United States United Party

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The United Party is the name of an Idaho centrist political party created in 2005. It shares many of the same platform planks for the Natural Law Party. The United Party has entered into a coalition with the Idaho Natural Law Party.

[edit] History

The political party was founded by Andy Hedden-Nicely, who once owned the Boise Weekly newspaper. None of its candidates have been elected to state or federal office. It is still working on the development of its platform.

[edit] Platform and philosophy

In a December 2005 article in the Idaho Press-Tribune, several of the early members of the United Party were interviewed. They expressed support for congressional term limits, being fiscally conservative, reducing government taxes and regulations, supporting small businesses, and building a political center.

The Idaho United Party has copied, word-for-word, much of the Natural Law Party platform, and seeks to be on "the side of working families, small businesses, the self-employed, the family farms and ranches - the hard-working folks who make up the majority... advocating for the greatest common good?" [1]. Its politically centrist politics are not unlike the Independence Party of Minnesota

The party also advocates focusing more on "the real issues - the kitchen-table issues, the pocketbook issues" and less on "hot-button" divisive social issues such as abortion and gay marriage, and addressing both "kitchen-table" and "hot-button" issues from the political center.