Darcy George Richardson

 

Darcy George Richardson, December 6, 1955 (Pittsburgh, Penn.) -  

VP candidate for Alliance Party (aka Independent aka Independent Republican aka Reform Party of the United States of America aka Natural Law Party aka Independence Party) (2020)

Running mate with nominee: Roque De La Fuente Guerra (b. 1954)
Popular vote: 28,098 (0.02%)
Electoral vote: 0/538

The campaign:

Perennial candidate Rocky De La Fuente had an interesting year in 2020. He initially ran for the Republican Presidential nomination and at the same time entered the Republican primary for the 21st congressional district in California. In the latter race, his son was running in the primary as a Democrat. In all of these cases, victory proved elusive.

Although De La Fuente had initially filed with the FEC as a Republican on May 16, 2019 he went on to gain the Presidential nomination of the Alliance Party on Apr. 25, 2020. On June 20, 2020, the Reform Party also nominated De La Fuente, just as they had in 2016. The Natural Law Party jumped on board and backed his candidacy as well. His 2020 running-mate in each of these cases was Darcy Richardson.

Richardson has a long history with third parties, both as a candidate, political operative, and historian. He is the author of A Nation Divided: The 1968 Presidential Campaign (2002) as well as several works on the history of third parties in US politics. I must say I have consulted his research several times in the course of constructing this blog.

Richardson's fascinating career has included working with Eugene McCarthy during the former US Senator's final two runs for the Presidency in 1988 and 1992. Darcy was the National Chair of The New Democrats during that same time period. He has been a consistent champion and activist for challenging the Republican/Democratic duopoly. In 2018 he was the Reform Party's nominee for Governor of Florida. On July 15, 2019 he had filed with the FEC for President as a Reform Party candidate, but later withdrew as other options surfaced.

More than any other person in my generation, Richardson's political journey is basically the history of third parties in late 20th/early 21st century America. No doubt I am missing a few entities here, he has also been linked as candidate or campaign worker with the Democratic Party, Citizens Party, Consumer Party, New Democrat, Boston Tea Party, Reform Party of the United States of America, Peace and Freedom Party, just plain Independent, Alliance Party, Socialist Party of the United States of America, Independent Republican, Independence Party, Natural Law Party, and Minnesota Progressives. It is possible he holds the record in this regard among third party VPs.

Although the Alliance Party was a new entity it was comprised of several older political parties now operating under one name. The Party's website offered a summary of their genealogy--

How the Alliance Formed

America’s growing dissatisfaction with a failing, polarizing two-party system and recognizing there is strength in numbers and a deep desire to put people and country over politics and greed, eleven independent political parties merged under one banner - The Alliance Party.

On October 14, 2018, in Denver, Colorado, three political parties - the American Moderates Party, the Modern Whig Party and the American Party of South Carolina - agreed to merge to create The Alliance Party.  On January 4, 2019, the Alliance Party officially registered with the Federal Elections Commission.

The following parties merged into the Alliance after the merger of the original three.

    Independence Party of Minnesota (2019)
    American Alliance Party (2019)
    Independent Party of Connecticut (2020)
    American Delta Party (2020)

Prior to the 2018 meeting, six independent parties had merged into the Modern Whig Party between 2008 and 2016.

    USA Party (2008)
    Veterans Party (2008)
    American Centrist Party (2010)
    Center Party (2010)
    National Centrist Party (2011)
    American Moderate Party of California (2016)

Discussions are under way with other independent, grassroots parties and organizations to join the Alliance.

Rather than issuing a platform the Party released a "Manifesto" with a message they viewed as pragmatic and centrist. Instead of picking through this long document, I'll focus on two items that seem to get to the core of their philosophy as it relates to the issues of 2020. First, their requirements in order to be a candidate under their banner, as found in the Nov. 2020 website--

All Alliance candidates are held to high expectations and requirements, because public service by way of elected office is among the highest of callings.

We require, monitor and enforce term limits for all of our federal and state legislative offices.

In addition, we require transparency from candidates when running for office and while serving in office. Requirements for federal and state legislative include fully disclosing all contributions during campaigns and while in office; providing redacted copies of their 1040 personal tax returns from the most recent three years; providing annual disclosure of all income received while in office during the preceding year, including the source and amount.

We expect all Alliance candidates and elected officials to demonstrate civility, honesty, tolerance and humility in their interactions with others. Each candidate enters into a written agreement with the Alliance with regards to these expectations. You may find the State and Federal Agreement HERE, and the Local Agreement HERE. [I did not include hot links here--SW]

We expect all Alliance candidates and elected officials to function as pragmatic problem solvers. Functionally, this requirement means country over party; progress over ideology; with an emphasis on constituent concerns and needs.

The second item I found to be pertinent in regard to the peculiar state of the union in 2020 and the Alliance Party's standpoint came from Richardson's Vice-Presidential nominee acceptance speech on Apr. 25, 2020--

Hello everyone. It’s an honor and a privilege to be addressing the inaugural national convention of the Alliance Party, a party — as fate would have it — emerging on the American political scene in one of our nation’s darkest moments, an uncertain period in which the United States may be facing its greatest challenge in modern history.

The deadly COVID-19 pandemic, which has already claimed more than 53,000 American lives while exposing the inadequacies of the U.S. health care system, coupled with what will almost certainly be an ensuing deep recession or, more likely, a depression from which we are unlikely to soon recover, presents a most unpredictable future for all of mankind.

As national chairman James Rex — I love Jim, he’s great — has eloquently pointed out, the twin crises facing this country demonstrates just how ill-prepared the special interest-​dominated duopoly was in preparing for the kind of pandemic the country is now facing. Knowing that the kaleidoscopic impacts of climate change multiplies the threats of infectious diseases, and given the SARS, the Zika virus, MERS and Ebola outbreaks in recent decades and the very real possibility of a more widespread global pandemic in the near future, both parties share in the blame for this country’s unforgivable lack of preparedness.

As Jim has said repeatedly, the United States had ample warnings — decades, actually — yet our leaders had done little or nothing to prepare the country for the kind of pandemic we’re now tragically experiencing. How pathetic that the United States, once the manufacturing marvel of the world, had to rely on life-saving ventilators, masks and other basic Personal Protective Equipment from counties like China and South Korea at the outset of this deadly crisis.

Making matters worse, President Trump squandered at least eight weeks at the ​beginning of this health crisis calling the coronavirus a “hoax” — and that was only four months after he shuttered the U.S. Agency for International Development’s PREDICT program, which was responsible for identifying and combating new emerging viruses. The President’s slash-and-burn approach to the scientific wing of the federal government also includes trying repeatedly —and sometimes with success — to cut funding for the CDC’s unit for fighting global pandemics. Shame on him.

But the Democrats, who have been reduced to second-guessing the Republicans in recent years, also share in the blame. They, too, have neglected science and research as federal funding for basic research in these critical areas has shrunk markedly over the past two decades during Democratic and Republican administrations alike. The Democrats controlled the House for half that period and, likewise, held a working majority in the U.S. Senate for ten of those twenty years.

​The forthcoming campaign will undoubtedly be a difficult one, but I am deeply honored and humbled to be part of this much-needed effort. I know that Rocky — the favorite son of all fifty states and of every country that still looks to the United States for leadership — feels the same way.

Following a steady forty-year decline, one in which our middle class was virtually hollowed out through misguided trade deals such as NAFTA, the Alliance Party, in my view, is the party this country has been waiting for — a party determined to end, once and for all, the hyper-partisanship and extreme polarization of American politics and, most importantly, a party capable of returning the United States to its historic, independent and positive role as a force for good around the globe.

We should once again be a beacon to the rest of the world, especially at a time when most nations are gripped with fear and uncertainty. We’re Americans, after all.

This is our moment. Let the Bloodless Revolution of the year Two Thousand and ​Twenty begin, ushering in a new and creative approach to the myriad issues facing our country which will once again make the United States of America a Gold Medalist nation in education, the environment and a world-class health care system while creating an innovative economy for the 21st Century that works for everyone, not just the investor class, or the so-called one percent.

Thank you and keep the faith. And stay safe everybody.

Something unexpected happened to the campaign on Aug. 15, 2020.  

The far Right and Christian-based American Independent Party in California, which had nominated Trump/Pence in 2016, chose De La Fuente as their nominee. But Richardson was bumped as the VP and replaced with Kanye West. Apparently this VP choice was accomplished without input from any of the nominees. De La Fuente said, "I was not consulted to see if I wanted Mr. West as my running mate ... Obviously, we're a weird— and I wanted Mr. Richardson as my running mate— but it was their decision and their decision only."

De La Fuente had entered the AIP primary in Mar. 2020, but came in second to Phil Collins, who was also the Prohibition Party nominee for President.

The Independent Political Report quoted Darcy Richardson--

“Please let Rocky know that if he runs with the unstable, bi-polar Trump-loving Kanye West in California that I will withdraw as his vice-presidential running mate nationally,” Richardson declared in a text message to [AIP official Mark] Seidenberg earlier today. “I’ve spent my entire adult life battling the duopoly and certainly DO NOT want my name associated with a candidacy that peripherally includes a Trump/GOP plant like the unhinged rapper….Bill Shearer must be rolling over in his grave.”

It should be noted that Richardson did remain in the race, or at that was my impression when I posted our interview Oct. 6, 2020. In it he said--

Rocky and I are on the ballot in Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee and Vermont.  We also hope to be official write-in candidates in a couple of dozen states.

Rocky is also on the ballot in populous California where --- much to my chagrin --- he's paired with unhinged, pro-Trump rapper Kanye West on the American Independent Party ticket, a remnant of segregationist George Wallace's 1968 presidential campaign.

https://thirdpartysecondbananas.blogspot.com/2020/10/darcy-richardson-2020-vp-alliance-party.html

West was also not pleased with being nominated VP, calling the AIP "deceitful" and issued a statement that included, "I am campaigning to be the next president of our great country — not vice president ... The political party in California that listed my name as its VP candidate has done so without my knowledge ... Californians, I ask for your vote for president and urge you to write in ‘Kanye West.’"

The De La Fuente/West ticket placed 5th out of the 6 positions on the California ballot with 0.34% of the vote in that state. It was by far De La Fuente's largest bloc of votes nationally.

The ticket with Richardson as the VP made the ballot in 14 states and registered write-ins in at least 5 more. The strongest results (with party listing) were in Rhode Island 0.18% (Alliance) -- Minnesota 0.17% (Independence/Alliance) -- Idaho 0.17% (Independent) -- Maine 0.14% (Alliance) -- Arkansas 0.11% (Independent).

Election history:
1979 - Cheltenham Township Commission, Montgomery County, Penn. (Democrat) - defeated
1980 - Pennsylavania State Auditor General (Consumer Party) - defeated
1983 - Cheltenham Township Commission, Montgomery County, Penn. (Democrat) - defeated
1985 - Cheltenham Township Finance Officer, Montgomery County, Penn. (Democrat) - defeated
1988 - US Senate (Penn.) (Consumer Party) - defeated
1990 - US House of Representatives (Penn.) (Democratic) - primary - withdrew
1990 - US House of Representatives (Penn.) (Independent) - defeated
1991 - US House of Representatives (Penn.) (Consumer Party) - special election - replaced by party
1992 - Independent Voters Primary (Mass.) - defeated
2010 - Lt. Governor of Florida (No Party Affiliation) - defeated
2012 - Democratic nomination for US President - defeated
2012 - Reform Party of the United States of America nomination for US President - defeated
2016 - Reform Party of the United States of America nomination for US President - defeated
2018 - Florida House of Representatives (Reform Party of the United States of America) - withdrew
2018 - Governor of Florida (Reform Party of the United States of America) - defeated
2020 - Reform Party of the United States of America nomination for US President - withdrew

Other occupations: steamship industry worker, manufacturing manager for an industrial heat treating equipment firm, financial analyst and operations manager, historian, author, campaign manager, political party executive

Notes:
Winner of the 1988 election was H. John Heinz III.

Kanye Omari West

 

Kanye Omari West, June 8, 1977 (Atlanta, Ga.) -

VP candidate for Independent (2016)
VP candidate for American Independent Party (2020)
VP candidate for Independent (2020)

Running mate with nominee (2016): Ryan Higa (b. 1990)
Running mate with nominee (2020): Roque De La Fuente Guerra (b. 1954)
Running mate with nominee (2020): Sammy Kenyatte Belton (b. 1979)
Popular vote (2016): ? (0.00%)
Popular vote (2020 : AIP): 60,160 (0.04%)
Popular vote (2020 : Independent): 0 (0.00%)
Electoral vote (2016, 2020): 0/538

The campaign (2016):

Comedian Ryan Higa, a major personality on Youtube, had run for President in 2012 in a mock campaign. He repeated the joke in 2016 ("Vote for me and all of your wildest dreams will be dreams") but this time named a running-mate, Kanye West. Well, the only clue to that is a brief mention in a video where Higa refers to West as "my future Vice-President."

No disrespect is intended here, but I am not in West's target demographic as far as his entertainment career goes. My first real exposure to him was in 2005 when, while standing beside comedian Mike Myers, he stated "George Bush doesn't care about black people" in the course of raising funds for relief of Hurricane Katrina victims.

Other than that I am dimly aware he is connected with the Kardashians (who I also know almost nothing about), my main source of information being the covers of gossip tabloids on display while I wait in line at the grocery store. Also that he has been struggling with mental health challenges and is prone to making controversial statements. And, I can see he has large following and is considered a gifted, brilliant musical artist.

West the politician has been erratic. Over time he has supported Democrats and Republicans, changing alliances in a dramatic fashion. In Sept. 2015 West announced he was planning to run for President in 2020. In an interview with Vanity Fair, West stated--

    "I sit in clubs and I’m like, Wow, I’ve got five years before I go and run for office and I’ve got a lot of research to do, I’ve got a lot of growing up to do. My dad has two masters degrees. My mom has a PhD, she used to work at Operation PUSH. Somehow the more and more creative I get, the closer and closer I get to who I was as a child. When I was a child, I was holding my mom’s hand at Operation PUSH. I think it’s time. Rap is great. It’s fun. It’s fun to be a rock star, and I’ll never not be one I guess, but there’ll be a point where I become my mother’s child. With all the things I’ve done that people would consider to be accomplishments, what’s the point where I become the person that Donda and Raymond West raised? My parents’ child."

The campaign (2020 : AIP):

As good as his word, West did indeed run for President in 2020. I'll cover that campaign when I profile his running-mate. Meanwhile--

Perennial candidate Rocky De La Fuente had an interesting year in 2020. He initially ran for the Republican Presidential nomination and at the same time entered the Republican primary for the 21st congressional district in California. In the latter race, his son was running in the primary as a Democrat. In all of these cases, victory proved elusive.

De La Fuente went on to gain the Presidential nomination of the Alliance Party on Apr. 25, 2020. On June 20, 2020, the Reform Party also nominated De La Fuente, just as they had in 2016. His 2020 running-mate was Darcy Richardson.

Then something unexpected happened on Aug. 15, 2020.  

The far Right and Christian-based American Independent Party in California, which had nominated Trump/Pence in 2016, chose De La Fuente as their nominee. But Richardson was bumped as the VP and replaced with Kanye West. Apparently this VP choice was accomplished without input from any of the nominees. De La Fuente said, "I was not consulted to see if I wanted Mr. West as my running mate ... Obviously, we're a weird—and I wanted Mr. Richardson as my running mate—but it was their decision and their decision only."

De La Fuente had entered the AIP primary in Mar. 2020, but came in second to Phil Collins, who was also the Prohibition Party nominee for President.

The Independent Political Report quoted Darcy Richardson--

“Please let Rocky know that if he runs with the unstable, bi-polar Trump-loving Kanye West in California that I will withdraw as his vice-presidential running mate nationally,” Richardson declared in a text message to [AIP official Mark] Seidenberg earlier today. “I’ve spent my entire adult life battling the duopoly and certainly DO NOT want my name associated with a candidacy that peripherally includes a Trump/GOP plant like the unhinged rapper….Bill Shearer must be rolling over in his grave.”

It should be noted that Richardson did remain in the race, or at that was my impression when I posted our interview Oct. 6, 2020. In it he said--

Rocky and I are on the ballot in Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee and Vermont.  We also hope to be official write-in candidates in a couple of dozen states.

Rocky is also on the ballot in populous California where --- much to my chagrin --- he's paired with unhinged, pro-Trump rapper Kanye West on the American Independent Party ticket, a remnant of segregationist George Wallace's 1968 presidential campaign.

https://thirdpartysecondbananas.blogspot.com/2020/10/darcy-richardson-2020-vp-alliance-party.html

West was also not pleased with being nominated VP, calling the AIP "deceitful" and issued a statement that included, "I am campaigning to be the next president of our great country — not vice president ... The political party in California that listed my name as its VP candidate has done so without my knowledge ... Californians, I ask for your vote for president and urge you to write in ‘Kanye West.’"

The De La Fuente/West ticket placed 5th out of the 6 positions on the California ballot with 0.34% of the vote in that state. It was by far De La Fuente's largest bloc of votes nationally.

The campaign (2020 : Independent):

Sammy Belton, a hair stylist and musician of Milwaukee, Wis. filed as an Independent for US President with the FEC on July 25, 2020. An online petition he created provided a thesis statement for his campaign--

I Sammy K. Belton must be President of United States of America in order to bring justice to the families of African American men and women who lost their lives due to unethical conduct of law enforcement while yet honoring the noble officers who uphold the code of conduct with a significant raise in salary for upright law enforcement with more severe repercussions for infractions. I'd declare reparations and free healthcare for African Americans. Most importantly the constitution will reflect the biblical constitution of God.

His electioneering was chiefly on social media. In October he included Kanye West as his VP, although it is doubtful West himself knew about the honor or would have agreed to it. Some samples from Facebook (in many cases accompanied by a video presentation)--

July 20, 2020
We don’t own the music
The First Black President to follow God’s Laws
Vote Sammy Belton for President 2020
Sign the petition Now
Words of Wisdom & Warning
Conquering Corona Through Submission To Jesus Christ the Son of God & Savior to All Mankind

Oct. 10, 2020
We don’t own the music
Presidential Address
Make Sure You Write -In Sammy K. Belton for President of The United States
In Jesus Name
Supernatural Energy Aligning All Mankind Unto Christ

Oct. 11, 2020
We don’t own the music and video in background
Presidential Address
African American Jewish Reparation Foundation - $6 Trillion+Owed to African Americans
Celebrity Status Gospel Live
Fall of Man
Syncretic Deification -Taoism Wu Wei The Way 10 Precepts
Forbidden Fruit
Covid 19 In relation to This Election and God speaking to Wisconsin & America Through Me
Our Requirement to Establish The Kingdom of Heaven on Earth
Vote Sammy K. Belton for President of The United States In Jesus Name!
Kanye West for Vice President
“Don’t keep blaming white people and police for our disobedience to God as Black People “
As we unite in Christ as African Americans the world will follow God!

Oct. 13, 2020
We don’t own the music and video in background
True Birth of Jesus Christ 3/19
COVID-19- March 19, 2020
Therefore you are experiencing the coming of Jesus Christ
Use wisdom and follow Me as I Am being lead By The Holy Spirit to save our nation world and universe alike in Jesus Name Amen!
Forgiveness for our universal ignorance of who we are as mankind!
Vote Sammy K. Belton for President of The United States
Vice Presidential Elect-Kanye West

Oct. 30, 2020
We don’t own the music and video in background
Presidential Address
Attention Wisconsin & America Alike
Especially Local Christian Leaders & Assemblies
Judgement to those who don’t accept God’s Messenger to liberate His People
Warning ⚠️ to The Church ⛪️
Vote Sammy K. Belton for President of The United States 🇺🇸
VP CANDIDATE KANYE WEST
IN JESUS NAME NAME AMEN 🙏
VIDEO RELEASE TONIGHT ALL SOCIAL MEDIA NETWORKS

Nov. 2, 2020
We don’t own the music and video in background
Presidential Address
Apocalyptic Potentials - Preparedness for Kingdom Citizens
The necessity of Believers in Christ to United and Trained to protect each other
Vote Sammy K. Belton for President of The United States VP CANDIDATE KANYE WEST
IF YOU BELIEVE IN JESUS CHRIST YOU MUST VOTE FOR Sammy Belton TRUST GOD!
Shalom

Nov. 3, 2020
We don’t own the music and video in background
Presidential Address
Polygyny-Kingdom Marriage
Purification of Our Family Lifestyle
Benefits for our children men and women to break the cycle of disfunction
Restoring our African Edenic Kingdom Lifestyle
Importance of Unity Upon Armageddon
Planning Our Return Back to Africa- Dual Citizenship
Donate to cash app $Pastorkash100
Vote Sammy K. Belton for President ofThe United States 🇺🇸 VP CANDIDATE KANYE WEST
Shalom

Belton did not appear to be a registered write-in in any state, so no votes were reported.

Election history:
2020 - US President (Birthday Party) - defeated

Other occupations: musical artist, producer, fashion design, Fatburger restaurants, philanthropist, actor

Notes:
West has been teasing a run for President in 2024.

Michael Pennington Lacy

 

Michael Pennington Lacy, February 7, 1952 (Radford, Va.) -

VP candidate for American Party of South Carolina (2016)

Running mate with nominee: Peter Alan Skewes (b. 1957)
Popular vote: 3,250 (0.00%)
Electoral vote: 0/538

The campaign:

The American Party of South Carolina was a centrist political group founded in 2014. In May 2016 the Party nominated Clemson University faculty Peter Skewes for President. Skewes had initially filed with the FEC in Aug. 2015 as a Democrat, changing his party designation to "UNI" and then "UN" in Sept. 2015, then finally to the American Party in Mar. 2016.

Their platform--

Ensuring Our Future

The central focus of the American Party is to increase the economic global competitiveness of our states and our country, by focusing on the implementation of common ground solutions. We advocate the following approaches:

    Decrease the National debt while ensuring a strong national defense and essential social programs through a deliberate, balanced, and comprehensive approach that will not do damage to our economic recovery

    Create a strong, choice-driven public school system that encourages innovation, rigor, and success for all children with an increased emphasis on early childhood education

    Create an efficient, effective health care system that emphasizes preventative care and encourages healthy lifestyles for all Americans

    Reform Campaign Funding by doing away with the effects of recent Supreme Court rulings by legislation and/or amendment; requiring immediate and total transparency and posting all donors and amounts regardless of source within five business days of receipt

    Reform Ethics Legislation by requiring the annual disclosure of all sources of income from elected officials.  Have stand-alone ethics commissions at state and federal levels to investigate, enforce, and discipline

    Provide strong, unequivocal support for the Second Amendment - coupled with universal background checks and strengthened mental health programs

    Initiate comprehensive tax reform to acquire a simpler, fairer tax system that supports economic growth and encourages work, savings, and investment

    Implement a comprehensive immigration policy that provides a responsible pathway to citizenship, encouragement of high skill and high knowledge immigration, employer accountability, and a strengthened national border

The Party also supported term limits and eliminating the Electoral College.

Part of Skewes' campaign technique involved walking across the state of South Carolina, garnering him more press coverage than usual for a candidate in his tier.

The chronology of Skewes' selection of a running-mate Michael Lacy of Athens, Ga. is something of a mystery. On Oct. 6, 2016 he told the Independent Political Report: "Mike is a dear friend from my graduate student days at Virginia Tech. He is as solid and trustworthy as anyone I have ever met. I would trust him with my or any member of my family’s life." Like Skewes, Lacy was an academic in the animal sciences. He had recently retired as head of the University of Georgia's Department of Poultry Science. Lacy did  not appear to be active in the electioneering.

The Skewes/Lacy ticket were on the ballot in South Carolina, where they placed 7th out of 7 with 0.15% of the vote. They were also registered write-ins in Connecticut with a result of 4 votes.

The American Party of South Carolina became one of the entities to help for the Alliance Party in 2018.

Election history: none

Other occupations: teacher

Notes:
Not to be confused with "American Party" organizations usually associated with the extreme Right wing.

Darcy Richardson, 2020 VP Alliance Party

 

Darcy Richardson was selected as the 2020 running-mate for Alliance Party nominee Roque "Rocky" De La Fuente. Richardson has a long history with third parties, both as a candidate and political historian. He is the author of A Nation Divided: The 1968 Presidential Campaign (2002) as well as several works on the history of third parties in US politics. I must say I have consulted his research several times this year in the course of constructing this blog.

Richardson's fascinating career has included working with Eugene McCarthy during the former US Senator's final two runs for the Presidency in 1988 and 1992. Darcy was the National Chair of The New Democrats during that same time period. He has been a consistent champion and activist for challenging the Republican/Democratic duopoly. In 2018 he was the Reform Party's nominee for Governor of Florida.

Darcy's blog, Uncovered Politics, is another go-to place for third party and even mainstream coverage. I've consulted his "Time Capsule" section there several times http://www.uncoveredpolitics.com/

The Alliance Party is still fairly new but has a foundation and network from older political parties that have merged. Check out their webpage at: https://www.theallianceparty.com/

[Note: The interview questions were originally posed on May 6, 2020. That was a lifetime ago but rather than start over I am going to proceed because in a weird way it is more interesting by accident]
 
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Q: Darcy, you and I are almost exactly the same age. I have long regarded the assassination of JFK on Nov. 22, 1963 and the resignation of Nixon on Aug. 9, 1974 to be dramatic event bookends of an unusually volatile era. It is also the range of time where we both politically came of age. How did life in 1963-1974 shape your current world view?

I was only seven years old the day JFK was murdered in Dallas, but I vividly remember watching our black-and-white television set that entire dark and dreary weekend.  My parents were distraught.  It all seemed so unreal, but --- as you mentioned --- the period from Kennedy's assassination on Nov. 22, 1963, to Richard M. Nixon's resignation during the Watergate scandal in Aug. 1974 had a profound impact on many in our generation.  The country lost its innocence during that tragic and tumultuous period, which included the unjust and immoral War in Vietnam, and has never really recovered.  Up 'til then, most Americans respected, if not revered, the presidency, regardless of which party occupied the Oval Office.  That's clearly no longer the case today,.

Q: Your association with former Sen. Eugene McCarthy began when you met him during his independent campaign for President in 1976. I count no less than 28 people who were identified as his running-mates that year, almost all considered stand-ins state by state. That just might be a record. He had a very low regard for the second position on a ticket, quoted in the '76 campaign as saying, "Vice-presidential candidates just clutter up the campaign. We should not ask the country to make two judgments. Everyone knows vice presidents have no influence on presidents once elected. Presidents' wives have much more influence. Perhaps we should have candidates' wives debate."  Now that you are a VP nominee yourself, would you care to comment on McCarthy's statement?

Gene was right.  That's one of the reasons I've consciously played such a low-key role in Rocky De La Fuente's campaign.  It's Rocky's campaign.  

Of course, McCarthy was separated from his wife, Abigail, when he made that crack about President's wives having more influence than the Vice President.  I'm not sure who would have had the most influence on Gene himself if he had been elected as an independent in the year of America's Bicentennial since he had also joked during that campaign that he'd probably have a different First Lady every week.  I miss him.

Q: McCarthy shocked the political world when he endorsed Reagan in 1980. When you later worked for Sen. McCarthy in 1988 and 1992, did that 1980 decision prove to be a campaign liability?

The Reagan endorsement came up a few times in 1988 when I was managing Gene's quixotic third-party bid for the White House on the Philadelphia-based Consumer Party ticket, but it was felt most profoundly when McCarthy, mounting an improbable political comeback, sought his old Senate seat from Minnesota six years earlier, in 1982.  Former Vice President Fritz Mondale's folks brought it up time and again during that year's DFL primary --- a race in which Gene was outspent by a nearly 100-1 margin.  They were relentless and unforgiving, still blaming McCarthy for Hubert Humphrey's narrow loss to Richard Nixon some fourteen years earlier.  They never forgave McCarthy, who had risked his own political career by courageously opposing LBJ and the Vietnam War during the 1968 Democratic primaries, for his belated and tepid endorsement of Humphrey, his former friend and Senate colleague, on the eve of that election.  Unlike McCarthy, Humphrey lusted after the presidency and was even willing to sell his soul by supporting Johnson's illegal war in Vietnam in pursuit of the elusive brass ring.

Q: You have been connected with a variety of political parties over the decades: the Democratic Party, Citizens Party, Consumer Party, Boston Tea Party, Reform Party, Peace and Freedom Party, just plain independent, perhaps others and now the Alliance Party. From what I can ascertain it seems like you have been pretty consistent with your progressive views through all this. Why the political party musical chairs?

My support for the above-mentioned parties --- and a few not listed here --- reflect my commitment to the idea of open politics in this country.  While the Consumer Party will always hold a special place in my heart, I haven't really been excited about a new party until now with the emergence of the centrist-oriented Alliance Party.  If we're ever going to end the hyper-partisanship and extreme polarization that's literally destroying this country and its institutions, it will have to come from an entirely new entity such as the Alliance Party.

Q: And speaking of multiple political parties, it appears the Alliance Party is just that, an alliance of numerous third parties. Can you give us the elevator speech on what the Alliance Party is all about?

The Alliance Party is the most promising new party movement to emerge in this country in decades, perhaps in my lifetime.  One and all, they’re a pretty impressive group and they certainly have the country’s best interests at heart.

Led by national chairman Jim Rex, a former college president and the last Democrat to win a statewide office in South Carolina when he was elected State Superintendent of Education in 2006, the Alliance Party is committed to restoring civility in American politics and governance.

The party's Manifesto should be required reading for every American who intends to cast a ballot in this year's presidential election.

Q: You and Alliance Party Presidential candidate Rocky De La Fuente have considerable experience running for public office and you have also been in the role of campaign manager in the past as well. What challenges and opportunities are there that distinguish the 2020 election season compared to past campaigns?

Well, first and foremost, the COVID-19 pandemic changed everything, making in-person campaigning extremely difficult and dangerous and petition drives virtually impossible.  Rocky and I initially hoped to qualify for the ballot in 35-40 states, but ended up qualifying in fewer than half that number.

Given that this election is rightfully a referendum on the reckless megalomaniac in the White House --- if he's still with us on Nov. 3rd, of course --- this is probably going to be a very lean year for America's nationally-organized third parties.  I don't think anyone, not even the anti-government Libertarian candidate, who is on the ballot in all fifty states and the District of Columbia, will come close to cracking one percent of the vote nationally.   

Hell, Steve, to be perfectly honest, I've seriously considered voting for Biden myself...this nation probably won't survive four more years of Trump.  I mean, he's already responsible for 210,000 deaths --- and counting.

As a nation, we deserve better than a self-obsessed narcissist who is willing to callously sacrifice American lives for his own re-election.  That's precisely what's happening.

Q: In terms of ballot access, where are you hoping the Rocky/Darcy ticket will appear in print, as well as being placed as certified write-ins? Looks like the Alliance Party might also have several other candidates for state and local offices?

Rocky and I are on the ballot in Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee and Vermont.  We also hope to be official write-in candidates in a couple of dozen states.

Rocky is also on the ballot in populous California where --- much to my chagrin --- he's paired with unhinged, pro-Trump rapper Kanye West on the American Independent Party ticket, a remnant of segregationist George Wallace's 1968 presidential campaign.

Q: How would you characterize the demographics of the Alliance Party? Who are the members and where are they coming from?

The party is arguably best organized in South Carolina and Minnesota.  I think the Alliance Party membership reflects the changing nation at-large.  We're thrilled , for instance, to have nominated a first-generation Mexican-American candidate for the presidency.  We're a nation divided and most members --- at least those in leadership positions within the party--- are ex-Democrats or former Republicans who grew sick and tired of the dysfunction in Washington and believe that we can do a better, much better, job in bringing this country together.

Let's face it, we're facing twin crises --- a deadly health pandemic and a deepening economic recession that's threatening to become a full-blown depression --- and nothing is being done to alleviate the widespread suffering in our land.  Nothing is being accomplished.  Millions of our fellow citizens have lost their jobs during this pandemic and are on the verge of being evicted from their apartments or losing their homes to foreclosure and neither party is acting with any sense of urgency.

For starters, where is the promised second stimulus?  That's something every voter should ask themselves when casting their ballots between now and Election Day.

Q: What is going on with the Reform Party these days? I see you dropped the idea of pursuing their Presidential nomination.

While I have many friends in the Reform Party and was enormously proud to be the party's standard-bearer in Florida's hotly-contested 2018 gubernatorial campaign, I'm hoping the party, which admittedly has seen better days, will consider formally merging with the Alliance Party following the current campaign.

Q: Two part question--

1. Do you favor any sort of alternative voting methods of selecting people for public office such as approval voting, range voting, ranked choice voting, or sortition?

I'm a strong proponent of Ranked-Choice Voting (RCV), or what used to be called Instant Runoff Voting.  I advocated Instant Runoff Voting while briefly running for Supervisor of Elections in Duval County in a 2005 special election and Rocky and I will be among five choices on the ballot in Maine, which is instituting Ranked Choice Voting in a presidential election for the first time in American history.  It's time has come.

2. Also, would you favor having the office of Vice-President be offered on the ballot as an individual position not tied to a ticket, so we could maybe vote for a President and Vice-President from two different parties?

You mean, I could vote for Joe Biden and myself?  Hmmm.

Q: In the last three years we have seen a spike in activity of Americans denying their own humanity and rejecting the whole concept of civility, tolerance, and respect as they insult, bash, and deflect blame on others in order to elevate themselves. We see this on Twitter, Facebook, and the highest levels of government. How did we get here and how can we turn that around?

Donald Trump.  Plain and simple.  We're so polarized at this point, I'm not sure we can turn it around anytime soon.  Even if he loses, perhaps especially if he loses, Trump will continue to be a divisive and mean-spirited force in this country for the foreseeable future.

Q: Many thanks for taking part in this project. If you'd like to address any issues my questions did not cover, please feel to add your thoughts here--

Thank you, Steve.  It was my pleasure.

In closing, here are the folks I've supported at the ballot box for Vice President during my lifetime: Sally Wheaton (Eugene McCarthy, 1976); Patrick Lucey (John Anderson, 1980); Geraldine Ferraro (Walter Mondale, 1984); Florence Rice (Eugene McCarthy, 1988); James Stockdale (Ross Perot, 1992); Jo Jorgenson (Harry Browne, 1996); Winona LaDuke (Ralph Nader, 2000); Mary Alice Herbert  (Walt Brown, 2004); Thomas Knapp (Charles Jay, 2008); Cindy Sheehan (Roseanne Barr, 2012); Michael Steinberg (Rocky De La Fuente, 2016).

Many of those names, of course, are as obscure as my own.  Thanks again, Steve.

Joyce Gail Dattner

Joyce Gail Dattner, June 1, 1948 (New York, NY) -

VP candidate for New Alliance Party (aka Independent aka Illinois Solidarity Party aka Alliance Party aka United Citizens Party) (1988)

Running mate with nominee: Lenora Fulani (b. 1950)
Popular vote: 122,789 (0.13%)
Electoral vote: 0/538

The campaign:

In 1988 Lenora Fulani was the nominee for the New Alliance Party. She managed to achieve the nearly impossible task of gaining ballot status in all 50 states + DC. In some cases the NAP worked with already existing third parties such as the Solidarity Party and United Citizens Party. In California they tried but failed to take over the Peace and Freedom Party and in the process temporarily derailed the PFP for that election year.

Meanwhile, Dennis L. Serrette the NAP Presidential nominee for 1984, denounced the Party as a toxic cult during the 1988 election season. This point of view would be shared by several in the cultbusting community.

Fulani had eight running-mates in 1988, stating "If we got elected, we'd figure it out." Chicago-based Joyce Dattner was also a disciple of NAP guru Fred Newman and was Fulani's most visible VP choice, having showed up on the ballot in 31 states + DC. She was involved in various associated NAP groups as well such as the "Rainbow Alliance." At the NAP convention in Aug. 1988, the press quoted a tearful Dattner who exclaimed, "I love you, Lenora Fulani. I love you and I'll follow you anywhere."

In 1987 Fulani said the NAP was prepared to endorse Jesse Jackson in the event he won the Democratic nomination, but in case he didn't her campaign was forging ahead.

The NAP platform included national health care, support for AIDS victims, recognition of Native American treaty rights, stronger environmental regulations, a freeze on military spending, ending aid to South Africa-the Contras in Central America-Israel, support of pro-choice laws, support of public transportation.

In response to criticism of NAP's connection with Louis Farrakhan, Dattner said in 1985: "I am someone who comes from a Zionist history and has moved to follow Black leadership. I heard Minister Farrakhan speak about women taking their rightful place and that any whites who wanted to support the movement are welcome. I know his attack on Zionism is a righteous thing."

On the NAP's 1988 goal, Dattner told a reporter, "We're out to cost Dukakis the election. I mean, look at his record. In Massachusetts, the so-called 'Massachusetts miracle' was a miracle for corporations. He supports a 'workfare' system that has welfare recipients working at less than minimum wage. He handed down an executive order that doesn't allow Gay people to be foster parents."

Nationally Fulani gained 217,221 votes (0.24%) and placed 4th, a truly impressive and historic finish on many levels-- for openers, Fulani was the first African American women to be listed on every US ballot. The Fulani/Dattner ticket had 122,789 popular votes. In the District of Columbia they placed third with 1.50% of the vote, the only jurisdiction where Fulani broke 1% with any running mate. The other strongest results for the Fulani/Dattner team: Vermont 0.65%, South Carolina 0.41%, Massachusetts 0.36%, Montana 0.35%, West Virginia 0.34%, Missouri 0.32%, Wyoming 0.31%, Maryland 0.30%. They did not appear to be spoilers in favor of Bush in any state.

Election history:
1976 - New York Assembly (Working Peoples Party) - defeated
2002 - San Francisco Board of Supervisors (Nonpartisan) - defeated

Other occupations: life coach, teacher, San Francisco chair of the Reform Party, union organizer 

Notes:
Apparently does not have a professional accredited academic degree in the field of psychology or a
 Ph.D. in any field but was sometimes billed as "Dr. Joyce Dattner" in ads marketing her lectures in
 the 1980s. She has never been a licensed psychologist from what I can ascertain.
Winner of the 1976 race was Jerry Nadler.
Was connected with the People's Party Presidential campaign in 1976.

Nancy Ross

 today

Nancy Ross, ca1943-

VP candidate for New Alliance Party (aka Alliance Party aka Independent aka Independent Alliance Party aka United Citizens Party aka Liberty Union Party) (1984)

Running mate with nominee: Dennis L. Serrette (b. ca1940)
Popular vote: 43,460 (0.05%)
Electoral vote: 0/538

The campaign:

Fred Newman (1935-2011) was a Maoist with pretensions of being a psychologist (he wasn't) who had formed a communal movement around 1970 combining Leftist politics with New Age pseudoscience. Within a short time he had temporarily joined forces with Lyndon LaRouche, but personality-driven political parties can only tolerate one guru at a time, so they parted company-- or so it seemed. A possible subsequent Newman-LaRouche connection would forever be a point of conjecture.

From 1975-1978 Newman's group, now called the International Workers Party and claiming allegiance to Marx, Mao, and Lenin, attempted to work with the confederation of organizations and parties that collaborated under the umbrella of the People's Party. In 1976 the People's Party ran the Presidential ticket of Margaret Wright and Benjamin Spock. Apparently Newman and his entourage were shown the door out of the People's Party in 1978 by other progressive activists who held the IWP in low esteem.

In 1979 the New Alliance Party was formed by Newman with Lenora Fulani, who unlike her mentor was a real psychologist. Critics charged that the group was using a technique called "Social Therapy," designed to keep followers in line and manipulated with techniques such as large group awareness training, social isolation, and assignment of party-oriented tasks that were so time consuming there was little room for individual pursuits or critical self-reflection. There were charges that the supposedly defunct International Workers Party was simply operating on an underground basis and involved in secret authoritarian decision-making while using the NAP as a front organization.

Their first Presidential ticket was comprised of African American activist Dennis Serrette and Newman loyalist Nancy Ross. She had the distinction of being the first of Newman's followers to be elected to public office when she successfully gained a seat on the Community School Board 3 in New York City in 1977.

Ross was also head of the "Rainbow Lobby" (the lobbying branch of Newman's "Rainbow Alliance"), an opportunistic and unauthorized variant of the term "Rainbow Coalition" as popularized by the Jackson campaign. Rev. Jesse Jackson himself had co-opted the phrase from earlier more radical political elements. Later Jackson had to clarify that he had nothing to do with the NAP "Rainbow" incarnations.

Lifting the term "Rainbow Alliance," the NAP acted as if was continuing the work of Jackson, who had failed in his attempt to gain the nomination of the Democratic Party. Note Serrette's tactical use of the term "second party"--

We want to get enough votes so someone like Jesse can win in 1988. Let me make it clear. We're not going to win by numbers but by impact. We're starting the embryo of a second party that will express the needs of the people. We are taking up the issues the Democratic party has rejected. We will be out in the streets the day after election day building this second party momentum.

Realizing that many Democrats felt their party had compromised too much and drifted to the Right in order to attract centrist voters, Serrette and Ross attempted to woo this bloc of voters by stating they were upholding the true progressive ideals. "Mondale is not the lesser of two evils," said Ross, "He is the loser of two evils." Their rhetoric was Left of center but somewhat vague on details.

There was a bit of bad press surrounding the running mate question. Dorothy Muns Blancato, an interior decorator and Jazz pianist from Vanport, Penn. was selected as the VP and planned to be listed in three states: Alabama, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. Although news reports indicate she was originally intended to be a stand-in candidate, in August 1984 she withdrew from the ticket without informing Serrette first and instead endorsed Sonia Johnson of the Citizens Party. Part of the result of this complicated episode was that Serrette failed to find a place on the Pennsylvania ballot. 

Amazingly well funded compared to other Leftist parties, NAP managed to gain ballot positions in DC and 31 states. A very impressive achievement for a first-time national run. Ross was the running mate in all but three states. In Kansas the VP nominee was Naomi L. Azulay. Mississippi and West Virginia voters found a blank spot in the VP slot with Serrette where other parties included the name of the running mate.

Of the remaining 28 states the Serrette/Ross ticket finished strongest in such diverse places as: South Dakota 0.36%, Massachusetts 0.31%, Ohio 0.27%, Arkansas 0.21%, Nebraska 0.16%, Maine and Vermont 0.14% each. The Party overall placed 7th nationally with 46,853 votes (0.05%), behind Lyndon LaRouche and Sonia Johnson incidentally. The ticket with Ross accounted for 43,460 of those votes.

Serrette broke with the NAP shortly after the election. In a scathing article written in 1988, he concluded with:

These few pages offer but an overview of a complex, and, in my opinion, dangerous organization. Dangerous, not only to the innocent, well-intentioned people who are caught in its grasp, but to the many it will try to exploit. Dangerous, because it uses a very progressive line, and untold millions of dollars, to prey on black communities, to attack black leaders and institutions, and to assault progressive organizations at whim. Dangerous because it can lie outright— lie about being black-led when blacks do not sit on the top, do not control the resources, do not control personnel; lie to its members about its participation with LaRouche; lie about Charles Tisdale; lie about me; lie about whatever serves Newman's interests, and put forth spokespersons who come to believe these lies. Dangerous because many members will do whatever they are told to do without ever evaluating what they have been told.

In conclusion, while I believe it is important that NAP be exposed for what it truly is, it is our job not to dwell on the organization, which craves controversy, but to concentrate our energies in our communities and organize, organize, organize. It is a vacuum that has been left open that allows NAP and other oppressive organizations to abuse our communities. We must fill that vacuum with genuinely pro­gressive, community-controlled organizations.

Meanwhile, Fred Newman has been recognized by the Cult Education Institute as a historical cult figure and leader.

Election history:
1977-1978 - Community School Board 3, New York, NY (Nonpartisan)
1981 - New York City Council (Democratic) - primary - defeated
1982 - Governor of New York (New Alliance Party) - defeated
1984 - Peace and Freedom Party nomination for US Vice-President - defeated

Other occupations: housewife, Parents Association President Public School 75 (NYC), head of the Rainbow Lobby, "part-time psychologist," founder of Independent Options LLC (2005), board member and officer of Committee for a Unified Independent Party, board member of Transpartisan Alliance

Notes:
Graduate of New York University
Jewish
Winner of the 1982 race was Mario Cuomo.
Was part of the Reform Party and then the Independence Party of New York.