Continentalist Party of Astoria

  

Continentalist Party of Astoria
Founder	Charles Thorton
Co-chairs	Jay Ellis Nithya Menon
Slogan	Workers of the world, unite!
Founded	October 1, 1921
Newspaper	People's World
Youth wing	Youth Continentalist League
Membership	~6,500
Ideology	Communism Marxism–Landonism Bill of Rights Landonism
Political position	Far-left
International affiliation	Landonist International
American affiliation	United Alliance of the Left
Official colors	Crimson
Senate	0 / 103
House of Commons	0 / 275
Politics of Astoria Political parties Elections

The Continentalist Party of Astoria (CPA) is a Marxist–Landonist communist political party in the nation of Astoria, established in 1921 after splitting from the Labor-Democratic Party in the aftermath of the Continental Revolution. The Continentalist Party historically modeled itself after the Continentalist Party of the United Commonwealth, and is a member of the Landonist International. It adheres to Landonist principles and elements of Continentalism, calling for cooperation with the United Commonwealth, leading to repression of its members during the Cold War.

The Continentalist Party developed from the Astorian labor movement at the turn of the 20th century, led by activists such as Charles Thorton, who took inspiration from the Continentalist movement of Aeneas Warren and Zhou Xinyue. In 1917, following the declaration of a socialist republic in the United Commonwealth, members of the leading socialist party of Astoria, the Labor-Democratic Party, declared their support for the movement in the United Commonwealth. In November 1919 several members of the Labor-Democrats, including Thorton, Lucas Armstrong, and Harvey Gibson, organized protests in Astoria in the hopes of ushering in a revolution across North America. This was in-line with the guidelines established by the Landonist International, and the general belief that the Continental Revolution would catalyze the start of a world revolution. The Continentalists offered support to rebellions and protests across North America, however, with the exception of bordering nations such as Superior, Continental aid to these rebellions was largely nonexistent. The brief Astorian socialist rebellion failed to materialize and was quickly crushed by authorities, especially after Astoria became involved in direct intervention in the United Commonwealth. While dissidence was rising from within the Labor-Democrats, the leadership of the party formally distanced themselves from such actions and condemned its insurrectionist members, allowing the party to retain positions of power, but causing the party to be criticized by left-wing groups as betraying the revolution. This caused a split in the Labor-Democrats, with its most revolutionary members forming other parties, such as the Landonist Party and the Revolutionary Socialist Party, both of which were later outlawed and several of its members arrested.

The Continentalist Party was formed on October 1, 1921 from the merger of several left-wing parties, adopting a revolutionary platform inspired by the newly created Continentalist States. Despite members of the organization being persecuted for antiwar activities, by the time of the 1925 elections the party boasted 40,000 members, advocating against racism and segregation, providing mutual aid, and organizing cultural activities. The party remained strong into the 1930s after the Great Depression disillusioned many Astorians against capitalism, however, with the outbreak of the Great War party membership began to falter. The party's stance of support for Continentalist forces in Brazoria, and later hesitance to support war against the United Commonwealth, led to the party being branded as treasonous. The party declined heavily during the war and after during the Second Red Scare. Additionally in the 1950s the party became internally divided in the wake of Decallahanization, leading to a number of splinter movements. By the 1950s it is estimated that membership had declined to 5,000, with as many as a tenth informants for the Bureau of Sovereign Defense. The Seditious and Un-Astorian Activities Act formally banned the party, although it continued to operate due to a lack of enforcement.

The party saw a minor resurgence in the late 20th century, distancing itself from the United Commonwealth after the tenure of Simon Valure. In the modern day the party's platform includes the push for a Landonist Bill of Rights, including single-payer healthcare, progressive tax, and tuition-free higher education. The party has also been outspoken against militarism and wars overseas. Currently the party does not have any representation in the Parliament of Astoria or any notable provincial offices, however, Continentalist Party cochair Nithya Menon has served on the Seattle City Council since 2016, while Karl Salisbury is a currently serving member of the borough council of Burnaby since 2020. The party is currently co-led by Jay Ellis and Nithya Menon. During the 2022 presidential election, Menon ran as the Continentalist nominee, receiving 26,247 votes, or about 0.18% of the popular vote.

Electoral results

Presidential tickets

Year	Presidental ticket	Images		Results		Ballot access	Notes
				Votes	%
2022	Nithya Menon/Dedan Tesfaye (campaign)			26,247	0.18
2018	Alex Ramierez/Angela Jackson			13,457	0.096
2014	Jay Ellis/Eric Miller			8,420	0.06
2010	Jay Ellis/Winona Lekanoff			19,539	0.14
2006	Patt McKinney/Cynthia Bishop			7,144	0.05
2002	Willa Brown/David Alexander			79,327	0.59		Endorsed Green Party ticket