2008 Woodie Awards
Third Parties are a Viable Voting Option
Mara Carpenter
Issue date: 12/10/03 Section: Opinions
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It's the season again when people are feverish with a reoccurring and highly contagious bug-not the flu bug-the voting bug. And many people avoid it like the plague, thinking they can't make any difference. They are wrong.
Some people feel that no matter how they vote, the elected politician will not follow through on his or her promises. Candidate X may promise to increase funding for environmental issues or increase funding for schools, but he or she may fall short on such promises-perhaps even change his or her position. While the fickleness of the political mind is time-tested, we can change things.
In our current governmental system with two predominant parties (Republican and Democrat), it may seem as if there is little choice in candidate selection. It may seem as if you can't win either way, so vote for the lesser of the two evils, right-wrong. There are numerous other lesser known political parties in America.
Take my personal preference, the Libertarian Party, which touts itself as "America's largest third party." As a Libertarian, I strongly believe in the fundamental rights of each American citizen as outlined in our Bill of Rights. And I despise "big government," the extreme governmental intrusion into the personal lives of citizens-read the Patriot Act, or shall I say "Anti-Patriot Act," which allows governmental officials and organizations to pry into our personal lives without a warrant. For example, the government may now search your property without a warrant-on any grounds.
In addition to the Libertarian Party, there are numerous other American parties. For example, you may have heard of the Green Party during the last election, where presidential candidate Ralph Nader received over 700,000 votes. And everyone's a Democrat or Republican?
America totes numerous other parties, many of which may be considered extremist or bizarre. Take the U.S. Marijuana Party. Yes, they do exist. The U.S. Marijuana Party is compromised of citizens who believe that pot should be legalized, and they hold basically Libertarian views.
Some people feel that no matter how they vote, the elected politician will not follow through on his or her promises. Candidate X may promise to increase funding for environmental issues or increase funding for schools, but he or she may fall short on such promises-perhaps even change his or her position. While the fickleness of the political mind is time-tested, we can change things.
In our current governmental system with two predominant parties (Republican and Democrat), it may seem as if there is little choice in candidate selection. It may seem as if you can't win either way, so vote for the lesser of the two evils, right-wrong. There are numerous other lesser known political parties in America.
Take my personal preference, the Libertarian Party, which touts itself as "America's largest third party." As a Libertarian, I strongly believe in the fundamental rights of each American citizen as outlined in our Bill of Rights. And I despise "big government," the extreme governmental intrusion into the personal lives of citizens-read the Patriot Act, or shall I say "Anti-Patriot Act," which allows governmental officials and organizations to pry into our personal lives without a warrant. For example, the government may now search your property without a warrant-on any grounds.
In addition to the Libertarian Party, there are numerous other American parties. For example, you may have heard of the Green Party during the last election, where presidential candidate Ralph Nader received over 700,000 votes. And everyone's a Democrat or Republican?
America totes numerous other parties, many of which may be considered extremist or bizarre. Take the U.S. Marijuana Party. Yes, they do exist. The U.S. Marijuana Party is compromised of citizens who believe that pot should be legalized, and they hold basically Libertarian views.