Working Families Party Making Inroads
by Scott Whipple (New Britain Herald) Oct. 28th, 2008
With Election Day less than a week away, the stateÂ’s fastest-growing minor party believes it is having a major impact on the more closely watched races in the state.
According to Joe Dinkin, Working Families PartyÂ’s communications director, the party will have knocked on 50,000 doors in targeted Congressional and legislative districts by Nov. 4.
Established in 2002 in Connecticut, the Working Families Party has grown throughout the state using the strategy of cross-endorsement. When a major-party candidate is “cross-endorsed” by Working Families, the candidate’s name appears on the ballot twice, once on the major party line and again on the Working Families line. Proponents of the strategy say it allows voters to “send a message” to support the Working Families positions on issues like affordable health care and living-wage jobs, while still supporting a major party candidate who can actually win the election....
Asked about the party’s joint founder, ACORN (The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now), Dinkin said “while it’s fair to say that ACORN has a role in Working Families, allegations of voter fraud against ACORN are trumped up. At worst, a couple of people who worked for ACORN tried to cheat ACORN and not do their jobs. These people were identified and fired. I’m impressed with what a good operation they run.”
In 2000 the Associated Press reported that the WFP “was created to help push the Democratic Party toward the left.” Dinkin discounts this charge.
“We certainly have a slate of issues that appeal to blue collar workers and the middle class like affordable health care, decent living wage jobs and other ‘such radical notions,’” he said. “The idea that we’re some radical fringe group? Look at whom we’ve endorsed — Chris Murphy and John Larson.”