Introduction

Party Leaders:
John Hagelin
Kingsley Brooks
Platform Summary

America’s Fastest Growing New Party

The Natural Law Party is the fastest growing new political party in America. In the 2000 election, our Natural Law-Independent coalition candidates received over 1.4 million nationwide, with many candidates winning 10%–20% of the vote and several winning 20%–30%—the highest average percentages for Natural Law candidates in any election so far. In addition, millions of citizens signed petitions to put the Natural Law Party on the ballot in their states, demonstrating the extensive grassroots support for the Party’s proven solutions to the nation’s problems.

Proven Track Record

1992 The Natural Law Party was founded in April 1992 to “bring the light of science into politics.” Its founders, a group of a dozen educators, businessmen, and lawyers, knew that field-tested solutions to America’s problems already existed but were being ignored by government, due primarily to the pervasive influence of special interests. The Party quickly qualified for the ballot in 32 states, fielded 128 candidates, and became the first party in history (after the Republicans and Democrats) to be granted “national party” status by the Federal Election Commission and to have its presidential candidate, Dr. John Hagelin, qualify for federal matching funds.

1993-94 Dr. Hagelin and his running mate, Dr. Mike Tompkins, worked on Capitol Hill to introduce language into health care legislation that would support funding for proven prevention-oriented health care programs—language that received strong support from the leadership of both the Republican and Democratic parties.

1994 By the 1994 elections, the Natural Law Party’s message was gaining widespread support. The Party’s candidates captured, on average, several times more votes than in 1992—up to 20% in some races.

1995 The Natural Law Party’s petition drives achieved ballot access in California with over 100,000 new members and in Ohio with 55,000 signatures, launching the Party into the national spotlight.

1996 In the 1996 elections, the Natural Law Party qualified for the ballot in 48 states and ran 400 candidates for federal, state, and local offices. Over 2500 newspaper articles, countless radio talk shows, and nationally televised interviews and events such as the Natural Law Party Convention and the “Larry King Live!” and C-SPAN third party debates brought the Party’s message to many millions of Americans. The public responded enthusiastically, giving the Party’s candidates 2.5 million votes nationwide. These results confirmed that the Party had taken a highly visible, powerful leadership role in U.S. politics.

1997-98 The Natural Law Party built powerful coalitions with other national organizations to promote its programs nationwide; educated the public about preventive health care; united all third parties in promoting election reform; and supported federal legislators in establishing a prevention coalition in the U.S. Congress.

1998 The Party’s 142 candidates in 24 states captured 1.2 million votes nationwide—many more votes, proportionally, than in 1996—winning up to 30% of the vote in some races.

1999 The Natural Law Party began structuring national summits on the hazards of genetically engineered foods, drawing hundreds of participants and extensive media coverage. Dr. John Hagelin announced his candidacy for both the Natural Law Party and Reform Party presidential nominations in a bid to create the most powerful coalition of independent voters in American history.

2000 Natural Law-Independent coalition candidates received over 1.4 million votes nationwide, with many candidates winning 10%–20% of the vote and several winning 20%–30%—the highest average percentages for Natural Law candidates in any previous election. The wide distribution of these successful races indicated the depth and strength of national grassroots support for our Natural Law-Independent coalition. Dr. John Hagelin’s presidential candidacy received unprecedented coverage in virtually every major newspaper in America, and Dr. Hagelin appeared on many respected national political television shows such as NBC’s “Meet the Press,” ABC’s “Nightline,” CNN’s “Burden of Proof,” Fox-TV’s “The O’Reilly Factor” and “The Edge,” and C-SPAN’s “Washington Journal.” Dr. Hagelin also spoke to millions of Americans on national radio talk shows such as NPR’s “Morning Edition,” “The Jim Bohannon Show,” and “The Michael Reagan Talk Show.”

2001 The Natural Law Party continues its work with all independent-minded voters and candidates to expand the Natural Law-Independent coalition and to demand foundational reforms—crucial solutions in education, health, crime, trade, foreign policy, and the environment—that cannot wait four more years. The successes of the 2000 presidential campaign, combined with the public support for all our Natural Law-Independent coalition candidates, demonstrates that our vision of a powerful national political coalition dedicated to commonsense solutions has become a reality.

Time for Change

Americans are tired of political gridlock, campaign mudslinging, and special-interest control of our political process. According to a Times-Mirror poll, by 1996 over two thirds of Americans favored the creation of a major third political party -- more than twice as many as in 1992, when Ross Perot won 20 million votes. In 1998, Jesse Ventura’s victory in the race for Governor of Minnesota confirmed that Americans were ready to vote third party candidates into office; indeed, the big news of the election for many newspapers was that third parties, especially the Natural Law Party, had done so well. In 2000, third party candidates continued to make significant inroads into politics. Moreover, policies championed by third parties—such as campaign finance reform—have now become part of our national political debate.

Third Party Contributions

According to many scholars, 90% of the key ideas that have shaped our democracy, such as the abolition of slavery and a woman’s right to vote, came from third parties. As former Chief Justice Earl Warren said,

All political ideas cannot and should not be channeled into the programs of our two major parties. History has amply proved the virtue of political activity by minority, dissident groups, which innumerable times have been in the vanguard of democratic thought and whose programs were ultimately accepted. The absence of such voices would be a symptom of grave illness in our society.

The Natural Law Party is introducing new ideas, new principles, and new solutions. A vote for the Natural Law Party is not a wasted vote; it is your vote of conscience for a better nation.

2000 Presidential Candidate

Dr. John Hagelin, presidential candidate for the Natural Law Party in 1992, 1996, and 2000, is a world-renowned quantum physicist and educator who has worked with Congress for two decades to introduce into government cost-effective, prevention-oriented solutions to America’s pressing problems.

Dr. Hagelin received his Ph.D. from Harvard University and conducted theoretical physics research at the European Laboratory for Particle Physics (CERN) and the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC). He has authored over 60 scientific research articles, including some of the most cited references in the physical sciences.

As Director of the Institute of Science, Technology and Public Policy, a public policy think-tank in Fairfield, Iowa, Dr. Hagelin heads a nationwide collaborative effort with scientists from other leading universities and research institutions to seek out, verify, and demonstrate cost-effective solutions to critical social problems of health care, crime, education, etc., and to shape them into public policy.