 |
 |
Friday, October 29, 2004 - 12:11 AM
Who are they and what do they stand for
By Marc Beechuk and Nathan Kerr
One of the major problems facing any candidate that is not a Democrat or a Republican is access to media coverage. How can the candidates get their message out and earn votes when they are seemingly nonexistent to the mainstream media? There are other outlets through which these candidates disseminate their messages.
Recently on Now with Bill Moyers (PBS) there were a series of discussions with four of the “third party” presidential candidates. While they were less formal than the presidential debates that these candidates were denied access to, these discussions served a similar purpose.
First was a discussion between Independent candidate Ralph Nader and Constitution party candidate Michael Peroutka. Ralph Nader, sworn enemy of corporate leniency, proposed tax reforms so that no longer will only 40% of America’s corporations pay income tax.
|
|
On Iraq Nader stated that both Bush and Kerry are hawks and that the occupation is breeding the insurgency. He stated that international supervision would be necessary for a true Iraqi election. Michael Peroutka is a voice from the other end of the political spectrum. Wary of the power of our big centralized government, Peroutka referred to both Democrats and Republicans as Marxist socialists. Peroutka, an extremely religious man claiming that all the rights we have as Americans are given to us by God, opposes the war in Iraq because in his view it is an unconstitutional act of aggression.
The second discussion was between David Cobb of the Green Party and Michael Badnarik of the Libertarian party. Badnarik spoke about the core Libertarian belief of severely limiting the size of the federal government. Badnarik views voting as not only a right but also a responsibility, and like several of the other candidates spoke of instant runoff voting as a way to eliminate the so-called wasted-vote syndrome.
Henry Cobb spoke about how the office of president needs a fundamental realignment. If elected his first order of business would be to remove U.S. forces from Iraq, remove U.S. corporations from Iraq, apologize to the Iraqi people, and begin discussions with the U.N. on how to handle the situation. Cobb said his main goals are to protect Americans, America and its resources. On health care Cobb said the current system has failed, stating that he himself does not have health insurance. Cobb said that the Green party is for fiscal conservatism and alternative energy.
|
Another key outlet for these candidates is the internet through their own web sites and though a site hosted by Project Vote Smart (www.vote-smart.org) this website lists all of the candidates running in a given election.
In this presidential election there are a total of 73 registered candidates. Project Vote- Smart asks candidates to fill out what they call the national political awareness test or NPAT. This test prompts candidates to state their position on a vast array of pertinent topics. The results of these tests can be viewed on Project Vote Smart’s website along with biographical and other information. All four of the candidates involved in the discussions on PBS completed the NPAT while President Bush and Senator Kerry did not.
Project Vote Smart provides an amazingly varied collection of nuanced political sentiment, including the Fascist, Socialist, and 21st Century Prohibition parties.
Some of the candidates that are listed seem to be doing it as a farce, a way of commenting on the current political climate. For example, The National Barking Spider Resurgence, whose candidate is a comedy writer, takes a rather humorous approach to their campaign. Most of the candidates however, regardless of how well funded or recognized they are, are campaigning with great sincerity in an effort to make a difference.
Links
· Presidential candidate Michael Peroutka
· Presidential candidate Michael “Big” Badnerik
· Presidential candidate Henry Cobb
· Presidential candidate Ralph Nader
· National Barking Spider Resurgence
· www.vote-smart.org
Contact Information
· marcb@queencityforum.com
· nathank@queencityforum.com
|
|
| |
|
|
