Civic Democratic Party of the Antilles

  

Civic Democratic Party
Chairperson	William Abernathy
Senate Minority Leader	Franklin Perry
House Minority Leader	William Abernathy
Founded	January 1, 1991 (1991-01-01)
Preceded by	Liberal Party Reform Party Civic National Party
Headquarters	141 Westend Street Columbia City
Student wing	Civic Colliegates
Youth wing	Civic Youth of America
Membership	3.1 million (2020)
Ideology	Majority:  • Social Liberalism  • Modern Liberalism  • Progressivism  • American Unionism Factions:  • Centrism  • Antillean nationalism  • Anti-Landonism
Political position	Center left
International affiliation	Liberal International
American affiliation	Liberal Democrats of America (observer)
Official colors	Light Blue
Senate	10 / 28
House of Representatives	108 / 234
Governorships	3 / 4
Politics of the Antilles · Political parties · Elections

The Civic Democratic Party is a center-left and liberal political party in the United Commonwealth of America, or the Antilles. Founded in 1991, the Civic Democratic Party is currently the main opposition party in the Antilles, and is considered one of the two major political parties of the nation, along with its historic rival, the Federalist Party. The party was formed following a merger between the main liberal and progressive parties that were formed following the start of democratization in 1983; the Liberal, Reform, and Civic National parties in response to the competition of said parties dividing up the non-Federalist opposition and preventing them from being politically effective in opposing the Federalist Party in government. The party was founded by several pro-democracy activists Joseph Williams, Michelle Palin, and Thomas Marshall, the latter of which was elected president in 1992 where he became the first non-Federalist president in Antillean history to hold in the office.

Throughout his presidency, Marshall implemented a number of liberal reforms including the continuation and expansion of democratic reforms, backing limitations to the powers of the presidency, as well as expanding anti-discrimination protections towards ethnic and racial minorities, women, and the LGBT community. Marshall oversaw the appointment of the first liberal justices to the Supreme Court, the expansion of the social safety net, and a non-interventionist and non-antagonistic foreign policy which in turn lead to greater contact and interaction with the wider international community and an increase in both tourism and foreign investment, adding billions into the nation's economy. Due to his successes as president, Marshall would be re-elected in 1996 and the Civic Democrats saw modest success down ballot holding onto their majorities in both chambers of Congress, but would lose them during the 2000 elections that saw Carlton Woodbridge elected president and the Federalists regain power.

Throughout the 2000s, the Civic Democrats opposed the conservative policy and political agenda of Woodbridge, especially as several liberal policies from Marshall's presidency were overturned under his administration. While struggling during the first half of his presidency including a loss in 2004, the party returned to power in the 2006 midterm elections and later recaptured the presidency in 2008 with the election of Jim Cooper from Puerto Rico. As president, Cooper passed a number of liberal and progressive policies and legislation similar to that of Marshall. While more controversial, the party was able to retain their legislative majorities in the 2010 midterm elections, however a controversial meeting between Cooper and Continental leader Helene Poirier in 2011 caused signifiant backlash and contributed to the party's historic loss in the 2012 elections with Cooper being defeated by Michael Abarough during the presidential election that year, the first time a president lost re-election in Antillean history. Since 2013, the Civic Democrats have been in the opposition and after several years of electoral losses due to Cooper's meeting, the party has been gradually improving its electoral performances nationally and has been gaining more seats under current party chair William Abernathy, who was the party's nominee for president in 2020, but has remained in the opposition.

Ideologically, the Civic Democratic Party is liberal and has supported economic and social liberal policies since its inception with the party becoming more socially progressive since the 2000s. Economically, the Civic Democrats support a nationwide minimum wage, regulation of the country's gambling industry, cracking down on offshore tax havens within the country, a strong social safety net, and greater regulation of the economy to crack down on monopolies and the economic and political influence of major corporations. Socially, the party supports legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide and expanding anti-discrimination protections and other rights for LGBT Antilleans as well as liberalizing the strict abortion laws as well as addressing economic and social inequalities between White and non-White Antilleans. In terms of foreign policy, the party supports cooperation with other nations and greater integration into the international community, including full membership in major international organizations such as the League of Nations, of which it has been an observer states since 2010, and full accession into the Conference of American States and to join the Northern Treaty Organization for protection, being a major non-NTO ally since 1989. While officially neutral in regards to the political status of the Antilles, the Civic Democratic Party has seen an increase in support for the Antillean independence movement and greater influence of Antillean nationalists, starting in 2020 with the nomination of William Abernathy as the party's nominee for president and has continued throughout the 2020s.

The Civic Democratic Party's base primarily consists of young voters, especially aged 18 to 25, women, ethnic and racial minorities, as well as urban voters. Much of the party's support comes from major cities and urban areas as well as rural areas in Cuba, though has support in Cuba's cities. Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands have consistently voted for the Civic Democratic Party while the party has been the governing party of Cuba since 2021 and is the second largest party in Hispaniola. As of 2024, the Civic Democrats hold 108 seats in the House of Representatives, 10 seats in the Senate, and three of the four main governorships as well as majorities in the commonwealth legislatures of Cuba, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico.

Ideology and positions

Main article: Political positions of the Civic Democratic Party (Antilles)

Platform

Economic policies

• Legalize labor unions and repeal all anti-union laws.
• Increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour.
• Address economic disparities between white and non-white Antilleans.

Social issues

• Legalize same-sex marriage in the Antilles.
• Strike down all laws restricting LGBT rights in the Antilles.
• Legalize abortion nationwide and oppose almost all restrictions on it.

Foreign policy

• Support Antillean ascension to the Conference of American States.
• Support Antillean membership in the Northern Trearty Organization.
• Support Antillean independence.

Organization

National committee

The Civic Democratic National Committee (CDNC) is responsible for promoting Civic Democratic campaign activities and also controls the Civic Democratic Political Fund (CDPF), responsible for raising campaign funds. The CDPC is responsible for overseeing the process of writing the Civic Democratic Platform, and running the party's primaries prior to the general election. While the CDPC is responsible for the party's public policy it is more focused on the party's campaign and organizational strategy. Every four years it supervises the Civic Democratic National Convention. The national convention is subject to the charter of the party and and has ultimate authority over the Civic Democratic Party when it is in secession. The current chairman of the CDPC is William Abernathy.

Major party groups

Main article: Civic Democratic Party (Antilles) organizations

See also

• Political parties in the Antilles
• Liberalism in the Antilles
• Unionist Democratic Party (United Commonwealth)