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| Liberal-Republican Party | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leader | John H. Steyer |
| Chairperson | Maria Collins |
| Spokesperson | Jack Bennett |
| Opposition Leader | Evan Avenatti |
| Founded | May 18, 1868 |
| Headquarters |
1868 Avenue, Yorkshire New Netherlands |
| Student wing | Teenage Liberal-Republicans |
| Youth wing | Federation of Young Liberal-Republicans |
| Women's wing | National Federation of Liberal-Republican Women |
| Overseas wing | Liberal-Republicans Abroad |
| Membership | ▼ 5.8 million (2019 estimates) |
| Ideology |
Majority: • Centrism • Classical liberalism • Cultural liberalism • Social liberalism • American unionism Factions: • Liberal conservatism • Fiscal conservatism • Progressivism • Left-wing populism |
| Political position |
 Centrist to Big tent |
| International affiliation |
Liberal International Liberal Democrats of America |
| Official colors | Blue & Red |
| Senate |
11 / 36 |
| House of Representatives |
32 / 135 |
| American Parliament |
9 / 27 |
| Governorships |
4 / 18 |
|
Elections in the Northeast Union Political parties in the Northeast Union | |
The Liberal-Republican Party, commonly known as the Liberal-Republicans or Lib-Reps and abbreviated as the LRP, is a centrist and big tent political party in the Northeast Union. Formed in 1868, the Liberal-Republican Party is the oldest active political party in the Northeast Union and is one of the oldest political parties in all of Anglo-America. For much of its history was the dominate party in the country with its main rival changing from the Whig Party in the 19th century and the early 20th century to the Social Democratic Party in the contemporary era.
During its early years, the party was initially a center-right party that was fiscally conservative, but was moderate on social issues. The party's ideology changed in the 1930s after the Social Democrats emerged onto the political scene and usurped the Whig Party as the Liberal-Republicans' primary electoral opponent which caused the party to adopt a more economically progressive platform to compete with the left-wing populist platform of the SDP. In the modern era the Libera-Republicans is a socially liberal party espousing social liberalism supporting same-sex marriage, marijuana legalization, and easy access to abortion. On economic issues the party is more a big tent as it supports what it calls a "modest" tax rate, limited intervention in the economy, a free-market capitalist system, and opposes raising the minimum wage above $10 an hour. In the modern era, the Liberal-Republicans have much of their base centered around the Hudson Valley and southernmost part of the coastal areas of the country along with states on the border with the United Commonwealth and Superior. Most of the Liberal-Republican voter base is a coalition of upper class citizens, urban communities, college educated whites and many racial and ethnic minorities, especially immigrants from Europe and northern parts of Anglo-America, mostly Quebec and the Maritime Republic.
The country's first President was Liberal-Republican John B. Page who was the first president and leader of the party. 10 Presidents have been Liberal-Republicans and the Liberal-Republicans have been called the "Founding party" of the nation with the most recent president being Rodrigo Guimaraes who served as president from 2015 until 2019. Following the 2018 election, the Liberal-Republicans are the leading party in the opposition of the Northeastern Congress holding 28 seats in the House of Representatives out of 135 and 8 seats in the Senate out of 35. As of June 2019, three out of the nine sitting justices on the Supreme Court have been picked by Liberal-Republicans. The Liberal-Republicans also have four governorships currently held along with a sizable minority of state legislative seats with counties on the borders with the United Commonwealth and the Hudson Valley remaining in Liberal-Republican hands. As of May 2019, the Liberal-Republicans also hold nine seats out of the total 27 seats that the Northeast Union has in the American Parliament following the 2018 parliamentary election.
History
Foundation
This opened up the Northern Theater of the War of Contingency where Page and Northeastern rebels waged a guerrilla war against the Union Army in western New York Srare, with Quebecois support, and later the armies of the United Commonwealth in order to secure Northeastern independence. During this time, radical republicans from the north formed the New Republican Clique which was the unofficial political party of the Northeastern provisional government. Page's efforts tied up multiple Union forces and allowed the armies of the Kingdom of Sierra, Brazoria, Rainier, the United Kingdom and Quebec to secure the Midwest territories and forced the Commonwealth to surrender in December 1868 with the signing of the Christmas Accords. Page attended the event and returned home to a new country as a war hero. In January 1870, he was elected president and formed the Liberal-Republican Party from the unofficial clique he was apart of. The Liberal-Republicans became the first political party of the newly independent Northeast Union and would be one of two major political parties in the country rivaled only by the Whig Party for the remainder of the 19th century and into the 20th century.
Post-war nation building
With the war now over and Northeastern independence secured, the Liberal-Republicans wasted no time establishing a new government. As the country's first president, Page had worked hard to create a new constitution modifying and working on several drafts of it. Drafting the constitution was the first task of the new government and was ignored due to Page leading the Northeastern guerrilla war in New England. On March 17, 1870 Page presented in New Haven the final draft of the Constitution of the Northeast Union which was modeled after the Constitution of the United States guaranteeing many of the same rights such as freedom of speech, freedom of religion, right to assemble and press freedom. Due to his career as an abolitionist, Page added an amendment to the constitution forbidding slavery denouncing it as a morally corrupt and unjust institution. The Northeastern Congress was still under the jurisdiction of the wartime provisional government until 1872 when the first mid-term congressional election was held which saw the Liberal-Republicans win 58 seats out of the initial 110 seats in the congress with the rest falling into the hands of the Whig Party. The First Northeastern Congress had a solid Liberal-Republican majority and helped maintain Page's position as president allowing him to pass his agenda in building the new nation which included establishing new government agencies and officials. Page faced little resistance during his tenure, but his economic stances caused vocal opposition from the Whig Party over Page's refusal to oversee conditions in the new factories building up across the nation as the Northeast Union began to industrialize. Page won re-election in 1874 due to his war hero status and building the nation and the Liberal-Republicans maintained a majority in Congress, but the Whigs were gaining ground in the middle of the country and inching closer to the coasts and many industrial areas. Page's second term saw him create the Department of Worker's Affairs to oversee working conditions in factories and allow for health inspections.
Parker was re-elected in 1894 and would had coopted many policies supported by the Whig Party in order to chip away and win support from the Whig voter base. During his second term, Parker had lifted tariffs on goods coming from the United Commonwealth and sought to rebuild relations with the nation in hopes of moving on from the Contingency War. He also increased trade between the Northeast Union and the United Commonwealth and passed similar policies regarding trade with Quebec. The most notable event of his presidency was the Spanish–American War of 1898 where Parker had the Northeast Union join a coalition made of the United Commonwealth, Brazoria and the Kingdom of Sierra in fighting against the Spanish Empire in order to prevent the Spanish from getting a foothold in the Americas capable of threatening Anglo-America. The war saw Northeastern troops capture the Puerto Rico from Spain, as well as buy Bermuda from the United Kingdom which later became overseas territories. Parker had also wanted to claim land in Cuba due to Northeastern and Commonwealth soldiers fighting under the same banner as part of the 2nd Continental Army Brigade, but Parker caved into Commonwealth demands and allowed them to annex Cuba. Parker stepped down in January 1899 following the conclusion of presidency and didn't choose to run for a third term. He was later succeeded by another Whig government which ran on a platform of modernizing and helping build up the Northeast Union's overseas territories on a program of territorial integration.
Early 20th century
David B. Hill was elected president in 1898 and would serve as president from 1899 until 1903. He oversaw the establishment of provisional administrative governments in the newly acquired overseas territories, but was hesitant to formally annex them. His issue was over whether or not the territories should remain overseas unincorporated organized territories or to become states of the union. Hill's government took the issue to Congress and it became a major divisive issue with the Whig Party being united behind making the territories organized entities with a degree of autonomy while the Liberal-Republican were divided between statehood and organized territories with some pushing for the territories to become independent states from ardent anti-war members of the party who believed that trying to absorb the territories into the union was unjust. Hill would struggle to resolve the issue and instead kept the provisional authorities of the territories active throughout his entire presidency and attempted to develop the newly acquired lands and established the Caribbean Territorial Committee to help him manage the territories. The most controversial decision made by Hill was to pass the Caribbean Open Market Act of 1901 which permitted companies to set up shop, invest in and acquire land in the newly acquired territories as well as the ability to employe the native citizens of the territories. The issue caused controversy and outrage from the Whig Party who denounced it as an act of "corporate imperialism" since the act didn't address wages, working conditions and housing for native employees working for Northeastern companies. The controversy soon became a national issue and resulted in a major divide in the Liberal-Republicans which was exploited by the Whigs in the 1902 presidential election who nominated Theodorus Roosevelt as their candidate to run against Hill. The new Whig government forced the Liberal-Republicans back into the opposition and Hill was voted out of power and succeeded by Robert Lansing, Senator from Adirondack, as leader of the party in the 1921 leadership election.
Lansing was also sworn in as the Congressional Opposition Leader, the first political to hold both posts, and had lead the Liberal-Republican opposition to Roosevelt's Whig government throughout the 1900s and into the 1910s. Lansing had helped reorganize and reunify the party and pushed it in a more economically liberal direction as a means of coopting Whig policies in order to win over some Whig voters. Lansing had received support from most of the party, but faced heavy internal opposition from conservative members of his party many of whom broke off and formed the Independent Republican Party in 1912 which would last until 1920. Lansing's leadership remained strong and eventually ran for president in 1914 and won. He was inaugurated on January 20, 1915 and was elected into office over half a year after the outbreak of World War I. The Great War was a major issue that effected all of Anglo-America along with the Northeast Union. Most Northeasterners opposed entering into the war, though public opinion had shifted in response to the sinking of the RMS Lusitania on May 7, 1915 which became a pressing issue for Lansing's government. The Northeast Union favored the Entente and Northeastern merchant ships were traveling to the United Kingdom and France since 1914. In 1916, the Northeast Union joined the war in response to continued attacks on Northeastern shipping by the German Empire and Lansing formally declared war on the Central Powers. In April 1917, he traveled to Washington D.C. to attend the Washington Declaration and raised Northeastern Army units to add to the American Expeditionary Forces. Lansing would serve as president until he stepped down in 1922 and was succeeded by Willem Roodvelt who served two terms and concluded his presidency at the start of the Great Depression.
Great Depression and World War II
During his tenure as Opposition Leader, Harrison had opposed most of the Social Democrats' policies, but did vote in favor of a nation-wide reconstruction project and was in favor of meeting the demands of the Agrarian Protectionists. Hoping to convince the protectionists to break away from the SDP or at the very least weaken their influence in the government, Harrison had the Liberal-Republicans draw up plans to invest in rural communities, fund programs to rebuild farms affected by the Dust bowl, and attempt to revitalize the rural communities and states of the Northeast Union in the hopes of gaining more ground and competing more with the SDP, who had the most influence in such areas next to the Agrarian Protectionists. The 1930s proved to be a very challenging time for the Liberal-Republicans as the Social Democrats proved to be a more formidable opponent and their entry into politics had shocked the political status-quo. The collapse of the Whig Party was also a concern and privately Harrison had convened with Whig members of Congress and attempted to have them join the Liberal-Republicans saying how the Whig Party would collapse as a result of the SDP and their platform appealed far more to the Whig base than the Whigs' own platform. Following the outbreak of World War II in 1939, Harrison had sided with the SDP to supply the Allies and was an early proponent for getting involved in the war. After Anglo-America formally entered into World War II by 1941, Harrison had signed the declaration of war on the Axis Powers and gave many speeches rallying Northeastern citizens to join the army and fight in Europe. Harrison was a proponent of conscription and was a key architect behind the National Service Act of 1942 which raised hundreds of thousands of troops for the Allied war effort.
In 1943, Harrison was facing criticism and internal opposition from Joseph W. Summers, a Representative from New Hampshire, who accused Harrison of being not strong enough in opposing the Social Democratic government and claimed that Harrison would be a weak Opposition Leader once the war had ended and wartime bipartisanship came to an end. Summers managed to gain support from within the party and a snap leadership election was held on May 18, 1944 which saw Summers win by 2% and became the new Opposition Leader and party leader. Knowing how close the race was, Harrison was chosen to be the Chairman of the Liberal-Republican National Committee and still held a high-ranking position within the party. Summers helped continue the wartime bipartisanship and continued working with the Social Democratic-led government. After Gregoriis had died in 1945, he was succeeded by O'Malley. Summers ran in the 1946 presidential election against O'Malley and chose Harrison as his running mate. He ultimately lost and remained party leader and head of the Congressional Opposition. Summers would later run again in 1950 and win the 1950 election and was sworn in on January 20, 1951.
Summers era and 1960s
The failed invasion of Manchuria was a major controversy that plagued his administration, but Summers had defended his position and ran for re-election in the 1954 presidential election where he claimed that the preservation of Korea as a sovereign independent state was a victory for Anglo-America and the Northeast Union. His electoral opponents were Social Democrat Joseph McCarran and Agrarian Protectionist Greg Anderson. Summers would ultimately win with 51% of the total vote and securing most votes from the electoral college. He was sworn in on January 20, 1955 for a second term and the Liberal-Republicans maintained their congressional majority. Summers' conservative stance made him controversial within the party and was used by many hard-left members of the SDP to run a more populist and openly social democratic candidate in the next election after Summers' presidency had come to an end. In the 1958 presidential election, the Liberal-Republicans ran Frederick Irons as the primary candidate against the Social Democrat Patrick Robert Murphy. Murphy would win with over two-thirds of the vote and saw the SDP win a new legislative majority and the Liberal-Republicans forced back into the opposition. Summers' ideology had continued to impact and influence the party and its platform throughout the 1960s, though there would be efforts towards liberalization towards its stance towards social issues and some economic issues.
1970s and Hildreth revolution
Post-Hildreth period
Contemporary era
Ideology and platform
Throughout the 19th century and well into the 20th century, the Liberal-Republican Party was a largely centrist political party that focused on obtaining the support from what they called the "national consensus". The party moderate on social issues, partially conservative on cultural issues and on economics leaned in a conservative direction supporting free trade. In the 1930s, the party had altered their platform to appeal more towards working class voters in response to the rise of the Social Democrats into power. In the 1930s, the party appealed to residents living in the southern counties of the Northeast Union, especially those in the Hudson Valley and would make gains in parts of the center of the country as a result of forging policies to appeal more towards rural voters in response to the rise of the Agrarian Party. All areas remain strongholds for the party in the modern era.
In the 1950s and up until the 1980s, the party adopted a more conservative direction due to Summers' election as President with the party embracing a conservative stance on social and cultural issues throughout the 1950s, especially in regards to Lovecraftianism. While Derlethian and especially Cthulhuian branches were left alone and even considered true religions, Nyarlathotepian and independent branches were denounced as corrupt and violent cults. By the late 80s the party would adopt a big tent approach and attempt to appeal to as many voters across the political spectrum as possible. This resulted in the party winning over many upper class, wealthy and affluent voters such as college graduates, Ivy League students and academia, upper-class communities and big business. In the modern era, the party has embraced a center-left platform espousing social and cultural liberalism on social and cultural issues and is in favor of moderate intervention in the economy, but believes that intervention is only warranted during extreme circumstances and economic emergencies. The Liberal-Republican base is made up of wealthy upper-class citizens and areas of the country and has considerable support amongst many small business and big business in general (next to the Libertarians) and has a relatively large appeal amongst middle class youths and some racial minorities, especially Afro-Caribbean and Asian communities.
Social issues
The Liberal-Republican Party has changed positions on social issues throughout its entire history multiple times and has varied due to specific time periods, culture, and/or the stances of high-ranking party leaders and presidents. During the party's early years, it had adopted an ardent anti-slavery platform due to the party's founder, John Page, having been an abolitionist during his time as the Republican Governor of Vermont. Slavery remained illegal and the Liberal-Republicans ran on a platform of opposing slavery and granting civil rights to all African citizens of the Northeast Union and passing laws granting citizenship to all emancipated slaves living in the Northeast Union. Women's suffrage had been a major controversy in the party as more progressive leaning Liberal-Republicans supported it while conservative members opposed it. The division was based upon geography as Liberal-Republicans living in the Hudson Valley and coastal areas supported it while those in rural communities opposed it. Since the 1980s, the Liberal-Republicans have adopted a cultural and social liberal approach and all social issues on the party platform are in a liberal direction including a focus on improving gender and racial equality including support easy access to abortion and birth control along with lowering the gender wage gap on gender issues and support for a pathway to citizenship and addressing racial inequality on race issues.
Economic issues
The Liberal-Republicans on average have leaned in a capitalist direction since its early years. During the two-party era from 1870-1922 the Liberal-Republicans were opposed to most economic restrictions, a federal minimum wage and restrictions on trade in contrast to the more progressive-leaning Whig Party. In the 1930s, the party supported a $4.00 minimum wage and was more open to economic regulations, but were opposed to any attempt to dismantle capitalism and were largely hesitant on a mixed economy, though support for a mixed economy rose in the 1970s and became engrained into the party's platform in 1987. In the modern era the party supports moderate social intervention, supports raising the wage to $11.40 an hour and also support for what they call a "moderate sized" welfare state. The Liberal-Republicans also favor a social safety net, but are largely opposed to expanding it to larger levels as proposed by the Social Democrats. Due to its big tent nature, issues such as the minimum wage, social intervention, and trade vary widely depending on ideological faction of the party with classical liberals supporting a more laissez-fair approach and progressives favoring a moderately left-wing approach to such issues.
Foreign policy
The Liberal-Republicans have been in the center in terms of foreign policy. By and large the party is opposed to war and favor diplomacy over immediate foreign intervention, though will carry out foreign intervention if the national security of the Northeast Union was ever threatened. Such a position has been party of the party since its creation from the opposition to war in the 19th century to aversion to modern wars in the Middle East in the modern era. While the party favors diplomacy over immediate intervention, the Liberal-Republicans are largely committed to achieving all objectives of any war the country is involved in and are opposed to immediate withdraw fearing that it will embolden the country's enemies. The party is supportive of the both the Conference of American States and the League of Nations supporting peacemaking efforts and providing financial and material support to any CAS or LN peacekeeping efforts worldwide. Liberal-Republicans are generally supportive of the CAS and favor brining in new members and expanding the intergovernmental organization. The party also favors opening up peace negotiations between the CAS and Mexico in hopes of bringing the country back into he conference.
Organization
Structure
The Liberal-Republican National Committee is the highest-ranking organ of the Liberal-Republican Party as a whole. The LPNC is the leading organization of the party that serves as the party's primary governing body which organizes strategy for Liberal-Republican candidates, supporting Liberal-Republican candidates, and overseeing party affairs and conduct along with maintaining contact between the state branches of the party and its central leadership. The National Committee also overseas the Liberal-Republican National Convention every four years to select a candidate for the presidency and to formulate the party's platform. While the committee aids in the election of candidates, they have no authority over said officials in the event they are elected. The committee is lead by a chair, but can also be co-lead by the party leader in the event they are elected into office and aren't the Opposition Leader.
State and territorial branches
The Liberal-Republican Party has various branches in all thirteen states in the Northeast Union and in the capital district of New Haven. State party branches are typically funded via donations from either registered voters, funds raised from organizations or from wealthy supporters, the latter of which is highly controversial. Each state branch has its own committee, internal organizations, and party leaders along with majority and opposition leaders within state legislatures and local government seats. State party leaders are largely autonomous and state parties oversee their own affairs having only a small group of delegates that keep in contact with state branches and the LRNC. State committees oversee the activities of the party in their respective states, formulates the party platform, and helps candidates in their respective elections. The Liberal-Republicans also have affiliates in all of the country's overseas territories which are their own autonomous political parties with their own leaders, committees, and organizations and have the most autonomy of any affiliated party of the Liberal-Republicans, though they keep in contact via territorial delegates to the Northeastern Congress.
Notable territorial affiliates of the Liberal-Republican Party are;
| Party | Territory | Seats/Total | Leader | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| National Republican Party |  Puerto Rico
|
37 / 150
|
Carmelo Abellán | Opposition |
| Progressive Republican Party |  Bermuda
|
63 / 140
|
Jacob P. Davidson | Majority government |
| Liberal Party of the Virgin Islands |  Northeast Virgin Islands
|
5 / 25
|
Darian Rush | Opposition |
| National Liberal Party |  Florida Keys
|
5 / 50
|
Leon M. Bennett | Third Party |
Voter base
The Liberal-Republicans generally speaking have a diverse coalition of voters with the biggest being Asian and Afro-Caribbean minorities, white upper class college graduates, big business, and Dutch-Northeasterners. The party is known for holding much of its support in the northwest, the Hudson Valley, and southern New England. Many religious minorities such as Jews and Muslims also tend to vote Liberal-Republican and much of the youth vote is often aligned with the Liberal-Republics, though both the LRP and the SDP generally dominate in the youth vote since the mid-2010s. Academia, wealthy professionals, and Ivy League alumni have traditionally supported the Liberal-Republicans and win their support more than most other political parties in the country.
Political positions
Economic issues
- Expand the Retirement Protection Program and other social safety programs.
- Cut taxes for lower and middle class citizens and small business owners.
- Expand access to college and higher education.
- Support of universal access to healthcare.
- Impose a carbon tax.
- Mandate equal pay for equal work regardless of race, religion and gender.
Social issues
- Continue to support same-sex marriage and civil unions.
- Allow easy and legal access to abortion and birth control.
- Uphold net neutrality.
- Impose privacy laws and curtail state surveillance.
- Oppose and end the usage of torture.
- Expand usage of green energy.
- Defend the freedom from and freedom of religion.
Foreign policy
- Support a partial withdraw from Pashtunistan.
- Oppose aid to foreign dictatorships.
- Support and grow the Conference of American States.
- Strengthen ties with the rest of Anglo-America.
- Support democratic movements in Asia and the Middle East.
- Support and defend Internet freedom worldwide.
Party leaders
| No | Name (Born-Died) |
Portrait | Term in Office | Elections | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | John B. Page (1826-1885) |
|
May 18th, 1868 | January 20th, 1879 | 1870 1874 |
Party factions
Progressive Caucus
The Progressive Caucus is a left-wing faction of the Liberal-Republican Party that espouses left-wing populism, progressivism, and social democracy. The Progressive Caucus is generally speaking more left-leaning than the rest of the party and is commonly referred to as the progressive wing, liberal wing and left wing of the party. The party holds similar positions to the Social Democrats, but are more moderate than the SDP with the Progressive Caucus being compared to the soft-left faction of the SDP which favors traditional social democracy and the Nordic model while not seeking a post-capitalist system. All such positions are held by the Progressive Caucus and generally does well in many coastal areas in the north, especially in Connecticut and Rhode Island. The party supports raising the minimum wage, opposed to economic protectionism, outsourcing and is more cautious of free-trade deals citing concerns over outsourcing of manufacturing jobs and replacing them with automation. The party is generally in favor of adopting a center-left position and is more critical and opposed to a big tent/catch all direction arguing that it leaves the party without a clear and cohesive identity. The most well known member of the caucus is Isabelle Anderson from Massachusetts and generally speaking has the most support among the Liberal-Republican base which is more sympathetic of progressive policies.
Classical Liberal Coalition
The Classical Liberal Coalition is a faction of the Liberal-Republicans that espouse classical liberalism, economic freedom and cultural liberalism, though some members of the party adhere to fiscal conservatism and liberal conservatism. The party is generally considered to be the centrist wing of the party and is referred to as such in media coverage and reporting on the Liberal-Republican Party as a whole. The party was formed in the 1950s during Summers' presidency and rose in the 1980s and 90s. In the modern era, the CLC is the largest faction of the party in terms of influence and control over in-party politics, seats, and internal affairs. The Classical Liberals have much of their support in the center of the country, the Hudson Valley and most of Long Island outside of the New York Metropolitan Area which is under Social Democratic control politically. The CLC gained large-scale coverage in the 2019 leadership election where its leader, John H. Steyer, was elected the leader of the party which drew criticism due to his sympathy towards big business, hesitancy to progressive policies and being more sympathetic towards more conservative and libertarian members of the party. The CLC generally favors a big tent direction.
Blue Dog Coalition
The Blue Dog Coalition is a caucus that identifies as a centrist fiscally conservative faction of the Liberal-Republican Party. Members, commonly known as Blue Dogs, generally come from areas of the Northeast Union where the Libertarians and to a lesser degree, the New Republicans have the most influence in local, county and legislative seats and offices. Members are generally more moderate and centrist-leaning and are more adverse to center-left, social democratic, and progressive policies, but voice support to socially liberal policies. The party is largely fiscally conservative and are opposed to a large welfare state, high taxes, and high levels of government spending and seek to reduce the levels of public spending. Blue Dogs are also more supportive of privatizing certain areas of spending such as healthcare and the more conservative members favor private and charter schools in terms of education.