United States Pacifist Party

United States Pacifist Party
Founded 1983 (1983)
Website
uspacifistparty.org

The United States Pacifist Party is a pacifist party in the United States which supports the anti-war movement. It supports the non-violent resistance of Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr.

History

The party was founded in 1983 by Bradford Lyttle. Lyttle ran in the 1984 Presidential Election and got enough support to continue the party running again as a write-in candidate in the 1996 Presidential Election and the 2000 Presidential Election. In 1998, Gary Swing ran in the 1998 Colorado Senate election as a member of the Pacifist Party but got the fewest votes of any candidate. He received 1,903 votes, or 0.14%.

In 2008 Lyttle ran for U.S. President and was on the ballot in Colorado. He received 110 votes. Nationally he came in last out of 23 candidates who were on the ballot in at least one state.

Following the September 11 attacks interest in the party grew and Lyttle appeared on a special for CNN and The O'Reilly Factor explaining the party's response to the attacks in a pacifist sense and getting threats for it.[1]

Policies

Overall the Pacifist Party is moderate in tone and is on the left wing when it comes to issues despite references to a "divine revelation" as a source of inspiration.[2][3]

International relations

The Pacifist Party opposes the War in Afghanistan (2001-present) and the Iraq War and in general all war that's not related to national defense.

The Pacifist Party is against nuclear weapons, biological warfare, and chemical weapons as well as all foreign military aid. It supports reducing the military budget to zero and abolishing weapons through treaties.[3]

The Pacifist Party is opposed to the Patriot Act and for normalizing Cuba-United States relations by terminating of the Helms-Burton Act and putting an end to the United States embargo against Cuba.[3]

The environment

The Pacifist Party is for creating a global solar power system, against logging and oil drilling on public lands, and for taxing polluting industries.[3]

Healthcare

The Pacifist Party is for remodeling the current model of health care after the Canadian model.[3]

The Pacifist Party supports funding alternatives to abortion but not making abortion illegal.[4]

Immigration

The Pacifist Party supports unrestricted immigration arguing the money need for health care and education will be paid for by shutting down the majority of military war acts.[3]

Economy

The Pacifist Party supports employment through private employment and a minimum wage for everybody through a negative income tax.

Civil rights

The Pacifist Party opposes all forms of discrimination and supports a Constitutional amendment banning it. It supports free and unrestricted travel across the border, family planning, and banning handguns and assault rifles. It opposes the death penalty and supports prison reform.[5]

Election reform

The Pacifist Party supports limiting campaign spending, transparency, and proportional representation.[3]

References

  1. ↑ http://www.uspacifistparty.org/history.htm
  2. ↑ http://www.warbaby.com/dh2k/html/p-uspacifist.html
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "The United States Pacifist Party 2008 Platform". USPacifistParty.org.
  4. ↑ Lyttle, Bradford. "The United States Pacifist Party's Position on Abortion". USPacifistParty.org.
  5. ↑ Kelly, Kathy. "An Alternative Approach to Criminal Justice". USPacifistParty.org.
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