http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2012/10/obama-and-romney-not-only-ones-running.html
Yeah, I know, our media act as if Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are the only ones running for president.
But there's more.
Here are the 3 lesser known candidates that I am familiar with
1) Jill Stein ( Green Party)
The Green Party is more left-wing than the Democratic Party.
On foreign policy, Stein and the Green Party are angry that Obama has been to slow to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan. They are disappointed that Obama has kept Guantanamo, military tribunals, warrantless spying and drone warfare all in tact.
On domestic issues, they feel that Obama's health care doesn't do enough to insure all Americans. In fact, they feel that his health plan is a more about propping up private insurance companies than about helping the poor. Instead, they want the government to totally take over the health care system.
In pretty much everything, Jill Stein and the Green Party believe in MORE entitlements than Obama is willing to offer. Those entitlements range from tuition-free college education and a dramatically increased minimum wage. Stein also promises to halt all evictions and foreclosures.
Whereas Obama bragged about increased fossil fuel production, Stein wants to dramatically halt all fossil fuel production in an effort to transition to renewable energy.
Whereas Obama bailed out the big banks, Stein is totally against that.
Also, whereas Obama continued the militarized anti-drug policy, Stein plans to end all that, and transition to treating drug abuse as a health problem instead of a law enforcement issue.
Obviously, there's more, which you can learn about by checking out
http://www.jillstein.org/issues
2) Virgil Goode (Consitution Party)
The Constitution Party is more right-wing than the Republican Party.
Goode and the Constitution Party feel that Romney and other mainstream Republicans are too soft on immigration. Goode wants a militarized US-Mexico with a fence and tons of troops, just like the border between North and South Korea.
Also, whereas Mitt Romney promised a green card to any foreign student who got their degree, Goode wants a moratorium on immigrant until unemployment has dramatically decreased.
Whereas the Republicans (Romney included) have been influenced by the neo-cons who favor a more aggressive foreign policy, Goode aligned with the paleo-cons who believe in withdrawing US troops from Afghanistan, as well as withdrawing US troops from foreign bases as well.
Goode also feels that Mitt Romney doesn't go far enough to reduce the federal budget. The Romney budget plan promises to gradually reduce the deficit over a span of decades. Goode demands an end to the federal deficit now. That means the elimination of National Endowment for the Arts, No Child Left Behind, Pell Grants and other programs that Romney promised not to eliminate
Obviously, there's more, which you can learn about by checking out
http://www.goodeforpresident2012.com/the-issues.html
3) Gary Johnson (the Libertarian Party)
The Libertarian Party is about reducing government interference in both economics and civil liberties.
Whereas Republicans have promised less government interference in economics, and the Democrats have promised less government interference in civil liberties, NEITHER PARTY has even come close to keeping those promises when they have taken power the last few decades.
Gary Johnson, a former Republican governor of New Mexico is tired of all that! He tried influencing the Republican party from within, but screw it, he was being ignored.
So, now it's on to the Libertarian Party.
Johnson wants to withdraw all US troops from Afghanistan immediately, and wants to end drone warfare in other nations as well.
Johnson wants to end the militarized war on drug policy (which Obama promised and BROKE his promise) and wants legalization of marijuana.
Johnson feels that Obama also broke his promise on civil liberties, especially when it comes to warantless spying, indefinite detention, and military tribunals.
When it comes to economic issues like health care, Johnson believes that privatization works best. More competition and less regulations are what Johnson believes will make the health care industry more flexible and more costumer friendly.
Johnson believes that education should be a state issue, which he believes will make the education system more flexible and more attuned to local needs.
Unlike the Republicans, Johnson doesn't believe in bailing out the big banks or other forms of corporate welfare.
And for immigration, Johnson (who as I mentioned, was a governor of New Mexico), believes in making the legal immigration process a lot more easier and a lot less bureaucratic. He also believe in giving a grace period to illegal immigrants to gain work visas and to go through the legalization process.
Obviously, there's more, which you can learn about by checking out
http://www.garyjohnson2012.com/issues
4) Who do I support?
I mentioned the 3 lesser-known presidential candidates and their positions.
You already know about Barack Obama and Mitt Romney.
So who will I vote for ?
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I won't support Barack Obama. He has broken plenty of promises. He promised to reduce the deficit, restore the economy in one-term, a less militarized drug policy, an end to the civil liberty violations, and "if you like your health insurance policy, you can keep it".
Let's face it, wouldn't you want to ditch someone who broken promises over 4 years?
Yeah,yeah, yeah, ...... 1st minority president,............1st Hawaii-born president........ ..........blah, blah, blah!
Nothing wrong with be a minority from Hawaii. After all, that describes me too!
Obama's presidency showed that race is no longer a barrier to success that it used to be. That in itself will be a great thing for racial minority children out there. Now, there's no excuse for not striving to achieve the best you can!
But it is NOT enough to just be satisfied with "yay, we got a minority president" After all, didn't Martin Luther King tell us to "judge someone not by the color of the skin, but by the content of their character"?
I'm not going to vote for someone with so many broken promises. I'm not going to vote for someone who mishandled the health care debate with a 2,000+ page law. I'm not going to vote for someone who still allowed for a militarized drug policy, when he promised to end it. I'm not going to vote for someone who tried to confuse the public over how his administration mishandled the Benghazi consulate incident.
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I won't support Mitt Romney. If you think Obama was a "promise breaker", Romney is a flip-flopper. He has flip-flopped his opinions on abortion, gay marriage, gun control, health care and other issues.
While all of us have changed our opinions on various issues, Romney's timing in his "opinion changes" has MORE to do with what will help him get elected.
He tried to go more liberal while running for office in Massachusetts, then more conservative while running for the Republican nomination for US President.
Now, he is trying to be more moderate for the general election. Whereas he promoted a "tough on illegal immigration, tough on foreign policy" persona for the Republican primary, all of a sudden, now he's promising a more lenient immigration policy and a humble foreign policy.
Those are warning signs that Mitt Romney WILL "change" his political opinions AGAIN during his time as president.
On the few issues that Romney hasn't flip-flopped (yet), Romney promises to continue a militarized war on drugs, warantless spying, and indefinite detention. All issues I disagree with.
As for foreign policy, Romney promised a tougher foreign policy, promised more US interference in foreign affairs, and thinks Obama is "too soft" and "apologizes for America", even though Obama bombed Libya, expanded drone warfare and got Osama bin Laden killed.
This attitude shows that Mitt Romney is a "video game hero", which is almost the same thing as a "studio gangsta".
At least John McCain could back up his aggressive foreign policy beliefs, since he put his life on the line for real in Vietnam.
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I think Jill Stein is too far to the left and overly idealistic in her beliefs that more government interference in the economy would bring magic (ie. economic prosperity).
We're already in a deficit, the government can't be spending more than it already spends, even for "worthy causes".
And this "make the minimum wage a living wage" stuff is pure idealistic fantasy. Raise the minimum wage from (for example) $7 to $10 WILL increase prices. Prices keep going up, and therefore a minimum wage will NEVER be a "living wage".
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I think Virgil Goode is too far to the right.
Virgil Goode is an anti-immigration fanatic. His anti-immigration policies could only be enforced with racial profiling, warantless spying and more excessive regulations for citizens and businesses.
Also, he supports the same militarized anti-drug policy supported by Obama and Romney. This militarized drug policy could only be enforced with warantless spying, massive raids on private homes, and belligerent police profiling.
Whereas Romney flip-flops on abortion, Goode is a true anti-choice fanatic. He wants to ban abortion, which again, could only be enforced by warantless spying, and militarized tactics.
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I want a president who respects civil liberties.
I want a president that defends America first, instead of having military bases in countries that can afford to defend themselves.
I want a president that believes in allowing for free, flexible markets instead of centralized planning.
I want a president that believes that states should be flexible when it comes to health, drug, and education. That means less federal interference on those issues.
I want a president that treats drug issues as a public health issue, instead of an issue to be dealt with by militarized police actions.
I want a president who believes that federal civil rights shall expand to sexual orientation.
I want a president who will make our immigration policy easier for those who want to come legally, instead of our current mega-red-tape process we got now.
I want a president who believes in legalized abortion.
I want a president who believe in the citizen's right to own a gun.
I want a president who will lower USA's corporate tax rates, which is higher than "socialist" Europe or "socialist" Canada.
I want a president who doesn't have a long track record of broken promises nor a long track record of flip-flopping.
The presidential candidate who best fits all of that is Gary Johnson!
I'm voting for this guy!
Would I agree with every little thing that Gary Johnson does. Probably not, but based on what I've read, I'm in at least 85% agreement with him.
That's way more than I would agree with Obama, Romney, Stein or Goode.
5) "waste my vote"?
Some say voting for a lesser-known candidate is "wasting my vote"
They say "vote for a candidate who can win"
This "chose for who can win" is more appropriate for betting on the Super Bowl.
Elections are about choosing the best leader.
And the best leader is not Obama or Romney. I refuse to endorse them, their broken promises or their flip-flopping! I would not waste a vote for those two.
I'm not going to tell you who you should vote for. Don't just take my word for it. Do your own investigations. Do your own research. Vote for whoever you think is the best.
If you don't think Gary Johnson is the best choice, then vote for someone you think is a better choice.
But please don't tell me I'm "wasting my vote" just because I don't vote as if this was a popularity contest.
