Main Page | See live article | Alphabetical index Founded in the 1960's as a left-wing party opposed to the Vietnam War, the PFP reached its peak of support in 1968 when it nominated Black Panther leader Eldridge Cleaver for President. Although a convicted felon, Cleaver carried nearly 37,000 votes. Famed "baby doctor" Benjamin Spock — a Democratic Socialist and staunch opponent of the Vietnam War — was the PFP Presidential nominee in 1972. Since then, the PFP was often used by smaller extremist groups who were after its California ballot spot. In 1996, the PFP successfully blocked an attempt by the Workers World Party to capture the PFP's Presidential nomination for the WWP's Monica Moorehead. The PFP 1996 Presidential candidate, Marsh Feinland, garnered over 25,000 votes in California. Unfortunately, in 1998, the PFP failed to attract more than 2% in any statewide election, causing them to lose ballot status in the state. There is currently a legal battle (supported by prominent leftists such as Howard Zinn and Noam Chomsky) to get the PFP back on the California ballot. Hopefully, this initiative will succeed. This article is from Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.