If you could be the founder of your own political party...

Politics & Elections
1

What would it be called and what would be the central beliefs of the party?

I would name mine, “The National Capitalist Party” after the two main things I believe in politically - national pride and capitalism. Here are the characteristics and the ideology of this party:

  1. Capitalism, the free market and the right of individuals to own, buy and sell private property.

  2. Freedom of speech, especially dissenting speech against the government, and freedom of religion without the government interfering in the church’s business.

  3. The right of business owners to run and operate their private businesses however they wish, without government interference. This means that the existence of smoking and non-smoking sections, weapon free zones, etc. would be the business owner’s choice, and would not be state-sanctioned or forced.

  4. The party would not outlaw communist or socialist political parties, but would have its own propaganda system in which it promoted capitalism and tried to portray communism and socialism as unthinkable ideas of tyrannical ideology which should not even be entertained in the minds of Americans. I get this idea for my political propaganda from the late US President and anti-communist icon, Ronald Reagan.

  5. The party would also promote patriotic propaganda in which in would remind the American people constantly of great US feats: Winning the Revolutionary War against Britain, winning the Mexican War against Mexico, overcoming the division of the Civil War and emerging as a once again victorious nation, winning the Spanish-American War against Spain; we would also encourage the people to take pride in our participation in both World Wars, especially the Second World War in which we defeated Hideki Tojo in the far east, and also helped the other allied powers to defeat Hitler in Europe. We would put special emphasis on General Eisenhower orchestrating important battles in Europe which helped lead to the Nazis’ defeat. Flag waving and singing of the national anthem would be celebrated activities.

  6. In terms of foreign policy, we would have a policy of not attacking other nations unless they attack us first; this is in order to prevent future wars in the vein of Bush’s Iraqi War. We would also recognize the independence of Taiwan.

  7. In terms of race relations, we would have a view of humanity as one race, and not as multiple races. Therefore, all racial distinctions would be discouraged, and mixed marriages and families would be encouraged. Racial quotas would not be encouraged, but would be tolerated in accordance with the private business owner’s rights as specified in section 3.

  8. Each US state would have the right to self-determination in terms of gun laws; with luck, the 2nd Amendment to the Constitution could be amended even further to make the issue of gun laws a state matter and not a federal matter; meaning that some states could ban guns if they wished, while others could keep guns legal. Travelers would have to be checked at certain state lines in order for the law enforcement of that state to make sure that they are not carrying prohibited firearms in their vehicles.

  9. The right of parents to homeschool their children would be considered an inalienable right, and neither state nor federal governments would be allowed to take children away from their parents because of the parents’ choice to homeschool.

  10. One of the only major federal laws on this list which would trump state laws: There would be a renewed national ban on both gay marriage as well as marriage between first cousins (incest), which are both legal in certain states. I feel like these types of marriage would have been considered to be in the same category as pedophilia, bestiality and even closer incest than cousins (siblings, etc.), had it not been for the media normalizing one and some rural individuals embracing the other. My goal would be for every state case in which these types of marriage were legalized to be permanently overturned and the nature of such marriages to be de-normalized in the mind of the public.

2

I also forgot to mention:

  1. There would be a nation wide ban on abortion, given that I see it as the termination of a human life who happens to still be inside the womb.
3

Pure capitalism isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. A little socialism goes a long way. Canada’s most right wing party (Conservative) works just fine for me, and they’re even left of the Democrats.

I’m fine with a blend of conservatism and socialism, maybe with a dash of Tabasco and a cold beer.

4

I feel like restrictions on interstate travel and trade would probably negate most of the economically beneficial effects of your laissez-faire capitalist utopia.

(I know you don’t explicitly propose such restrictions, but giving states the ability to impose whatever gun restrictions they want and the ability to search all traffic entering the borders will effectively result in heavily secured borders, at least between blue/red states.)

Also, whether states have the ability to regulate businesses independently of the federal government makes a huge difference on the analysis of your party, and is totally unaddressed.

5

Okay, I admit I am starting to see that the state gun laws may be taking it a bit too far. I would want all citizens to be able to drive across state borders freely and comfortably. I think I will botch the whole gun plan. My National Capitalist Party would keep gun laws as they are.

6

I keep remembering stuff that I originally forgot to put down:

  1. I would keep the healthcare system as it is - with patients paying the doctors for their healthcare.

  2. The military would be kept strong and built up for the protection of the United States and American lives.

7

I’d make my party very liberal - the Spoiler Election Party.

  1. Universal single-payer health care
  2. The Second Amendment would be repealed and private gun ownership banned entirely.
  3. Welfare and unemployment assistance would be doubled.
  4. Get rid of all nuclear weapons in the US arsenal.
  5. Military spending would be cut in half.
  6. Cut all U.S. carbon emissions in half in a decade’s time.
  7. All taxes on the wealthy would be doubled.
  8. Drastically increase corporate taxes.
  9. The minimum wage would be raised to $20/hour.
  10. Capital punishment would be abolished.
  11. Have ten million hydrogen-powered cars on the road in 10 years.
  12. Have the government control most of the media.
8

I’m having a hard time figuring out whether or not this is satire.

9

I’m supposing this is the example of the cracked view Conservatives have of Liberals?

I like 1, and 10.

My spoiler party would be to court the Libertarians.

  1. No minimum wage.
  2. No unions.
  3. No inheritance tax (called the Death Tax by people who don’t understand taxation)
  4. Flat Tax.
  5. No EPA, DEA, FDA, DoE or DHHS.
  6. Universal open carry and concealed carry.
  7. Gold Standard.
  8. For profit prisons and orphanages.
  9. Roads paid for by tolls.
  10. Re-legalization of dueling, indentured servitude and child labor.
10

The Evidence Party

[ol]
[li]All policy decisions will be based on the best evidence currently available, regardless of whether it aligns with any existing political ideology.[/li][li]See Point 1.[/li][/ol]

11

You might have my vote. What are this party’s positions on capital punishment, abortion and plural marriage?

12

It’s not my decision to make.

What does the research show? If sufficient research hasn’t been done, we’ll allocate funds based on the (a) degree of harm/good it does to (b) the number of impacted citizens. Moreover, legislature is required to incorporate a clause that provides for amendment of laws when relavant new findings come to light.

13

Yours isn’t particularly serious either to be frank.

That said, without much further ado, the Platform of the National Progressive Party

  1. The party’s guiding principles are those of republicanism, liberalism, nationalism, and social democracy. The party takes the best from the American political tradition including the lofty Enlightenment humanitarianism of Thomas Jefferson, the economic nationalism of Alexander Hamilton, the radical democratic views of Thomas Paine, the ideal of a supreme national Union as envisioned by Abraham Lincoln, the racial egalitarianism of the Radical Republicans, the nationalistic reformism of the progressives, and above all the vision of the New Deal liberals to guarantee the American Dream to all citizens.

  2. The fundamental revision of the antiquated elements of American government-abolition of the Electoral College, make election to the House of Representatives based on mixed-member proportional representation, redraw subnational governmental boundaries based on socioeconomic realities, reduce the Senate’s powers and make its representation reflect the new subnational boundaries, and seriously look at changing over to a parliamentary system. Obviously, campaign financing should be completely reformed, with all private funding banned while Election Day should be a national holiday.

  3. Reform the tax system to make it simpler and fairer. Raise income tax rates modestly for upper income brackets but at the same time eliminate most loopholes with a few exceptions such as the child tax credit. Raise the estate tax. Equalize tax rates for capital gains with those for income. Impose a national Value Added Tax excepting foods and other necessary goods. However at the same time abolish all state and local taxes which tend to be regressive and have the federal government redistribute tax revenue on the basis of population and economic conditions.

  4. Reform the American welfare state. Seriously consider replacing much of the welfare state with a minimum income. If this isn’t the case at least roll back “welfare reform” and increase the generosity and length of unemployment insurance. With regards to Social Security, remove the regressive payroll tax cap and establish a retirement age formula based on income, type of job, employment status, health etc.

  5. Impose the German model of multi-payer universal health care where a compulsory health insurances is provided through private non-profits with price negotiations revised to bring down health care costs. This would be funded by employer/employee taxation with subsidies for those who are low-income. Focus on preventative medicine.

  6. Revitalize unions by repealing the Taft-Hartley Act. Encourage the unionization of the service sector, to establish a force that can be an effective counterweight to big business. Establish by law a thirty-eight hour work week, guaranteed vacation of at least two weeks, guaranteed sick days, and maternity/paternity leave. Raise the minimum wage to 12 dollars (with adjustments for local cost of living) and tie it to inflation.

  7. Pursue demand-side/Keynesian economic policy. Continue quantitative easing, while avoiding austerity measures that will reduce employment and consumer spending.

  8. Implement a massive infrastructure-energy-environmental plan. Improve the state of existing American roads, airports, ports, bridges, tunnels etc. to make sure they are second to none in quality. Massively expand funding for local mass transit, encouraging light rail and subway construction in particular while striving to bring down prices. Expand national Amtrak service whilst constructing a national high-speed rail system. Change urban planning policy to encourage mixed-use areas and high-density construction. Severely restrict the construction of new sprawl. Reform municipal government to put entire metropolitan areas under one government with common law enforcement, schools, public transportation etc. Reverse white flight by encouraging the colonization of not just young single urban professionals, but by middle-class families of inner cities who naturally will tend to put down stronger roots in the community. With regards to energy, aim to completely phase out coal by a targeted date. Encourage domestic natural gas production and approve the construction of Keystone XL. Embark on a program of massive nuclear power plant construction with a view to doubling nuclear energy. Impose a gasoline tax.

  9. Generally pursue a policy of free trade but at the same time be more cautious in signing such deals with Third World countries or harsh competitors. Encourage an export-oriented economy and revitalize America’s key heavy industries (steel, automobile, aerospace etc.).

  10. Education policy from the pre-k to postgraduate level must be fundamentally reformed. The gross inequalities in funding of public schools based on geographic locale must be ended by making public school funding come from the federal coffers while private schools should be prohibited from charging tuition or discrimnating on what sort of students may enroll in order to end the fundamental inequalities in American education. Furthermore, there should be universal daycare/preschool for all American children. Teaching should be considered a respectable professional job equal to doctors, engineers, and lawyers, with a much higher salary. Vocational education should be encouraged for students who show aptitude in that area, while college tuitions should be lowered and subsidies increased especially those intending to pursue careers in teaching, medicine, science etc. There should be no public funding or accredation accorded to any college that discriminates applicants on the basis of race or their parents’ alumni status.

  11. Immigration policy should be considered flexible and be adjusted according to the needs of the nation. However, at the same time the illegal immigrants already present should be given a path to citizenship for the lack of any better alternative. At the same time further illegal immigration should be discouraged in the future through better border security, ending the War on Drugs, severly penalizing employers using illegal immigrants, and by raising the minimum wage. Additionally, there should be no second-class Americans as would exist under a “guest worker” program. Assimilation should be encouraged for immigrants by making English the official national language of the American Republic.

  12. Reject the obsession with a handful of divisive social issues that has bedeviled American politics for the last generation and let party members voice their conscience on social issues. That said the following policies will be recommended by the founder
    Abortion-The author of this post strongly believes that the right to life occurs at conception and thus that abortion besides to save the life of the mother should be prohibited. However, the party welcomes people on both the pro-life and pro-choice sides of the issue by pursuing policies that will reduce abortion such as alleviating poverty, encouraging child subsidies, and increasing access to birth control/sex education.
    Censorship-Censorship by the FCC on broadcast TV should be reduced in general, as long as appropriate warnings exist.
    Crime-Strengthen police forces while at the same time pursuing economic policies that will reduce poverty and thus the root causes of crime. At the same time allegations of police brutality should be strongly scrutinized and steps taken to demilitarize the police to build trust in the policy among minority communities. The death penalty should be reserved only for cases of multiple murder, treason, and espionage and carried out by guillotine or firing squad.
    Drug Policy-Legalize marijuana and other soft drugs on a federal level and impose a federal tax. Decriminalize most other drugs. The age of purchase for alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana should be regularized at 18.
    Gay Rights-Let local jurisdictions decide on gay marriage. However guarantee “household rights” equivalent to marriage to all individuals nationally, while prohibiting discrimination in employment for both homosexuals and transsexuals. Address in particular the condition of transsexuals in the United States who are disproportionately in poverty and in danger of exploitation.
    Gun Control-Impose universal background checks but otherwise do not pursue any further gun control legislation. Handling guns safely should be taught in public schools from an early age just like any other safety procedure.
    Prostitution-Focus on prosecuting the pimps rather than the prostitutes
    Women’s Rights-Pass the Equal Rights Amendment.

  13. While national security is of key concern to all Americans, the excesses that have occurred since 2001 must be rolled back. Existing national security legislation such as the Patriot Act should be thoroughly reviewed to eliminate all that is unconstitutional and/or unnecessary.

  14. A policy of “national cohesion” and “national community” should be introduced. This should be done by creating a Department of Culture which will seek to expand cultural opportunities for all Americans. Funding for PBS and NPR should furthermore be greatly expanded to encourage more original programming and reduce dependence on local donations. With the expansion of the Internet, something like the WPA should be revived for aspiring artists, actors, writers, filmmakers etc. to encourage the production of free, educational, and quality art. Of course, the government should not blindly fund all artists, especially those who create degenerate, deliberately shocking art that tends to taint all publically-funded art. In addition to making English the official language, other national symbols should also be encouraged or introduced. For example, the much more singable “Battle Hymn of the Republic” (or at the least “Battle Cry of Freedom” or “America the Beautiful” if the first song should be too religious) should replace the “Star Spangled Banner” as the national anthem while public holidays such as Independence Day should feature much more elaborate events such as military parades. Racial divisions should be discouraged by implementing economic policies that benefit all Americans, thus getting rid of the need for race-based affirmative action.

  15. In foreign policy a course of liberal internationalism should be pursued. America should make as a cornerstone of its foreign policy, a commitment to preventing genocide by any means necessary wherever it may occur in the world. There should be some modest cuts in military spending but at the same time, we must guard against any excessive reduction in military spending and readiness that will harm the cause of liberal democracy throughout the globe. To counter Sino-Russian aggression, the United States should expand NATO to cover all of America’s allies (such as South Korea, Japan, and so forth) and correspondingly increase its scope. At the same time, military buildups by American allies including Japan should be encouraged to reduce America’s share of the burden. The Ukraine (excepting the now lost Crimea) should be brought under this protection to prevent any further Russian aggression while at the same time pumping aid and natural gas to that country to prevent austerity measures that will harm the current government. In the Middle East, the US must wage a full-scale air war (and commando operations) if necessary to utterly annihilate the savagely barbaric ISIS hordes, seeking nothing less than its complete destruction. With regards to Israel, the US should seek a two-state solution with an Israel having 1967 borders plus all of Jerusalem and some settlement blocks and a demilitarized, secular Palestinian state. A policy of alliance with India and Brazil should be pursued to break-up any further alliances among the BRIC countries. Similarly, the US should seek to reconcile with left-wing Latin American states such as Cuba (ending the embargo there), Venezuela, and Bolivia.

The Union Forever! Fair Columbia Endures! Long live the Republic!

14

This is essentially my party. The core idea is that goals, policies, are decided on ethical grounds (moral philosophy) and the means to implement said goals decided on evidential grounds. It may be for instance that a desirable goal is unachievable in any reasonable way, so we shrug and move onto achievable matters.

15
  1. Abortions for some
  2. Miniature American Flags for others
16

UK.

“The Actual Labour Party” with standard Social Democratic, left-wing values.

17

Peoples League of Australia and New Zealand

A left leaning platform focusing on social policy. Noteworthy positions include

  • banning politicians handling public money of any sort (yes, even members of the PLANZ) Responsible and talented economists gather in secret dark caves to compute on the economy instead. These people would be the pick of the bunch out of the top universities and other non biased financial digs and would be rarely seen or heard from.

  • Removing the last scraps of legislation separating Australia and New Zealand as distinct nations. Its time both countries found a frickin’ room. And then onward, to glory!

  • Drugs not being a concern for the police or the pollys except when they are sold improperly. Limited legalisation combined with all around decriminalisation. A round of police budget cuts to compensate the public for decades of waste.

  • Amend firearms legislation to include semi automatic rimfire rifles upto 10rd capacity and pump action shotguns making them less restricted.

  • Abolish copyright relating to art.

  • Victimless crimes should mostly just become victimless. No crime need apply.

  • Sanitize land and environment law. Right now it is an embarrassing mix of outdated crap and over-reaching hippy nonsense.

-Remove religious iconography and language from anything official.

  • Forget about the refugee crisis. It never was, is not now, or will be, a crisis. Refugee processing should continue but only on the mainland, and it should be a bit more transparent.

  • Expand and vastly improve digital voting to include all public elections and referendums.

  • Abolish all our overseas spy programs. A deadly, stupid thing to have going.
    I can think of more. But alas, to wait.

18

The UK Personal Responsibility Party.

As much economic and social freedom as possible, but with one major principle. If you make a bad lifestyle choice then you pay the consequences not the State.

No subsidies for coporations or local government. That means local government spending comes from local government taxation.

Massively reducing taxation on the Scotch Whisky industry. There is little Scotland is world class at doing; making whisky being one of them. I see no reason other than State greed to tax it at 70-80%.

19

Since my policies will result in a nanny state that is Practically Perfect In Every Way, it will be known as the Mary Poppins Party.

Mary Poppins Party Platform

1- All doctors, nurses, and other health professionals shall be well paid civil servants and all health care is provided free to everybody. You need an operation, you get one, and you don’t pay a cent.

2- Roe v Wade shall be honored by all states and local governments and no onerous regulations permitted to restrict the right to access abortion.

3- The Second Amendment shall be repealed and the only forms of guns allowed for private ownership will be those used in hunting, with no more than one round capable of being loaded at once.

4- Marijuana shall be legalized and taxed, with lesser taxes imposed on filter tipped marijuana cigarettes. Other recreational drugs shall be legalized or not based on the recommendations of a panel of doctors.

5- The highway infrastructure shall be rehabiliated wherever needed and passenger rail transportation shall be re-opened to private competetion on routes of high demand and subsidized on routes of lower demand.

6- All public colleges and universities shall be tuition-free.

7- All military vehicles and equipment given to local police forces shall be melted down and the steel shall go into the manufacture of small vans painted in hippy psychadelic colors for use in meals on wheels for seniors.

8- Military spending shall be decreased to 125% of that of the next largest military.

9- Gay marriage shall be equal to straight marriage.

10- Capital punishment shall be abolished.

11- The top ten percent of household incomes shall be taxed at the rate of 50% from the first dollar upward. Taxes for other brackets will be graduated progressively. Estates in excess of $500,000 shall be taxed at the rate of 50%.

12- A songwriting contest will be held to replace the national anthem. The top five candidates as determined by Congress shall be voted on nationwide. The Pledge of Allegiance shall not be required in any school.

13- All gerrymandering shall be eliminated. All political districts shall be drawn by a non-partisan team of mathematicians and cartographers.

14- No jurisdiction shall be permitted to make tax increases subject to any special rules like a supermajority or a vote of the people. No candidate shall be permitted to make tax cuts part of his/her platform.

15- Non-fossil energy shall be a top priority, nuclear power plants shall be built but made as safe as technology will permit.

16- Relations with Cuba shall be normalized and the embargo ended. Most favored nation status for trade will be based on the human rights and environmental policies of the nation concerned.

17- There shall be no censorship of the public airwaves, with the exception that blantantly biased news channels will be shut down and hate radio such as Limbaugh and Savage shall be banned.

18- All forms of discrimination based on sexual preference, race, gender, religion, or ethnicity shall be strictly prohibited. Equal pay for equal work for women.

19- Prostitution shall be legalized and taxed and made as safe as possible. There shall be no restrictions on pornography except for minors and animals.

20- It shall be recognized that putting humans in space serves no real purpose. However, funding for unmanned space exploration shall be increased dramatically.

20

Not whether anything is right or wrong.