American 3rd Party Policies. Response to Platforms and Parties in General.

Constitution Party- In general I think this party is a very large contradiction. It follows such a strict following of a document that was written over two hundred years ago that it does not allow for changes in society and government since that time. While the party states that it promotes religious freedom on the grounds of the Constitution, it also uses the Bible and Christian Doctrine to back up its Party Platform arguments. It uses a few letters from the time to back up this opinion. Had the Party done its homework, it would have found that many of the individuals that we look at as our founding fathers were deists such as James Madison, John Adams and potentially (it cannot be proven, though they did have deist tendencies) Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, and Thomas Paine, which today would be called an agnostic, meaning that they believe in God, but not necessarily one religion or any religion to contain God.

Communist Party- Personally I find Communism to be a good idea in theory but not so much in practice. It seems that every attempt so far has resulted in a totalitarian regime. I have found the more Socialist Practices of the Communist Party of the United States of America to be much more realistic than the violent overthrow of Capitalism that Marx and Lenin had foreseen. I find the Bill of Rights Socialism to be a refreshing revision of the Communist Party and while still slightly overidealistic, does contain revisions to Communism such as environmental reform and religious freedom that appear to make the Party less radical and more acceptable to the average citizen.

Pacifist Party- Personally I have found this Party to be overly idealistic. While I may agree with most of what they have to say, I don’t think it is a realistic view. Violence is wrong, but it will most likely always be there. Should the United States simply open its borders and accept anyone who wants to come in and dismantle our military, there is no way to protect citizens should an emergency arise. I do agree that our defense system is way larger than it should be I do not think it would be prudent to get rid of it all together. While there is so much hatred in the world simply letting anyone in the country could allow for terrorists or people with international criminal records against humanity to simply enter the country without worry. We would have no idea who was in the country or not. I do however, find their opinion of nationalized healthcare, education family and environment to be a positive one and definitely one worth working towards.

Sources: http://www.constitutionparty.com/, http://www.cpusa.org/, http://www.uspacifistparty.org/

German 3rd Party Policies. Response to Platforms and Parties in General.

1.NPD
I have to admit that working with the NPD's homepage and trying to find information about certain issues was quite simple, since the party really seems to have an opinion on everything. You just have to type in a key word and get what you are looking for. The problem I have with this party is not the easy way you can find information, but the kind of information you get. I have tried to be as objective as possible while working on the blog, but when I read things like Arbeit zuerst für Deutsche (jobs for Germans first) or Heimreise statt Einreise (homeward journey instead of entry) I found it quite hard not to become too subjctive. If I had to describe my impression of the NPD in three words, these would be:
Undemocratic. Reactionary. Racist.

2.DKP
If I did another blog project on 3rd parties, I would not go for the DKP again. Trying to get information from their homepage was not very satisfying. I had the impression that the party solely uses communism as an argument for everything. They hardly seem to seize on current issues, which would explain that the average of age of the members is outstandingly high compared to other German parties. In three words:
Lefty. Pugnacious. Outdated.

3.PBC
The PBC is the by far least spectacular of the three parties. On the surface it is the only party that does not want to change the political system of Germany completely – on the surface. Anyway I found it quite puzzling that the PBC prefers a bible based jurisdiction to our present one. I'm wondering in how far the party could be expected to cope with realpolitik, if in power. The bible is, objectively speaking, taken much more seriously and literally by the PBC than by the vast majority of the German population, hence the PBC only is a 3rd party, not a major party. In three words:
Evangelical. One-sided. Un-zeitgeisty.

Sources: www.npd.de, www.dkp.de, www.pbc.de

German and American 3rd Party Policies. Election posters and logos.

We have kindly asked all of the six parties we are dealing with, if we were allowed to post some of their election posters or use their logos for our blog. That was ten days ago, but so far the parties did not even bother to respond to our e-mails. None of them. Hence we have to confide that we cannot post any party logos or election posters in the blog.

American 3rd Party Policies. Religion.

Constitution Party- declares that Article I of the Bill of Rights reads: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” The Party goes on to state that they are for religious liberty of all people and that there should be a seperation of church and state in the form of no taxation of churches or religious organizations. It goes on to say that organizations should be free to determine its own religious standing, its example being the Boy Scouts of America.

Communist Party-“the Party has its own Religion Commission, which seeks to build positive relations with religious people and communities in the struggle to make life better for working people. Most religious people believe in justice, peace, and respectful relations among the peoples of the world, and many are motivated by their faith to work for those goals.” The Party goes on to say that religion can play an important role in socialist reform because of these similar beliefs and therefore is to be a part of what the Party calls “Bill of Rights Communism.”

Pacifist Party-calls for “Opposition to all forms of racial, sexual, and religious discrimination, and all unjust socio-economic barriers.” Based on its desire to end religious discrimination, the Party appears to be for religious freedom for citizens and for people to be treated as people and not according to their religious beliefs.

Sources: http://www.constitutionparty.com/, http://www.cpusa.org/, http://www.uspacifistparty.org/

German 3rd Party Policies. Religion.

1.NPD
The NPD states that it strongly supports article 4 of the Basic Law which enhances religious freedom in the Federal Republic of Germany, and according to the statute, the NPD is religiously neutral. Nonetheless, the NPD stirs up hatred against non-christian minorities, especcially muslims (particularly Turks). In the first place the party criticises all visible signs of other religions, e.g. the vexed minarets of mosques: "The initiative of the NPD directs against one of the most visible symbols of hyperxenesis, occupants and oppressors: The Anatolian minaret."

2.DKP
The party states that their approach for the realisation of socialism is based on scientific socialist ideas and theories of Marx, Engels and Lenin. Anyway the DKP acknowledges that there can be religious or humanist approaches to socialism as well.

3.PBC
Although the manifesto of the PBC does not have an article or even a paragraph exclusively dealing with religion, as the name suggests, the whole concept of the party is based on religion, more precise on christianity. Hence, many of the articles of the PBC's manifsto include bible quotes related to the particular issue. Article 3, Youth and Educational Policy, starts with Ecclesiastes 12, 1: "Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth" and article 5.3, Fair Politics, Prayers for all Poltiticians, quotes 1 Timothy 2, 1 – 2: "I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty."

Sources: www.npd.de, www.dkp.de, www.pbc.de, www.bibleserver.com

American 3rd Party Policies. Tax Policy.

Constitution Party- states that according to the United States Constitution “Article I, Section 8, gives Congress the power to lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts, and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defense and general Welfare of the United States,” and “Article I, Section 9, no Capitation, or other direct Tax shall be laid, unless in Proportion to the Census of Enumeration herein before directed to be taken. No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles exported from any State.” The Party interprets this to mean that Federal Taxes are unconstitutional and should be removed from the governmental system. The Party then suggests the creation of a “state-rate-tax” which would be divided amongst states to pay for a portion of the federal deficit based on the number of citizens living in the area. The Party wants to repeal the 16th amendment, which they believe provides the Federal Government with too much power. The Party would also like to keep the motor fuel tax but only for funding to fix and or build highways, not for programs that would create public transportation. They would also like to get rid of tax incentives as it overly favors the wealthy.

Communist Party- affirms, “We call for nationalization of the banks, railroads, and industries like steel and auto. Everyone who wants to work should be guaranteed a job or get unemployment payments until she/he can find a job.” The Communist Party is pro-taxes which would be used to build up the infrastructure and wealth redistribution along with the implementation of public projects such as public transportation, public schools, environmental protection, socialist reforms and housing for the homeless. The Party believes that this will provide those in the United States with better lives.

Pacifist Party-calls for the “Creation of a Canadian-style, single-payer national health care system with universal access, comprehensive coverage, and freedom of choice in the selection of doctors, medical facilities, and methods of treatment,” and “Full employment through private enterprises, cooperatives, worker-controlled and managed industries, and federally administered public projects,” along with “A guaranteed minimum income for U.S. citizens through the establishment of a negative income tax (A negative income tax gives checks to people whose income lies below the poverty level).” The Party is pro-taxation, like the Communist Party in order to implement reform on a national and local level that will allow for a level playing field and equal opportunities for employment, health care and living amenities.

Sources: http://www.constitutionparty.com/, http://www.cpusa.org/, http://www.uspacifistparty.org/

German 3rd Party Policies. Tax Policy.

1. NPD

The NPD criticises the contemporary German tax system and asks for a radically simplified system instead:

• taxation only on national, but not on EU level
  
• no taxation of staple food and medication
• less taxation of labour-intensive services
• avoidance of multiple taxation
• reformation of the financial law
• tightening of the criminal code for tax offences

2. DKP

Again, the DKP hardly gives any concrete comments on how they would like to change and improve the German tax system. They only criticise privatisation of state property and support a stop of tax concessions and subventions for monopolies.

3. PBC

The PBC demands a transparent tax system. Especcially families (with many children) should be relieved. Therefore the consumption tax and value added tax (VAT) on basic requirement goods and services ought to be lowered while the VAT on luxury goods should be raised. In addition to that, the tax system ought to offer an incentive for building houses for families with many children.

Sources: www.npd.de, www.dkp.de, www.pbc.de