Third Party Debate Tonight

Unfortunately, nothing that has happened in the last few weeks has changed my decision to vote for a third party in this election. If you are still interested in exploring the beliefs and approaches of the third party candidates, consider tuning into the third-party-candidate debate tonight on CSpan at 9 PM EST. We usually tune into these third-party debates, and they are always interesting, as they provide a view into a side of politics that we rarely see on the major networks. Even if you are already committed to a major candidate, consider tuning in as an educational exercise.

(Not) Voting for John McCain

As I indicated, I have sent a letter to the RNC and John McCain's campaign on the reasons I do not plan to vote for him. I have done so, and thought I would enclose it here.

To whom it may concern at the Republican National Committee and the Campaign to elect John McCain,

After much soul-searching and observation of recent events, I have decided not to vote for Senator John McCain and the Republican ticket. Instead, I currently plan to vote for the Constitution Party Candidacy of Chuck Baldwin as a protest vote. I have been a faithful Republican voter since George H. W. Bush ran against Bill Clinton (my first election in which I could vote for president). But I find Senator McCain wanting as a presidential candidate, even though I also find myself unable to support Democratic candidate Barack Obama due to his views on abortion and consistently Left-wing voting record.

Rather than simply cast my vote in silence, which would be emotionally satisfying but ineffective, I thought it wise to send an e-mail in which I lay out my reasoning. This might be useful in guiding the Senator in reaching out to voters like me, or to the GOP in a post-election world.

First, let me start with the straw that broke the camel's back for me - the Bailout/Rescue Bill. This bill was concieved with little public scrutiny, rushed to two separate votes, and was passed with no real explanation beyond "We have to do something." While I was always skeptical of the Bill, I was waiting for the Senator or the President to lay out a clear and argued case for why these maeasures were the right ones to address our economic meltdown. Economics is complex, but the causes of the current crisis were not. The solution itself should be explainable and defendable, and the Senator had multiple opportunities to directly address this. He did not. Instead, we were told again last night that "We had to do something" and to trust the machinery of government to work it out. When the machine has already proven itself to be broken - hence the economic turmoil - you simply can not assume the same machine can fit itself. Proof needs to be offered. None was.

Second, the Senator has yet to enunciate a clear and specific philosophy for his campaign. Say what you will about President Bush, he had a fairly clear philosophy and guiding principles coming into each election. It was clear what he planned to do, how he planned to do it, and what his priorities were. Senator McCain is proud of being a "maverick who crossed party lines", but as often as not this has meant going against the apparent philosophical underpinnings of the Republican party. This means that I am never sure which principles are near and dear and which are negotiable. I do know what the Senator plans to do: work on earmarks, focus on reducing corruption, and work towards energy independence, among others. But I am unclear what his priorities are, and when push comes to shove what is his #1. That came across painfully last night in the debate.

Third, the Senator has yet to give a clear explanation of why this is his moment in history. Senator Obama may be inexperienced, but he has made a clear case for why he deserves to be in the White House: returning dignity and dliberation to the process, correcting the wrongs of slavery, and pulling us back from the excesses of Post-9/11 reactions. Senator McCain, on the other hand, has offered a good resume of skills for the office, but has never explained how history points to him being the next logical link in the chain of executive leadership. I strongly respect his record of wartime, his record of service in the Senate, and his record as a man in his personal life. But at the moment, I do not see why he deserves to be president aside from a sense that it is "his turn".

Please note, none of my concerns have to do with the vice-presidential candidate, Sarah Palin. But I do not vote based on who is up for vice-president.

I hope you find this useful, or at least enlightening, in the day ahead.

Thank you for your time.

Alright, folks. Go ahead and tear it apart. And if you have also decided to go third party, I encourage you to compose, send, and post your own letter. This way, at least the major candidates have a chance to respond before the election.

If I recieve a non-form-letter response, I will post it here.

Bob Barr's Libertarian Party Acceptance Speech

I am thinking perhaps today is "third party options day" here at Mod-Blog. After finding the Constitution Party nomination speech, I thought I should go out and pull in a few others. Here is Bob Barr from the Libertarian Party. He has better rhetorical skills than McCain, but seems a bit light on content here. Again, I doubt that either Obama or McCain will be watching their backs on this one.

Constitution Party picks a nominee

The Constitution Party, a third party espousing Conservative ideas which is far more isolationist than either of the two majors, has chosen their nominee: Pastor Charles "Chick" Baldwin. While I am supportive of third parties and expanding the choice of the American political system, from the acceptance speech I do not think John McCain has too much to worry about from this particular competitor.

PREDICTION: We will hear someone propose a third-party run for Obama or Clinton this week

With the Democratic race drawing to a close without either candidate having the requisite number to win, we are beginning to see the start of desperation politics. Hillary Clinton, despite no realistic shot of winning without political games and likely smear tactics, shows no sign of considering dropping out or considering a VP position. And as the rhetoric heats up, we are starting to see headlines like "Hillary Clinton, Fratricidal Maniac". Clinton supporters are accusing Obamaniacs of betraying the legacy of feminism to push an inexperienced child-man for president. Obama supporters are accusing Cintonistas of betraying the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr by crowning a woman whose greatest claim to experience is being married to a former president.

This leads me to an inescapable conclusion. The Democrats have now passed a critical point, and the die-hard supporters of each side are unlikely to accept a victory from the other side. Thus, I predict this week we will hear either an extreme Obamaniac or an extreme Clintonista float the idea of a third-party run for their candidate if they are denied the Democratic nomination. This, of course, will be immediately rejected by the candidate in an attempt to show their party loyalty. But it will set up an internet movement which may well dog the eventual nominee right up to the vote in November.

What do you think? Am I underestimating Democratic party discipline? Or am I right in seeing a Ron-Paul-type momentum taking on a life of its own for these candidates?

The Return of Darth Nader

In what is sure to infuriate the Obamaniacs, Ralph Nader has announced another run for President. Denouncing all of the front-runners as too close to big business, he will be running as a third-party candidate.

"You take that framework of people feeling locked out, shut out, marginalized and disrespected," he said. "You go from Iraq, to Palestine to Israel, from Enron to Wall Street, from Katrina to the bumbling of the Bush administration, to the complicity of the Democrats in not stopping him on the war, stopping him on the tax cuts."

While I do think the country is open to a protest candidate, I do not think Ralph Nader is the man for that job. Of course, the one upside is John McCain is no longer the oldest candidate running.