The Independent's Guide to Major U.S. Political Parties

Libertarian - www.lp.org - Libertarians strongly support individual liberty (pro-drug legalization, pro-choice, pro-gay marriage, pro-home schooling, anti-gun control, etc.) and economic freedom (anti-welfare, anti-government regulation of business, anti-minimum wage, anti-income tax, pro-free trade, etc.). They believe in a very small government and advocate self-government, or the right to decide for yourself what's best for you and how to act as long as you're not putting someone else in danger.

Democratic - www.democrats.org - Democrats believe in low government involvement in personal decisions and high government involvement in the economy. Democrats prefer a large federal government. They believe in maintaining or increasing taxes in order to increase funding for federal programs such as welfare, social security, health care, educational programs, federal bureaucracies, and others.

Republican - www.rnc.org - Republicans believe in high government involvement in personal decisions and low government involvement in the economy. Republicans prefer a smaller government than the Democrats, with most power going to the local and state levels rather than the federal level. They believe in reducing taxes while reforming or privatizing government programs. Republicans also believe the government has an obligation to uphold the morality of it's citizens.

Independence - www.eindependence.org - Created by Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura, this new party is directed toward moderates, reformists, and centrists. They've been described as "socially inclusive and fiscally responsible," or they combine the social liberalism of Democrats and Libertarians with the economic conservativism of Republicans and Libertarians. They are pro-choice, pro-gay rights, pro-medical marijuana, pro-gun rights, pro-lower income taxes, pro-campaign finance reform, and fiscally moderate. The party warns against career politicians and the influence of special interest on the Republican and Democratic parties. Right now, it's a coalition of independent state parties, but is planning on going national and having a presidential candidate for 2004.

Natural Law - www.natural-law.org - The NLP believes in setting government in accord with natural law, or by applying scientific methods to politics. The party was founded by followers of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (the founder of the Transcendental Meditation movement). They advocate holistic approaches, Transcendental Meditation, "yogic flying," and other peaceful "New Age" and "scientific" remedies for much of our national and international problems. They also want to solve problems at their basis by bringing individual life, and our national policies, into greater harmony with natural law through proven educational programs; natural, preventive health care; renewable energy; sustainable agriculture; and other forward-looking, prevention-oriented programs. The NLP promotes conflict-free politics, all-party government, and a streamlined federal government.

Green - www.greenparty.org - The US-affiliate of the European Green movement-which originated in Germany. It consists of traditional leftists, democratic socialists, and environmentalists. Their philosophy is based on grassroots political and economic democracy, ecological sustainability, decriminalization of non-violent drug offenses, social justice, a reverse hierarchy of government power (very strong local, very weak federal), heavy corporate regulation, and campaign finance reform.

Constitution/U.S. Taxpayer's - www.constitutionparty.com - The Constitution Party was founded in 1992 to support Pat Buchanan in his presidential campaign. As the Green Party is far leftwing, the Constitution Party is far rightwing. They were formerly called the U.S. Taxpayer's Party because of their desire to significantly reduce taxes by taking a strict interpretation of the constitution and cutting federal programs. Many are devout Christians and believe the government should enforce morality by increasing religion in schools, making drug laws more severe, and outlawing abortion.

Reform - www.reformparty.org - Ross Perot founded the Reform Party in 1995. Originally reflected Perot's centrist-conservative fiscal policies and others' vague social policies (most were semi-libertarian). Since Pat Buchanan's rise to power, the party has made a strong ideological shift to the right. This shift caused many dissenters, who are now backing NLP candidate John Hagelin in an attempt to deny Buchanan access to the party's $12.6 million in federal matching funds. The party is now split up into various warring factions, including the Internet Brigade (Buchanan - conservative faction), Reform Leadership Council (Perot/Verney - centrist faction), ThrowTheBumsOut.com (Gargan - libertarian faction) and Fulani.org (Fulani - Marxist faction).

The Independent Students for Liberty is a combination of moderate Libertarian and Independence. Some of the statements and wording from these summaries are from party websites, www.politics1.com, and other political information sites