Ohio's Chronicle-Telegram outlines electoral alternatives
Don't like McCain or Obama? They're not your only choices
By Brad Dicken
The Chronicle-Telegram (OH) (link)
A couple of guys named Barack Obama and John McCain are running for president, and the odds are that one of those senators will become our nation's next leader.
But the Democrat and the Republican aren't the only choices Ohio voters will have when they enter the voting booth Nov. 4. Five other men and one woman have earned a spot on the Ohio ballot.
Some are people you've probably heard of -- consumer advocate Ralph Nader, after all, has run for the nation's highest office before. Two others are former members of Congress from Georgia.
But another doesn't have the backing of even a minor political party.
Whatever their background, if they are able to do what's deemed nearly impossible and pull in enough votes, they'll become the nation's 44th president.
It's all about the Constitution
Chuck Baldwin, the Constitution Party's candidate, refuses to say he won't become the next president. He said McCain and Obama are so close that it's possible that neither will win enough electoral votes to capture the White House.
That, he said, would send the decision to the U.S. House of Representatives, and as long as Baldwin -- a 56-year-old radio talk show host, syndicated columnist and Baptist minister from Pensacola, Fla. -- gets one electoral vote, he'll be in the race.
"I think we will get some electoral votes," he said.
That may be a long shot.
In 2004, when Baldwin was the Constitution Party's vice presidential candidate, he and his running mate garnered only 1 percent of the vote.
But he believes the nation is more fed up than ever with politics as usual and is hungry for another choice.
"I'm not a liberal. I'm not a conservative. I'm a Constitutionalist," Baldwin said.
A Constitutionalist follows the rules set forth in the U.S. Constitution, no matter what, Baldwin said.
The war in Iraq, he said, would never have happened if the Constitution had been followed.
"The president of the United States is not a king, he's not a dictator, and he has no right to send troops to invade a foreign country without a declaration of war," Baldwin said.
If he were president, Baldwin said, he would immediately pull the troops out of Iraq. He also doesn't agree with the $700 billion economic bailout.
"My dad told me, 'Son, you cannot borrow your way out of debt,' " he said.
Baldwin said he would pull the federal government out of issues it has no constitutional business being involved with, such as education, energy and health and human services.
He would also impose a 10 percent tariff on goods coming into the United States to replace the income lost when he abolishes the Internal Revenue Service.
"I would seek to slash federal spending across the board," he said.
The revolution isn't what you've heard
Brian Moore, the 65-year-old candidate for the Socialist Party USA, isn't surprised the economy is in trouble.
"Look what capitalism is doing to our country," he said. "People are going broke and losing their savings and their jobs. It's not getting any better."
And while he said he's as angry as other Americans about the state of the broken financial system, he believes it offers socialism a window to prove what it can do -- if voters give socialism a chance.
"Younger people are coming of age in this country, and I think they will be more open to a radical systemic change," said Moore, a retired HMO administrator who works as a headhunter in the medical field from his Springhill, Fla., home. "We're not pleased with the economy collapsing, but it gives us an opening."
Moore said socialism has borne the stigma of being a political boogeyman for more than a century and has been unfairly tarred with the same brush as brutal Communist regimes. That's not what socialism is all about, he said.
"We want a democratic society that is controlled by the workers," he said.
Under a Moore presidency, he said, there would be a massive redistribution of wealth and nationalization of key industries such as energy and the airlines. No worker would earn more than 10 times what another worker makes, Moore said.
Socialism, he said, has a history of fighting for things that the mainstream used to oppose, such as child labor laws, women's suffrage and a 40-hour work week.
This isn't Moore's first foray into politics, although he's only been a card-carrying socialist for the past year and a half.
He's run as an Independent in Washington, D.C., for City Council and for mayor. Since moving to Florida a few years ago, he's run for U.S. Congress and the U.S. Senate.
While he hasn't won, Moore said he's convinced the American political system needs to be fixed.
"The party system is corrupted and broken," he said.
The man from Aurora
Four years ago, Richard Duncan received 17 votes to be president of the United States of America as a write-in candidate.
The 55-year-old real estate agent and investor from Aurora is hoping for a better showing this year because his name will actually appear on the Ohio ballot -- and only the Ohio ballot.
In his independent bid for the U.S. Senate seat now held by Sherrod Brown, D-Avon, in 2006, Duncan pulled in 830 votes.
"Hopefully, I'm gaining some momentum," he said.
Duncan said he decided to start running for office in 2004 when his daughter was taking an American government class in high school.
"I'm just doing what I feel is in my heart, and we'll let the voters decide," he said.
Duncan said he can't be categorized as belonging to any political party because he agrees and disagrees with both Republicans and Democrats on various issues.
He agrees with Republicans on the idea of having a smaller government and is pro-life, but he sides with Democrats on issues such as tackling global warming and would move toward a more nationalized health insurance system.
"Frequently I'll be asked what party I'm in, and I'll say both," Duncan said.
Duncan -- who picked his vice presidential running mate, Ricky Johnson of Pennsylvania, after a nationwide search -- said he believes he and other third-party candidates provide an important public service, even if they lose.
"(We) keep the other candidates honest and make them work harder," he said.
Bob the Builder
A former Republican Congressman from Georgia, Bob Barr has changed parties and is shooting for higher office.
"We need a builder for this country. I am Bob the Builder," the Libertarian Party's presidential candidate told a crowd at a campaign appearance in Oberlin earlier this week.
The 59-year-old said his qualifications are "at least equal to the other senators running, and they far exceed Gov. (Sarah) Palin's." The Alaska governor is McCain's running mate.
But even if he doesn't win, Barr said whatever votes he does garner will help change public policy. Voting for a third-party candidate isn't throwing a vote away, Barr said. Instead, it's a way for voters to show the government that they're not happy with how things are going.
"I don't expect to win, no. Is it possible? Yes," Barr said.
Barr said he doesn't agree with the major parties on everything. For one thing, he wants to abolish the income tax. He also doesn't believe the government should have bailed out Wall Street.
He said it's a terrible idea and it's not government's job to interfere with the free market. He's also against mortgage and foreclosure assistance for homeowners.
"It's not the role of the government to control the economy, manage the economy or dictate the economy," he said.
On other issues, Barr walks a line between the two parties.
"I'm not an isolationist," he said. "I believe that if there is a fundamental responsibility of our government, it's to protect our nation."
He said he supports both pre-emptive and responsive war to fight threats to national security, although he's upset about the Iraq war and believes the U.S. needs to start pulling troops out.
"I have a lot more confidence in the Iraqi government and society than our administration," he said.
Barr said he does not believe that after so many years of our intervention Iraq would collapse in sectarian violence as soon as American troops leave.
Go Green
The Green Party's presidential candidate, Cynthia McKinney, is another former member of Congress from Georgia.
McKinney's campaign did not make the candidate available to The Chronicle-Telegram despite numerous requests. But the 53-year-old's biography on her campaign Web site says that she served on the House's International Relations and Armed Services committees during her time in Washington.
After losing her seat in 2002 -- which the Web site blamed on a concerted effort by Republicans who crossed over to vote against her in the Democratic primary, an event that was made into an award-winning documentary -- she returned in 2004 to serve another term in Congress.
She lost the Democratic primary in 2006 following an altercation with a U.S. Capitol policeman after she walked around a metal detector, according to news reports. Although McKinney, who is black, was never charged, she apologized for the incident after initially suggesting she was the target of racial profiling.
According to the Green Party's platform, the party's 10 key values are grassroots democracy, social justice and equal opportunity, ecological wisdom, nonviolence, decentralization, community-based economics, feminism and gender equity, respect for diversity, personal and global responsibility, and future focus and stability.
Try, try and try again
This isn't Ralph Nader's first time running for president; it's his fourth.
The 74-year-old consumer advocate has run as the Green Party's candidate in 1996 and 2000. He's run on his own -- without the backing of a party -- in 2004 and again this year.
The Nader campaign did not make Nader available to The Chronicle-Telegram despite numerous requests.
Nader has a long history of pushing for reforms that will make consumers safer, according to his campaign Web site.
"Because of Ralph Nader, we drive safer cars, eat healthier food, breathe better air, drink cleaner water and work in safer environments," according to the Web site.
But Nader is not without controversy, including public spats with the Democratic Party -- particularly in 2000, when some accused him of derailing then-Vice President Al Gore's presidential run.
Staff writer Jason Hawk contributed to this story.
Contact Brad Dicken at 329-7147 or bdicken (at) chroniclet (dot) com.
By Brad Dicken
The Chronicle-Telegram (OH) (link)
A couple of guys named Barack Obama and John McCain are running for president, and the odds are that one of those senators will become our nation's next leader.
But the Democrat and the Republican aren't the only choices Ohio voters will have when they enter the voting booth Nov. 4. Five other men and one woman have earned a spot on the Ohio ballot.
Some are people you've probably heard of -- consumer advocate Ralph Nader, after all, has run for the nation's highest office before. Two others are former members of Congress from Georgia.
But another doesn't have the backing of even a minor political party.
Whatever their background, if they are able to do what's deemed nearly impossible and pull in enough votes, they'll become the nation's 44th president.
It's all about the Constitution
Chuck Baldwin, the Constitution Party's candidate, refuses to say he won't become the next president. He said McCain and Obama are so close that it's possible that neither will win enough electoral votes to capture the White House.
That, he said, would send the decision to the U.S. House of Representatives, and as long as Baldwin -- a 56-year-old radio talk show host, syndicated columnist and Baptist minister from Pensacola, Fla. -- gets one electoral vote, he'll be in the race.
"I think we will get some electoral votes," he said.
That may be a long shot.
In 2004, when Baldwin was the Constitution Party's vice presidential candidate, he and his running mate garnered only 1 percent of the vote.
But he believes the nation is more fed up than ever with politics as usual and is hungry for another choice.
"I'm not a liberal. I'm not a conservative. I'm a Constitutionalist," Baldwin said.
A Constitutionalist follows the rules set forth in the U.S. Constitution, no matter what, Baldwin said.
The war in Iraq, he said, would never have happened if the Constitution had been followed.
"The president of the United States is not a king, he's not a dictator, and he has no right to send troops to invade a foreign country without a declaration of war," Baldwin said.
If he were president, Baldwin said, he would immediately pull the troops out of Iraq. He also doesn't agree with the $700 billion economic bailout.
"My dad told me, 'Son, you cannot borrow your way out of debt,' " he said.
Baldwin said he would pull the federal government out of issues it has no constitutional business being involved with, such as education, energy and health and human services.
He would also impose a 10 percent tariff on goods coming into the United States to replace the income lost when he abolishes the Internal Revenue Service.
"I would seek to slash federal spending across the board," he said.
The revolution isn't what you've heard
Brian Moore, the 65-year-old candidate for the Socialist Party USA, isn't surprised the economy is in trouble.
"Look what capitalism is doing to our country," he said. "People are going broke and losing their savings and their jobs. It's not getting any better."
And while he said he's as angry as other Americans about the state of the broken financial system, he believes it offers socialism a window to prove what it can do -- if voters give socialism a chance.
"Younger people are coming of age in this country, and I think they will be more open to a radical systemic change," said Moore, a retired HMO administrator who works as a headhunter in the medical field from his Springhill, Fla., home. "We're not pleased with the economy collapsing, but it gives us an opening."
Moore said socialism has borne the stigma of being a political boogeyman for more than a century and has been unfairly tarred with the same brush as brutal Communist regimes. That's not what socialism is all about, he said.
"We want a democratic society that is controlled by the workers," he said.
Under a Moore presidency, he said, there would be a massive redistribution of wealth and nationalization of key industries such as energy and the airlines. No worker would earn more than 10 times what another worker makes, Moore said.
Socialism, he said, has a history of fighting for things that the mainstream used to oppose, such as child labor laws, women's suffrage and a 40-hour work week.
This isn't Moore's first foray into politics, although he's only been a card-carrying socialist for the past year and a half.
He's run as an Independent in Washington, D.C., for City Council and for mayor. Since moving to Florida a few years ago, he's run for U.S. Congress and the U.S. Senate.
While he hasn't won, Moore said he's convinced the American political system needs to be fixed.
"The party system is corrupted and broken," he said.
The man from Aurora
Four years ago, Richard Duncan received 17 votes to be president of the United States of America as a write-in candidate.
The 55-year-old real estate agent and investor from Aurora is hoping for a better showing this year because his name will actually appear on the Ohio ballot -- and only the Ohio ballot.
In his independent bid for the U.S. Senate seat now held by Sherrod Brown, D-Avon, in 2006, Duncan pulled in 830 votes.
"Hopefully, I'm gaining some momentum," he said.
Duncan said he decided to start running for office in 2004 when his daughter was taking an American government class in high school.
"I'm just doing what I feel is in my heart, and we'll let the voters decide," he said.
Duncan said he can't be categorized as belonging to any political party because he agrees and disagrees with both Republicans and Democrats on various issues.
He agrees with Republicans on the idea of having a smaller government and is pro-life, but he sides with Democrats on issues such as tackling global warming and would move toward a more nationalized health insurance system.
"Frequently I'll be asked what party I'm in, and I'll say both," Duncan said.
Duncan -- who picked his vice presidential running mate, Ricky Johnson of Pennsylvania, after a nationwide search -- said he believes he and other third-party candidates provide an important public service, even if they lose.
"(We) keep the other candidates honest and make them work harder," he said.
Bob the Builder
A former Republican Congressman from Georgia, Bob Barr has changed parties and is shooting for higher office.
"We need a builder for this country. I am Bob the Builder," the Libertarian Party's presidential candidate told a crowd at a campaign appearance in Oberlin earlier this week.
The 59-year-old said his qualifications are "at least equal to the other senators running, and they far exceed Gov. (Sarah) Palin's." The Alaska governor is McCain's running mate.
But even if he doesn't win, Barr said whatever votes he does garner will help change public policy. Voting for a third-party candidate isn't throwing a vote away, Barr said. Instead, it's a way for voters to show the government that they're not happy with how things are going.
"I don't expect to win, no. Is it possible? Yes," Barr said.
Barr said he doesn't agree with the major parties on everything. For one thing, he wants to abolish the income tax. He also doesn't believe the government should have bailed out Wall Street.
He said it's a terrible idea and it's not government's job to interfere with the free market. He's also against mortgage and foreclosure assistance for homeowners.
"It's not the role of the government to control the economy, manage the economy or dictate the economy," he said.
On other issues, Barr walks a line between the two parties.
"I'm not an isolationist," he said. "I believe that if there is a fundamental responsibility of our government, it's to protect our nation."
He said he supports both pre-emptive and responsive war to fight threats to national security, although he's upset about the Iraq war and believes the U.S. needs to start pulling troops out.
"I have a lot more confidence in the Iraqi government and society than our administration," he said.
Barr said he does not believe that after so many years of our intervention Iraq would collapse in sectarian violence as soon as American troops leave.
Go Green
The Green Party's presidential candidate, Cynthia McKinney, is another former member of Congress from Georgia.
McKinney's campaign did not make the candidate available to The Chronicle-Telegram despite numerous requests. But the 53-year-old's biography on her campaign Web site says that she served on the House's International Relations and Armed Services committees during her time in Washington.
After losing her seat in 2002 -- which the Web site blamed on a concerted effort by Republicans who crossed over to vote against her in the Democratic primary, an event that was made into an award-winning documentary -- she returned in 2004 to serve another term in Congress.
She lost the Democratic primary in 2006 following an altercation with a U.S. Capitol policeman after she walked around a metal detector, according to news reports. Although McKinney, who is black, was never charged, she apologized for the incident after initially suggesting she was the target of racial profiling.
According to the Green Party's platform, the party's 10 key values are grassroots democracy, social justice and equal opportunity, ecological wisdom, nonviolence, decentralization, community-based economics, feminism and gender equity, respect for diversity, personal and global responsibility, and future focus and stability.
Try, try and try again
This isn't Ralph Nader's first time running for president; it's his fourth.
The 74-year-old consumer advocate has run as the Green Party's candidate in 1996 and 2000. He's run on his own -- without the backing of a party -- in 2004 and again this year.
The Nader campaign did not make Nader available to The Chronicle-Telegram despite numerous requests.
Nader has a long history of pushing for reforms that will make consumers safer, according to his campaign Web site.
"Because of Ralph Nader, we drive safer cars, eat healthier food, breathe better air, drink cleaner water and work in safer environments," according to the Web site.
But Nader is not without controversy, including public spats with the Democratic Party -- particularly in 2000, when some accused him of derailing then-Vice President Al Gore's presidential run.
Staff writer Jason Hawk contributed to this story.
Contact Brad Dicken at 329-7147 or bdicken (at) chroniclet (dot) com.
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