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The idea of choosing the lesser of two evils works well for some people. Some people walk into the voting booth and push the button that votes all Republican or Democrat. If this is your prerogative then that’s fine. If you’re like me you’ve grown tired of being told to pull for the party even when they go off on issues you don’t agree with. Choosing between McCain and Obama is such a hard decision for some because they find themselves dissatisfied with both of them. You shouldn’t have to make a list of pros and cons to figure out to vote for. That’s where the third parties come in.

You may be thinking that voting third party is like throwing your vote away. I beg to differ. How many people don’t vote at all? How about people who vote and then regret aligning themselves with that politician? When you look beyond the two main candidates you are presented with a nice collection of varying opinions. If you don’t agree with Obama you may agree with Nader or McKinney. If you don’t agree with McCain you may agree with Barr or Baldwin. If you’re not going to vote or going to vote for someone half-heartedly why not at least take a look at the other candidates so you don’t waste your vote?

Another purpose of voting third party is to give a “no confidence vote.” In essence you want to make it clear that you don’t like what you’re being dealt. You may want to do this if you are staunchly anti-war. It’s obvious that McCain is for the Iraq War but Obama is for escalating war in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Neither of the candidates are going to do something about illegal immigration. Neither are going to cut wasteful spending and lower taxes as much as they could. These are just a couple reasons why you would cast a no confidence vote. Some people think it’s a waste to vote for a third party candidate but I think it’s a waste not to vote at all. If you agree with McCain or Obama I hope you get out and vote for them. Not voting is the worst thing you could do. Is it really going to hurt you to voice your opinion?

The way the media treats third party candidates should alarm you. From the beginning of the primaries to the end of the race they act as if no one else is running for president. They promote the Red and Blue candidate and leave a large gap in the middle. They should have no problem with bringing all of the candidates on so that they can voice their opinions. It would be great for ratings to allow them to debate with the major candidates. Just because more people support these people then the others doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t let people make their own decisions on who to vote for. It’s quite odd that the media is so worried about hurting the main candidates. Nader would steal votes from Obama! Barr would steal votes from McCain. So what?

If you feel that neither candidates are fighting for the constitution, are going to bloat the government and will reach beyond their necessary powers I suggest you check out Barr or Baldwin. If you’re a Christian that also considers themselves a Constitutionalist, someone that believes in limited government and returning the county to it’s roots I again suggest you check out Baldwin.

If you believe in exiting Iraq as fast as possible, not continuing the war in Afghanistan, you should check out Nader of McKinney. You may agree with McKinney because of her staunchly liberal stances. A lot of people consider Obama to be very liberal but McKinney is more so. That may be the better choice for you. Nader focuses a lot more on corporate crime, new energies and civil rights issues. Voting third party allows you to look across the whole field. Forget about party loyalty. Who are you loyal to? Yourself? Maybe you should be.

Whatever you do this election do not vote for the lesser of two evils. You need to get on the internet, look at all of the candidates and decide who you want to vote for. Their are plenty of choices out there that should allow you to choose the best candidate, not the lesser evil. The two party system only hurts America. If we want to open up debate and bring all sides of the argument to the table we have to start by allowing third parties to get involved. The more people that vote third party the more the media will have to listen. Either way, vote by your convictions. Not by party convictions.

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• If McCain Snubs the Debate how About a Substitute?
• Third Party Debate Tomorrow
• Does McCain and Obama’s Support for the Bailout Bother You?
• Baldwin, Barr, Right on the Bailout

Tags:  Bob Barr Chuck Baldwin Cynthia McKinney Ralph Nader third party