Third Party Watch

The New York Times profiles Libertarian Party vice presidential candidate Wayne Allyn Root as he returns to his home town of New York:

That’s where the resemblance ends….

The reporter, Thomas Vinciguerra, has [...]

Doug Mataconis reports that the Bob Barr Campaign has released a 30 second television ad highlighting Barr’s opposition to the bailout bill. “No word on when or where this ad might actually run,” he adds.

American Free Press notes that the financial meltdown has increased interest in eliminating the Federal Reserve—a key plank of former presidential candidate Ron Paul—on the Internet if not in Congress:

In the halls of Congress, legislators have yet to bring Paul’s bill to the floor. It is currently languishing in the House Committee on Financial Services.

However, [...]

Ballot Watch News reports that both the Libertarian Party and the Green Party have expanded the number of congressional candidates they are fielding this year. The Libertarian Party has 127 nominees on the ballot compared to 114 in 2006. The Green Party has jumped from 45 congressional candidates in 2006 to 58 this [...]

This was a long time coming.

Americans who are considering voting ‘Third-Party’ this election year has many choices for those of many different ideologies. However, I will address specifically, the candidates Bob Barr & Chuck Baldwin.

Bob Barr’s candidacy is nothing to scoff at, or even take lightly. A former GOP Congressman that made the switch not [...]

The following is a response to the October 2 vice presidential debate from Wayne Allyn Root, the Libertarian Party’s vice presidential candidate:

The Vice Presidential Debate from a Unique Perspective: A Vice Presidential Opponent
By Libertarian Vice Presidential Nominee Wayne Allyn Root

After watching the Vice Presidential debate tonight, I have several opinions to share. I have a [...]

Andrew Davis, Director of Communications for the Libertarian Party, scrutinizes the Wall Street bailout bill that has passed the Senate:

At first, it was but three pages.

Then, it grew to 42.

When it was voted on last night, the bill was the size of a novel.

A 451-page novel they most likely did not read before completing the [...]

William Niskanen is chairman of the Cato Institute, and served as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers in the Reagan administration. Trying to figure out how third parties could have more political influence, he offers “A Case for a Different Libertarian Party”:

The effectiveness of the Libertarian Party and almost all other third parties [...]

Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr, interviewed by the Capitol Hill newspaper, The Hill, says he thinks there is at least one difference between John McCain and Barack Obama:

“I think McCain is a hypocrite,” Barr said of the Arizona senator. “He claims he is for smaller government and that’s not the case.”

Barr doesn’t think Democratic candidate [...]

Before last night’s vice presidential debate, the Los Angeles Times political blog, Top of the Ticket, predicted:

Well, we probably won’t get to know much about Wayne Root and Matt Gonzalez during tonight’s vice presidential debate in St. Louis. That’s because the vice presidential running mates of libertarian Bob Barr and contrarian Ralph Nader are prohibited.

Too [...]

The following is an article by Constitution Party presidential candidate Chuck Baldwin:

At the time of this writing, the U.S. House and Senate are poised to pass a $700 billion bailout to Wall Street. At the behest of President George W. Bush, the U.S. taxpayers are going to be on the hook for what can only [...]

Sean Scallon writes an interesting piece in The American Conservative asserting that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin once was a supporter of Pat Buchanan’s policies, but when he broke with the GOP to become the Reform Party candidate for President, she remained a Republican. He adds:

While remaining with the Republicans, Palin did have contact with [...]

The following is a media release from the Bob Barr presidential campaign:

October 1, 2008 11:21 pm EST

Atlanta, GA – “Sen. John McCain claims he can provide leadership, but he panicked in the face of cries that the sky is falling from Wall Street investors who made bad investments, and the taxpayers are going to pay [...]

The Chronicle, an independent daily at Duke University, finds that “Michael Munger, chair of the Duke political science department, is making waves and making history this year with his bid to become the governor of this state.” Last week, Munger became “the first-ever Libertarian candidate to participate in a televised gubernatorial debate in North [...]

The Charleston (SC) Post and Courier reports on Bob Barr’s speech before the Charleston Rotary Club:

Former U.S. Rep. Bob Barr said the current financial crisis has breathed life into his Libertarian bid for the presidency because many people think that party’s philosophy of less government and free markets is far superior to the $700 billion [...]

Reason.tv reports:

On Friday, September 26 at Reason Magazine’s Washington DC Headquarters, Libertarian Party presidential candidate Bob Barr participated in the presidential debates with a live studio audience. Around 200 people showed up for the ‘counter debate’ and 1000 watched online at www.mogulus.com/reason. It’s divided into two parts. Part One is the first 48 minutes of [...]

In the Raleigh (NC) News & Observer, Ryan Teague Beckwith writes that “Congressional Quarterly has downgraded John McCain’s chances here.” He discusses how recent polls suggest a very close race:

The most interesting poll result from the past week was a survey by Rasmussen Reports that showed Democrat Obama with a two-point lead over Republican [...]

Douglas E. Schoen, a pollster, writes in the Los Angeles Times that “the presidential election could well turn on a factor that has gotten virtually no discussion this year—the votes drawn by Libertarian Bob Barr, Green Cynthia McKinney and independent Ralph Nader.”

After demonstrating how their candidacies could make a difference in various states, Schoen asks: [...]

The following is an e-mail from the Green Party of the United States:

Leave the Oil in the Soil!

Dear ,

Were you sickened as we were by the chants of “Drill, Baby, Drill” at the Republican convention? But it got worse. In a cynical election year attempt to win voters [...]

The following is a media release from the Green Party:

Distributed by the Green Party of the United States http://www.gp.org
National Women’s Caucus of the Green Party of the United States http://greens.org/gp-uswomen/

For Immediate Release
Monday, September 29, 2008

Contact:
Morgen D’Arc, Spokesperson, 207-761-7797, morgenizer@yahoo.com
Linda Manning Myatt, Spokesperson, 248-548-6175, lmmyatt@wowway.com

Green Party National Women’s Caucus challenges NOW to support the historic McKinney/Clemente [...]

He wasn’t in the presidential debate, but Bob Barr had good news on another front last Friday: That’s the day he broke the $1 million barrier in fundraising. Deputy Campaign Manager Shane Cory reports:

Bright and early this morning, we broke the $1 million barrier!...

Everyone from the campaign staff along with Bob Barr and [...]

Atlanta Magazine has a 5,000-word profile of Bob Barr in its October issue. It’s much too long to reprint here, but check it out.

The National Taxpayers Union Foundation reports:

Sen. McCain (R-AZ) would increase yearly federal spending by $92.4 billion, compared to Sen. Obama’s (D-IL) $293.0 billion. NTUF also released a first-time analysis of Libertarian Party candidate Bob Barr, who would instead cut annual federal spending by $200.9 billion. The studies include proposals through September 19.

“If eight months [...]

Constitution Party congressional candidate (Pennsylvania, 16th district) Dan Frank, independent candidate John Murphy, and Democratic candidate Bruce Slater participated in a WGAL-TV Round Table Discussion on Tuesday, September 23. Noticeably absent was incumbent Republican Congressman Joe Pitts, who bowed out of the debate a day or so earlier.

A key issue was the bailout of [...]

by Chuck Baldwin

At the time of this writing, the U.S. House and Senate are poised to pass a $700 billion bailout to Wall Street. At the behest of President George W. Bush, the U.S. taxpayers are going to be on the hook for what can only be referred to as the biggest fraud in U.S. [...]