“A little integrity is better than any career.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson
Integrity is essential to all that we do as a Party, as a people, and as a nation. It means keeping our word when we make pledges and promises, and it means committing to acting in the public’s interest, rather than our own interest, at all times. As a Party, we require all public nominees and members to take an oath to uphold our Code of Ethics; as a nation, we must do the same for our public figures and institutions. We believe our country must re-commit to the notion of good government, transparency in all dealings, and the total elimination of bribery in politics and government.
Ethics & Transparency
Public Campaign Financing
Requiring candidates to participate in public campaign financing pushes our officials into a position where they are beholden to the people they serve rather than large interest groups and corporations. We call for the creation of an affordable and sustainably-funded regional campaign finance program. Similar to Connecticut’s public campaign financing model known as the Citizens Election Program, we call for a financing system that provides funding for candidates, eliminating the possibility of large private donations to take over the candidate’s platform.
Instituting Federal Ethics
Our government has lost all sense of ethical dignity; regularly using their positions of power–whatever they may be–to help themselves and their friends over what promotes the general welfare. Supreme Court justices refuse to recuse themselves from cases where they have a stake in the outcome of the case, the President hires and pardons their immediate family members, and members of Congress blatantly abuse their stations to make money for themselves, far above and beyond the significant salary they are paid by taxpayers. We call for the institution of strict federal and regional ethics standards that prohibit these practices and enforce such prohibitions with strong legal action including but not limited to fines, removal from office, and imprisonment. Nobody is above the law, and our elected officials should be held to the highest possible standards.
Requiring candidates to participate in public campaign financing pushes our officials into a position where they are beholden to the people they serve rather than large interest groups and corporations. We call for the creation of an affordable and sustainably-funded regional campaign finance program. Similar to Connecticut’s public campaign financing model known as the Citizens Election Program, we call for a financing system that provides funding for candidates, eliminating the possibility of large private donations to take over the candidate’s platform.
Instituting Federal Ethics
Our government has lost all sense of ethical dignity; regularly using their positions of power–whatever they may be–to help themselves and their friends over what promotes the general welfare. Supreme Court justices refuse to recuse themselves from cases where they have a stake in the outcome of the case, the President hires and pardons their immediate family members, and members of Congress blatantly abuse their stations to make money for themselves, far above and beyond the significant salary they are paid by taxpayers. We call for the institution of strict federal and regional ethics standards that prohibit these practices and enforce such prohibitions with strong legal action including but not limited to fines, removal from office, and imprisonment. Nobody is above the law, and our elected officials should be held to the highest possible standards.
Limiting Corporate Power
Eliminating Corporate Political Influence
Candidates may only appear on our ballot line if they refuse to accept money from lobbyists or corporate interests. We believe such political interest groups should not be allowed to offer money to political candidates in the first place; it amounts to legalized bribery. We call for the passage of a Constitutional amendment that will reinstate reasonable limits on political campaign contributions.
Trust Busting
Corporations should not be too big to fail. In the 2008 housing market crash, the federal government decided that the major banks responsible for the crash were too big to fail, and they in turn decided to bail those banks out on the backs of the taxpayers. We will increase restrictions on the size of any given corporation in a sector to ensure that these failings do not continue into the future. Corporations are not people - and they will not be allowed free reign to harm the real people of this country any longer.
Candidates may only appear on our ballot line if they refuse to accept money from lobbyists or corporate interests. We believe such political interest groups should not be allowed to offer money to political candidates in the first place; it amounts to legalized bribery. We call for the passage of a Constitutional amendment that will reinstate reasonable limits on political campaign contributions.
Trust Busting
Corporations should not be too big to fail. In the 2008 housing market crash, the federal government decided that the major banks responsible for the crash were too big to fail, and they in turn decided to bail those banks out on the backs of the taxpayers. We will increase restrictions on the size of any given corporation in a sector to ensure that these failings do not continue into the future. Corporations are not people - and they will not be allowed free reign to harm the real people of this country any longer.
Legal Equality
Right to Equal Protection
Our devotion to equality must be indiscriminate and relentless: we assert that equality must be provided for each individual regardless of gender, sex, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, political affiliation and ideology, religious affiliation, ability, appearance, national origin, class, income, or social status. Our Party will act to pass legislation and constitutional amendments that help to cement this ideal not just in law, but also in practice.
Policymakers must be aware of the unintentional consequences their policies may have, and we must as a society combat intentional efforts to target particular groups of people with harmful policy.
The people of any country should be free from discrimination and incitement to any such discrimination, slavery and servitude, torture or other cruel and unusual punishment, arbitrary arrest or exile, the unjust imposition of one’s will on another, undue attacks on one’s honor and reputation, and being compelled to affiliate or associate with any given organization.
Our devotion to equality must be indiscriminate and relentless: we assert that equality must be provided for each individual regardless of gender, sex, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, political affiliation and ideology, religious affiliation, ability, appearance, national origin, class, income, or social status. Our Party will act to pass legislation and constitutional amendments that help to cement this ideal not just in law, but also in practice.
Policymakers must be aware of the unintentional consequences their policies may have, and we must as a society combat intentional efforts to target particular groups of people with harmful policy.
The people of any country should be free from discrimination and incitement to any such discrimination, slavery and servitude, torture or other cruel and unusual punishment, arbitrary arrest or exile, the unjust imposition of one’s will on another, undue attacks on one’s honor and reputation, and being compelled to affiliate or associate with any given organization.
