Polarization and Party Politics- The American Cooperative Party by Nathaniel Williams

American Cooperative Party Logo:

nathanielwilliams2324 — 2024-08-09 07:06:19 UTC

Motto: "For the People, By the People"

Political Mascot: Capybara

Our Why

nathanielwilliams2324 — 2024-08-09 09:48:27 UTC

As of 2024, we, the American Cooperative Party, believe political polarization from our two-party system pins us against each other through culture wars, reducing cooperation and increasing political gridlock. Our polarization is due to the way our two party system has chosen to focus on capitalization rather than cooperation. A few examples of this are through gerrymandering, state preemption of local laws, and misleading untruths disguised as political rhetoric. We believe Americans deserve better. We believe America deserves an alternate choice from single member district plurality. A choice that puts the people's vote first, values free press, prioritizes local autonomy, seeks for a cleaner environment, and increases economic stability for all social classes. Most of all we want to mediate the bullying between progressives and conservatives in our country. As a third party, we wont let our vanity supersede the will of the people or truth. We will stand tall in defeat, for as we know it's inevitable in our system, because we stood for something more than just a candidacy; we stood for a different perspective, one that challenged the status quo. Our perspective is divided into three different platforms: Social Democracy Reform, Home Rule Reform, and Combatting Climate Change.

Home Rule Reform

nathanielwilliams2324 — 2024-08-09 10:26:54 UTC

Home Rule Reform is the legal basis for local decision-making. It allows for essential issues to be solved at the closest level of government to the people. Home rule differs throughout the United States, leaving counties with varying local authority. Implementation of home rule reform differs between states but is upheld by constitutional amendments, ballot initiatives, and statutory change. It’s important to note that only Federal and State governments have constitutional authority, so all cities, counties, and school districts are legally susceptible to preemption. State Preemption of Local Law is a modern dynamic in the American Federalist system, where state governments override local governments’ regulatory authority, such as cities and counties. While preemption can set universal standards across a state, it may derail local autonomy and innovation, potentially leading to stagnating local issues, needs, and representation. Denial of local self-determination is a cause for concern, especially at a time when special interest groups, with their potential for bias, can sway legislatures in their favor by lobbying. Ultimately, it proposes whether state power is overstepping democracy’s “majority rule” by ignoring the will of selective majorities within the state. The rise of state preemption in recent years is a significant trend, as it has affected whole policy areas rather than individual laws since “nearly 50 percent of states have preempted at least one new area since 2019.” (NLC, 2022). The National League of Cities (NLC) has defined such areas as Civil Rights & Education, Housing, Infrastructure, Public Safety & Policing, Workforce, Tax, and Budgeting & Finance. This trend of state preemption is mainly active within states that have historically preempted the most, such as the South and is affecting policy areas that are more culturally relevant, such as transgender rights and critical race theory in schools. High rates of state preemption aren’t just limited to the South, though. For example, Democratic states have dabbled in the preemption of Conservative policy agenda, “In July [2023], Oregon updated its first-in-the-nation statewide rent control law, which rural areas didn’t want in the first place. Blue-state requirements around water usage or other environmental protections have prompted a lively secession movement among rural counties in several western states.” (Greenblatt, 2023). Therefore, preemption’s increased relevance is concentrated but not limited to a singular political party or location. We, the American Cooperative Party, plan to advocate and incentivize majority rule in cities, as local policy areas are closest to the electorate, facilitating direct public influence on policy. It allows the people to dictate policy easily, allowing for better exploration of political orientation.

Social Democracy Reform

nathanielwilliams2324 — 2024-08-09 10:27:26 UTC

As a Social Democratic party, we reject the absolutist agenda, which interprets the debate between capitalism and socialism. We wholeheartedly believe in the democratic process and reject the idea of a one-party state. Our party instead believes in the process of reform and innovation within the marketplace of ideas. We believe society will mature along with voters' needs, wants, and ideas. However, we must point out social inequality when presented within society and take action by introducing policies that we believe can help the average American. As seen in Martin Gilens' statistics regarding the relationship between affluence and influence, we can logically hypothesize that wealthy people have more say in policy changes than low and middle-income Americans. We believe it's no coincidence that this phenomenon was reported after the Supreme Court ruling of Citizens United v. FEC. This landmark case ruled on January 21, 2010, granted the freedom of speech clause within the First Amendment to allow corporations, non-profit organizations, and labor unions access to independent expenditures for political campaigns. An example of corporate favoritism over the average American can be seen in the case of environmental policy in the State of Arizona. Following the case of Berkeley, California’s 2019 innovative ban on natural gas in new buildings, gas utility companies have worked to suppress the advancement of all-electric futures. For instance, according to Joan Fitzgerald of Planetizen, “Southwest Gas and its political action committee donated a total of $9,000 to the campaigns of Arizona Senate President Karen Fann and Speaker of the House Rusty Bowers before they introduced a bill [2020] that would benefit the gas company by preventing Arizona towns and cities from enacting building codes that would reduce reliance on gas in favor of electricity.” (Fitzgerald, 2021). We believe a reform in the way we dictate lobbying is necessary to provide a fair playing field of policy influence between all Americans. However, we know the likelihood of reforming lobbying is an uphill task that could take years. To combat wealth disparity within the U.S. right now, we want to advocate for Co-operative Enterprises. Inspired by the U.K.'s Co-Operative Party, we want to inspire and promote the philosophy of Co-opertivism. The way a Co-operative enterprise works is that it is ran by the democratic process of "one member one vote" in a way that all members jointly own the enterprise, its members consist of either its own workers, producers, or consumers. Co-ops also aren't founded by the need to maximize profit, they instead focus on how well they serve their members. This philosophy takes a bottom-up approach compared to the traditional top-bottom approach in the hiring process. Members in a Co-operative enterprise vote on who and what policies they want an individual to manage within their enterprise through their own member one vote voting system, which outshines the share percentage influence in voting power within the traditional overarching top-down approach. The Co-operative simply relies on a majority vote, in which some can revoke at anytime with another majority vote. As for salary comparison, Mondragon Worker Cooperative Federation pays their management positions only six times more than their workers lowest salary. On the other hand, a CEO in the traditional top-down approach in Spain makes 143 times the typical worker. Interestingly enough, according to TED-Ed, "Studies in the U.K. show that co-op start-ups are almost half as likely to close within five years as traditional businesses." We believe promoting this way of doing business prioritizes cooperation between our countrymen, and can be a crucial step in helping end polarization. This philosophy uses capitalism in a way that promotes growth and teamwork, and allows for the working class to own and dictate their own policy. This aligns snugly with our Home Rule policy in that it directs public influence on policy, providing the average American man a way to impact policy and climb the economic ladder in a cooperative manner rather than an exploitive one.

Climate Change policy

nathanielwilliams2324 — 2024-08-09 10:28:58 UTC

The statistics above show that most Americans understand the need to prioritize alternative energy options. After all, Richard Nixon, a Republican, founded the Environmental Protection Agency. However, we believe Donald Trump's casual untruths under his administration clouded the average American's judgment on environmental policy. During his time in office, Trump made 1,065 false and

misleading claims about environmental policy (The Washington Post, 2021). For example, Trump repeated this false talking point over 64 times: "To protect American workers, I withdrew the United States from the unfair and one-sided Paris Climate Accord, a very unfair act for the United States. The Paris Accord was not designed to save the environment. It was designed to kill the American economy. I refuse to surrender millions of American jobs and send trillions of American dollars to the world's worst polluters and environmental offenders." (The Washington Post, 2021). Trump was allowed to tweak commitments within the Paris Accord under his administration, and he failed to mention the benefits of having a better environment or welcoming new green jobs. On the other hand, the man whose party platform is "battling climate change," Joe Biden, hypocritically approved the Willow Project in March 2023. The Willow Project allows oil drilling in Northern Alaska, creating 500 million barrels of petroleum and releasing carbon levels equivalent to 76 coal-fired plants annually. At its peak, it can extract up to 180,000 barrels per day. This policy completely opposes what Biden's party platform stands for and disregards his constituents. This drilling will speed up the melting process of sea ice, which polar bears and seals depend on to live. Our platform will cut back on fracking and other forms of oil drilling, only using pre-existing locations; we will rely on those and prohibit the increase of fracking in different locations within America. Therefore, this creates a stable environment where all Americans and other countries benefit.

Full Tracker and Timeline of Donald Trump's 30,573 Falsehoods While in Office:

nathanielwilliams2324 — 2024-08-09 11:23:32 UTC

This was last updated in 2021, so the number is much higher now.

All 50 states views on preemption:

nathanielwilliams2324 — 2024-08-09 12:41:06 UTC

More on NLC's State Preemption (My source):

nathanielwilliams2324 — 2024-08-09 12:47:12 UTC

Other Source:

nathanielwilliams2324 — 2024-08-09 12:49:54 UTC

Source for Willow Project:

nathanielwilliams2324 — 2024-08-09 13:31:53 UTC

Additional sources:

nathanielwilliams2324 — 2024-08-09 13:32:34 UTC

Info about Willow Project:

nathanielwilliams2324 — 2024-08-09 13:33:20 UTC

More on Co-operative Enterprises

nathanielwilliams2324 — 2024-08-09 16:19:06 UTC

I found it interesting how Cooperative Enterprises employ up to 10% of the world's workforce. That's 280 million people! They also bring in profits of over 2 trillion dollars every year. For enterprises without CEO's, that's pretty remarkable!

Quoted Source regarding lobbying:

nathanielwilliams2324 — 2024-08-09 16:21:46 UTC

Counter Arguments of American Cooperative Party

nathanielwilliams2324 — 2024-08-09 17:01:10 UTC

A significant weakness in my party platform is that most of it is theoretical. Neither of the two major parties have selected candidates who have voiced their take on two of my party platforms on a national scale. For example, as a party platform, Home Rule Reform is nowhere near the same level of popularity as the Protection of the Second Amendment, especially since State Preemption is legal and has valuable properties. An example of this is the purpose of state authority over local policy, which is vital in keeping costs down by preempting the reduced supply of housing units within counties looking to increase property value. Generally, supporters of preemption believe that "local laws produce a harmful 'patchwork' of regulations within a state, increasing costs for businesses, government, residents, and consumers." (Treskon et al., 2021). This perspective is valid since state zoning isn't biased toward the local economy and will make housing affordable for future generations rather than just prioritizing current generations. Another counterargument you can make from my platform is that I'm romanticizing the idea of Co-operatives since there are already a bunch of enterprises with that philosophy. Lastly, a conservative might argue that my policies are too progressive and maybe even radical. However, I beg to differ; Cooperative enterprises are a staple in the U.K. economy. They have managed to influence their philosophy into politics through the Consumer Co-operative, Co-operative Group Limited, and have become the 4th largest party in the House of Commons with 26 seats. I also believe Home Rule Reform is precisely what conservatives need. The state has a form of government that correlates with the federal government. It's easier to influence policy in your congressional district, and local autonomy is essential to how we view majority rule.

Source regarding need of state preemption:

nathanielwilliams2324 — 2024-08-09 17:02:32 UTC