Some have expressed outrage this week on how Democrats handled the sexual harassment charges against two of its leaders:
“Dems didn’t call for ousting quick enough!”
“Called for ousting too quickly!”
“It was a GOP hit job!”
“Oust the women, that ousted the man!” (Really?) /1
Some of you have gone as far as saying:
‘We’re going to join a 3rd party!” or “We need a 3rd Party to unite the Nation.” /2
So here is a thread about our Country’s history with 3rd Parties and why forming a 3rd Party to unite us wont help as much as demanding policy that dismantles inequality, institutionalized racism and misogyny /3
Since the beginning our country's inception, we’ve always had revolving and evolving parties (the Federalists, Democratic-Republicans, National Republican aka Whig); this usually includes two dominate parties as well as 3rd parties /4
3rd Parties tend to be issue oriented, some, like the Marijuana Party (self-explanatory) are mostly are single issue. Many 3rd parties usually revolve around an individual, or a ‘cult of personality’. Once the personality goes away, so does the party /5
It may be effective in whipping up a frenzy of media attention (Gary Johnson, Jill Stein), but it has little to no policy accomplishments or coalition building. /6
Some 3rd parties are there just to ‘rat f—k’ a candidate by taking votes away from the two major parties. Roger Stone was very good at this. /7 thedailybeast.com/the-last-time-…
Some 3rd parties like the “Know Nothing Party (renamed American Party in 1855) can be incredibly divisive and discriminatory. The Know Nothing party was nationalistic, anti-immigrant, and afraid of new customs (e.g. Nativism). /8 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Know_Noth…
3rd parties can be valuable when they propose issues and policy that might not be on the radar of the two major parties (e.g. unions, minimum wage). The major parties have the infrastructure and support to implement policies the 3rd party may not be able to do on their own /9
So, let’s talk about policy. After all that is why we elect our leaders, right? We elect them to draw up, propose and implement policy to improve our community. (So why are we ignoring policy right now?) /10
The Green Party is very good on environmental issues but tend not to look at them in an intersectional way or have policies that can be well implemented. If you want to fight Trump's disastrous EPA policies Dems are the best bet
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Some 3rd parties want to legalize weed but the Democrats are the only party looking closely at reforming the criminal justice system to combat the effects of criminalizing drugs with #bailreform, reentry programs, altering sentencing guidelines, and more motherjones.com/politics/2017/…
Democrats are the only party who stands up to the NRA and is fighting the Concealed Carry Reciprocity bill that just passed the House businessinsider.com/chris-murphy-c…
The American Women's Party considered forming as a 3rd party to help women run and focus on women's issues but we instead want to focus on shaping policy and building coalitions with marginalized groups and Democrats to be most effective
says that we need to reshape the conversation and the systems that we have in place that allow sexual violence to flourish – and we can do that most effectively by working with the Democratic Party that has coalitions and policy experience
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If you still want to start a 3rd party and contribute to the conversation that way start at the local level! Find candidates who can work with communities and create policy that serves the issues you care about. Don't start your party at the national level w/ President
Now it's time to contact your reps about all these important policies! Go to our site to find your rep's information and call them about reinstating #CHIP, the #GOPTaxScam, opposing Concealed Carry Reciprocity for #gunsense and other policy you care about americanwomensparty.org/#section=take-…
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Dr. Hazel Levy is giving us a great lesson on diversity in academia! #WinWithWomen
The US also has the highest maternal mortality rate in the developed world and a very high infant mortality rate that’s disproportionately represented among black women
CA Dems declined to endorse @SenFeinstein for senate this past weekend calling for "new blood." Before we dismiss the 84 year old senator who broke gender barriers by becoming the first woman senator from California, let's look at Dianne Feinstein's long history #ImWithDianne
Dianne Feinstein began her career in 1970 when she was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. She was the 1st female president of the board in 1978 when Mayor Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk were assassinated. Feinstein discovered Milk's & and announced his death
Feinstein succeeded Moscone as Mayor of San Francisco as the 1st woman to hold that position. In 1992 Feinstein & Barbara Boxer were elected to the senate on the same ballot. They were the 1st women CA senators. In 2012 she claimed the record for the most popular votes w/ 7.75m
Despite big wins on election day for #Democrats, a small group of people continue to argue for major changes to the party through the Dem Unity Commission. Some proposed changes are getting rid of superdelegates and more caucuses. Let's discuss what these changes could mean /1
One proposed change is to remove super delegates from the primary nominating process for president. Supers are mostly elected representatives and major party members who can vote for whomever they want at the convention /2 dailykos.com/stories/2008/2…
Super delegates have never overturned the popular vote but do provided a fail-safe option in case the party needs them (Trump anyone?). They also help diversity in delegates because people dont need to compete w/ elected reps to go to the convention /3
This week congress is grappling with sexual harassment among governmental officials. @SenGillibrand and @RepSpeier introduced the #MeTooCongress Act to address better training and accountability. But what about the sitting #SCOTUS judge accused by Anita Hill 26 yrs ago?
In 1991 Pres Bush (now dealing with his own accusations of #sexualharassment) nominated Clarence Thomas to fill Thurgood Marshall's seat on the Supreme Court.
Thomas' hearings went along without much controversy until a private interview by the FBI of Anita Hill was leaked to the press. Hearings were then reopened and Anita Hill, then a prof of law at the University of Oklahoma, was called to testify.
Thread 📌 We talked with three wellness experts about sexual assault in recent news cycles. @theAWParty co-founder @mayatcontreras sat down first with William & Mary College’s Equality Co-chair Eric Garrison.
2. Eric Garrison's work in LGBT advocacy includes founding RoBiN (the Richmond Bi Network), starting the first Gay/Straight Alliance in a Virginia public high school. Eric is currently chairing the Virginia Campus Task Force to Prevent Sexual Assault.
3. Q: There are a lot of these stories online right now, for people that have been the victims of assault, should we say ‘trigger warning’ before posting or sharing articles? #BelieveSurvivors