The Lilac Party!

a better page is coming I swear

This is the first post on my new blog! So, might as well start with a big one: I have filed with the FEC to start a new political party, the Lilac Party! A couple basics on this project:

I know this isn't the best page for the party. I am working on a better page! This is a temp setup, so I have a site up, basically. I had to meet a deadline with my URL: LilacParty.US.
I am running this solo currently.
- Because I am the Founder and Treasurer, and sole member at this moment pending FEC approval (scroll to the bottom of this post for more on this)
I am a socialist, and personally label myself as a progressive leftist, or simply progressive. The party is as far left as you can get:
- "The Universals", aka a series of universal programs, services, laws, systems etc to provide what every other developed nation has, and more:
  - Universal Healthcare
  - Universal Basic Income
  - Universal Childcare
  - Universal Education K-12 and beyond
  - Universal Housing
  - Universal Internet Access
  - Universal Family & Medical Leave
  - Universal Public Transit
  - More being debated!
- Progressive taxation: the more you earn, the higher percentage of your income you pay in taxes.
  - Closing tax loopholes and taxing the rich is a big part of this. More on this with the new site update (coming soon!)

Economic Justice: Fair pay. Labor protections. A repeal of "Right to work" liegislation (emphasis on "lie", that is not a typo, I am trying to make this a thing lmao). A job guarantee system for those unable to find work, focusing on community projects (similar to FDRs Civilian Conservation Corps) and retrofitting buildings.
- Tl;dr: While you could technically ship a whole building overseas for repairs, its usually cheaper and better for locals if you give people jobs to fix old and decaying buildings.
  - (it also gives people something to be proud of, and something fulfilling to do)
Trans Rights ARE Human Rights! I can't believe this obvious fact has to be stated, but yes.
- We tend to look back at the oppression of minorities throughout history in a negative light. Can't believe I gotta say this: discrimination is bad. It is wrong to say someone is not allowed or accepted anywhere because of their race, religion, gender, age, etc.
  - The Lilac Party makes a clear exception for conservatives. If you are a conservative in 2025 A.D., and you don't get why your kids don't talk to you, that's on you. That's a you problem. You deserve that. But you can learn and grow out of conservative ideology!
- I am a gay man who has Trans friends. I not only see you, I know you, and I accept you. You do not deserve what has been happening, and I am sorry, and will do everything I can to make things right.
Prison Reform: punishment doesn't work. Rehabilitation does. Punishment might enforce manners, but it does not teach morality. Punishment creates victims. Punishment creates a vicious cycle of abuse that repeats itself, over and over. We have tried being "hard on crime" my entire life, and it has lead to major failures like mass incarceration and the failed war on drugs. It is time to try something that will work.
- Statistics on recidivism (repeat arrests) from the National Institute of Justice shows that punishment guarantees an 83% re-arrest rate within 9 years of release.
  - "Eighty-two percent of prisoners arrested during the 9-year period were arrested within the first 3 years." (BJS, 2018)

Meanwhile, in Norway, the prison culture changed from "Masculine" in the 1980s to "Rehabilitative" in the 2000s, leading to recidivism rates dropping from 60% to 20%. (BBC)
- Norwegian prisoners are not locked up in cells. They are assigned rooms at a facility with a TV in each room, and classes like auto repair or culinary arts are offered. Prisoners can leave with a diploma, and be lined up with a job upon release.
- In the UK, there were over 10,000 assaults on English and Welsh staff at multiple prisons in 2018 alone. The leadership of the Norwegian prison couldn't even recall the last time there was violence at a facility.
- It becomes a question of bloodlust: do you want prisoners to fight and die constantly? Do you want to just throw away the key and lock them away forever? The answer in America is yes, and clearly it should not be. This is not just a problem with prisoners, it is a problem with how we as Americans see and treat prisoners in this country. That is why nothing changes: we like the status quo, and we are disgusted at the same time.

Environmental remediation: climate change is real. Climate change is happening. We can stop it, and even reverse it!
- I encourage you to read Drawdown or check out https://drawdown.org/ for solutions you can take, right now at home, from swapping out appliances like old AC units for heat pumps to simply filling your tires with more air to increase mileage (and please check the manufacturer PSI, it will be embossed or printed on the tire itself! Don't overinflate!!)
- Lilac is about optimism and hope. Nothing sucks the life out of people than the topic of climate change. This is a major problem with all aspects of American life: the average American only hears the bad news, and rarely, if ever, hears any follow-up coverage that is usually pretty good!
  - I will cover this in a future post!

There is obviously much, MUCH more to cover. I will get to that in future updates. For now, know that I am working on Lilac and I hope to be POTUS in 2028 on this platform. And unlike "third parties" in the past, I intend to win. If you are interesting in being either a state or local party member, or wish to donate when we begin accepting party donations, contact me at Nic@LilacParty.US or NicWeyand@ProtonMail.com

For legal reasons:

I have a committee ID with the FEC. This is not approval. They could reject my filing for any reason still.
We have no official word from the FEC as to the status of the Lilac Party.
There have been zero endorsements (besides me, Nic Weyand, founder!)
- Uh, technically my last name is still my birth name, not the name of my adoptive family, so on the FEC records, you will see "Nicholas Paul Schweitzer". I currently have paperwork in family court to legally change my name to just Nic Weyand. I haven't gone by Nicholas Schweitzer since high school lmao, I just never got it changed, and when I tried before, there was a stupid requirement you had to publish a public notice in local papers, but there are no local papers here, so it was this stupid catch-22 aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.
We are not a PAC, Super PAC or similar organization currently. We may amend our filing in the future to add that.
- I will be open and transparent, including this up-front message about the status of Lilac with the FEC.
  - If I am to become your President, I need to earn your trust and maintain it. It is not a single act, it is a marathon, and should I be President for 2 terms, I am starting a 12 year sprint: running until 2028, and ideally two terms after that until 2036.
    - Then I will have a weird post-Presidential career making comedy films, it'll be great.

While I appreciate any such donations, I want to be clear: these are going to me, as an individual for the time being, and I will use a lot of it for rent and groceries lol. Leftover revenue would go towards making the Party bigger and better, including hiring lawyers and staffers across all 50 states. This is a real and serious project, I actually filed paperwork with the US Government and everything. I also need to pay for stuff like bills and groceries!!!!