Third-Party Choices
Bonnie Alba
September 18, 2008
With each consecutive election, there appears to be an increase in those citizen-voters who feel their party has left them. Rather than vote for the "lesser of two evils," they do not vote at all.
I recently heard from one young woman who wrote that she feels the Republican Party no longer represents her. She can´t vote for Obama, yet feels that not casting her vote makes her unpatriotic.
Maybe she should hear what John Quincy Adams has been quoted as stating, "Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost."
There is a third choice. The wonderful informational news media rarely reports on these third-party possibilities. This article is an attempt to give those voters some options to register their dissatisfaction or cast a protest vote against Washington´s "business as usual" two-party system.
Republican Ron Paul has also started a grassroots movement called the "Revolution." He advocates citizens cast their votes for third-party presidential candidates or write in a name.
While the loyal party advocates cling to the "my party -- do or die" mantra, there are citizens who realize what is occurring in government will continue no matter which party controls Congress or oversees the Oval Office.
There may be a Third-Party option waiting just for you.
The Constitution Party (www.constitutionparty.com/): Conservative from its founding as the U.S. Taxpayers Party in 1992, in 1999 they officially became the Constitution Party. Their goal is to reflect the principles of the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. They believe in limited government, non-intervention and take decided stands against abortion, homosexual marriage, embryonic stem cell research, and illegal immigration.
Their ideals and principles are directly tied to the U.S. Constitution, which comes down on the side of social and economic conservatism.
They are for the repeal of the 16th Amendment, overturning Congress´ increased desire to tax income, and favor tariffs and excise taxes for federal government revenues. Limited government, fiscal responsibility and moral standards and ethics are their foundation.
Their party´s presidential candidate is Chuck Baldwin (www.baldwin08.com) who has previously run on other party tickets. He has long been a Pastor, talk-show host, prolific writer. Founder and Pastor of Crossroad Baptist Church in Pensacola, Florida, he is the Commentator host of the Chuck Baldwin Live radio show.
The Libertarian Party (www.lp.org/) (third largest national party): The Libertarian Party has a diverse platform attracting both conservative and liberal members. The Libertarian home page denotes accepted policies from both major parties. They stand for fiscal conservatism and smaller government (which used to be the Republicans´ bailiwick) while professing social liberalism (the mantra of the Democrat Party). Social liberalism also means less government interference in citizens´ lives.
Libertarians are pragmatic. They believe in "live and let live." This, as long as individual rights to self and property are not infringed upon by the government or others. They believe that government has only two responsibilities: To help individuals defend themselves from force and fraud.
Strong traditional Christians might find it difficult to cast a vote for the Libertarian candidate because the party does not establish any foundation for moral values and standards.
The 2008 Libertarian presidential candidate is Bob Barr (www.bobbarr2008.com/), who represented Georgia as a Republican in the House of Representatives from 1995-2003. He dropped the Republican label and joined the Libertarian Party in 2006.
The (California-based) American Independent Party (AIP): A split occurred in the AIP in 2008. One faction is supporting the Constitutional Party candidate, Chuck Baldwin, and one faction is supporting Dr. Alan Keyes (www.americasrevival.com/emails.php?id=89) who is running for president on the AIP, but now called the America´s Independent Party National Committee (www.aipnews.com/).
Also there´s the ´New´ American Independent Party (www.newamericanindependent.com/) which is a fledgling group claiming to be "people powered."
Independent parties should not be confused with the thousands of Independent voters who, for their own reasons, decide they can´t support any party. Much like CNN Lou Dobbs, they are fed up with the overall growth in government, failure of government accountability, and the destruction of the American Middle Class.
Independent can mean you vote freely for any candidate of any party. Check with your state Election Commission.
There are many smaller parties out there, ranging from conservative to liberal or a mixture of both. Usually contained in one or two states, they tend to establish themselves as one- or two- issue parties. These groups are a blip on most peoples´ radar.
Whatever you decide -- Don´t stay home, Vote!
2008 Bonnie Alba
tttalba@hotmail.com
I recently heard from one young woman who wrote that she feels the Republican Party no longer represents her. She can´t vote for Obama, yet feels that not casting her vote makes her unpatriotic.
Maybe she should hear what John Quincy Adams has been quoted as stating, "Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost."
There is a third choice. The wonderful informational news media rarely reports on these third-party possibilities. This article is an attempt to give those voters some options to register their dissatisfaction or cast a protest vote against Washington´s "business as usual" two-party system.
Republican Ron Paul has also started a grassroots movement called the "Revolution." He advocates citizens cast their votes for third-party presidential candidates or write in a name.
While the loyal party advocates cling to the "my party -- do or die" mantra, there are citizens who realize what is occurring in government will continue no matter which party controls Congress or oversees the Oval Office.
There may be a Third-Party option waiting just for you.
The Constitution Party (www.constitutionparty.com/): Conservative from its founding as the U.S. Taxpayers Party in 1992, in 1999 they officially became the Constitution Party. Their goal is to reflect the principles of the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. They believe in limited government, non-intervention and take decided stands against abortion, homosexual marriage, embryonic stem cell research, and illegal immigration.
Their ideals and principles are directly tied to the U.S. Constitution, which comes down on the side of social and economic conservatism.
They are for the repeal of the 16th Amendment, overturning Congress´ increased desire to tax income, and favor tariffs and excise taxes for federal government revenues. Limited government, fiscal responsibility and moral standards and ethics are their foundation.
Their party´s presidential candidate is Chuck Baldwin (www.baldwin08.com) who has previously run on other party tickets. He has long been a Pastor, talk-show host, prolific writer. Founder and Pastor of Crossroad Baptist Church in Pensacola, Florida, he is the Commentator host of the Chuck Baldwin Live radio show.
The Libertarian Party (www.lp.org/) (third largest national party): The Libertarian Party has a diverse platform attracting both conservative and liberal members. The Libertarian home page denotes accepted policies from both major parties. They stand for fiscal conservatism and smaller government (which used to be the Republicans´ bailiwick) while professing social liberalism (the mantra of the Democrat Party). Social liberalism also means less government interference in citizens´ lives.
Libertarians are pragmatic. They believe in "live and let live." This, as long as individual rights to self and property are not infringed upon by the government or others. They believe that government has only two responsibilities: To help individuals defend themselves from force and fraud.
Strong traditional Christians might find it difficult to cast a vote for the Libertarian candidate because the party does not establish any foundation for moral values and standards.
The 2008 Libertarian presidential candidate is Bob Barr (www.bobbarr2008.com/), who represented Georgia as a Republican in the House of Representatives from 1995-2003. He dropped the Republican label and joined the Libertarian Party in 2006.
The (California-based) American Independent Party (AIP): A split occurred in the AIP in 2008. One faction is supporting the Constitutional Party candidate, Chuck Baldwin, and one faction is supporting Dr. Alan Keyes (www.americasrevival.com/emails.php?id=89) who is running for president on the AIP, but now called the America´s Independent Party National Committee (www.aipnews.com/).
Also there´s the ´New´ American Independent Party (www.newamericanindependent.com/) which is a fledgling group claiming to be "people powered."
Independent parties should not be confused with the thousands of Independent voters who, for their own reasons, decide they can´t support any party. Much like CNN Lou Dobbs, they are fed up with the overall growth in government, failure of government accountability, and the destruction of the American Middle Class.
Independent can mean you vote freely for any candidate of any party. Check with your state Election Commission.
There are many smaller parties out there, ranging from conservative to liberal or a mixture of both. Usually contained in one or two states, they tend to establish themselves as one- or two- issue parties. These groups are a blip on most peoples´ radar.
Whatever you decide -- Don´t stay home, Vote!
2008 Bonnie Alba
tttalba@hotmail.com
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