OPINION: Party of teetotalers takes aim at cigarettes

Apr. 2—The Prohibition Party is in the midst of an unwanted dry spell that seems endless.

Many residents of modern America have never heard of the party of teetotalers, established in 1869. The reason is its greatest victories occurred more than a century ago.

Sidney Johnston Catts was the Prohibition Party's most successful candidate, winning election as governor of Florida. That was in 1916.

Catts called himself the "Cracker Messiah," and he spoke of burning books in libraries, as well as banning booze.

The Prohibition Party's influence on public policy peaked as Catts' four-year term wound to a close. The nationwide ban on alcohol began in 1920 and lasted until 1933.

Prohibition's end didn't kill the political party, but it's barely alive.

Not since 1992 has the Prohibition Party fielded a presidential candidate in New Mexico. Its nominee that year was Earl Dodge of Colorado.

He was the Prohibition Party's sociable national chairman and perennial candidate, running for president six times from 1984 to 2004. When Dodge wasn't campaigning for the nation's highest office, he ran for governor of Colorado, U.S. senator from Kansas and regent of the University of Colorado.

He never came close to winning, but he was a relentless advocate for a dry country. Dodge said America was better during Prohibition because alcoholism and jail populations decreased. He considered bootlegging gangsters less dangerous than alcohol being readily available in stores and restaurants.

Dodge, who died in 2007, wouldn't approve of today's pervasive cannabis stores any more than he did of neighborhood taverns. He might also be sullen over the Prohibition Party's head-hurting statements about drinking.

"The alcohol question is the Prohibition Party's unique, signature issue," the platform states. "We recognize that the use of alcohol and other recreational drugs is not only a personal but a broader social issue. The individual, and their right to drink if they wish, is not the cause — rather, the cause is the underlying organized liquor traffic and the subordination of uniformed Americans for profit."

Whatever that's supposed to mean is open to guesses. Another section of the party's position is less muddy.

Prohibitionists are calling for a ban on advertising of alcohol, similar to the restriction on cigarettes. Party members say cutting off advertising would reduce alcohol consumption.

But tobacco is the substance today's Prohibition Party seems intent on stamping out. "We oppose tobacco in all its forms, including vaping," its platform reads.

Californian Michael Wood, this year's presidential nominee of the Prohibition Party, wrote an essay applauding New Zealand for banning cigarette sales to people born after 2008. Tobacco producers had nothing to fear. New Zealand's newly elected government repealed the ban in February to help pay for tax cuts.

Still, the possibility of banning tobacco takes up a sizable portion of the 2,600-word platform of the Prohibition Party. It calls tobacco use the leading cause of preventable deaths in the United States.

Wood in a separate essay cited the short-lived New Zealand ban as a model for what the United States could do to reduce smoking. But with cannabis legal in most of the United States, odds are the Prohibition Party won't make headway on curbing tobacco or alcohol use.

Dodge knew his party was in trouble during his 1992 campaign for president. He made the ballot in New Mexico, but received only 120 votes.

He fared worse in his adopted state of Colorado, where he had 21 votes after being relegated to write-in status.

His successors in leading the Prohibition Party have tried to broaden its reach in hopes of gaining relevancy. They have taken positions on agriculture policy, ballot access, environmental concerns, health care, ethics in government and many other subjects.

On abortion, the Prohibition Party isn't as restrictive as its name. "We believe that each woman should have the right to decide based on her own conscience," its platform states.

Sidney Johnston Catts didn't have to concern himself with many issues during his campaign for governor of Florida.

He railed against alcohol, Catholics and literature he claimed was distasteful. His approach proved to be a winning formula in what then was a mostly rural state of 925,000 residents.

Today's candidates of the Prohibition Party have almost nothing in common with Catts. But they're in a bad spot — unelectable regardless of whether voters discover them or not.

Ringside Seat is an opinion column about people, politics and news. Contact Milan Simonich at msimonich@sfnewmexican.com or 505-986-3080.