American Populist Party
American Populist Party | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2009 |
| Ideology |
Anti-corporate personhood Balanced budget Centrism Constitutional government Individualized political contributions Natural rights Populism States' rights |
| Political position |
Social: Centre-left Fiscal: Centre-right |
| International affiliation | None |
| Colors | Blue, Red, and White |
| Website | |
| http://www.americanpopulistparty.org | |
The American Populist Party, founded in 2009, is a minor political party which claims to advocate "classical liberalism" and a return to what they call "genuine" Constitutional government. As such it is an amalgam of classical liberalism and modern conservatism. The American Populist Party should not be confused with the Populist Party of America or any of the several other American parties called "Populist", and it has no relationship to several historical parties of the same name. The American Populist Party is a coalition of grass roots activists, ranging in political ideology from the left to the right, who are working to enact Constitutional reforms through the amendment process.
History
The American Populist Party was founded in early 2009 with the intent of introducing a series of 14 Constitutional Amendments to guarantee that the United States government respects the limits prescribed for it by the People. Since October 2009 the party opened offices in five states, including California, Colorado, Texas, Illinois, and Pennsylvania. The party identified with historical parties of the same name, in the areas of preventing poverty, curtailing corporate abuses, and the quest for a sound monetary policy.[1] It diverges from them with its emphasis on Constitutional methods to accomplish those goals.
Platform
The American Populist Party is based on the classical political ideology of the key Founding Fathers of the United States of America. It invokes natural rights as espoused by John Locke, and idealizes Rousseau's philosophy of the social contract. The party platform considers the US Constitution to be an affirmative grant of limited powers by the people to the federal government, for the express purpose of protecting the natural rights of individuals as well as the integrity and sovereignty of the several states. As such it emphasizes checks and balances and the separation and non-delegation of powers. The party platform adheres to the practical pillars of modern conservatism, including small government, fiscal sanity, a sound defense posture, and the preservation of individual rights and freedoms, but it rejects social conservatism in favor of libertarian social ideals. The platform emphasized the importance of limiting special interest influence in national politics, and advocates fiscal transparency through rigorous audits and oversight, as well as background checks for elected officials. The party's proposed Constitutional amendments were focused in three areas: fiscal limits on the federal government, restoring the balance of political power between the States and the federal government, and constraining the judiciary regarding the interpretation of the Constitution.
See also
- Classical liberalism
- Corporate personhood debate
- Libertarian Party (United States)
- Nondelegation doctrine
- Populism
- Populist Party (United States)
- Separation of powers
References
- ↑ Hild, Matthew (2007). Greenbackers, Knights of Labor, and Populists, Farmer-Labor Insurgency in the Late-Nineteenth-Century South.The University of Georgia Press, Athens & London, p. 123.
