Ed Noonan of the American Independent Party -- the vehicle that
supported George Wallace's 1968 presidential campaign and now
exists only in California -- has broken with the national Constitution
Party and filed
paperwork to reaffiliate with America's Independent Party, a
vehicle for supporting Alan Keyes's 2008 presidential campaign. The
California delegation was Keyes's biggest bloc of support at the
Constitution Party's national convention in April, where he
lost the presidential nomination to Chuck
Baldwin. If Noonan's move stands, Keyes will get the American
Independent Party's ballot line in California and the America's
Independent Party will surpass the Constitution Party as the third
largest political party in terms of voter registration (both
parties' claims are inflated by Californians who believe they are
registering as independents).
This being third-party politics, however, it is by no means
clear that Noonan's action will stand. His critics argue that a
majority of party activists reaffirmed Baldwin as the nominee at
their state convention last weekend and support continued
affiliation with the Constitution Party. Some of Noonan's critics
dispute his standing as state party chair while Noonan disputes his
critics' legal standing. This will turn into a legal standoff, just
like the war between competing versions of the Reform Party and the
Prohibition Party.
UPDATE: In case I didn't make it clear enough, I don't think the
Noonan faction's claims are valid. It was made by about four people
without the required notice. The state convention supported
Baldwin and the Constitution
Party.
topics:
Constitution
