Building Support for Third Party and Independent Alternatives to Democratic-Republican Misrule One Commentary at a Time

I've come across a number of commentaries from across the country today emphasizing the need for alternatives to the mindless reproduction of Democratic-Republican party misrule, and making the case for voting third party and independent. From a letter by Ronald Mullins to the Topeka Capital Journal out of Kansas:

The two party system is broken. The two parties we have allowed ourselves are firmly entrenched in power, and as much as they detest each other, they hate third parties even more. They spend more time and energy attacking the other side than trying to go about making real change. Like parents in a bitter custody battle, they end up doing great harm to the object of their fight.

Our national debt is out of control, our infrastructure is crumbling, our inefficient health care system just received the worst possible fix and our education system lags behind that of other industrialized nations. Try voting for real change, not just endless, empty promises. Vote for a third-party candidate.

In a commentary on two independent candidates for local office in Illinois, Dave Mishur argues that third party and independent candidates bring "a new freshness and vitality" to our politics simply by virtue of entering electoral contests, stating they would do the same to government if elected. He writes:

Even here, in my home state of Illinois, the independent and alternative candidate phenomenon is raising eyebrows and gaining headlines. There are currently two "third-party" challengers; one for the Livingston County Board, where Earl Rients has filed as a write-in candidate; and another concerning the race for County Sheriff, where Lead Detective Tony Childress is fighting to be on the ballot as an Independent. . . .

Both Earl and Tony, and all the rest of the challengers to the two-party stranglehold on our nation's politics, are to be commended for their courage; and are worthy of our support.

That they represent real change is reflected in the fear and loathing with which an Independent candidacy is greeted by the two major parties, literally, like a latter-day snake in the Garden of Eden.

To file as an Independent is to be required to jump through impossible hoops in record time, meanwhile crossing all "T's" and dotting all "I's" while also minding your P's" and "Q's." Indeed, I would say it is easier for a rich man to enter the kingdom of Heaven through the eye of a needle than for an Independent to successfully get his name on the ballot . . .

We wish success to both Tony and Earl, for they will bring a freshness and new vitality to county government if elected. Indeed, merely by running for office, they have already done so.

Finally, at Florida's West Orlando News, Lee Clymer asks if we still need a two party system and makes a strong case for third party and independent opposition to the two-party state:

It is time we as voters take the power from the power brokers. It’s time we tell the two parties they are not the only game in town. It’s time we make it known we are not happy little voters and we will no longer be bullied. There ARE other choices and it is up to the voters to make sure they have their shot. We need to take money out of the equation, and put voting power back in the hands of the people. The only way that will ever become a reality though, is when people educate themselves about the candidate. We must take the voting booth back.

It is up to us to examine all the choices and make informed selections. It is up to us to stand up, no longer being lazy, and do our homework. It is time for us to really look deeply at the ads, the lies, and the propaganda, to really make the choice that means something to us. Only then will the political system start to correct itself.

Not a bad showing for the day.