Third Parties

I should say that I nothing against third political parties. They have a right to campaign for your vote just the major two parties. After all the Republican Party was a third party until the Whig Party dissolved. But here are some points to think about. One, any political party main concern should be looking out for the country's best interest. National security is what I'm talking about here. After all it says in the Oath of Office the president takes:

...and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.

Two, voting for a third party may get a party elected that does not look out for the best interest of the country--ie by taking away votes from one of two major parties. A third party really has to be a viable contender in the race. It has to persuade voters like the major two parties. Probably harder because it is the underdog. Three, just because it is a third party does not necessarily mean it will do a better job when it gets elected. Every person in the legislature will get eventually absorbed by the system in place. They get lobbied by special interest groups, the president, their fellow politicians, etc. Read Rome Wasn't Burnt In A Day. The Real Deal On How Politicians, bureaucrats & other Washington barbarians are bankrupting America by Joe Scarborough to get an idea what goes on in power. Anyway, here is my take on some third parties. My rating for the parties are as follow: 1 - do not like. 5 - like very much. I do not necessarily endorse any of these third parties.

The Libertarian Party. The Libertarian Party basically believes that gov't should not interfere with the daily living of its citizens as long as the citizen does not interfere with the rights of other citizens. I can sympathize with their cause. Like my bio says I have libertarian leanings. I give this party a rating of 4.3. It's interesting that the party wants to "End the Postal Service's monopoly and allow for the free competition in all aspects of mail delivery." That is a direct quote from their website.

The Reform Party. This is the party that Ross Perot founded. This party is okay, except it is all domestic policy (at least--nothing about foreign policy on their website). I guess that is what they want to reform, hence the name. No mention of illegal immigration or the war on terror. Not even about the war in Iraq. A party has to be concerned about both policies. It's not just the economy stupid, it's both the economy and foreign affairs. I rate this party a 3.7. It got a low rating because of no foreign policy. An interesting item on their website (and I quote): "Vote on Saturdays and Sundays - not Tuesdays - so working people can get to the polls." I believe this was one of Ross Perot's ideas. It probably should be Saturday or Sunday--not both.

The Constitution Party. Here is the mission of this party (a direct quote): "The mission of the Constitution Party is to secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity through the election, at all levels of government, of Constitution Party candidates who will uphold the principles of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States." I rate this party a 4.8. It's interesting to note that they want to abolish the Dept. of Energy, the Dept. of Education, and the Endangered Species Act among others.

The Green Party. The Green Party is (a direct quote): "Committed to environmentalism, non-violence, social justice and grassroots organizing." My rating for them is 1.8. In their ten key values they mention the term "economic justice" every once in a while. This is basically code for socialism. No mention of the war on terror or illegal immigration.

These are just a sampling of third parties. To read some more I refer the reader to the politics1 website.