About ABC

Mission Statement

The ABC Party is a community of like-minded people who believe that conservatives – and the right-wing ideology of fear, aggression, cronyism, corruption, intolerance, incompetence, militarism and backward thinking on which it increasingly appears to be based – are out of step with the values of the vast majority of North Americans.  

The goal of the ABC Party is to identify and confront conservative thinking wherever it surfaces – politics, business, media, entertainment – and look for progressive, forward-thinking alternatives. 

We genuinely believe the Right is wrong for our future. This stems from a belief that conservatism has values that are more than just out of sync with that of mainstream North Americans; they are demonstrably harmful to human progress. 

While the ABC Party strongly believes in the value of debate and the inherent virtue of divergent opinions, it is our belief that present day conservatism contradicts the core values of what it means to be a caring and compassionate human being. It is our mission to expose how the conservative set of values is bad for humanity. 

We believe that many issues in life are not and should not be identified by where they sit on the political spectrum. Issues like healthcare, the environment, war and peace, are common sense issues. It just so happens that we believe all of the positions that are beneficial to humankind can be found on the liberal side of the political spectrum. 

We believe it is our moral responsibility to take care of those who are less fortunate in society. The Right’s “you’re on your own” mindset is not good for people or the planet. 

Our goal is to track, analyze and expose right-wing hypocrisy and propaganda – whether it surfaces in politics, business or the media – in order to show how conservative ideology does more harm than good for the human condition.

We do this because we are young and we don’t want to inherit the kind of world that modern conservatism seems to envision. We do this because we are young at heart and we are concerned about the kind of world we are leaving for our children. 

Wherever and whenever we can, the ABC Party will use empirical facts to support its arguments, and when we can’t, common sense, logic and reason will be our guide as well as our best defense. After all, truth is on our side. 

Our Core Beliefs 

HEALTH CARE

We believe that universal health care is a sacrosanct part of the human condition and a basic right of everyone on earth. Taking care of others should be the priority, not making money. 

We believe that making sure the less fortunate in society are taken care of is a compelling moral issue, a compulsory requirement for decent people that transcends politics, religion, class, ethnicity and culture. 

We believe the Golden Rule of treating others the way you would want to be treated isn’t a political or philosophical perspective; it’s a commonsense, moral imperative. 

We fervently believe healthcare is not a partisan issue – it is a basic human right. 

WAR

We believe that war is awful and should be avoided almost at all cost. Fighting against the Nazis was just; starting an unnecessary war in Iraq on false pretenses is morally reprehensible. 

We believe that the military/industrial complex’s thirst for never-ending profits is a major cause of war. 

We believe that preaching democracy while waging war is a lie. 

 

CHILD POVERTY

We believe child poverty is an unconscionable blight on the developed world. As rich and as prosperous as we are, eradicating child poverty should be one of our government’s main priorities.  

IRAQ WAR

We strongly believe that the U.S.-led war in Iraq is immoral, illegal and unnecessary. It was and continues to be a war of lies. 

The idea of bringing peace to a country by bombing it, killing hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqis and displacing over three million more {Amnesty International. Apr 16/07} is preposterous.  

 

PEACE

We believe that desiring peace is not a radical position, not something to be ashamed of, but rather a basic human desire. 

We believe that war only benefits the military-industrial complex; it is catastrophically awful for everyone else who doesn’t share in the profits of war and death.  

Like so many issues that confront humanity, desiring peace is not a left/right, liberal/conservative issue, it is a common sense wish for all of humanity. We don’t understand why the default conservative position is so pro-war and anti-peace.

MILITARISM

The ABC Party believes that the military/industrial complex wields too much power and influence not just in our society, but around the world, and that all nations would be better served spending money on hospitals, schools and roads rather than on the killing machines of war. 

The belief that this is a common sense position that has nothing to do with a left/right, liberal/conservative, democrat/republican paradigm stems in large from the obscene cost of the war in Iraq, which as of June 2008 stands at $400 million every day. 

 

ISRAELI/PALESTINE CONFLICT

We understand that the Middle East is a complex issue and it is precisely because the issue is so sensitive and complicated that the ABC Party demands that the issues be looked at honestly and without bias. 

The Israeli/Palestinian issue requires nuance, honesty and fairness. Israel has every right to security and stability for its people but the ongoing human rights abuses being perpetrated against Palestine by the state of Israel is morally wrong. 

This is not an anti-Israeli position, it is a pro-honesty position. 

ENVIRONMENT

The ABC Party believes the climate crisis as being an enormously important issue. 

We deplore those on the right who seek to obfuscate and deny the realities of global warming when the scientific community is virtually unanimous in agreement about what is happening to the environment and what we need to do in order to ensure we leave our children an earth that is healthy and sustainable. 

 

ACTIVISM

Conservatives have been very successful in framing the concept of ‘activism’ as a negative thing. The ABC Party fervently believes the exact opposite to be true: doing nothing is what should be regarded as negative. Like the cliché says, the “best way for evil to succeed is for good people to do nothing.” Activism, doing something to make our world a better place, is noble. We want to reclaim activism as the positive mindset it is. 

We believe in civic engagement, the idea that by being active and involved we can shape the communities in which we live.

 

SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE

The growing influence of religion in American politics and its ugly intrusion into how we are governed is another core reason for the existence of the ABC Party. 

Religious belief should be an individual matter and not one of national governance. This is not an anti-religious stance. The ABC Party has no problems with religions of any kind, but it has enormous problems when any one particular religion seeps into the way a country is governed. 

Because much of what is wrong with America can, in our opinion, be traced directly or indirectly to the erosion of the common sense belief in the separation of church and state, we believe the best way to make sure that religion stays out of politics is to vote for anyone but conservatives, far and away the political ideology most susceptible to being seduced by religious extremism.

CRIME AND PUNISHMENT

We believe putting more people in jail is not the best way to address crime. Dealing with the root societal causes of crime – poverty, alienation, injustice – is a much better way of addressing the issue. Focusing on prevention and rehabilitation is better than focusing on punishment and retribution. 

As with peace, the environment, healthcare and many other issues, crime and punishment should not be regarded as a partisan issue – it is a common sense issue. 

This is a common theme for the ABC Party; the idea that the most important issues in life should be common sense issues, not political issues. But because modern day conservatism has politicized these issues, and because its core values of fear, intolerance and militarism seem to run counter what is best for our world, we believe that anyone but conservatives should be elected.

 

GUNS

We strongly believe in gun control. America is the most violent society on earth and much of that is due to the prevalence of guns. Loopholes need to be closed and the gun lobby needs to be fought at every turn. 

Despite what the NRA would like conservatives to believe, owning a gun is not “ a gift from God.” 

As with so many other issues espoused by progressives, gun control should be a basic issue of common sense. AK-47s do not belong on the streets.