Why Less Support for 3rd Party Candidates?

Aug.17, 2008 in Editorial, Politics

Lip service

A few days ago Jack Cafferty from CNN asked “Why isn’t there more support for third party candidates?” I was traveling at the time and unable to get my mobile phone to connect to his blog. I had a few comments to make. Unfortunately, the comments are now closed for that post. But many people there shared my opinions.

Scared to vote their own minds

I feel that some people are “scared” to vote outside the bipartisan circus. They think their “vote won’t count” or that it will “only boost the wrong candidate by taking away votes from the right.” Ridiculous. Remember, a vote for a candidate is a vote for THAT candidate. It doesn’t take away votes from one candidate or another. It takes away votes from EVERY other candidate.

If enough of the people that “claim” that they are tired of the current system would actually step up and do something about it we’d see change. But I know a large number of people that say “I believe in the libertarian view” or “I believe in an independent system as opposed to the bipartisan system.” And these are the same people that end up saying “I went ahead and voted for the republican” or “I broke down and voted for the democrat” because “that’s what it seemed like everyone else was doing.” Again, I say RIDICULOUS.

Media perpetuates the zoo parties

The other problem that I see is that the third parties are simply not given ANY attention from main-stream [sic] media. People like Jack Cafferty ask about it, but when I watch CNN I see no further mention beyond his blog question. He instead engages in the commentary about the elephants and the donkeys with no further mention of alternative candidates.

I have more opinions, but I’m going to reserve comment for now. Instead, here is the text from a letter I received today from the Bob Barr campaign. It was sent by Barr’s campaign manager, Russ Verney.

Dear friend,

“I would not ask for your help if the circumstances were not so dire.”

No, those are not my words; those are the words of John McCain in a letter he sent to supporters thGoing for the Goldis week, despite having raised $27 million in July.

If Sen. McCain thinks his situation is dire, he would not get out of bed in the morning if he were dealing with our situation.

- We’ve raised less than $1 million
- We’re blocked from upcoming debates
- We’re polling at 6% nationally

No, John McCain could not handle our situation.

But our man, Bob Barr, isn’t slowing down and now he’s fighting mad.

This Saturday, Senators Barack Obama and John McCain will take the national stage for their first combined national event. It will take place at Saddleback Church in Orange County, California.

For the past several weeks, we have put in requests and phone calls to the church’s pastor, Rick Warren, who was quoted this week in Time Magazine as saying, “I want what’s good for everybody, not just what’s good for me. Who’s the best for the nation right now?”

Unfortunately, Pastor Rick Warren doesn’t care to know the true answer to that question as he has willingly excluded Bob Barr and other candidates from his forum on Saturday.

After weeks of negotiations and calls to Saddleback Church from leaders from every corner of the political spectrum supporting Bob Barr’s inclusion, we’ve been left out in the cold.

The only people getting into the event are Obama, McCain and those who reportedly paid $500 to $2,000 to the church to sit in the audience.

Yesterday, I reported to former Congressman Barr that we’ve exhausted every avenue. I told him, “We’ve had calls placed to Pastor Warren from very powerful leaders from the left and the right, we sent in our personal request, and placed numerous phone calls that have not been returned. You are not going to be included.

“Our only option left is to threaten to file an temporary injunction as our attorneys believe they are in violation of the law.”

Bob responded by saying, “No, don’t threaten to do that . . . Just do it.”

As you read this, our attorneys are filing an injunction against Saddleback Church to include Bob Barr in their forum this Saturday.

You are the first to hear about this.

The complaint is based upon a violation of McCain/Feingold campaign finance legislation. While we’re no fans of that legislation, we don’t write the rules, we’re just forced to play by them. In this case, we’re using McCain/Feingold to our advantage.

The reason I am disclosing so much to you is because this is just the beginning. At every way you look at it, we’re at a disadvantage.

- We are being blocked from the national stage by the media, debate commissions and now even groups like Saddleback Church.
- Both the campaign and our party have put most of its manpower and money into getting on the ballot in every state.
- And we have our hands tied behind our backs by laws like McCain Feingold that benefit the two major parties.

But none of that matters.

We have a candidate who is worth fighting for and that’s is exactly what we’re going to do.

One way or another, Bob is going to get his message of liberty out to our nation.

We now have lawsuits active in Oklahoma, West Virginia, Massachusetts and now California to challenge the obstacles thrown in our way by the two-party system.

We’re also waging media battles as Bob continues his Midwest tour in Chicago and St. Louis this weekend that will be interrupted by a trip to Orange County, California.

And we’re not slowing down.

The only way to break through the two-party strangle hold is to fight them at every opportunity.

I need your help to continue our efforts.

Our ballot access battles have left our coffers nearly dry and I need you to make a donation today.

Please make a donation right now and help us continue our efforts and fight with every step that we take until Election Day.

Please make your most generous donation today and give as much as you can up to the maximum limit of $2,300.

Thank you for your loyalty, your generosity and for your commitment to liberty.

Sincerely,

Russell Verney
Campaign Manager
Bob Barr for President

P.S. According to campaign finance law, our campaign is still in “primary election” season and donations made before the Republican Convention will be counted against the primary limit of $2,300. You can give another $2,300 for the general election. If you can, try your best to reach or get close to the $2,300 limit today or at least before the Republican Convention. If you want to know how close you are to the limit, please call us right now by dialing 1-800-Bob-Barr.

Message approved by the Bob Barr 2008 Presidential Committee