American Independent Party

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The American Independent Party is a California political party. The party was established in 1967 by Bill Shearer and his wife Eileen.

In 1968, the American Independent Party nominated former Alabama Governor George C. Wallace, as its presidential candidate and retired Air Force General Curtis E. LeMay as the vice presidential candidate. Wallace ran on every state ballot in the 1968 U.S. Presidential Election. Wallace did not represent the American Independent Party in all fifty states. In Connecticut, for instance, he was listed on the ballot as representing the "George Wallace Party." The 1968 presidential ticket received 13.5 percent of the popular vote and 46 electoral votes.

In 1969, representatives from 40 states established the American Party as the successor to the American Independent Party. (In some places, such as Connecticut, the American Party was officially constituted as the American Conservative Party.) The official party flag adoption took place on August 30, 1970. The flag depicts an eagle holding a group of arrows in its left talons, over a compass rose, with a banner which reads "The American Independent Party" at the eagle's base. In 1972, the party nominated former Congressman John G. Schmitz of California for president and Tennessee author Thomas Jefferson Anderson for vice president. In 1976, the American Party split into the more moderate American Party, which included more northern conservatives and Schmitz supporters, and the American Independent Party, which focused on the deep South. Both of the parties have nominated candidates for the presidency and other offices. Neither the American Party nor the American Independent Party has had much national success.

The American Independent Party has had ballot status in the state of California since 1968 and is still active there. As of May 2008, AIP's registration total was 331,619.[1]

In the early 1980’s, Bill Shearer led the American Independent Party into the Populist Party. Since 1992, the American Independent party has been the California affiliate of the national Constitution Party, formerly the U.S. Taxpayers Party.

Many political analysts have theorized that the Party, which has received very few votes in recent California elections, maintains its state ballot status because people join the Party mistakenly believing that they are registering as an "independent," also known as a "non-partisan" or "decline-to-state" voter.[2]

One such voter was Jennifer Siebel, fianceé of San Francisco's liberal Democratic mayor Gavin Newsom; in 2008, Siebel attempted to change her party affiliation from Republican to Non-Partisan, but "checked the American Independent box thinking that was what independent voters were supposed to do," according to the San Francisco Chronicle.[3]

According to Third Party Watch,[4] the AIP split into two factions in June or July of 2008: one recognizing Jim King as chairman of the AIP while the other, recognizing Ed Noonan as chairman, claims the old AIP Website address while the King organization claims the AIP blog address. Ed Noonan's faction held a convention in Sacramento on July 5, 2008.

Contents

[edit] Presidential candidates

[edit] California gubernatorial candidates

The American Independent Party has nominated the following candidates for governor of California since becoming the California affiliate of the Constitution Party:

[edit] Chairmen/Vice-Chairmen

  • Bill Shearer: 1967-1999
  • Nathan Johnson: 1999-2002
  • Jim King/Reed R. Heustis: 2002-2004
  • Nancy Spirkoff: 2004-2006
  • Edward C. Noonan/Mark Seidenberg: 2006-2008
  • Disputed: Chair is either Jim King or Markham Robinson: 2008 - Present

[edit] Split in party

According to Third Party Watch, the AIP has split into two factions which are described below.

[edit] King Faction

Constitution Party of California
Party Chairman Jim King
Founded July 8, 1967
Headquarters 8158 Palm Street
Lemon Grove, California 91945
Political ideology Paleoconservatism
National affiliation Constitution Party

Supports Chuck Baldwin for president.

Has new website http://www.aipcalif.blogspot.com/

Not listed as the Qualified Political Party by the CA Secretary of State as of July 16, 2008. [5]

Has new address.

Held convention in Los Angeles on June 28-29, elected King to state chair. [6]











[edit] Noonan Faction

American Independent Party
Party Chairman Markham Robinson
Founded July 8, 1967
Headquarters 1561 N. Beale Road
Marysville, CA 95901
Political ideology Paleoconservatism
National affiliation America's Independent Party
Web Site http://aipca.org

Chair was Edward C. Noonan, whose term is now expired.

Supports Alan Keyes for president.

Controls the domain name http://aipca.org, which redirects to http://www.aip-ca.org.

Listed as the Qualified Political Party by the CA Secretary of State. [7]

Presidential candidate Alan Keyes on the ballot according to the CA Secretary of State.[8]


Claims old address.

Held convention in Sacramento on July 5, 2008. [9]

Elected Markham Robinson as chair at the convention.










[edit] Further developments

July 21, 2008: The California Secretary of State recognized the Noonan faction's convention, and stated that Alan Keyes will be on the ballot as the AIP nominee, unless overturned by a lawsuit. [7]

July 22nd message from Chairman Jim King refuting current Keyes ballot access and current legal situation. [10]

August 4, 2008: The King faction supporting Chuck Baldwin sued the Secretary of State. The suit is James King v Debra Bowen and was filed in Superior Court in Sacramento. [11] It is scheduled to be heard on August 26, 2008. [12]

August 26, 2008: Superior Court Judge Michael Kenny ruled in favor of the Noonan faction and Alan Keyes. The judge stated that the lawsuit should have been filed earlier, and that Alan Keyes should have been served as part of the action. The case is dismissed without prejudice, indicating that this case was decided on a technicality. The issue as to who are the officers of the AIP has not been decided in this court case. [13]

September 2, 2008: The King faction removes all references to the American Independent Party on their website, announces their endorsement of Chuck Baldwin for President, and Darrell Castle for Vice President, and states that they are certified write in candidates. [14]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Ballot Access News - January 1, 2007
  2. ^ Voting at the Political Fault Line: California's Experiment With the Blanket Primary (2002), page 219. ISBN 0-520-22834-0.
  3. ^ Newsom's girlfriend stumbles into wrong party
  4. ^ Third Party Watch
  5. ^ California Secretary of State - Elections & Voter Information - Qualified Political Parties
  6. ^ Third Party Watch » Blog Archive » AIP holds its State Convention, endorses Chuck Baldwin and reaffirms CP affiliation
  7. ^ a b Ballot Access News Blog
  8. ^ CA Secretary of State
  9. ^ The American Independent Party - The Fastest Growing Political Party In California
  10. ^ Third Party Watch, statement from Jim King
  11. ^ Ballot Access News
  12. ^ Third Party Watch, The AIP heads to Court
  13. ^ Ballot Access News: Keyes Wins California Lawsuit on Procedural Issues
  14. ^ [1]

[edit] External links

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