Which party?

I'm researching Spanish politics in the 1930s for a term paper; what strikes me again and again is how many political parties there were, ranging from national parties with a million members to tiny regional parties with just a few hundred. This diverse, fragmented political landscape could have been part of the reason Spanish politics proved unworkable, leading to the civil war of 1936 - 39. But there was a positive aspect as well: it gave people lots and lots of choices.

Out of curiosity, I decided to see what my options for political parties are in California, the state I live in. I visited the Secretary of State's website and discovered that there are six: American Independents, Democrats, Greens, Libertarian, Peace & Freedom and of course the GOP. Off the top of my head, I wasn't sure what most of them stand for, so I decided to find out.

The American Independent Party sounded promising, if only because I sometimes think of myself as a political independent, so I started with them. From their website:

Marriage Between a Man and a Woman
We insist that marriage is between a man and a woman and assert the role of the law in establishing and reinforcing the mutual rights and obligations of that God-ordained contract.

Instant fail: not only is homophobia a central plank of their platform, it seems that everything goes back to God. There's little I detest more than mixing religion and politics.

Then I tried the Libertarians. Upfront, they advertise themselves as socially tolerant and fiscally responsible. It's an attractive combination; unfortunately, Libertarians carry their hatred of government to the extreme. Plus, I discovered this under the Articles section:

There is an attempt now to have the voters decide whether to lower the budget passage requirement to 55 percent. Whether you are in favor of the two-thirds rule depends on whether you believe that an increase in taxes and spending is economic nutrition or whether it is economic poison.

This is a terrible display of cynicism. The main reason nothing ever goes right in Sacramento is that passing a budget requires a 2/3rds majority in the legislature. It's a recipe for deadlock; changing the 2/3rds rule to 50 or 55% would be a big step towards fixing California's dysfunctional government. And the Libertarians oppose this, for the transparent reason that they don't want to pay more taxes.

Now, let me be clear: I hate paying taxes. But wishing continued failure on your state's government out of greed is bad citizenship.

Next up? Peace and Freedom. An advertisement on their homepage asks you to 'Drop $10 on 2010: Fund the overthrow of capitalism.' Not good. Continuing to the summary of their platform, I found:

• Double the minimum wage and index it to the cost of living;
• A 30-hour workweek with no cut in weekly pay; longer paid vacations;
• A Universal Basic Income to alleviate poverty and homelessness;
• Tax the income and assets of the rich to meet human needs;
• Provide full free quality public education through university level. Teach the history of workers' struggles and labor's creation of society's wealth and progress.

I don't doubt that all of these suggestions are made with the best of intentions; unfortunately, most of these proposals are just unfeasible.

I agree that government should provide a minimalist safety net for society's least fortunate but it's unfair to tax the hell out of wealthier Americans so everyone else can have a free ride. And doubling the minimum wage? It would ruin small businesses, many of which are only barely profitable, destroying jobs. A 30 - hour workweek with no cut in pay? Look at France, it hasn't worked out so well.

Next, the Greens. Again, I think their hearts are in the right place but their heads aren't screwed on quite tight enough. Key principles include Ecological Wisdom, Nonviolence, Social Justice, Grassroots Democracy, Decentralization, Community-Based Economics, Feminism, Respect for Diversity, Personal & Global Responsibility and Sustainability. All worthy principles, it just doesn't have the air of good, solid policy.

Finally, the two big ones: Democrats and Republicans.

Democrats in California are joined at the hip to unions, which is a big liability in my book since unions are just another kind of special interest group after taxpayer's money. And the Republicans? Judging from their website, they don't have much of a platform at all (and no, loving Ronald Reagan does not count as a platform).

I wish Republicans would get their act together. In California, what they need to make a comeback is a move beyond hating government to envisioning how (limited) government can make life better, a humane social policy that doesn't alienate gays and ethnic minorities, and a workable plan for balancing the budget and stimulating the economy. Good luck, guys.