Third Party Watch

From the Republican Liberty Caucus of Texas Yahoo! group comes this item:

There is a lot of concern expressed by the more politically realistic supporters of Ron Paul on MySpace that the 9/11 Truth Conspirators are political cannon fodder for the enemies of Ron Paul. Being branded a wacko is the kiss of death politically. [...]

This next Presidential election looks like it will contain a set of very active major party primaries. Among the dozens of candidates in the mix, it appears that Congressman Ron Paul and Congressman Tom Tancredo will both seek the GOP nod. Paul being a favorite of Libertarians and Tancredo a hero to many [...]

...and things get interesting.

From the Independent Online:

Students in Jennifer Copley’s seventh-period AP government class never got a chance to ask Rick Jore, C-Ronan, about his appointment as chair of the House Education Committee. Jore, along with fellow Constitution Party members Marilyn Hatch and Kandi Matthew-Jenkins, spent the better part of their Friday afternoon in Missoula [...]

Why do third parties exist? To win elections or to advocate for unpopular policies?

The New York Libertarian Party’s current nominee for Lt. Governor and past U.S. Senate candidate, Donald Silberger:

“In my opinion our purpose is not to elect people to office.”

“In my opinion, our purpose is to bring… during the course, principally of campaigns… [...]

Ok, so the LP now has new leadership and a new slimmed down platform. But there is still a pledge… and now dues. Kind of.

This is just an open topic for debating the results of this weekend’s convention. If you happened to miss any of the action, check out Joe Magyer’s Convention [...]

Here’s an old story from LP News in December of 1998…

http://www.lp.org/lpn/9812-Randall.html

Any thoughts?

I know this guy is a bit of a kook, to put it mildly, but I was still wondering what people who read this site think of the idea of moving the U.S. to a parliamentary system of government?

The nation’s current system all but guarantees appointed bureaucrats will run most of government, lobbyists will have [...]

I just finished reading this opinion piece by Carl Milsted, Jr. over at Free Market News and it got me thinking some about the Libertarian Party’s official pledge.

I’d be really interested to hear the opinions of some readers of this blog. Should the pledge be eliminated? Why or why not?

Minnesota has an interesting program that I just learned about via the Jesse Mortenson for State House website.

Basically…

Individuals who contribute to a registered political party or to a state level partisan candidate who has agreed to limit expenditures are eligible to apply for a refund of their contribution. For purposes of the political contribution refund [...]

Here’s a scenario that I think would be interesting to see everyone chime in on.

The Rules: You are given the ability to allocate donations totaling one million dollars to the candidate or candidates of your choice. The money must be gone by December 31st. It can’t go toward Presidential campaigns or into [...]

Ok, this is my third and final round of election predictions.

In the first, I focused on the three big races today. In the second, I looked only at the major Green Party candidates. Now… the best of the rest.

>> Bill Lynn looks like a virtual lock in his re-election bid to the Davenport, [...]

The Green Party seems to have the most to gain and the most to lose on Tuesday. Here are some highlights…

>> Minneapolis: There are two Greens running for re-election to the city council, and several others running strong campaigns to join them. Councilmember Natalie Johnson Lee seems like a good bet for [...]

Here’s my take on three of Tuesday’s biggest races.

What are your feelings? Sound off on our comments page!
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VA Governor—Republican State Senator Russ Potts is an independent candidate for Governor, but his campaign has stalled at around 5% in the polls. Despite running an excellent race, I would be surprised to see him with [...]

A new message board has been established by the Libertarian Party Platform Committee to discuss what changes need to be made.

Liberty For Sale’s Tim West has also weighed in on the topic:

The current platform is a political failure. It represents a attempt to bridge a gap that in the end will satisfy neither it’s detractors [...]

The whole “Fair Tax” idea is a subject I’ve raised on the TPW message boards not too long ago, and now it appears some affiliates of the Libertarian Party are starting to warm up to the proposal.

Texas LP Chairman Pat Dixion had this to say in a posting on the party’s national website:

On Saturday the [...]

With the recent victories in changing the Libertarian Party’s very structure into that of a real political party, my thought is that the platform is the next problem that needs to be addressed.

So, I would like to open it up and hear what you all think are the real “problem areas” of the platform and [...]

Working with the realistic pool of existing candidates, who would you most like to see get the Presidential and Vice-Presidential nominations of their respective parties come 2008?

What recent (last 40 years) third party campaign do you believe was the most effective at advancing their party and it’s agenda?

Ross Perot’s campaign and the Reform Party certainly brought attention to a variety of issues which were addressed by the Democrats and Republicans.

George Wallace’s AIP seems to have played a large role in totally [...]

Between 1900 and 2000 a great many third parties came and went. The Bull Moose Party, several versions of the Progressive Party… Wallace’s American Independent Party… The Libertarians… The Reform Party… and MANY others!

So… the big question is, which of these parties made the biggest mark on the political landscape during the last century?

For years the Libertarians have claimed to be America’s third largest party. Are they right? Over the last decade it would be easy to see how the Libertarians, Greens, and Reform Party could all have laid claim on that status. It all depends on what criteria is used.

How do you define if [...]