Third Party Candidates - The Strangest of Bedfellows

"You're wasting your vote" is what supporters of third-party candidates hear most often. The conventional wisdom espoused by both mainstream parties has always been that voters who choose a candidate from a third party are doing something wrong. They are declared guilty of squandering their right to vote on a lost cause. This is perhaps the only thing both mainstream parties usually agree on. But, history says they are wrong.
The most successful third party Presidential candidate of all time was Abraham Lincoln, who ran as the new Republican Party's Presidential candidate in 1860.  Lincoln won against all odds, but with less than 40% of the popular vote.
Even in elections in which third party candidates lose, the fact that large numbers of voters support them causes the mainstream politicians to take notice. After George Wallace won the south as a third party candidate in 1968, the kingmakers of the Democratic Party realized the power of the southern vote. Wallace was the likely Democratic nominee four years later when he was crippled by an aspiring assassin. In 1976, the Democrats nominated Jimmy Carter, whose southern support tipped the scales against incumbent Gerald Ford. Supporters of Wallace, who had "thrown their votes away", were rewarded with a southern President four years later.
So, if you're going to support a third party candidate, don't believe the "conventional wisdom". In America, your vote ultimately counts, no matter who you vote for.
Of course, the mainstream news will always keep the public well informed about both major parties. The duty of covering third party candidates falls to publications like NightMoves.
Some of the third parties are one-dimensional (Prohibition Party); some are scary (American Nazis); and some are simply silly (Nudist Party). Candidates include porn stars and prisoners. We have assembled a brief description of the various political parties and candidates involved in the upcoming Presidential race for your amusement and information:

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American Party - Platform: Stop CAFTA (Central American Free Trade Agreement) and FTAA. Repeal  NAFTA and GATT. Eliminate the WTO. U. S. sovereignty, not free trade. Keep US jobs here, no steel from China, take back Panama Canal.
Candidate: Diane Templin of California - Templin's platform includes anti-abortion, prayer in schools, and other favorite causes of the Christian right.
Bio: Member, City of San Marcos Planning Commission, 1981-82. Candidate for State Assembly, 1994 (lost Republican primary - 6th place - 2,600 votes). American Party nominee for President, 1996 (1,900 votes). American Independent Party (AIP) nominee for California Attorney General, 1998 (194,000 votes) and 2002 (194,000 votes). AIP nominee for US Senate, 2000 (135,000 votes). AIP nominee for California Governor, 2003 (1,000 votes). AIP nominee for Congress, 2004. Co-Founder, Advocate's Christian Ministries, 1991. Real estate broker. Graduated Buffalo General Hospital School of Nursing, attended 1965-66. B.S. (Social Welfare), State University of New York at Buffalo, 1969. J.D., State University of New York at Buffalo, 1973. Born 1948. Divorced. One grown daughter; 68 foster children. Evangelical Christian.

Constitution Party - Platform: This party feels the US Constitution has been widely misunderstood, and that the founding fathers intent was to create a Christian society. They do not believe in separation of church and state. The party wants to see America "return to a Republic of Sovereign States based on Biblical principles".
Candidate: Michael Peroutka of Baltimore, Maryland
Another evangelical candidate, Peroutka tells audiences that his campaign is divinely inspired and that his party seeks to remake the United States into a fundamentalist Christian state.
Bio: State Chair, Constitution Party of Maryland. Member, Constitution Party National Executive Committee. Founder and Director, Institute on the Constitution (conservative non-profit organization). Health Initiatives Analyst/Attorney, US Department of Health & Human Services, 1976-87. Attorney (private practice), 1987-present. Founder and Director, American College for Cultural Studies (Biblical-Constitutionalist education program). B.A., Loyola College. J.D., University of Baltimore, 1981. Born 1952. Married to Diane Peroutka. Three children.

Green Party - Platform: Pro-environment; supports universal health care, cuts in military spending. The Green Party has become increasingly antagonistic to large corporations and supportive of independent small business. They plan to halt the exporting of US jobs overseas. They are for working people; equal rights, a living wage, and health care for all; and for significantly reducing the bloated military budget and bringing our troops home now.
Candidate: David Cobb of San Leon, Texas
Bio: Co-Founder, Texas Green Party, 1999. Texas State Coordinator, Nader for President Campaign, 2000. General Counsel, Green Party of the United States, 2000-03. Green Party nominee for Texas Attorney General, 2002 (41,000 votes). Campaign Director, Reclaim Democracy, 2002-03. Board of Directors, Democracy Unlimited of Humboldt County, 2003-present. Attorney. Former construction worker. B.A. (Political Science), University of Houston. J.D., University of Houston Law School, 1993. Born 1963 in San Leon, Texas.

Libertarian Party -  Platform: Favor free-market economy, individual rights, cuts in foreign aid. The Libertarians would downsize the Federal government drastically. They oppose legislation of moral choices.
Candidate: Michael Badnarik of Texas - would restore all civil rights, revoke the PARTIOT Act, and end gun control.
Bio: Libertarian nominee for State Representative, 2000 (2nd place - 15,200 votes) and 2002 (3rd place - 1,100 votes). Self-employed computer consultant, 2001-present. Nuclear power industry computer programmer, 1977-2001. Skydiving instructor, 1998-present. Indiana University, attended 1972-77. Born August 1, 1954, in Hammond, Indiana. Single.

Peace and Freedom Party -  Platform: For collective ownership and democratic management of industry and natural resources. For feminism, affirmative action to combat past and present discrimination; for an unconditional end to U.S. military intervention and other forms of U.S. intervention in the affairs of other nations and other peoples.
Candidate: Leonard Peltier of Leavenworth, Kansas
Peltier remains at the center of one of the most enduring controversies in American justice: Did a vengeful Federal Bureau of Investigation, desperate to put someone behind bars for the murder of two of its agents, railroad an innocent man? A great many people think so. Amnesty International considers Leonard Peltier to be a political prisoner. From 1973 through 1975, the FBI under J. Edgar Hoover conducted a "war" against the American Indian Movement. Broken promises, political assassinations of AIM members, and prosecutorial misconduct were all documented. When FBI agents staged a military-style raid on an Indian gathering that included children and families, two agents were killed. The US Attorney admits no one knows who killed the agents, and there are no witnesses. Peltier was convicted anyway, denied any appeals, and sent away for life.
Bio: American Indian Movement (AIM), 1970-75. Former migrant farm worker. Former co-owner, auto body repair shop. Author. Artist. Left school at age 14 to seek work. Born September 12, 1944 on the Anishinabe (Chippewa) Turtle Mountain Reservation in North Dakota. Divorced. Convicted of two counts of first degree murder for aiding and abetting the 1975 killing of two FBI Agents, 1977. Sentenced to two consecutive life sentences. Currently in Ft. Leavenworth Penitentiary.


Personal Choice Party - Platform: Personal Choice expresses the philosophy of live and let live. Personal Choice demands that, as long as I am not hurting anyone else, only I have the right to choose how I spend my time, my wealth, my life, my honor. The purpose of government is to prevent us from harming others and to prevent others from harming us. That is all we should expect or allow government to do. It is not the job of government to stop us from harming ourselves, or to make us help others. That is our responsibility as individuals.
Candidate: Charles Jay of Indiana (Jay's running mate is porn star Marilyn Chambers-Taylor).
Bio: Jay was a candidate for Libertarian Party Vice Presidential nomination, 2004. Publisher, Total Action sports/gambing portal website. Boxing publicist, writer and manager, 1987-present. Spokesman, International Brotherhood of Prizefighters, 2004-present. Member, International Boxing Hall of Fame Election Committee. University of Miami, B.A. (Business), 1983. Born 1960 in New Jersey. Single ("... and not necessarily looking"). Catholic.

Reform Party - Platform: Supports balanced budget, tax fairness, ethics in government. Would create a new tax system that shifts the burden toward the wealthy and huge corporations; carefully protect Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security; and promote jobs in the USA.
Candidate: Ralph Nader of Connecticut
Bio: Green Party Nominee for President, 2000 (ballot status in 44 states - 3rd place - 2,878,000 votes - 2.7%) and 1996 (ballot status in 22 states - 685,000 votes - 4th place). Write-In candidate for President, 1992 New Hampshire Democratic Primary. Drafted as the New Party Nominee for President, 1972. Registered as an Independent voter. Consumer advocate. Attorney. College lecturer. Author. Founder of Public Citizen, Congress Watch, Essential Information, the Public Interest Research Group, Center for Auto Safety, Center for the Study of Responsive Law, Institute for Civic Renewal, Government Purchasing Project and other public interest organizations. US Army Reservist, 1959. A.B., Princeton University, 1955. LLB, Harvard Law School, 1958. Born February 27, 1934 in Winsted, Connecticut. Single.

Socialist Party USA - Platform: The Socialist Party "stands for the abolition of every form of domination and exploitation, whether based on social class, gender, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, or other characteristics".
Candidate: Walt Brown of Oregon - Brown is the also the nominee of the Natural Law Party of Michigan and the United Citizens Party (SC).
Bio: Oregon State Senator, 1975-87 (served as a Democrat). Member, Socialist Party USA since 1948. Founded the Socialist Party of Oregon, 1992. Socialist Party USA nominee for Congress in 1998, 2000 and 2002. Semi-retired attorney, currently. Deputy District Attorney, 1989-91. Former Professor, Northwestern Law School. US Navy & US Navy Reserve, 1944-70 (World War II veteran; retired at the rank of Commander). Aircraft riveter, mailman, construction worker and warehouseman (before attending college). B.A. and J.D., University of Southern California. M.A. in Government, Boston University. M.L.S., University of Oregon. Attended courses at Harvard Law School. Rhodes Scholar nominee, 1948. Born in 1926. Widower, father and grandfather. Recently remarried.

Prohibition Party - Platform: Although their main cause is to take away your booze, they are also heavy on plenty of other moral issues. "For Right to Life; Against Commercial Gambling;  Against the Homosexual Agenda; Against Commercial Pornography; For the Right to Prayer and Bible Reading in the Public Schools; Against Commercial Sale of Alcohol and Other Harmful Drugs".
Candidate: Earl F. Dodge of Colorado - This will be the sixth consecutive Presidential race for Earl F. Dodge as a Prohibition Party candidate.
Bio: National Chairman Emeritus of the Prohibition Party, 2003 - present. National Chairman of the Prohibition Party, 1958-1962 & 1979-2003. National Executive Secretary, Prohibition Party, 1962-2003. Prohibition Party nominee for US Senator from Kansas, 1966. President, Good Government Association of Kalamazoo (Michigan), 1968-71. Chairman, Colorado Prohibition Party, 1971 - present. Prohibition Party nominee for Colorado Governor: 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986 and 1994. Prohibition Party Vice Presidential nominee: 1976 and 1980. Prohibition Party Presidential nominee: 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996 and 2000. President, American Civic League. Secretary-Treasurer, National Prohibition Foundation, Inc. Secretary-Treasurer, Right-to-Life Education Fund, Inc. Owner, campaign button mail-order business. Attended the Malden Public Schools. Attended the Narcotics Institute (Illinois), 1959. Born December 24, 1932 in Malden, Massachusetts. Married to Barbara Regan Dodge. Seven children, 17 grandchildren. Baptist. Member, Sons of the American Revolution. Member, Sons and Daughters of the Pilgrims.
Socialist Equality Party - Platform: The SEP provides "a revolutionary socialist alternative to the Democrats and Republicans and their candidates John Kerry and George W. Bush". They oppose the war in Iraq and call for the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of all US troops.
Candidate: Bill Van Auken of New York
Bio: full-time writer for the World Socialist Web Site. Involvement in the workers' movement spans 33 years. He joined the Workers League, the predecessor of the Socialist Equality Party, in 1971, during a period marked by the Vietnam War and growing militancy within the American working class. He began writing for the Workers League's newspaper, the Bulletin, in 1979. Fluent in Spanish, he has written extensively on political developments and social struggles in Latin America. He lives in New York City.

Socialist Workers Party - Platform: SWP has evolved into a hardline communist party advocating the brand of authoritarian politics espoused by Cuban President Fidel Castro's style of Marxism. In fact, the SWP officially supports "defending the Cuban Revolution." Ballot status in 14 states.
Candidate: Roger Calero of New York - Since they weren't going to be elected anyways, the Socialist Workers Party didn't care that they nominated an ineligibe candidate. Why? Because Róger Calero is both foreign born and also not a US citizen.
Bio: Communist political organizer. Associate Editor, Perspectiva Mundial (official Spanish language newspaper of the SWP) and Staff Writer, The Militant (official English language newspaper of the SWP). Former meat packer. Born in Nicaragua. Moved to the US in 1985. Permanent Resident Alien (Green Card) of the US since 1990. Convicted Felon (Sale of Marijuana), 1988.

Workers World Party - Platform: They claim to embrace the political philosophy of Marxism-Leninism but others characterize the group as being Neo-Stalinist. They encourage mass action and class struggle and warn all those struggling for a better world not to rely on capitalist elections to solve their problems. Their candidate is the only black American whose name will appear on the Presidential ballot in any states.
Candidate: John Parker of California
Bio: John Parker was 18 when he organized his first union election--at a small steel plant in New Jersey. An African American, he has worked at a variety of jobs, including teaching public school. After moving to Los Angeles, he became a leader in the anti-war movement there and helped organize and chair several large rallies against the U.S. war in Iraq, sponsored by the ANSWER Coalition. He then worked hard to mobilize support for the 80,000 grocery workers on a strike/lockout against three giant southern California food chains. Member, Workers World Party National Committee. Regional Coordinator, International ANSWER (WWP front group), Los Angeles office. Regional Coordinator, International Action Center (WWP front group), Los Angeles office. Coordinator, Los Angeles Coalition to Free Mumia Abu-Jamal (WWP front group). Former classroom teacher. Militant unionist and communist political organizer (since age 18). Correspondent, Workers World (official WWP newspaper). Married.

American Nazi Party - Platform: Anti-Bush and anti-Kerry. The American Nazi Party is "a Political-Educational Association, committed to bringing American National Socialism, first created and embodied by the late George Lincoln Rockwell, into the 21st Century". Main tenants embody "the Struggle for Aryan Racial survival, and Social Justice for White Working Class people throughout our land".
Candidate: Rocky J. Suhayda - Chairman, American Nazi Party - no biographical information available.

Concerns Of People (Prohibition) Party - Platform: Make beer and whiskey illegal and impose the Ten Commandments as amendments to the Constitution.
Candidate: Gene Amondson of Alaska
Bio: Temperance Lecturer (reenacts early-1900s evangelist Billy Sunday's "Sermon Against Alcohol"). Landscape Painter. Minister. B.S. (Zoology), Warner-Pacific College. M.Div., Asbury Seminary. Born 1943 in Morton, Washington. Divorced. Four children. Church of God.

Family Values Party - Platform: Anti-abortion party with little attention paid to any other issues.
Candidate: Tom Wells -  Who says he was personally asked to run for President by God. Wells is a Jew who converted over from Christianity. No bio available.

Independent Candidates:
Generally speaking, these are candidates who couldn't get a group of people to support them, so they have struck off on their own. All of them are political mavericks.
John Galt Jr. (Pennsylvania) A writer, this candidate explains that he assumed the identity "John Galt Jr." several years ago after being deeply influenced by the John Galt character in Ayn Rand's classic libertarian novel Atlas Shrugged. Galt is waging a write-in campaign for President in 2004, just as he did in 2000. As for views, he supports drug legalization, "direct democracy, that is to say [having] the people voting on what should and shouldn't be law." Galt advocates environmentalist views, supports drug legalization -- and, surprisingly, is also rather hostile towards corporations ("We need new laws to limit the powers and scopes of corporate involvement in community and politics").
Larry Hines - briefly sought the Libertarian Party's Presidential nomination in 2000 as "The Openly Gay Candidate for U.S. President." A former US Marine Corps NCO and legal secretary, Hines is also active in numerous gay community organizations. The main goal of his campaign is "to introduce to society the idea that one day there will be an openly gay President." Hines' platform is largely libertarian, including a call for the legalization of drugs and prostitution.
Andrew M. Rotramel (Texas) - It's hard to take a Presidential candidate seriously when his campaign site is peppered with comments like "When I die, I want my remains scattered in a nice wooded area. The only catch is that I don't want to be cremated first" Rotramel readily admits he has no chance of winning. Instead, he wants to "make my positions on various issues known. I hope to influence some to a more enlightened way of seeing the world." His liberal platform includes abolishing the death penalty, legalizing prostitution and narcotic drugs, and amending the constitutional Bill of Rights to guarantee a right to food, shelter and health care. He also wants to make anarchist professor Noam Chomsky -- who recently called the US the "world's leading state sponsor of terrorism" -- the National Security Advisor.
Dan Snow (Texas) - Dan Snow is waging an Independent write-in campaign for President in 2004. Snow is a US Marine Corps veteran and an insurance agent. He is also very active in groups related to bass fishing. He was the two-time President of the Kentucky Bass Federation, a Founding Board Member of the Bass Research Foundation, and the first Chairman of the Angler's Advisory Committee to the Bass Research Foundation. When President Carter loosened travel restrictions to Cuba, Snow was the first to organize a group trip there (and, yes, it was a bass fishing group). If elected, he promises to "restore the 'freedom to travel' for the American people." As for foreign policy, he condemned the Iraq war against Saddam Hussein as "an illegal and immoral war." He also supports abolishing the IRS, establishing a system of universal health care, the election of federal judges, legalization of prostitution and drugs, ending the tax-exempt status for churches, passage of the livable wage, and "an end to vulgar and profane music being played on public TV and radio."

Dissatisfied by the offerings of both major parties, Ron Reagan Jr. said last month in Esquire Magazine:
"I think there is only one answer…and it really sucks: vote 3rd party. Screw the big two. Let disaster 1 or disaster 2 get the White House….maybe even for a few terms. That is going to happen anyway. However, by giving 3rd parties a reasonable fraction of the vote, they 1) become eligible for matching funds and 2) they force the big two to change. Both would be excellent results".
Conventional assumptions about the electorate as polarized Republican and Democratic camps misses the trend of the last three presidential elections - third-party candidates are tipping the outcome of presidential elections.
If you want government to reflect your principles, vote for candidates and parties that reflect those principles, no exceptions. The only result of holding to principle is government changing for the better, one individual vote at a time. Changing government for the better is not throwing your vote away. Quite the contrary, it is using it properly.

Some of the candidates and parties we have listed are ridiculous, but one thing they share in common: None of them is as boring as the two major candidates.

Famous third-party candidate Pat Paulsen once said:
"All the problems we face in the United States today can be traced to an unenlightened immigration policy on the part of the American Indian"
If you're really not sure who to vote for, you can write in my name. Just put "Gator" in there. In the unlikely event I am elected, I will encourage beer and liquor production and consumption. I will introduce "firewater" to the Arabs, and then trade it to them for oil. I will legally torture Al Quada prisoners by making them watch "Beaches" starring Bette Midler over and over again until they finally crack. And I will reinstate Clinton's intern policies at the White House.   GATOR