Citizens Party (United States)
Encyclopedia
The Citizens Party was a political party
in the United States
. It was founded in Washington, D.C.
by Barry Commoner
, who wanted to gather under one umbrella political organization all the environmentalist
and liberal groups which were unsatisfied with President Carter's
administration. The Citizens Party registered with the Federal Elections Commission at the end of 1979. Commoner, a professor
of environmental science
at Washington University in St. Louis, was the head of the Center for the Biology of Natural Systems in St. Louis
and editor of Science Illustrated magazine.
The Citizens Party platform was pro-environmental
in nature. Some have claimed that it was possibly socialist
as well, but this claim arose from a misunderstanding of the economic democracy
platform of the party, which appears to be a form of corporatism
. Commoner clearly stated repeatedly that socialism for parts of the economy other than essential infrastructure was a disastrous idea. His economic democracy idea stated that the business of business is to do business, but that the business of government is to regulate business to prevent abuses.
In all, the party was founded around four essential platforms, including economic democracy.
of Oklahoma
for Vice President. La Donna Harris was "a leading feminist and a Comanche Indian [who] labeled herself as 'a woman of color.'"
In order to increase public awareness of its existence, the Citizens Party ran a commercial on 600 radio stations in which the party used profanity (The advertisement began with an actor exclaiming: "Bullshit
! Carter, Reagan and Anderson, it's all bullshit!"). Several of the radio stations tried to remove the profanity, but the Federal Communications Commission forbade them to do so.
As the party's candidate for President in 1980, Commoner achieved ballot status in 29 states (22 and DC under the Citizens Party label, six as an Independent, and in Pennsylvania
with the Consumer Party), although his major activity was centered in California
, Illinois
, Michigan
, New York
, and Pennsylvania.
In addition to the national ticket, there were 22 other Citizens candidates on the ballot in various states including three for the U.S. Senate and eleven for the U.S. House. Commoner received 221,083 votes. Although Commoner did not garner more than one percent in any state, the party received enough support to be the first minor party
to qualify for federal matching funds (about $157,000) for the 1984 election.
to the Board of Aldermen in Burlington, VT. In 1982, the Citizens Party offered two candidates for Governor (PA and Texas), three candidates for the Senate (PA, Texas, and VT), and 15 candidates for the U.S. House.
in St. Paul MN from August 10 to 12, 1984. There were 125 delegates from 30 states present. The convention nominated Sonia Johnson
of Virginia, “a radical feminist” for President and Richard J. Walton of Rhode Island for Vice President. Johnson had been excommunicated from the LDS Church in 1979 as a result of her outspoken support of the Equal Rights Amendment. In 1982 Johnson undertook a publicized 37-day fast which was designed to encourage the legislature of IL to ratify the ERA.
Two other minor parties endorsed the Citizens ticket in 1984. The Socialist Party USA
National Convention in New York City from September 3 to 5, 1983 voted to try to run a joint ticket with the Citizens Party, and the Peace and Freedom Party in California endorsed Johnson for President (although it ran Bill Thorn for Vice President).
In spite of the two additional endorsements, the Citizens Party suffered serious setbacks during 1984. It ran fewer candidates for office: one for the Senate (IL), one for Governor (VT), and two for the U.S. House. Johnson appeared on the ballot in thirteen states under the Citizens banner, two as an Independent, one (AR) as the Citizens Group nominee, and one (PA) as the Consumer nominee. The Citizens Party vote fell by two thirds – to 72,153 although Johnson significantly improved upon Commoner’s totals in PA and in LA.
After the disappointing number of votes cast in favor of the Citizens Party nominees, the Party disintegrated. The 1987 Socialist Party National Convention nominated its own Presidential ticket of Willa Kenoyer
(a former co-chair of the Citizens Party) and Ron Ehrenreich
for 1988, while the Consumer Party in Pennsylvania resumed its separate existence, picking up the remaining pieces of the Citizens Party.
:
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It was founded in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
by Barry Commoner
Barry Commoner
Barry Commoner is an American biologist, college professor, and eco-socialist. He ran for president of the United States in the 1980 US presidential election on the Citizens Party ticket. He was also editor of Science Illustrated magazine.-Biography:Commoner was born in Brooklyn...
, who wanted to gather under one umbrella political organization all the environmentalist
Environmentalist
An environmentalist broadly supports the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that seeks to improve and protect the quality of the natural environment through changes to environmentally harmful human activities"...
and liberal groups which were unsatisfied with President Carter's
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
administration. The Citizens Party registered with the Federal Elections Commission at the end of 1979. Commoner, a professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
of environmental science
Environmental science
Environmental science is an interdisciplinary academic field that integrates physical and biological sciences, to the study of the environment, and the solution of environmental problems...
at Washington University in St. Louis, was the head of the Center for the Biology of Natural Systems in St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
and editor of Science Illustrated magazine.
The Citizens Party platform was pro-environmental
Environmentalism
Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology and social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservation and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks to incorporate the concerns of non-human elements...
in nature. Some have claimed that it was possibly socialist
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
as well, but this claim arose from a misunderstanding of the economic democracy
Economic democracy
Economic democracy is a socioeconomic philosophy that suggests a shift in decision-making power from a small minority of corporate shareholders to a larger majority of public stakeholders...
platform of the party, which appears to be a form of corporatism
Corporatism
Corporatism, also known as corporativism, is a system of economic, political, or social organization that involves association of the people of society into corporate groups, such as agricultural, business, ethnic, labor, military, patronage, or scientific affiliations, on the basis of common...
. Commoner clearly stated repeatedly that socialism for parts of the economy other than essential infrastructure was a disastrous idea. His economic democracy idea stated that the business of business is to do business, but that the business of government is to regulate business to prevent abuses.
In all, the party was founded around four essential platforms, including economic democracy.
1980 election cycle
The first Citizens Party National Convention met in Cleveland in the Cleveland Plaza Hotel from April 10 to 13, 1980. There were 260 delegates from 30 states present. The "proposals presented at the convention reportedly numbered some 300 items, a list largely irreducible to a manageable platform. . . Units of the party organization on the state level thus became more or less responsible for delineating their own briefer versions of the list of goals" (Kruschke, p. 46). The Party nominated Barry Commoner for President and La Donna Harris wife of Democratic U.S. Senator Fred HarrisFred R. Harris
Fred Roy Harris is a former Democratic United States Senator from the state of Oklahoma. He served from 1964 until 1973.-Biography:...
of Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
for Vice President. La Donna Harris was "a leading feminist and a Comanche Indian [who] labeled herself as 'a woman of color.'"
In order to increase public awareness of its existence, the Citizens Party ran a commercial on 600 radio stations in which the party used profanity (The advertisement began with an actor exclaiming: "Bullshit
Bullshit
Bullshit is a common English expletive which may be shortened to the euphemism bull or the initialism B.S. In British English, "bollocks" is a comparable expletive, although bullshit is commonly used in British English...
! Carter, Reagan and Anderson, it's all bullshit!"). Several of the radio stations tried to remove the profanity, but the Federal Communications Commission forbade them to do so.
As the party's candidate for President in 1980, Commoner achieved ballot status in 29 states (22 and DC under the Citizens Party label, six as an Independent, and in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
with the Consumer Party), although his major activity was centered in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, and Pennsylvania.
In addition to the national ticket, there were 22 other Citizens candidates on the ballot in various states including three for the U.S. Senate and eleven for the U.S. House. Commoner received 221,083 votes. Although Commoner did not garner more than one percent in any state, the party received enough support to be the first minor party
Minor party
Minor party is a political party that play a smaller role than a major party in a country's politics and elections. The difference between minor and major parties can be so big that the membership total, donations, and the candidates that they are able to produce or attract are very distinct...
to qualify for federal matching funds (about $157,000) for the 1984 election.
1982 election cycle
In 1981, the Citizens Party had its first successful election of a candidate running under the Citizens Party label, with the election of Terry BouriciusTerry Bouricius
Terrill "Terry" Bouricius is an American political scientist and a former member of the Vermont House of Representatives . He is particularly known for his advocacy for instant runoff voting, and now is the senior policy analyst for FairVote, a nonprofit organization that works to reform voting...
to the Board of Aldermen in Burlington, VT. In 1982, the Citizens Party offered two candidates for Governor (PA and Texas), three candidates for the Senate (PA, Texas, and VT), and 15 candidates for the U.S. House.
1984 election cycle
In 1984, the Citizens Party held its second national convention at Hamline UniversityHamline University
-Red Wing location :Hamline was named in honor of Leonidas Lent Hamline, a bishop of the Methodist Church whose interest in the frontier led him to donate $25,000 toward the building of an institution of higher learning in what was then the territory of Minnesota. Today, a statue of Bishop Hamline...
in St. Paul MN from August 10 to 12, 1984. There were 125 delegates from 30 states present. The convention nominated Sonia Johnson
Sonia Johnson
Sonia Johnson is an American feminist activist and writer. She was an outspoken supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment and in the late 1970s was publicly critical of the position of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , of which she was a member, against the proposed amendment...
of Virginia, “a radical feminist” for President and Richard J. Walton of Rhode Island for Vice President. Johnson had been excommunicated from the LDS Church in 1979 as a result of her outspoken support of the Equal Rights Amendment. In 1982 Johnson undertook a publicized 37-day fast which was designed to encourage the legislature of IL to ratify the ERA.
Two other minor parties endorsed the Citizens ticket in 1984. The Socialist Party USA
Socialist Party USA
The Socialist Party USA is a multi-tendency democratic-socialist party in the United States. The party states that it is the rightful continuation and successor to the tradition of the Socialist Party of America, which had lasted from 1901 to 1972.The party is officially committed to left-wing...
National Convention in New York City from September 3 to 5, 1983 voted to try to run a joint ticket with the Citizens Party, and the Peace and Freedom Party in California endorsed Johnson for President (although it ran Bill Thorn for Vice President).
In spite of the two additional endorsements, the Citizens Party suffered serious setbacks during 1984. It ran fewer candidates for office: one for the Senate (IL), one for Governor (VT), and two for the U.S. House. Johnson appeared on the ballot in thirteen states under the Citizens banner, two as an Independent, one (AR) as the Citizens Group nominee, and one (PA) as the Consumer nominee. The Citizens Party vote fell by two thirds – to 72,153 although Johnson significantly improved upon Commoner’s totals in PA and in LA.
1986 election cycle and party dissolution
In the 1986 election, the Citizens Party once again offered four candidates: two for Governor (PA and RI), one for the Senate (PA), and one for the U.S. House (MN). Two of these four candidates were actually Consumer Party candidates in PA.After the disappointing number of votes cast in favor of the Citizens Party nominees, the Party disintegrated. The 1987 Socialist Party National Convention nominated its own Presidential ticket of Willa Kenoyer
Willa Kenoyer
Willa Kenoyer was the Socialist Party USA candidate for President of the United States in the 1988 U.S. presidential election...
(a former co-chair of the Citizens Party) and Ron Ehrenreich
Ron Ehrenreich
Ron Ehrenreich is an American credit union officer and teacher. He was the Vice-Presidential candidate for the Socialist Party USA in the United States presidential election, 1988, as the running mate of Willa Kenoyer. The ticket received 3,882 votes, 2,587 of the votes came from New Jersey...
for 1988, while the Consumer Party in Pennsylvania resumed its separate existence, picking up the remaining pieces of the Citizens Party.
Presidential election summary
The Citizens Party nominated two candidates for President of the United StatesPresident of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
:
- 1980: Barry CommonerBarry CommonerBarry Commoner is an American biologist, college professor, and eco-socialist. He ran for president of the United States in the 1980 US presidential election on the Citizens Party ticket. He was also editor of Science Illustrated magazine.-Biography:Commoner was born in Brooklyn...
and running-mate La Donna Harris; running-mate Wretha HansonWretha HansonWretha Hanson is the director of the Franz Bader Gallery in Washington, D.C. and was the former wife of George Wiley. In 1980 she was the alternate Vice Presidential nominee of the short-lived Citizens Party as the running mate of Barry Commoner for the state of Ohio; for most states, the...
in OhioOhioOhio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
. The party received 234,294 of 86,515,221 votes cast, or 0.27%. - 1984: Sonia JohnsonSonia JohnsonSonia Johnson is an American feminist activist and writer. She was an outspoken supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment and in the late 1970s was publicly critical of the position of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , of which she was a member, against the proposed amendment...
and running-mate Richard WaltonRichard WaltonRichard Walton is an American politician and writer. He was the vice presidential nominee in 1984 of the short lived Citizens Party; Sonia Johnson was their Presidential nominee that year. Johnson's running mate on the Peace and Freedom Party ticket that year was Emma Wong Mar, however.He went on...
. The party received 71,947 of 92,641,042 votes cast, or 0.08%.
See also
- U.S. presidential election, 1980
- U.S. presidential election, 1984
- Citizens Party of the United StatesCitizens Party of the United StatesThe Citizens Party of the United States is a contemporary political party in the United States. Founded by Michael Thompson in Wayne, Pennsylvania in 2004 as the New American Independent Party , the first meeting took place in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania on the day of the general election in 2004...
(2011-Present)
Further reading
- Bullshit: The Media As Power Brokers in Presidential Elections by Jeffrey Gale 213 pages Publisher: Bold Hawk Press (July 1, 1988) ISBN 0-9620243-0-9.
- New York Citizens Party. The Citizens Party salutes Gay Pride Week; vote for Barry Commoner for President and LaDonna Harris for Vice-President in 1980. the Party, New York. 1980.
- James T. Havel, U.S. Presidential Candidates and the Elections (NYC: Mac-Millan Library Reference USA, 1996)
- Citizens’ Party in Earl R. Kruschke, ed., Encyclopedia of Third Parties in the United States (Santa Barbara CA: ABC-CLIO, 1991), p. 45.
- Charles S. Hauss, Citizens Party, in L. Sandy Maisel, ed., Political Parties and Elections in the United States (NYC: Garland Publishing Inc., 1991), p. 147.
- Citizen’s Party (CP), in Edward L. Schapsmeier and Frederick H. Schapsmeier, Political Parties and Civic Action Groups (Westport CT: Greenwood Press, 1981), p. 96.