Fort Worth 12-year-old is trying to start a political party
SMU Political Science Professor Cal Jillson talks about a Fort Worth 12-year-old who is trying to start a political party after becoming exasperated with the partisanship of the two major political parties.
By ANNA M. TINSLEY
FORT WORTH -- Connor Brantley is just 12 years old, but he's already tired of the bitter partisanship in politics.
And he's ready to do something about it.
The McLean Middle School seventh-grader is working to create the United Party to someday give voters and politicians alike an alternative to the strong two-party system of Democrats and Republicans.
"It's so partisan in Washington," Connor said. "Just think, if [members of Congress] could just one day work and actually do what they are elected to do.
"If they could just work together without partisanship ... they'd actually work together to get things done."
Connor is on the verge of filing paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to create the party. All that's left is making sure that he and his parents will have no financial liability. . .
"The two major parties get the vast majority of votes," said Cal Jillson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. "It's nice that he has an interest in politics and a concern about the current state of our political affairs. But the more he learns about how steep this hill is, the better Little League will look to him."
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