Which Of These Parties Would You Vote For?

[True Democrat]

West Virginia is kind of surprising.

[jokerman]

Quite suprising, which is why I disagree.  Louisiana should have about 5 seats for the AIP, also.  Some other Southern states are off.

[Colin]

West Virginia is kind of surprising.

Mine Wokers Unions who are attached to the SDP plus voting on economic issues pretty much soves that question.

Quite suprising, which is why I disagree.  Louisiana should have about 5 seats for the AIP, also.  Some other Southern states are off.

Yes as I was going over the results again I thought that I hadn't been gracious enough to the AIP in the South. They should at least get over 40% in most of the deep South.

I did give them over 60% in Arkansas for you Preston.

[Lincoln Republican]

Wow, Colin, you took the time to post all those stats.

Very impressive, indeed.  Thank you.

I would support the Republican Party.

Can Mitt Romney take over the party leadership?

[Undisguised Sockpuppet]

Liberal Party

[minionofmidas]

Blacks in Georgia are voting Republican or American Independent in sizable numbers?

Frankly I think loads of these are off... but hey, your timeline.

[Colin]

Blacks in Georgia are voting Republican or American Independent in sizable numbers?

Frankly I think loads of these are off... but hey, your timeline.

Well my thoughts probably aren't correct. So what, in your mind, is off since this will help me with my overall timeline?

[minionofmidas]

My problem is ... the results in 2004 depend upon the timeline developments since, which I do not know, so I can't possibly accurately judge. Plus, a lot of these states look too right wing to me ... but then the overall result is fairly rightwing as well, so that's to be expected and not a fault at all.
What parties do Blacks vote for? Some of you seem to imagine Southern rural Blacks vote American Independent ... and if that party has a segregationist past I absolutely cannot see that happening at all. (There probably should be an African Nationalist Party at least in state politics in some states, by the way, though whether they could win us-wide House seats is another matter.)
But then, the Black proportions in Southern states might be different in your timeline as the "Great Migration" might have begun earlier or not happened at all or ... trying to do this from 2006 is like driving on quicksand. Better start from the past.

[Colin]

My problem is ... the results in 2004 depend upon the timeline developments since, which I do not know, so I can't possibly accurately judge. Plus, a lot of these states look too right wing to me ... but then the overall result is fairly rightwing as well, so that's to be expected and not a fault at all.
What parties do Blacks vote for? Some of you seem to imagine Southern rural Blacks vote American Independent ... and if that party has a segregationist past I absolutely cannot see that happening at all. (There probably should be an African Nationalist Party at least in state politics in some states, by the way, though whether they could win us-wide House seats is another matter.)
But then, the Black proportions in Southern states might be different in your timeline as the "Great Migration" might have begun earlier or not happened at all or ... trying to do this from 2006 is like driving on quicksand. Better start from the past.

Well I never work without having a story line in my head first. Most Blacks would either vote Democrat, National, or SDP. It's about a 40% Dem, 30% Nat, 25% SDP, 5% other. Although an African Nationalist Party would be an interesting addition.

[opebo]

Wow, I like the Social Democrats, the Liberals, and the Democrats, but I voted Social Democrat.  I like that you called the Liberal Party the most moderate.  I've always said American Liberalism was a moderate political philosophy, not a left-wing one.

[Colin]

Wow, I like the Social Democrats, the Liberals, and the Democrats, but I voted Social Democrat.  I like that you called the Liberal Party the most moderate.  I've always said American Liberalism was a moderate political philosophy, not a left-wing one.

Well I used the European definition of Liberal in this timeline as I believe the existance of multiple parties would have had to open the American vernacular to more various words for political ideologies than liberal and conservative. I'm using "liberal" as its used in Europe as in the words liberal democratic or in the various Liberal parties around Europe.

The Liberals in this timeline are what most people would call RINOs, moderate to liberal Republicans with some Northeastern moderate Democrats mixed in as well.

[Alcon]

I'd move one seat from the Nationals to the Liberals in Washington, if only because of vote splitting north of Seattle.  Very nice, though.

I'd probably go for Liberal.

[Colin]

Don't forget to take a look at the actually timeline that influenced this poll. Check out What Grant Wrought here.

[The Man From G.O.P.]

After I voted (republican) the #'s were:

6
7
11
7
6

How very neat

[Undisguised Sockpuppet]

The Liberal Party

[adam]

Probably the Republican party, even though anything led by Frank Murkowski (who is the Governor of Alaska by the way) is a joke.

[Bleeding heart conservative, HTMLdon]

Liberals or Republicans

[Max]

1. SDP
2. NP
3. DP
4. Greens
5. LP
6. RP
7. AIP

[WoosterLibertarian]

SDP for sure.

[WMS]

*bump* To accompany the What Grant Wrought timeline.

[Colin]

*bump* To accompany the What Grant Wrought timeline.

Ah yes I do need to get back to that. Maybe tomorrow if I'm not too tired I'll write something up.

Thank you for remembering my little meandering timeline.

[WMS]

*bump* To accompany the What Grant Wrought timeline.

Ah yes I do need to get back to that. Maybe tomorrow if I'm not too tired I'll write something up.

Thank you for remembering my little meandering timeline.

No problem. It was one of the more interesting ones, after all.

[Colin]

Also for I've updated these parties substantial as I have refined the end of the timeline, because for about forever I've been interested in also giving glimpses of the present from the What Grant Wrought timeline. These are the parties now:

Democratic Party: The Democrats are a social liberal party. Economically they are third way to moderately left mostly focusing on streamlining existing parts of the welfare state and helping to promote a fairer society. Socially they are liberal on abortion, gay marriage, death penalty, and gun laws. Over the past 15 years they have lost most of their urban labor union support to the Social Democrats, the American Independent Party and the Nationals. They have also been crowded out in the centre by the Liberals who, especially under Giuliani, have nearly matched the Democrats social liberalism. On foreign policy the Democrats have often been seen as being internationalist and idealistic. In the 2004 election for the House they won 14.24% of the vote and won 58 seats.

Leaders: Senator Bill Clinton (D-AR)/Congressman Mark Warner (D-VA)

Social Democratic Party: The venerable SDP has been around since a majority of the National Party merged with the Socialist Party in 1914. Strong defenders of the welfare state, public healthcare, subsidies and tariffs. The SDP was originally, and up until the 1960's, a rather harmonious union of Farmer and Labor interests into one party. During the 60's though a gradual shift occured in the party which made it focus more on social liberalism and a more peaceful foreign policy than on the old stand-bys of economic justice and social progress. The Radicals, as their detractors call them, began to move the party further from its rural roots into a urban based political movement. Consequently most of their old rural support in the Plains has defected to the Nationals though Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Oklahoma retain some rural Social Democratic strongholds. On foreign policy the SDP has moved into a more isolationist relm but still remain divided between internationalists, pacifists, and isolationists. They won 12.74% of the vote in 2004 and 50 seats.

Senator Jack Reed (SD-RI)/Congressman Bernie Sanders (SD-NY)

Liberal Party: The Liberals are the centrist party of America. They have always placed themselves at the centre of the political spectrum, though this is sometimes not true in reality. Growing out of their foundings as an anti-corruption movement the Liberals turned into the vehicle for Progressivism into the 40's. Strongly internationalist it was the Liberals who were the most pro-war party of the WWI and WWII years. Economically they've moved into the centre-right in recent years with a strong focus on balancing the budget and reducing wasteful spending. Socially the Liberals have moved from a socially moderate to a more socially liberal position but still consider themselves moderates. The Liberals draw much of their strength from the suburbs and the Northeast along with the Pacific Coast states. In 2004 they won 20.30% of the vote and wom 90 seats in the House.

Leaders: Senator Phil Bredesen (L-TN)/Congressman Rudolph Giuliani (L-NY)

Republican Party: The Freer the Markets the Freer the People is the basic mantra of the Republican Party. Stridently pro-free market and absolutely mute on social issues, which the party leadership considers divisive, are the main characteristics of the Republicans. Since the 20's the Republicans have been the most pro-business and pro-market party in the United States as they have constantly fought government regulation and the welfare state. The reasons for the party's success though is its central committees muteness on social issues which has led to state parties developing different social policies and for different Republican candidates to campaign in different ways when concerned about social issues. On foreign policy they mostly fall into the realist catagory. Often derided as the party of business interests and the rich the Republicans have made in roads into places like the South and the West via a mix of liberal economics and old fashioned states rights. Current leader in the house, Ron Paul, was elected in 2003 after Congressman Gingrich resigned. This was a victory for the so-called Southwest Boys a group of socially libertarian Southwesterners led by Congressmen Paul and Flake. In 2004 they recieved 15.70% of the vote and 70 seats.

Senator Judd Greg (R-NH)/Representative Ron Paul (R-TX)

American Independent Party: The party of George Wallace and the Southern Dixiecrat. The leaders of one of the most solid voting blocks in America. Economically centre-right to centre-left the party is mostly concerned about socially issues for which it is the most right-wing in America. States Rights, a moral society and a strong military are the rallying cry of the AIP although its image is softened by its approval of various welfare programs and federal aid for cherities, both secular and religious. The AIP is a Southern Party, nearly 60% of its seats came from the states of the old Confederacy with the remainder mostly coming from the Rust Belt of the Midwest. Their Southern dominance has been slowly chipped away by the Liberals, Republicans, and Democrats but throughout most of the South the old dichotomy remains, 80% of whites vote AIP, 95% of Blacks vote Freedom Party. In 2004 they recieved 19.12% and recieved 94 seats in the House.

Leaders: Senator Mike Easley (AI-NC)/Congressman Mike Huckabee (AI-AR)

Green Party: The Green Party is America's enviromentalist party. It strongly favours government protection of wildlife and the enviroment as well as holding a strongly libertarian social platform which calls for the legalization of drugs, full rights to gays and lesbians, a national constitutional amendment giving women the right to choose, and a hands off approach in people's lives. Economically they are rather hard to explain. While they are for some social welfare programs they mostly push for things like Green Taxes and funding for alternate energy sources and have begun to move even further away from their founding roots in the left. They recieved 2.88% of the vote in 2004 and 8 seats in the House.

National Party: The Populist Party of the West is an accurate description of the Nationals. Less socially conservative than the AIP but more economically left wing they have risen from the grave in recent years due to defections from the Social Democrats in the Great Plains. Heavily oriented on farmers and Western causes but with a definite support for many social welfare and socialistic programs. They have grown, in the past 20 years, from a party of 6 seats in the House and a Senate seat to having 33 seats in the House and 6 Senate seats. They are still basically the old farmer wing of the SDP in a new party. The National Party was made up of those populists who were against the merger with the Social Democrats in 1914 and remained more focused on western/rural issues, though from 1926 until 1954 the Nationals biggest stronghold was Washington state where they elected two Senators, Senators Jackson and Magnusen. On foreign policy they are mostly isolationist and anti-interventionist. In 2004 they won 7.74% of the vote and 33 seats in the House.

Leaders: Senator Bill Nelson (N-NE)/Congressman Brian Schweitzer (N-MT)

Freedom Party: The party of the African-American minority. Founded by Black intellectuals in the 1920's as a conduit for political involvement by Blacks the Freedom Party elected its first representative in 1938. Since African-Americans won the vote in the South in 1966 the politics of the South have been polarised along racial lines with a vast majority of the whites voting for the AIP and a vast majority of the African-American community voting Freedom. Overall the Freedom Party is a party held together by race. It's representatives are a part of the party because they believe it to be the first and foremost path for Black political expression. Because of this it is a hard party to pin down ideologically though it mostly is left-of-centre economically and moderate to centre-right socially. It is completely devided over foreign policy issues. The party's membership runs the gamet from Herman Cain and Sanford Bishop on the right to Chaka Fattah and Charles Rangel on the left. One oddity in the current strategy of the party is to try to be more inclusive to other minorities, especially Hispanics, in order to create a pan-minority party. These efforts failed miserably with less than 1% of Hispanics and Asians voting Freedom in 2004. In 2004 it won 7.27% of the vote and 32 seats, it only won seats in 6 states outside of the Deep South (5 if you exclude Maryland).

Leaders (Leader and Assistant Leader in the House): Representative Chaka Fattah (F-PA)/Representative Sanford Bishop (F-GA)

As of 2006 the current government is lead by Prime Minister Rudolph Giuliani of the Liberal Party in coalition with the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. This coalition has been in power since the fall of the American Independent led coalition of Hailey Barbour in 2004. That coalition was made up of the American Independent Party, Liberals, and Republicans.

The biggest political news story of 2006 are rumours that the Liberal Party and the Democratic Party are in talks to merge following the 2006 by-elections with the New Democrat wing, of which both Clinton and Warner are a part, in favour of the merger and the Old Guard, headed by Connecticut Congressman Joe Lieberman, railing against such a merger.

[MaC]

Republican Party by this definition sounds awesome

[Frodo]

Also for I've updated these parties substantial as I have refined the end of the timeline, because for about forever I've been interested in also giving glimpses of the present from the What Grant Wrought timeline. These are the parties now:


American Independent Party: The party of George Wallace and the Southern Dixiecrat. The leaders of one of the most solid voting blocks in America. Economically centre-right to centre-left the party is mostly concerned about socially issues for which it is the most right-wing in America. States Rights, a moral society and a strong military are the rallying cry of the AIP although its image is softened by its approval of various welfare programs and federal aid for cherities, both secular and religious. The AIP is a Southern Party, nearly 60% of its seats came from the states of the old Confederacy with the remainder mostly coming from the Rust Belt of the Midwest. Their Southern dominance has been slowly chipped away by the Liberals, Republicans, and Democrats but throughout most of the South the old dichotomy remains, 80% of whites vote AIP, 95% of Blacks vote Freedom Party. In 2004 they recieved 19.12% and recieved 94 seats in the House.

Leaders: Senator Mike Easley (AI-NC)/Congressman Mike Huckabee (AI-AR)

That's an even better description than the last one.