U.S. Labor Party
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Founded | 1973 |
Dissolved | 1979 |
Succeeded by | National Democratic Policy Committee |
Ideology | LaRouchism |
Political position | Left-wing, later right-wing |
International affiliation | LaRouche movement |
The U.S. Labor Party (USLP) was a political party formed in 1973 by the National Caucus of Labor Committees (NCLC). It served as a vehicle for Lyndon LaRouche to run for President of the United States in 1976, but it also sponsored many candidates for local offices and Congressional and Senate seats between 1972 and 1979. After that the political arm of the NCLC was the National Democratic Policy Committee. The party was the subject of a number of controversies and lawsuits during its short existence.
At first the party was leftist, "preaching Marxist revolution." A state leader described the aims of the party and its organ, New Solidarity, as supporting the working class against capitalism, Nelson Rockefeller, and Leonard Woodcock, head of the United Auto Workers. The USLP predicted collapse of the monetary system by November 1976 and thermonuclear war by 1977. It opposed the Rockefeller family and had a reputation for harassing the Communist Party, the United Auto Workers, and other political foes. In a 1974 interview, the USLP candidate for Governor of Michigan characterized the Watergate scandal as a "deliberate attempt" to discredit Richard Nixon and weaken the presidency.
By 1977 the party had shifted from left-wing to right-wing politics.
The U.S. Labor Party was noted for its controversial campaign tactics, and its invective against other politicians.Nelson Rockefeller, the former Governor of New York who was nominated to be Vice President by Gerald Ford in 1974, was an early target of the USLP's attention. During the Senate's confirmation hearings, LaRouche appeared on behalf of the USLP as a witness against Rockefeller's nomination. He testified that a USLP survey showed 90 percent of U.S. workers and the unemployed hated Rockefeller.