3rd Party, Anyone?

Watching the most recent Democratic debate, Senator Clinton, as usual, made several remarks that were beside sanity; one being that the differences between each Democratic candidate were minor, whereas the differences between the Democratic and Republican parties were major. NOT!

The truth of the matter is that there are few discernible differences between the elephant in the room and the donkey on the porch. The GOP can barely find a viable candidate who doesn't resemble a liberal democrat. But I digress.

Remarkably, with a choice between the lesser of two evils, 3^rd parties and 3^rd party candidates still manage to fly below the political pundit radar while democrat and republican party members, Gore, Gingrich and Thompson respectively, (who have not even announced their candidacy, by the way) continue to appear favorably in political polls.

So, what about those "other" parties, the political "other white meat"? Consider any or all of the following when making your decisions. Oh, and don't worry about their "electability"; we'll get to that in the primary.

The Libertarian Party (http://www.lp.org)

-Anti "Big Government"

They oppose government violation of individual rights such as the right to life, freedom of speech and the right to property. This means, among other things, that they oppose legalized theft, also known as eminent domain as well as government censorship, including laws regarding obscenity and pornography.

They also advocate for the abolition of the FCC. Wow, that would put a lot of people out of work.

-Pro Choice

-Anti "Family"

They support repealing the Defense of Marriage Act; they also believe marriage should be treated as a private contract.

-Ant "Corporate Welfare"

"Eliminate all federal grants of monopoly/subsidy to private companies, such as utilities, airlines, energy companies, et.al. Repeal all anti trust laws. All federal agencies whose primary function is to make or guarantee corporate loans must be abolished or privatized." They even want to end the postal service monopoly and allow competition in the area of mail delivery.

Libertarian Candidates include: George Phillies, Christine Smith, Mike Badnarik, Doug Stanhope, Steve Kubby & Robert Milnes.

Constitution Party (http://www.constitutionparty.net)

-Pro Life

Life begins at conception.

-Anti "Congressional Power"

"The Congress of the United States has become an overpaid, overstuffed, self serving institution. It confiscates taxpayer funds to finance exorbitant and unconstitutionally determined salaries, pensions and perks." (Ouch.)

-Pro "Election Reform"

"The Voting Rights Act should be repealed." They also call for an end to "major party status".

-Pro "Family Rights"

'Marriage is a union between one man and one woman'. They also oppose government funding of partner benefits for unmarried individuals as well as opposing legal recognition of same sex unions.

-Anti "Foreign Aid & Involvement"

This means that they would refuse to continue to fund the war in Iraq as well as aid to countries in crisis, such as Darfur.

-Anti "Universal Healthcare"

"The Constitution Party opposes governmentalization and bureaucratization of American medicine." They feel it threatens the quality of patient oriented healthcare.

-Anti Immigration

"We favor a moratorium on immigration to the United States, except in extreme hardship cases." This probably means that while Mexicans would be ushered out, Iraqis would be given asylum. We have, after all, helped ruin their country.

No candidates have been announced yet for this party.

The Green Party (http://www.gp.org or http://www.greenparty.org/)

Green Values:

ECOLOGY • SOCIAL JUSTICE • GRASSROOTS DEMOCRACY • NONVIOLENCE

They really do have a lot to say. Read there 10 key values at the link above.

No candidates have been announced yet for this party.

Consider also the Independents, the Socialist Party, the Marijuana Party (as if!), and the Humanistic Party at

http://www.thirdparty08.com

You don't have to be a victim of the two party system.