Now that Donald Trump and Hilary Clinton are official the party candidates in this year’s election, it’s time to really pay attention and decide who is going to get your vote. This can be a scary thought for most; your options are either a hateful, angry man who bullied all of the other candidates into quitting or a deceitful former first lady with no integrity. Some may feel that there is no hope for this country since they seem to be our only choices for President of the United States. Little do many people know, there are other parties with candidates to offer who are not as wild as the ones we tend to focus on.
Third party candidates are important to pay attention to, especially during this election. They don’t get much media coverage, mostly because a lot of people don’t believe they stand a chance against the Republicans or the Democrats. For the most part, that’s pretty true. But during this race, it seems that someone has to pick the lesser of two evils, and that isn’t necessarily the case if people would give third party candidates more of a chance.
First, we’ll talk about the Libertarian Party . The Libertarian Party is summed up easily in one phrase: “Don’t Hurt People and Don’t Take Their Stuff.” This party stands for individual freedom, meaning that they believe that people deserve to pursue happiness however they please. This belief is prominent through all issues that come their way, including gun control, drug legalization and decriminalization, and health care. Along with this, the Libertarian Party leans more to the left on social issues. They believe in the legalization of same-sex marriage, the legalization of marijuana, a woman’s right to choose, and they recognize the consequences that come with war. On the other side, they are economically conservative, meaning that they believe in the free market and that there should be little government interference in economics. They believe that the IRS, Social Security, and income taxes should all be eliminated.
The candidate for the Libertarian Party is Governor Gary Johnson and his running-mate Bill Weld. Governor Johnson was the Republican governor of New Mexico from 1994-2003. He is well-known as “the most fiscally conservative governor” in the country. Starting as a door-to-door handyman, he started and grew his company into one of the largest construction companies in New Mexico, giving over 1,000 people jobs. He has a veto record of more than 750 bills vetoed during his time in office, giving him the nickname “Governor Veto.” He also cut taxes in New Mexico 14 times, and never raised them a single penny. At the end of his time in office, New Mexico was among only four other states in the entire country with a balanced budget. In the 2012 election, he placed third and got more votes than any other Libertarian candidate before.
His running-mate, Bill Weld, was elected governor of Massachusetts in 1990 with only 51% of the vote, and then again in 1994 with 71%. Weld cut taxes 21 times and did not permit any tax increases. Unemployment was lowest among the 11 industrialized states during his first term as governor. He also made work become a part of receiving welfare benefits, which resulted in a large increase in the welfare budget. Along with this, Weld was an early supporter of the movement for gay rights and is an outspoken defender of a woman’s right to choose to terminate a pregnancy.
The second party to focus on is the Green Party. The Green Party describes itself as “grassroots activists, environmentalists, advocates for social justice, nonviolent resisters and regular citizens who’ve had enough of corporate-dominated politics.” They focus on peace, ecology, social justice, and democracy. Here is their stance on a few issues that may be important to some people: The Green Party believes that a woman’s right to choose is absolutely non-negotiable and that contraception should be included in all health insurance coverage. They’re supporters of affirmative action, same-sex marriage, and respect ethnic, racial, sexual, and spiritual diversity. They want the individual to be the one that people focus on, instead of economic institutions, and we should look to the people for answers on wealth inequality. They also believe in the legalization of marijuana, that industrial pollution should be taxed, and that the death penalty should be abolished.
The candidate for the Green Party is physician Dr. Jill Stein. She was the Green Party’s candidate for President in 2012, and she currently holds the record for the most votes ever received by a woman for a presidential election. She is a fighter of environmental racism and injustice, and promotes healthy communities, and wants to strengthen local green economies and bring back democracy. She became very aware and focused on the links between toxic exposure and illness in the 90s. With this knowledge, she pushed for a healthier environment, believing that it is a human right. In 2002 she was recruited to run for governor of Massachusetts against Mitt Romney, which was the beginning of her involvement in political elections. Many people say that she was the most informed and most credible candidate in the race. She is also a co-founder of a non-profit organization called the Massachusetts Coalition for Healthy Communities, which fought for the health and well-being of communities in Massachusetts, focusing on health care, local green economies, protection for the environment, labor rights, and grassroots democracy. Since then, she ran for Secretary of State in 2006, where she garnered over 35,000 votes, which is the most votes any candidate in the Green Party has ever gotten.
Even though it may seem like a waste to pay attention to third party candidates, let alone vote for them, in this race, it’s very important. It may feel like you have nowhere else to turn, but there truly are other options, and if more people gave these candidates the time of day, things could be different.
