This is the grave of James Birney. Born in 1792 in Danville, Kentucky to Irish immigrants, Birney’s family was torn on the issue of slavery. He had abolitionist family members. His father also o
I suppose it’s worth mentioning the death of John Anderson. As someone who has thought a good bit about vanity third parties presidential campaigns, largely with pure contempt for them and the p
Over the last few months, I’ve been reading a good bit about Henry Wallace and the mid-century left for a potential project. And while I now don’t think Wallace is so important in this pro
My consistent position on third parties is that they are a counterproductive waste of time because a) there is no room in the American system for third parties, b) we have 200 years of political histo
Above: The Rhode Island Democratic Party I’ve talked before about how the Rhode Island Democratic Party is an out of control dumpster fire. In a 1-party state, being a Democratic politician mean
My criticism of most 3rd party political campaigns are well known. I see them, personified by the Nader campaigns, as quixotic attempts every four years to show left-wing anger with the Democratic Par
I endorse Erik’s post, but to add a few points: Arguments that third parties are potentially useful vehicles for political transformation confuse cause and effect. Given American electoral r
One commenter in the third party thread argues that people arguing against implausible heighten-the-contradictions arguments have their own, similar problem: the even-handed liberal in me must point o