A New Progressive Party Platform?

[demwing]

This may be a bit long, but it reads as if it were much less lengthy. Please give it a good read, you may be surprised at the conclusion.

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The will of the people, in a time of great national problems, has mandated the existense of a new party, born of the nation's sense of justice.

We of the Progressive party here dedicate ourselves to the fulfillment of the duty laid upon us by our founding fathers--to maintain the government of the people, by the people and for the people whose foundations they laid.

THE OLD PARTIES

Political parties exist to secure responsible government and to execute the will of the people.

From these great tasks both of the old parties have turned aside. Instead of instruments to promote the general welfare, they have become the tools of corrupt interests which use them impartially to serve their selfish purposes. Behind the outward semblance of government sits enthroned an invisible government owing no allegiance and acknowledging no responsibility to the people.

To destroy this invisible government, to dissolve the unholy alliance between corrupt business and corrupt politics is the first task of the statesmanship of the day.


The deliberate betrayal of its trust by the Republican party, the fatal incapacity of the Democratic party to deal with the new issues of the new time, have compelled the people to forge a new instrument of government through which to give effect to their will in laws and institutions.

Unhampered by tradition, uncorrupted by power, undismayed by the magnitude of the task, the new party offers itself as the instrument of the people to sweep away old abuses, to build a new and nobler commonwealth.

EQUAL VOTE, EQUAL RIGHT

The Progressive party, believing that no people can justly claim to be a true democracy which denies political or civil rights on account of gender or sexual orientation, pledges itself to the task of securing equal suffrage to all mean and women, without valuation.

CORRUPT PRACTICES

We pledge our party to legislation that will compel strict limitation of all campaign contributions and expenditures, and detailed publicity of both before as well as after primaries and elections.

PUBLICITY AND PUBLIC SERVICE

We pledge our party to legislation forbidding federal appointees from holding office in State or National political organizations, or taking part as officers or delegates in political conventions for the nomination of elective State or National officials.

THE COURTS

The Progressive party demands such restriction of the power of the courts as shall leave to the people the ultimate authority to determine fundamental questions of social welfare and public policy. To secure this end, it pledges itself to provide:

1. That when an Act, passed under the police power of the State, is held unconstitutional under the State Constitution, by the courts, the people, after an ample interval for deliberation, shall have an opportunity to vote on the question whether they desire the Act to become law, notwithstanding such decision.

2. That every decision of the highest appellate court of a State declaring an Act of the Legislature unconstitutional on the ground of its violation of the Federal Constitution shall be subject to the same review by the Supreme Court of the United States as is now accorded to decisions sustaining such legislation.

ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE

We believe that the issuance of injunctions in cases arising out of labor disputes should be prohibited when such injunctions would not apply when no labor disputes existed.

We believe also that a person cited for contempt in labor disputes, except when such contempt was committed in the actual presence of the court or so near thereto as to interfere with the proper administration of justice, should have a right to trial by jury.

SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL JUSTICE

The supreme duty of the Nation is the conservation of human resources through an enlightened measure of social and industrial justice. We pledge ourselves to work unceasingly in State and Nation for:

Effective legislation looking to the prevention of industrial accidents, occupational diseases, overwork, involuntary unemployment, and other injurious effects incident to modern industry;

The strengthening of minimum safety and health standards for the various occupations, and the exercise of the public authority of State and Nation, including the Federal Control over interstate commerce, and the taxing power, to maintain such standards;

Equal wage standards for working women, to provide a "living wage" in all industrial occupations;

The strengthening of the forty hour week and the eight hour day in continuous twentyfour hour industries:

The abolition of the convict contract labor system; substituting a system of prison production for governmental consumption only; and the application of prisoners' earnings to the support of their dependent families;

Publicity as to wages, hours and conditions of labor; full reports upon industrial accidents and diseases; and the opening to public inspection of all tallies, weights, measures and check systems on labor products;

Standards of compensation for death by industrial accident and injury and trade disease which will transfer the burden of lost earnings from the families of working people to the industry, and thus to the community;

The protection of home life against the hazards of sickness, irregular employment and old age through the adoption of a system of Universal Healthcare adapted to American use;

The development of the creative labor power of America by lifting the last load of illiteracy from American youth and establishing continuation schools for industrial education under public control and encouraging agricultural education and demonstration in rural schools;

We favor the organization of the workers, men and women, as a means of protecting their interests and of promoting their progress. . . .

BUSINESS

We demand that the test of true prosperity shall be the benefit conferred thereby on all the citizens, not confined to individuals or classes.

We therefore demand a strong National regulation of inter-State corporations. The corporation is an essential part of modern business. The concentration of modern business, in some degree, is both inevitable and necessary for national and international business efficiency. But the existing concentration of vast wealth under a corporate system, unguarded
and uncontrolled by the Nation, has placed in the hands of a few men enormous, secret, irresponsible power over the daily life of the citizen - a power insufferable in a free government and certain of abuse.

We urge the establishment of a strong Federal administrative commission of high standing, which shall maintain permanent and active supervision over industrial corporations engaged in interstate commerce, or such of them as are of public importance.

Such a commission must enforce the complete publicity of those corporate transactions which are of public interest; must attack unfair competition, false capitalization and special privilege.

We favor strengthening the Sherman Law by prohibiting agreement to divide territory or limit output; refusing to sell to customers who buy from business rivals; to sell below cost in certain areas while maintaining higher prices in other places; using the power of transportation to aid or injure special business concerns; and other unfair trade practices.

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Actually, this is an old platform -nearly 100 years old! This (with a few minor changes reflecting laws that have since passed and social trends that have since developed) is the platform on which Tedy Roosevelt ran in 1912, and though he lost to the Democratic candidate Woodrow Wilson, he beat the Republican candidate Taft.

I say that this platfor works as well today, if not better than it did 92 years ago.

What do we owe to the Democratic Party, that we support it more than it supports us?

What do think of our country, that we put party before liberty?

And what do we say to the future, that we refuse to act now, while it is still possible to light the fire of populist reformation?

[Guaranteed]

1. Well, to begin with, we need to think of another name for it.

I think the Progressive Party was already in existence- at one time.

Besides, I think we want to make sure we're steering clear of the Green Party. We don't want to seem like them.

I don't think we want to seem like a "leftist" party- we want to seem like a STRONG, PRINCIPLED party, with the basic, real Democratic platform behind us, perhaps absent gun control.

On edit: I actually disagree with your perspective on the courts, too. The Constitution is there to protect the MINORITY- you can't relegate the Constitution to majority rule. It's undemocratic.

[demwing]

2. T Roosevelt began the progressive Party in the US

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Progressive_Party

There are many variations around the world, and the Progressive Party of Vermont is a very successful third party, though it is only active in one state. But the Progressive party in America began in 1912, no doubt about it.

I don't think the platform sounds anything like the Green party, nor does "Progressive" remind me of "Green."

You like the Democratic party platform, minus gun control? Thats fine.

I think we can do better than what the Democratic party has offered us, and am increasingly convinced that Buckminster Fuller is correct: "You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete."

A Progressive party, especially a Progressive Alliance party (drawing the best from the Democratic, Green, Libertarian, and Republican parties) would provide the model that would make the Democratic party obsolete.

[Guaranteed]

4. Well, not the "party" platform, as it stands now..

But the standard Democratic Party principles (which are not being adhered to).

[demwing]

3. BTW -

A Party begun by Republicans--that seems to the left of the Democratic party--is of great potential appeal, don't you think?

[Guaranteed]

5. Well, I'm not familiar with it...

But, yeah, I'd imagine that it's a good one...you know, the Republicans and Democrat platforms were switched before Wilson...

[Guaranteed]

8. Just thought of a name...

We need a party on the left flank of the Democrats to keep them honest (ultimately, in theory, to be taken over again when the Democrats get their shit together).

I'd call it the Cavalry Party. :)

[demwing]

9. In Honor Of Roosevelt's Rough Riders, otherwise known as -

The 1st Volunteer Cavalry?

Cool.

[demwing]

6. Regarding the courts

Say you get a state law passed in Californis allowing medical marijuanna, and then the Feds oppose that law. Sound familiar?

In your opinion, who should have ultimate say? the Fed courts or the people of the State of California?

I say the people.

and BTW - that wasn't suposed to be presented as my perspective on the courts, it was Roosevelt's back in 1912.

I can't take credit for the position, I just happen to agree.

[Guaranteed]

7. No, I agree with that, but that's only a Constitutional issue

in that the Constitution says that federal law trumps state law.

I happen to agree with that, too, although I certainly wouldn't mind if California went ahead and ignored what the Feds have to say about medical marijuana.

I'm just saying that you can't ignore the Constitution simply because a majority of the people in a certain state don't like what it says. In reality, California's law doesn't directly contradict it, only a federal law, which by the Constitution supercedes California law.