New American Left
New American Left | |
|---|---|
|
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| Chair | Oliwer Stołów |
| Vice Chair | Vacant |
| Founded | 05 October 2022 |
| Ideology | Big-Tent Leftism |
| House of Representatives |
4 / 17 |
| Senate |
1 / 6 |
| Governorships |
1 / 3 |
| State Legislatures |
4 / 15 |
The New American Left (NAL) is one of the major contemporary political parties in the United States. Founded on October 5th, 2022, the New American Left was primarily built by Irene Taylor alongside Dushon Marshall, Koko, Oliwer Stołów and Bruce Hill, in response to the dissolution of the Democratic Party and the Lone Star Ranch Siege that initiated it. The New American Left is a big-tent party, coalescing a number of generally liberal and progressive views under a unified political umbrella. Its party platform advocates for greater support for American unions, greater funding for green energy technology, and a fill-the-potholes policy in regards to national infrastructure, among several affirmations of the rights of minority groups and the impoverished. Since the Small Exodus, the party's politics have continually trended toward left of center.
The party is lead by the New American Left National Committee, an internally-elected, five-person committee that runs and governs the party at large. While designed as a decentralized body, constitutional conventions held since the party's founding have put more power into the hands of the National Committee. The NALNC was initially lead by a designated Federal Elections Commission Coordinator. The position was later consolidated into the position of Party Chair and granted greater inter-governing ability. The first and only individual to hold the title of FEC Coordinator was Irene Taylor, who, following the party's Second Constitutional Convention, was elected Party Chair and has served as such ever since.
The NAL won a majority of seats in both the House of Representatives and the Senate in the 2022 November General Election, upsetting previously held majorities in both chambers. The party's present control of Congress has been marked by several controversies, including the Greyson Tax Scandal, the Small Exodus, and general accusations of involvement with former Dixie Attorney General Draven Prince. Several members of the NAL Caucus were involved in both resolving and propagating dimensions of the Ddet Patent Controversy. Pundits agree that the New American Left is, post-Exodus, in the process of recalibrating its political ideology and legislative agenda.
History
Background
Prior to the establishment of the New American Left, left-leaning politics in the United States was in a severe state of disarray, incurred by the dissolution of the long-standing Global Labor Party and the subsequent dissolution of the short-lived Democratic Party.
The Global Labor Party served as the nation's home for left-leaning ideals for several years, notably as an explicitly far left organization, coalescing both communist and socialist political agendas. The Global Labor Party was a significant political force in the United States and secured strong showings in the Senate and House and, furthermore, the Presidency under President Sysadmin. However, beginning on July 27, 2022, the Public Banking Act Crisis and the several controversies and scandals that followed overshadowed otherwise meaningful gains and, on September 15, 2022, the party dissolved. Public reaction to this period of instability was overwhelmingly negative, with several polls showing growing distrust of and disdain for the GLP as it neared its dissolution.
Nation-wide disapproval for left-leaning political organizations was only further cemented by the short-lived Democratic Party. On September 28, 2022, just thirteen days after the Global Labor Party's dissolution, high-profile members of the Democratic Party were involved in the Lone Star Ranch Shootout that left two federal officers dead and another two severely injured. The Democratic Party then dissolved, a day later, on September 29, 2022. President Walks, shortly before his resignation, issued presidential pardons to both Wazowski and Berry, incurring wide-spread ire from both the public and political worlds.
The dual resignation of President Sysadmin and his successor President Walks, alongside the dual crises of the Public Banking Act Crisis and the Lone Star Ranch Shootout, dissolved both respective parties and led not only to a mass-exodus of leftist officials and politicians from political life but an exodus, albeit smaller, of citizens from left-leaning politics in general.
Formation
With no left-leaning national party, members of the public, alongside former politicians, sought to reunite the left under a new banner and new organization. Conversations surrounding this topic were instigated almost immediately upon the dissolution of the Democratic Party, with would-be founders Bruce Hill, Irene Taylor, and Koko beginning the preliminary phases in late September. Initial conceptions of the party varied, with some advocating for a streamlined and agenda-heavy organization while others championed a broader, big-tent organization instead. While the latter was eventually agreed to, the former has taken hold of the party in recent weeks.
On October 3, 2022, left-leaning political organization Erasmus published an interview with Irene Taylor, announcing the former of the New American Left. Taylor went on to describe the party as a symbol of hope for disenfranchised leftists, liberals, and progressives who were without party or support after the period of instability left by the GLP and the Democratic Party. Public reaction to the article was mixed, with its writer even detailing the massive efforts the NAL would have to undertake to reverse the course of leftist politics in the United States and gain back the trust and confidence of the public.
The New American Left announced its official formation on October 5, 2022, ratifying its party constitution and party platform with unanimous consent.
Early days
Congressional control
Greyson Tax Scandal
On December 9, 2022, Representative Jeremey Greyson submitted to the House of Representatives the Corporation Tax Act (CTA). The bill implemented previously undone taxes on businesses and corporations, with stipulations as high as 65% for windfall profits of over ten thousand dollars. The CTA and, by consequence, Greyson, were immediately embroiled in controversy surrounding the relatively atmospheric tax hike.
President Valerie, of Jefferson, took to Twitter day of and criticized Greyson and the NAL for a 'wildly unacceptable move'. Widespread criticism from several political organizations, leaders, and individuals followed, culminating in the bill's retraction from House consideration and Greyson's admittance of the bill's lackluster vetting. While the controversy itself died down, Jeffersonian First Secretary Tucker Carlson publicly lambasted Greyson and advocated that he be voted out of office. Other members of the Jeffersonian government, including President Valerie, voiced similar views.
As of December 28, 2022, no version of the CTA, amended or not, has returned to the House or Senate.
The Small Exodus
From December 20, 2022, to December 23, 2022, prominent members of the NAL left the organization in a string of departures that deepened internal divides and more widely publicized the seeming inability of the party to govern and sustain its caucuses in the House and Senate.
On December 20, 2022, NAL Party Chair Irene Taylor announced on Twitter that Representative Kammerer was no longer a member of the party. The expulsion and public admittance of such followed several apparent spats between governing members of the NAL and Kammerer himself. Prior to his removal, Representative Kammerer endorsed John Smith, a controversial member of the Libertarian-Republican Party, against NAL member and party-endorsed candidate Justin.
Shortly thereafter, Secretary Koko, a founding member of the NAL itself, Tweeted his departure from the party on December 21, 2022. The leave came after clear differences between Koko and other members of the NAL, as the Secretary voiced his disdain with the Corporate Tax Act and his support of Jefferson's refusal of new federal taxes during debates earlier in the month. Koko's departure occurred during a notorious slog of inactivity in the House, as twelve members' failure to vote on a bill was widely publicized on the same day. Less than twenty four hours later, Dushon Marshall tentatively left politics before returning to the scene and registering himself as an independent. Marshall was a prominent member of the party during his tenure under their poltical banner in the House. His resignation from the NALNC, in concurrence with Koko's, left the NAL's governing body two members down, an absence it continues to maintain.
The trio of departures marked a Small Exodus from the NAL and all but collapsed the party's more moderate wing. Without the more conservative voices of Koko and Kammerer to hold the party near the center-left, remaining members have increasingly pushed the NAL toward a more overt and legislatively evident progressivism.