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2008 BYU L. Rev. 1367 (2008)
Extremism in the Electoral Arena: Challenging the Myth of American Exceptionalism

handle is hein.journals/byulr2008 and id is 1383 raw text is: Extremism in the Electoral Arena: Challenging the Myth of American Exceptionalism Gur Bligh* Abstract: This Article explores the limitations that the American electoral system imposes upon extremist parties and candidates. Its thesis is that extremists, and particularly anti-liberal extremists, are excluded from the American electoral arena through a combination of direct and indirect mechanisms. This claim challenges the crucial premise of American constitutional theory that the free speech doctrine is a distinct area of American exceptionalism. That theory posits that the American strict adherence to viewpoint neutrality, the strong emphasis upon the dissenter, and the freedom granted to extremist speakers is exceptional among liberal democracies. The Article argues that once we focus upon the electoral arena as a distinct arena, we discover that in this domain of core political expression, dissenting extremists are marginalized and blocked and their viewpoints are not represented. The Article demonstrates how various structural elements which characterize the American electoral system create an insurmountable barrier for extremist parties and drive them out of the electoral system. Some of these elements have been created intentionally to impede extremist political parties. In addition, the Article analyzes several federal court decisions that appear to play a crucial role in sealing the fate of these extremists by endorsing the right of the major parties to exclude extremists from the parties in the name of preserving the party's right to define itself. The Article concludes with an examination of the various implications of this analysis. It compares the American approach to extremism in the electoral arena with the approach adopted in other democracies, and then the Article reflects upon the lessons that can be drawn for relevant issues in American electoral law. * Morris Fellow, J.S.D. candidate, LL.M. Columbia Law School; LL.B. Hebrew University of Jerusalem. I am very grateful to Richard Briffault, Michael Dorf, and Kent Greenawalt for their support and invaluable comments on previous drafts of this Article. I also wish to thank Nathaniel Persily, Richard Winger, Marc DeGirolami, Carolijn Terwindt, the participants in the J.S.D. colloquium at Columbia Law School and the editors of the BYU Law Review for their valuable comments. Finally, I would like to extend special thanks to my wife, Naava, for her enduring support. 1367

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