By Sean Evans and Nick Ubels (The Cascade) – Email
Print Edition: October 24, 2012
Debates, gaffes, zingers, oh my! Sean and Nick traverse the rocky flood plain of American politics, discussing and debating the Presidential campaign, now in it’s final leg. New and improved AmPol: it’s so easy, even your cat can use it!
Sean: Hey Nick, while that was a pretty intense debate last week, we didn’t really learn anything new – except that Mitt Romney may have binders full of women and Bill Clinton may be chasing him down as I type. So, perhaps we could take our gaze off of the car wreck that is Obama versus Romney for a moment and take a look at some of the third parties.
Nick: That sounds like a swell idea, Sean. I really enjoyed last week’s debate, but it’s already been beaten to death across other media. Despite what CNN and Fox News would have us believe, there are more than two people running for POTUS in this year’s election. In fact, I’ve been able to track down a list of over 130 candidates vying for the highest office in the land. This year’s third party and independent candidates have varying ballot statuses across state lines and most don’t stand a chance on November 6, but it’s incredible to see the gamut of ideologies and single issue advocacy tickets represented, from the Prohibition Party to the Socialist Party. On many issues, Romney and Obama are two sides of the same coin when it comes to philosophy of government. What’s fascinating about these campaigns is that candidates are able to express a much wider range of policy positions than permitted by the major party powers that be.
Sean: With over 130 candidates, let’s focus on some of the more high-profile third party potential Presidents. The first that comes to mind is the Green Party, naturally. Their Presidential candidate, Jill Stein, was arrested outside of the Presidential debate for disorderly conduct as she protested that she was refused a spot at the debate. Nick, what do Stein and the Green Party stand for?
Nick: As a matter of fact, this isn’t the first time Jill Stein’s faced off against Mitt Romney. She was a third party candidate for Governor of Massachusetts in 2002, pulling about 3.5 per cent of the popular vote when Romney won the office as the Republican candidate. Stein’s Green Party is perhaps the most likely to pull support away from the main candidates. She’s already been endorsed by Noam Chomsky and Chris Hedges.
Her platform has been dubbed “The Green New Deal,” modelled after FDR’s depression recovery plan. The government would pool more public funds into green sector and renewable energy jobs to help kick start the economy, reduce unemployment and create a sustainable, energy independent future along the way. Her other policies include a single-payer healthcare system like we have in Canada, introducing free college tuition, nationalizing utilities, ending private sector bailouts, revising the tax code to close loopholes and match rates to income, reducing foreign military deployment and domestic budget, and abolishing the electoral college in favour of a winner-take-all, popular vote system. Quite the tall order, but there are some admirable goals embedded in the Green Party vision.
How about the Constitution Party’s Virgil Goode? How do his policies stack up?
Sean: It may come as a surprise, but Virgil Goode and the Constitution Party are a conservative party that sit further on the right than the Republicans. Goode’s platform is based upon the founding documents of the US; the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Goode and the Constitution Party believe in small government and want to return to what they believe the founding fathers intended for the nation. They are unashamedly Christian, and believe that the United States was founded by Christians and should remain so – although Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, et al. may have had something to say about that.
On their website, the Constitution Party states that: “The Constitution Party gratefully acknowledges the blessing of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as Creator, Preserver and Ruler of the Universe and of these United States. We hereby appeal to Him for mercy, aid, comfort, guidance and the protection of His Providence as we work to restore and preserve these United States . . . This great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For this very reason peoples of other faiths have been and are afforded asylum, prosperity, and freedom of worship here.”
To put it simply, think of them as a super conservative version of the Republican party. They are against all aspects of what they believe to be big government – Social Security, Obamacare, Medicare, welfare, etc.
Nick: Sounds like the Constitution Party would clinch the endorsement of Sam the Eagle, that most patriotic of all Muppets.
Sean: What about the Libertarian Party and Gary Johnson, Nick?
Nick: Gary Johnson served as Republican governor of New Mexico for two terms before accepting the nomination of the Libertarian Party for President this year. GJ was also one of the Republican candidates during last year’s primary race, but dropped out after being barred from most of the debates by the Republican Party because of his liberal social positions. That said, he is a staunch economic conservative, with an itchy veto trigger finger. Anything seen as a negative cost-benefit ratio was cut under his gubernatorial office.
The Libertarian Party advocates minimal government presence overall. This puts them at odds with both Democrats and Republicans for very different reasons. On social issues, Gary Johnson and co. emphasize the right of the individual to make their own choices and carry their own values, meaning they support gay marriage and immediate marijuana legalization. But this also means that they support concealed weapons under their interpretation of the second amendment.
Privacy is a big concern for Johnson, who says he would repeal the controversial Patriot Act and take steps to ensure net neutrality.
The Libertarian Party supports reduced government programs, from domestic safety net, social security and health care programs to military spending, which Johnson pledges to cut by 43 per cent if he is elected.
Three down, one to go. Sean, what can you tell me about Rocky Anderson and the newly-formed Justice Party he’s running for?
Sean: It’s the eye of the tiger, its the thrill of the fight…da da dum, da dum da dum…eye of the tiger! Oh wait, different Rocky.
Nick: And not the flying squirrel from The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show either.
Sean: Rocky Anderson and the Justice Party (insert lame joke about the Justice League) are hard to pin as either liberal or conservative, but if I had to, I would say that they lean towards a more liberal ideology. The Justice Party platform includes an immediate end to both wars, an end to “the systemic corruption that has caused massive failures in public policy,” and public health care coverage for all American citizens. Much like President Obama, Rocky Anderson believes that the Federal budget will only be balanced through fair taxation (ie. the wealthy need to pay a higher rate). All that said, Anderson also has a bit of a conservative streak in him; he has compared himself to Ron Paul in his dedication to the Constitution and is committed to ending the nation’s commitment to sustaining a massive military industrial complex.
While he has some interesting ideas, Rocky Anderson and the Justice Party are fairly new and will likely draw few votes, along with the other third party candidates.
Nick: You’re probably right, Sean. The best showing by a third party candidate in a recent presidential election was Ross Perot, who took nearly 19 per cent of the popular vote in 1992 in the Clinton vs. Bush, Sr. contest. It’s unlikely with this year’s tight race that we’ll see a strong surge of support for any of these other candidates, but it’s important not to rule them out. Most polls only ask whether you support Romney or Obama. The third option on the Gallup poll is “Don’t Know/Undecided/Refused” which doesn’t really gauge how many votes these candidates will attract come election day.
However this election turns out, there have been renewed calls from many sources, including former Republican primary candidate Jon Huntsman, for the need of a strong third party presence in American politics. What do you think, Sean? Does the future of American politics belong to a third party?
Sean: I can’t imagine that the two party system we currently find ourselves observing from afar has too much life left in it. From my point of view, people are increasingly becoming frustrated with the current state of politics; while the two sides argue and argue, big issues are ignored. This polarization provides the perfect setting for a new party to come in and shake things up. While this would likely result in a split vote for either the Democrats or Republicans in the first election, it would prove valuable in the long run. Perhaps one day in the next decade or two we will see a Presidential debate with three or four candidates jabbing at each other.
Nick: It’s funny you should mention that, Sean. Larry King moderated an online debate between these very four candidates yesterday. Third parties are starting to gain some traction in Presidential politics, but money talks and the two major parties have a lot of it. It’s in their best interest to keep the field small, making it incredibly difficult for any one of these additional parties to break into the mainstream.
With less than two weeks to go before election day, Sean and Nick get down to brass tacks. Stay tuned to this space for a special report from their upcoming trip to Washington state to get up close and personal with American voters in advance of November 6.
