by the British government without political representation for the American colonists, and references to the Boston Tea Party and even costumes from the 1770s era are commonly heard and seen in the Tea Party movement.
This is just a look at some of the political parties that exist in the United States. There are more, and we’ll get to them in another upcoming Civics 101 column. For now, all we can say is Go Vote on Tuesday, November 2, 2021, General Election Day in Pennsylvania. If you are a registered voter, exercise your right.
