The Citizens Party was formed on May 15, 1979 in Washington DC by Barry Commoner, who wanted to gather under one umbrella political organization all the enivronmentalist and liberal groups which were unsatisfied with President Carter’s moderate administration (Kruschke 45). The Citizens Party registered with the Federal Elections Commission at the end of 1979 (Havel 2:291).
Barry Commoner, a “professor of environmental science at Washington University in St. Louis,”(Kruschke 45) was the head of the Center for the Biology of Natural Systems in St. Louis (Schap 96) and editor of Science Illustrated magazine (Kruschke, p. 45).
1st National Convention
The first Citizens Party National Convention met in Cleveland in the Cleveland Plaza Hotel on 4/10–13/1980. There were 260 delegates from 30 states present. (Havel 2:291) The “proposals presented at the convention reportedly numbered some 300 items, a list largely irreducible to a manageable platform. . . Units of the party organization on the state level thus became more or less responsible for delineating their own briefer versions of the list of goals” (Kruschke, p. 46). The Party nominated Barry Commoner for President and La Donna Harris (who was the wife of U.S. Senator Fred Harris OK) for Vice President. (Hauss 147) La Donna Harris was “a leading feminist and a Comanche Indian [who] labeled herself as ‘a woman of color.’” (Kruschke, p. 46)
Party Platform
The Citizens Party in 1980 advo
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The Citizens Party was formed on May 15, 1979 in Washington DC by Barry Commoner, who wanted to gather under one umbrella political organization all the enivronmentalist and liberal groups which were unsatisfied with President Carter’s moderate administration (Kruschke 45). The Citizens Party registered with the Federal Elections Commission at the end of 1979 (Havel 2:291).
Barry Commoner, a “professor of environmental science at Washington University in St. Louis,”(Kruschke 45) was the head of the Center for the Biology of Natural Systems in St. Louis (Schap 96) and editor of Science Illustrated magazine (Kruschke, p. 45).
1st National Convention
The first Citizens Party National Convention met in Cleveland in the Cleveland Plaza Hotel on 4/10–13/1980. There were 260 delegates from 30 states present. (Havel 2:291) The “proposals presented at the convention reportedly numbered some 300 items, a list largely irreducible to a manageable platform. . . Units of the party organization on the state level thus became more or less responsible for delineating their own briefer versions of the list of goals” (Kruschke, p. 46). The Party nominated Barry Commoner for President and La Donna Harris (who was the wife of U.S. Senator Fred Harris OK) for Vice President. (Hauss 147) La Donna Harris was “a leading feminist and a Comanche Indian [who] labeled herself as ‘a woman of color.’” (Kruschke, p. 46)
Party Platform
The Citizens Party in 1980 advocated several liberal programs. Among them were: • Creating a new party which was not tied to the capitalist economic system. (Kruschke, p. 45) • Environmental protection (Hauss 147) • Passage of the Equal Rights Amendment (Hauss 147) • An increase in social spending (Hauss 147) • Reducing defense spending at least 30% (Schap 96) •Creating a nationalized health insurance (Schap 96) • Providing for government grants to discover energy sources in order to eliminate nuclear power (Schap 96) • Fostering “economic democracy” through nationalizing oil companies and railroads, granting employees greater management responsibilities in corporations, and providing for full employment. (Hauss 147, Schap 96)
Leadership
Among the other leaders of the Citizens Party were William Winpisinger, president of the International Association of Machinists (Schap 96), “Maggie Kuhn of the Gray Panthers; Archibald Gillies, former chairman of the John Hay Whitney Foundation; Harriet Barlow, of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance; Adam Hochschild, publisher of Mother Jones magazine; and Don Rose, the former manager of Jane Byrne’s mayoral campaign in Chicago.” (Kruschke, p. 45)
In order to increase public awareness of its existence, the Citizens Party ran a commercial on 600 radio stations in which the party used profanity. Several of the radio stations tried to remove the profanity, but the Federal Communications Commission forbad them to do so. (Schap 96)
Electoral Activity
As the party's candidate for President in 1980, Commoner achieved ballot status in 29 states (22 and DC under the Citizens Party label, six as an Independent, and in PA with the Consumer Party), although his major activity was centered in CA, IL, MI, NY, and PA.
In addition to the national ticket, there were 22 other Citizens candidates on the ballot in various states (Kruschke, p. 45) including three for the U.S. Senate and eleven for the U.S. House. Commoner received 221,083 votes. Although Commoner did not garner more than one percent in any state, the party received enough support to be the first minor party to qualify for federal matching funds (about $157,000) for the 1984 election. (Hauss 147)
Sources
“Citizens’ Party” in Earl R. Kruschke, ed.,
Encyclopedia of Third Parties in the United States (Santa Barbara CA: ABC-CLIO, 1991), p. 45.
Charles S. Hauss, “Citizens Party,” in L. Sandy Maisel, ed.,
Political Parties and Elections in the United States (NYC: Garland Publishing Inc., 1991), p. 147.
“Citizen’s Party (CP),” in Edward L. Schapsmeier and Frederick H. Schapsmeier,
Political Parties and Civic Action Groups (Westport CT: Greenwood Press, 1981), p. 96.
2d Citizen's Party National Convention:
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Popular Vote of 1980:
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Electoral Vote of 1980:
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