The New Party was a third political party in the United States that tried to re-introduce the practice of electoral fusion. In electoral fusion, the same candidate receives nomination from more than one political party and occupies more than one ballot line. Fusion was once common in the United States but is now commonly practiced only in New York State, although it is allowed by law in seven other states. The party was active from 1992 to 1998. (There had been an earlier, unrelated New Party in 1968 that ran Eugene McCarthy for president.)
The New Party was founded in the early 1990s by Dan Cantor, a former staffer for Jesse Jackson's 1988 presidential campaign, and by political science, sociology and law professor Joel Rogers as an effort to break with the largely unsuccessful history of progressive third parties in the United States. Their strategy was to run candidates only where they had a reasonable chance of winning, and to nominate on their ballot line (or where this was not legally possible, to endorse) the candidate they favored more from another party.[4]
After a false start in New York, the New Party built modestly successful chapters in several states. Some of these chapters—such as those in Chicago and Little Rock, Arkansas—had their main bases of support in the low-income community organizing group ACORN, along with some support from various labor unions. Other chapters—such as those in Minneapolis; Missoula, Montana; Montgomery County, Maryland; and Dane County, Wisconsin, received institutional support from a variety of other labor unions and community organizations. These chapters built local political organizations that ran or endorsed candidates, primarily in local non-partisan races but with occasional forays into Democratic Party primaries or (more rarely) traditional third party-style independent candidacies as well. Some New Party chapters introduced the idea of signed candidate contracts (saying the candidate agreed with the party's principles and would meet with party members after election) before endorsement, to encourage accountability after election—this was criticized by some of the party's detractors.[5][6][7] Party chapters were also active between elections, pressuring elected officials to pass legislation on issues such as living wages and affordable housing.
Although the party's founders hoped to foster a shift in the United States toward electoral fusion, they were not successful in doing so. Their hopes rested largely on the U.S. Supreme Court case Timmons v. Twin Cities Area New Party. In 1997, the Court, in a 6–3 decision, upheld the Minnesota ban on cross-endorsing candidates, rejecting the New Party's argument that electoral fusion was a right protected by the First Amendment's freedom of association clause.[11][12]
After the Timmons case, the New Party quickly declined and several chapters disaffiliated. Perhaps the only and certainly the most successful surviving local chapter, known as Progressive Dane, remains active and relevant in Dane County, Wisconsin. New Party founder Daniel Cantor and other key staff members left to found the Working Families Party of New York (1998),[12] an organization which has had considerable success in building a New Party-style organization within New York state, and which now has expanded into other states that have fusion voting.
Notesedit
^Reynolds, David (2000). "New Party". In Ness, Immanuel; Ciment, James (eds.). The encyclopedia of third parties in America, Vol. 2. Armonk, N.Y: Sharpe Reference. pp. 396–402. ISBN0-7656-8020-3. p. 396: From its beginning, the New Party articulated a distinct brand of progressive third-party politics.
^Haber (2001), p. 120: The New Party is a progressive electoral option—a challenge to the two-party system that has dominated electoral politics in the United States.
^Sifry (2002), p. 230: For convenience, and because they believed it was important that the party seem "fresh, simple, and above all, not weighted down with ideological baggage and labels," they proposed to call their new experiment the "New Party." Their intended audience were progressives, defined as "people who are committed to democracy" as opposed to liberals, who they wrote "don't believe working people have much capacity to govern their own affairs.27
^Rogers, Joel (October 4, 1993). "Viewpoint: Is it third party time?" (PDF). In These Times. 17 (23): 28–29. ISSN 0160-5992. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
^Haber (2001), p. 127: Our preferred candidates subsequently were notified and asked if they were willing to sign an agreement that said nothing more than that they agreed with our party principles and mission statement and that they would meet with us on a regular basis once in office to exchange information and work collaboratively to implement these ideals. While most of those we interviewed found nothing wrong with this process, and in fact understood and supported its importance, our detractors found it cause to complain loudly.
^New Party (April 1994). . Brooklyn, N.Y.: New Party. Archived from the original on July 9, 1997. Retrieved October 16, 2008.
^New Party of Illinois (c. 1999). . Chicago: New Party of Illinois. Archived from the original on October 23, 1999. Retrieved October 16, 2008.
^Nichols, John (July 10, 2000). "Three's company". In These Times. 24 (16): 4–5. ISSN 0160-5992. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
^New Party (March 1996). . Brooklyn, N.Y.: New Party. Archived from the original on July 9, 1997. Retrieved July 8, 2012.
^Nichols, John (January 2009). "How to push Obama". The Progressive. 73 (1): 20–23. ISSN 0033-0736. Retrieved July 8, 2012.
^Legal Information Institute (1997). "Timmons v. Twin Cities Area New Party (95-1608), 520 U.S. 351 (1997)". Ithaca, N.Y.: Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School. Retrieved October 8, 2008.
^ abIreland, Doug (March 18, 2002). "Party animals (book review of Spoiling for a Fight: Third-Party Politics in America by Micah L. Sifry)" (PDF). In These Times. 26 (8): 22–23. ISSN 0160-5992. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
Referencesedit
Haber, Paul (2001). "Party time? Building a progressive electoral movement: a case for the New Party". In Bystydzienski, Jill M.; Schacht, Steven P. (eds.). Forging radical alliances across difference: coalition politics for the new millennium. Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 120–132. ISBN0-7425-1058-1.
Sifry, Micah L. (2002). "A safe way out of the box?". Spoiling for a fight: third-party politics in America. New York: Routledge. pp. 223–257. ISBN0-415-93143-6.
External linksedit
New Party (1999). . Brooklyn, N.Y.: New Party. Archived from the original on January 17, 2001. Retrieved October 13, 2008. press coverage archived on the New Party's website
January 01, 1970
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This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources New Party United States news newspapers books scholar JSTOR October 2008 Learn how and when to remove this message The New Party was a third political party in the United States that tried to re introduce the practice of electoral fusion In electoral fusion the same candidate receives nomination from more than one political party and occupies more than one ballot line Fusion was once common in the United States but is now commonly practiced only in New York State although it is allowed by law in seven other states The party was active from 1992 to 1998 There had been an earlier unrelated New Party in 1968 that ran Eugene McCarthy for president New PartyFounderDan CantorJoel RogersFounded1992 1992 Dissolved1998 1998 Succeeded byProgressive DaneWorking Families PartyHeadquarters88 Third Ave Suite 313Brooklyn NY11217IdeologyProgressivism 1 2 3 Politics of United StatesPolitical partiesElections Contents 1 Founding 2 Influence 3 Notes 4 References 5 External linksFounding editThe New Party was founded in the early 1990s by Dan Cantor a former staffer for Jesse Jackson s 1988 presidential campaign and by political science sociology and law professor Joel Rogers as an effort to break with the largely unsuccessful history of progressive third parties in the United States Their strategy was to run candidates only where they had a reasonable chance of winning and to nominate on their ballot line or where this was not legally possible to endorse the candidate they favored more from another party 4 After a false start in New York the New Party built modestly successful chapters in several states Some of these chapters such as those in Chicago and Little Rock Arkansas had their main bases of support in the low income community organizing group ACORN along with some support from various labor unions Other chapters such as those in Minneapolis Missoula Montana Montgomery County Maryland and Dane County Wisconsin received institutional support from a variety of other labor unions and community organizations These chapters built local political organizations that ran or endorsed candidates primarily in local non partisan races but with occasional forays into Democratic Party primaries or more rarely traditional third party style independent candidacies as well Some New Party chapters introduced the idea of signed candidate contracts saying the candidate agreed with the party s principles and would meet with party members after election before endorsement to encourage accountability after election this was criticized by some of the party s detractors 5 6 7 Party chapters were also active between elections pressuring elected officials to pass legislation on issues such as living wages and affordable housing Influence editIn Madison Wisconsin and some other cities the New Party partnered with Green Party candidates 8 The New Party endorsed Barack Obama in his successful 1996 run for the Illinois Senate 9 10 Although the party s founders hoped to foster a shift in the United States toward electoral fusion they were not successful in doing so Their hopes rested largely on the U S Supreme Court case Timmons v Twin Cities Area New Party In 1997 the Court in a 6 3 decision upheld the Minnesota ban on cross endorsing candidates rejecting the New Party s argument that electoral fusion was a right protected by the First Amendment s freedom of association clause 11 12 After the Timmons case the New Party quickly declined and several chapters disaffiliated Perhaps the only and certainly the most successful surviving local chapter known as Progressive Dane remains active and relevant in Dane County Wisconsin New Party founder Daniel Cantor and other key staff members left to found the Working Families Party of New York 1998 12 an organization which has had considerable success in building a New Party style organization within New York state and which now has expanded into other states that have fusion voting Notes edit Reynolds David 2000 New Party In Ness Immanuel Ciment James eds The encyclopedia of third parties in America Vol 2 Armonk N Y Sharpe Reference pp 396 402 ISBN 0 7656 8020 3 p 396 From its beginning the New Party articulated a distinct brand of progressive third party politics Haber 2001 p 120 The New Party is a progressive electoral option a challenge to the two party system that has dominated electoral politics in the United States Sifry 2002 p 230 For convenience and because they believed it was important that the party seem fresh simple and above all not weighted down with ideological baggage and labels they proposed to call their new experiment the New Party Their intended audience were progressives defined as people who are committed to democracy as opposed to liberals who they wrote don t believe working people have much capacity to govern their own affairs 27 Rogers Joel October 4 1993 Viewpoint Is it third party time PDF In These Times 17 23 28 29 ISSN 0160 5992 Retrieved May 25 2011 Haber 2001 p 127 Our preferred candidates subsequently were notified and asked if they were willing to sign an agreement that said nothing more than that they agreed with our party principles and mission statement and that they would meet with us on a regular basis once in office to exchange information and work collaboratively to implement these ideals While most of those we interviewed found nothing wrong with this process and in fact understood and supported its importance our detractors found it cause to complain loudly New Party April 1994 Progress report 5 On the move with the New Party Brooklyn N Y New Party Archived from the original on July 9 1997 Retrieved October 16 2008 New Party of Illinois c 1999 The New Party of Illinois candidate contract Chicago New Party of Illinois Archived from the original on October 23 1999 Retrieved October 16 2008 Nichols John July 10 2000 Three s company In These Times 24 16 4 5 ISSN 0160 5992 Retrieved May 25 2011 New Party March 1996 March update Brooklyn N Y New Party Archived from the original on July 9 1997 Retrieved July 8 2012 Nichols John January 2009 How to push Obama The Progressive 73 1 20 23 ISSN 0033 0736 Retrieved July 8 2012 Legal Information Institute 1997 Timmons v Twin Cities Area New Party 95 1608 520 U S 351 1997 Ithaca N Y Legal Information Institute Cornell Law School Retrieved October 8 2008 a b Ireland Doug March 18 2002 Party animals book review of Spoiling for a Fight Third Party Politics in America by Micah L Sifry PDF In These Times 26 8 22 23 ISSN 0160 5992 Retrieved May 25 2011 References editHaber Paul 2001 Party time Building a progressive electoral movement a case for the New Party In Bystydzienski Jill M Schacht Steven P eds Forging radical alliances across difference coalition politics for the new millennium Lanham Md Rowman amp Littlefield pp 120 132 ISBN 0 7425 1058 1 Sifry Micah L 2002 A safe way out of the box Spoiling for a fight third party politics in America New York Routledge pp 223 257 ISBN 0 415 93143 6 External links editNew Party 1999 New Party documents Brooklyn N Y New Party Archived from the original on January 17 2001 Retrieved October 13 2008 press coverage archived on the New Party s website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title New Party United States amp oldid 1221958618, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
