Weight Of Third Party Candidates

With the 2006 elections barely a week away the debates are starting to heat up over the bread and butter issues of the two ruling parties. For the Republican's it's about their Orwellian War On Terror, gay-bashing and their latest attacks on a woman's right of choice in the instance of  unplanned and now even forced pregnancies. For Democrats, its about social security, homeland security, (no less Orwellian its approach), and the Environment.   Both sides are posturing around the issue of campaign finance, but then neither side would benefit if real reform were to happen, you understand.    The Democrats are speaking out against the war - - some two years too late. But, the one issue no one is talking about is, what role do third party candidates have in the more meaningful elections?

This issue is constantly being buried in the back of the American mind set.   And no wonder. We only have to look at the PR time the major media have given both sides of the aisle. One of the most glaring outcomes is that America has become the land of the mantra of 'I'd vote but there's no one to vote for.'   In fact, most third party voices have been silenced in most if not all the major stations on the radio and the television.  The few exceptions frequent venues such as NPR, Pacifica, M&N and late nights on CNN. For a while the only party members that most voters could point to who had some weight in the outcome of an election were Ralph Nadar, Pat Buchanan, and Ross Perot.  The most forgotten name is Eugene Debs who received 24% of the votes in 1918 when he ran on the Socialist Party ticket. The party today has little relevance but they also don't have the money of the Fortune 500 on their sides and neither do the Greens or Working Families Party. However, in an act that is almost unheard of, a judge ordered that a third party candidate must be able to be involved in the state debates.

In a decision made in a Tampa court, a judge ordered that the third party candidate Max Linn had to be allowed to debate current Republican Florida sweetheart Charlie Crist and his challenger Democrat Jim Davis. Max came out swinging at both candidates, saying that Americans are tired of Democrats and the party system. Then he turned his guns on Crist who dodged the question concerning the amount of money he received from an insurance company.  Linn yelled at him to answer the question, "for once."  Admittedly Jim Davis and Max Linn did gang up on the Republican who had been a favorite to be the next Governor.  But, in the end it was Davis who won out. The canyon in the opinion poles that separated Crist from Davis has narrowed considerably and if Davis does win in an upset, one has to wonder how much Davis has to thank Linn. It would be 1993 all over again when Bill Clinton won by less than 50% of national votes but was able to get in thanks to Perot.

In states like New York where its still legal for cross indorsement of a single candidate, the Working Families Party tipped the scales for several of the Democrats who were involved in the retaking of the Nassau and Suffolk county.  So we are seeing third parties finally getting ready to sow their oats.

Until next time.

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