Obviously it was never a contender, but it once boasted the third largest third party alongside the Libertarians and Greens, so it was at least less irrelevant than the dozens of random socialist parties or the lesser paleocon parties that all have the "American", "Patriot", and/or "Freedom" in their names (see the lists on Politics1). I think the interesting thing is with its true irrelevance, who else will join the Libertarians and Greens in being irrelevant but people know they exist.
I long to see a presidential election where the third parties get to show their true powers and aren't interrupted by vanity candidates like McMullin, West, or Pierce.
Just to add my two cents here, there actually is a differing influx of people into the Libertarian Party and Greens. Libertarians are both gaining in members and representation in local and national government, the latter until the end of the current congressional session. The Green Party, while losing mostly useless members, have been gaining the scant few Bernie or Busters. They may be an irrelevant number, but they are usually young, which is something the Green Party lacks right now. They operate a role very similar to the ex-revolutionaries of various black socialist groups that came along in the 80s, which is why Black Agenda Report is close to them and why Ajamu Bakur is in a party of upper crust granola people. I agree with you on the last point that vanity candidates are annoying
Both parties have their relevance in the two major parties stealing their ideas. Libertarians for Rs and Greens for Ds as a source of hot new policy and rhetoric to dangle for voters. Trump’s rhetoric, while immensely similar, isn’t the same style and smell as the more formal constitution party—no, it resembles Reform’s schtick mostly with him to say the quiet part out loud. Meanwhile the Constitution Party has failed at getting the Republican Party to steal their platform.
Let’s compare them to the Green Party. The Constitution Party, aging immensely more than the Green Party which started in essence 5 years prior, and greatly outflanked by the Libertarian party as an R Alt in many regards. Even more damaging than the Green Party, there is outright revolt against the national leadership across state chapters along with disbandment. Both the Green and Constitution parties then gave the reins to someone totally new and atypical. They were Hawkins—a trade unionist and longtime activist apart of the Green Party from the beginning—and Blankenship—a longtime Republican fresh out of prison. Both did poorly on the presidential campaign for a variety of reasons, for one getting opponents to leave, but in taking over the party they operated differently. Hawkins forged new alliance with other parties and put in place reforms to turn things around by instituting rhetorical and party reforms like saying the party is socialist and establishing dues and building up party infrastructure like a new news service. Blankenship has done what exactly after buying out the party? Did he bring in new people? No. Was there change to party strategy? No. Did he build alliances? No, and the frickin AIP went and endorsed DLF and Alliance.
What the important part is is that the party leadership was complicit in getting these two men there. Jill Stein is probably to the right of Hawkins, but she and the rest of party leadership begged him to come back. Blankenship bought his way there. Clearly not only is the constitution party out of ideas, but it is out of care to even continue. It’s all grift now.
The constitution party is dead, all their voters left for Trump, and there’s no future but it’s corpse acting as a personal vehicle for the coal baron.
