If you’ve decided that McCain knows too little about the economy and Obama knows too little about Washington; if neither of those candidates are worth your one vote, it’s not time to give up. there are other options.
In America there is what is referred to as third party candidates. These candidates are not likely to win an election but a vote for them is not wasted. These candidates are looking forward not typically of winning the current election but to put their party on the map as a major party. That is not something that happens over night but as Ross Perot did in 1996 with 8 percent of the vote. They can receive enough of the popular vote (five percent of the national vote) to guarantee their party’s placement on the ballot in all 50 states in the next presidential election as well as gain government funding that matches what the government gives Democrats and Republicans for campaigns. That is the first prize they are after. If that happens they are looked at as a more serious movement and not just a spoiler as Ralph Nader has been dubbed by the Democratic Party when he was the Green Party Candidate in the 2000 election, when he came up just short of a guaranteed spot for the 2004 ballot.
In the history of the presidency it could be argued that there has only been one third party president. That President was Republican Abraham Lincoln. It could also be argued that the Republican Party movement was large enough at the time that it was a major party. To bring things to the present, there are many third party candidates, but here are two of the more popular alternatives.
Bob Barr – Libertarian (Conservative)
Bob Barr is being discussed as a McCain Spoiler and is on the ballot in 46 states. Illinois is one of them. The Libertarian Party has been around since 1971. According to bobbarr2008.com, “Previously, he represented the 7th District of Georgia in the U. S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 2003, serving as a senior member of the Judiciary Committee, as Vice-Chairman of the Government Reform Committee, and as a member of the Committee on Financial Services. He now practices law with the Law Offices of Edwin Marger, and runs a consulting firm, Liberty Strategies LLC.” Barr is for decreasing government spending, and not regulating business in a capitalist society. He supports a public time table for withdrawal from Iraq.
Cynthia McKinney – Green Party (Liberal)
According to votetruth08.com the McKinney campaign website, Cynthia McKinney is a former Democrat who was elected in 1992 as the first African-American Congresswoman from Georgia. She was unseated in 2002 and regained her seat in 2004. McKinney supports an immediate end to the war in Iraq; she believes that we need a living wage with unemployment at a two year high; also as an economic stimulus, we need to increase environmentally-friendly business, or as McKinney puts it, “the greening of our economy.”
The difference of a spoiler candidate and gaining government funding and a guarantee on the ballot for the following election is a small one. Third party candidates would love your vote to stand for an America that they believe in. As far as the Libertarians and the Greens, Nov. 4 will decide what happens with their parties. It will decide how soon, and if, their parties become major national political parties.