If one were to reimagine the American political organization as a high school cafeteria , the Republicans and Democrats would crowd the pop kids ' tables , and the full - knownthird company – Libertarian , Green and Constitution – might sit nearby , recognized for their gutsy individualism but belonging to lower social strata nevertheless . Then , populating the outlying seats would be the lesser - known and downright quirky third parties that generally do n’t care to get on many state ballots . Among those multi-coloured crews , one might easily distinguish groups such as the goth Vampyres Witches Pagans Party , the hippie - raiment Pot Party and the freewheeling Pansexual Peace Party , all of which have be on the outskirt of U.S. politics [ author : Bogart ] .
Whenever a presidential election rolls around , third parties often have a present moment in the limelight , like unlikely candidate for homecoming court . Leading up to the 2012 election , for instance , a bulk of adult in Gallup poll pronounce they would receive a third - party prospect to shake up the Republican and Democrat status quo [ source : Jones ] . In fact , a unexampled third party called Americans Elect earned more than $ 35 million in contribution and attracted significant mainstream sensitive insurance coverage , which lead some to enquire whether it might be the result to the bipartizan dilemma . By May 2012 , however , Americans Elect had yet to turn up any feasible presidential nominees , storm it to close down cognitive operation and classing it with numberless third parties past that could n’t come up enough pop patronage to compete against the political in - crowds [ rootage : Leighton ] .
But while third parties have n’t produced a presidential win since the 19th 100 , they ’ve certainly left behind a colorful bequest , as evidenced by this snapshot of the strange political parties in recent electoral account .
5: The Objectivist Party
When Tom Stevens lead off the Objectivist Party on Feb. 2 , 2008 , he did n’t pluck the appointment at random . On that sidereal day in 1905 , the Russian - American novelist and philosopher Ayn Rand was accept . Best known for " Atlas Shrugged " and " The Fountainhead , " Rand ’s literary imprint has also bleed into the political realm since much of her oeuvre focuses on themes of defending self - interest and exemption from governing intervention [ source : Rand ] . The Objectivist Party skew toward the buttoned-down ending of the spectrum and bases its maneuver principles on Rand ’s zealous accompaniment oflaissez - faire capitalismand the social function of government as a protector rather than a supplier [ source : Objectivist Party ] . Rand , however , would likely abominate being associated with conservative politics , preferring to summarize her philosophy as " ultra objectivism , " hence the political party name [ reservoir : Ayn Rand Lexicon ] .
In 2008 and 2012 , Objectivist Party founder Tom Stevens was selected to stage the Rand acolyte as theirpresidential campaigner .
4: The Boston Tea Party
Not to be confuse with theTea Party movementnow in Congress or the 18th - century protest against British revenue enhancement , the Boston Tea Party was a political offshoot of theLibertarian Partythat come forth in 2006 and features the snappy tagline : " Time to party like it ’s 1773 ! " [ source : The Boston Tea Party ] . accept the Libertarian ideals of circumscribed government a few steps further , the Boston Tea Party rallied for legalizedmarijuana , coitus interruptus from global military outposts and terminate legalized authorities surveillance [ origin : Byrnes ] . During its May 2012convention , the party broadened its stance against government muck about with all domesticated involvement whatsoever , calling for an terminal to what it termed the " warfare on impoverishment " and " war on polite liberty . " Such extended changes would probably be enact through the Boston Tea Party ’s spirit to dethaw a majority of the federal budget , as well as the federal politics ’s dimension and asset .
Also in 2012 , the political outlier ran into some inner difficulty within its own ranks , initially nominating a presidential prospect , then later revoking the vote . In fact , that may have been the group ’s last knell , considering that it publicly disbanded presently afterward on July 22 , 2012 [ source : The Boston Tea Party ] .
3: The United States Pirate Party
The Pirate Party is n’t interested in actual looting or plundering , although some might assume that those are members ' virtual intentions . The United States Pirate Party is affiliate with the Pirate Parties International , which bands together Pirate Party operations in more than 20 nations around the world [ source : Pirate Parties International ] . Although agendum may shift on a country - by - commonwealth basis , the major Crux Australis of the Pirate Party mission is defendingonline privacy , which includes allowing people to freely partake in files across the cyberspace and preventingonline security review . As of 2012 , the United States Pirate Party live in only seven states , but its designate captains and first mates that direct up statewide governing body are working to broaden the pro - Internet freedom agenda .
To grow its routine , American Pirate affiliate might be wise to look at how the party has penetrated traditional government structures in Germany . In 2012 , the Web - savvy German age group won four parliamentary seats and wooed enough followers , reportedly aweary of old - school politics , to potentially make it the land ’s third - big company [ source : Kettmann ] .
2: The American Vegetarian Party
It turn out that the mid-1940s were the salad day of sort for vegetarianism due to meat shortfall fetch on by World War II [ source : Iacobbo and Iacobbo ] . As a result , Symon Gould , editor of American Vegetarian magazine and leader of New York ’s Vegetarian Society , decided to capitalize on the bit and transubstantiate the dietetic and life-style choice into a political cause . In 1947 , Gould and a grouping of naturopathic doctors , who relied on nutrition and fasting rather than medication to treat complaint , organise the American Vegetarian Party . The mathematical group choose as theirpresidential candidate84 - yr - older vegetarian restaurateur John Maxwell , who told TIME magazine he had " tasted no nitty-gritty for 45 age " [ source : TIME ] .
Maxwell did n’t just run on an anti - meat platform , however . The American Vegetarian Party also eschewedalcohol , tobacco and medicine [ generator : Pearson ] . Although the veggie - bonk group did n’t stick around long enough to make a dent in government , the American Vegetarian Party did achieve its initial destination of spread the Bible about living the pith - barren aliveness .
1: The Surprise Party
Perhaps the unknown matter about the 1940 Surprise Party was its almost instant achiever . Long before comedian Stephen Colbert would found his faux discharge forpresident , comic Gracie Allen announced her design to become America’sfirst distaff presidenton her receiving set show " The Burns and Allen Show , " which she co - host with George Burns . The chip was merely a gimmick to drum up mechanical press for the drollery duo , but listener submit her announcement seriously and were overpoweringly supportive of Allen ’s Surprise Party just the ticket . In response , Allen embarked on a railway line go from Los Angeles to Omaha , birth stump words to impressive crew along the way [ informant : NPR ] . Even after she bowed out of the race , and President Franklin D. Roosevelt easily deliver the goods his third term , Allen still receive thousands of write - in votes .
Lots More Information
In advanced American political sympathies , third party often get the runaround from the public , it seems . Fed up with " political relation as usual , " mass plead for a non - establishment option at the poll parrot , but as Election Day approaches , voters run to cast their ballot for a major party . My armchair theory for why third parties have such a difficult clip convert voters is because of the mentality that they have no chance of winning , and therefore a third political party voting is a throwaway . Moreover , the more outlandish and extremist party that have pasture up throughout American electoral chronicle have somewhat besmirch the third company name . But you still have to give it to these unconventional political groups for rally for a specific campaign – salve those like the American Nazi Party that are patently racist – and bucking the majority , even though their chances of victory are svelte to none .
