The Thirds

Green Party Congressional candidate gets Democrat endorsement

2015-04-29T21:09:00.002-07:00

Green Party candidate for New York's 11th Congressional District, James Lane, has earned the Southern Brooklyn Democrats endorsement.

The Southern Brooklyn Democrats wrote on their Facebook Page, "Mr. Lane isn't a career politician; he's a member of our community who deeply cares about the interests of the people and representing us. It's long overdue that this district was represented by someone who is 'by the people, for the people."

Rachel Shapiro writes at silive.com Southern Brooklyn Democrats club President Jennifer Thorpe-Moscon said, "We don't blindly endorse whatever candidate the Democratic Party puts forth."

The club has a brief history of backing third-party candidates, as it endorsed Green Party candidate for governor, Howie Hawkins, in 2014 instead of Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Lane is running in a May 5 special election for Congress.

SOURCE:

http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2015/04/lane_gets_brooklyn_dems_club_e.html

Bernie Sanders confirms he's running for President

2015-04-29T19:53:00.001-07:00

Vermont Independent Senator Bernie Sanders confirmed he will join the race for President Thursday in an interview with the Associated Press. He told the Associated Press he's running as a Democrat.

Sanders was quoted saying, "I've run outside of the two-party system, defeating Democrats and Republicans, taking on big-money candidates and, you know, I think the message that has resonated in Vermont is a message that can resonate all over this country."

Sanders said he will make money and politics a central theme of his campaign, including a call for a constitutional amendment to overturn the U.S. Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United decision.

The Associated Press speculates Senator Sanders is likely to attract some interest from voters who have unsuccessfully sought to draft Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren to join the race.

SOURCE:
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/vermont-sen-bernie-sanders-i-am-running-for-president/ar-BBiUvNQ?ocid=ansnewsap11

Green Party: Hillary Clinton, thank you for running!

2015-04-29T19:32:00.001-07:00

The Green Party is saying thank you to Hillary Clinton for running for President. An e-mail from the party said since Clinton's announcement, "We've been getting a huge influx of new supporters. The number of tweets shot up by 300%--and it's holding! We're getting a similar uptick in people joining the party".

The e-mail says people are joining because, "people are fed up... afraid... and sick and tired of having 90's-style realpolitik shoved down their throats."

The e-mail says the Greens want to "max out" on candidates for the up-coming election cycle and continue with our "aggressive ballot access work".

Report: Split at the top of Massachusetts' United Independent Party

2015-04-24T14:59:00.001-07:00

A report from the Massachusetts State House News Service says two running mates whose campaign produced a new political party, the United Independent Party, have parted ways.

Andy Metzger reports Evan Falchuk, who garnered 3.3% of the November 2014 vote for governor, is no longer working with his running mate Angus Jennings.

Jennings suggested in the report that party has become more about Falchuk than the cause.

Falchuk said the party has been holding regular organizing meetings, has registered 2,300 members, and will have candidates for local office.

SOURCE:http://wwlp.com/2015/04/23/rift-emerges-between-independent-party-running-mates/

Libertarian blog comes out against "Top Two" voting

2015-04-24T14:23:00.000-07:00

A Libertarian Party blog post came out against a "Top-Two" primary ballot initiative in Florida.

The plan would move the top two vote-getters in what is effectively an open primary to the general election. No matter what party the top two candidates belong to, they will advance to the general election and would be the only two candidates on the General Election ballot.

The blog post says the practice, "severely damages the chances for alternative parties and independents to participate in the general election, except where seats are uncontested."

Currently, California and Washington have "Top Two" elections.

Source:http://www.lp.org/blogs/staff/florida-ballot-initiative-for-two-only-general-elections-begins-to-circulate

Mississippi Libertarian to run for Lt. Governor

2015-04-24T13:50:00.002-07:00

The Mississippi Libertarian Party will have one statewide candidate in the 2015 Mississippi General Election. Ron Williams will be running for Lieutenant Governor.

The party will have three candidates running for the legislature, two candidates for Senate and one candidate for House. The Mississippi Libertarians will also have five local level candidates.

In a news release state party chair Mario Barnes said, "We are running 8 candidates this year for various positions... This is more than double our previous high mark. It is commensurate with the growth the MSLP is seeing in membership, participation and influence."

Source:http://www.lp.org/blogs/staff/mississippi-lp-running-eight-candidates-this-november

Pot is banned... so let's ban alcohol!

2015-04-24T01:45:00.000-07:00

State Representative Chris Pearson of the Vermont Progressive Party is floating a bill to ban alcohol. He told Erin Mansfield in the Bennington Banner the move is symbolic to protest "stalled efforts" to legalize marijuana.
Penalties would be up to 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine. Pearson told Mansfield, "Prohibiting the sale and possession of alcohol is a laughable... [use the] same logic we use to consider the continued prohibition of marijuana."

Source:
http://www.benningtonbanner.com/localnews/ci_27926129/vermont-lawmakers-propose-ban-alcohol-make-pot-point

We're back!

2015-04-24T01:33:00.004-07:00

We're back.

Constitution Party backed candidate trying to get GOP nod…

2009-12-06T08:59:00.000-08:00

A candidate who says he is backed by the Constitution Party is trying to get the Republican nomination for Congress in Texas. Trish Choate writes on GoSanAngelo.com that Michael Barrett is trying to unseat incumbent Republican Congressman Mac Thornberry. Thornberry was first elected to Congress in 1994.

Choate writes, “Michael Barrett of Nocona Hills plans to challenge Thornberry, but he’s shooting for the nomination from the Constitution Party instead of the Republican Party… Barrett, 54, said Constitution Party members approached him and have promised financial support.” Choate quotes Barrett saying the Republican party has “gone too much to the middle”.

SOURCE:

http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/2009/dec/03/area-congressmen-file-for-re-election-in-2010/

Independent for Congress interviewed about Palin’s book…

2009-12-06T08:25:00.000-08:00

Independent for Congress is mentioned in a newspaper article about former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin’s book. Dean Moore, and independent running for Missouri’s 7th Congressional District (the Southwest corner of the state), was interviewed in a newspaper article about people lining-up to get Sarah Palin’s book signed.

Chad Livengood writes on News-Leader.com, “Dean Moore… said Palin's life experiences resonate well with people in the Midwest. ‘She's the polar opposite of Nancy Pelosi… The kind of person who thinks very highly of Nancy Pelosi isn't going to catch this fever.’

The mention of Moore was buried at the end of the article about the Palin event in Springfield, Missouri. Moore is trying to win the seat being vacated by Representative Roy Blunt. One more note, Dean Moore is not the only more running for the seat, Republican Darrell Lee Moore is running as a republican in the race.

SOURCE:

http://www.news-leader.com/article/20091203/NEWS01/912030366/1007/Chance-to-meet-Palin-energizes-supporters

Close to buying an election - the value of a vote?

2009-12-06T08:04:00.000-08:00

The campaign spending results are in for the New Jersey Gubernatorial race. The numbers show the value of a vote. If a candidate is unpopular enough even spending gobs of money is not enough to buy an election – but it is pretty close. New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine lost his re-election bid by about 4% of the vote.

Here is how much the three major candidates spent in the race, and the amount of money they spent per vote they received:

Governor Jon Corzine $27,000,000 - $25.60/vote

Governor-elect Chris Christie $11,400,000 - $9.88/vote

Independent Chris Daggett $1,600,000 - $11.70/vote

Governor Corzine’s big spending brought him close to winning re-election but even spending more money than his competitors combine did not give him the win. Does these stats show a need for campaign finance reform, or does it just show Corzine was as incompetent running an elections as voters believed he was in running the state?

On a side note, the Associate Press is reporting that Governor Corzine spent $131,000,000 of his own money running for office since 2000. Governor Corzine has run for Governor twice, and U.S. Senate once.

SOURCE:

http://www.politickernj.com/matt-friedman/35180/gubernatorial-campaign-spending-down-30

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=9218487

Independent poised to be on ballot to replace Ted Kennedy…

2009-12-06T07:23:00.000-08:00

Independent Libertarian Joe Kennedy is poised to be on ballot to replace the late Senator Ted Kennedy. Kennedy, a member of the Libertarian Party, is running as an independent because Massachusetts state law makes it cheaper to run as an independent versus a party-backed candidate.

Kennedy says on his website, “Our original goal was 13,500 signatures / 10,200 validated signatures. Not only did we exceed both goals but we BLEW THEM AWAY… I want to thank everyone for their efforts and urge you more than ever to spread the word.”

Candidates needed to get 10,000 signatures to qualify. The primary election for the race is December 8, 2009 with the general election on January 19, 2010.

SOURCE:

http://joekennedyforsenate.com/

http://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/elespeif/senatorincongressma.htm

Bernake on Hold…

2009-12-02T19:20:00.000-08:00

Bernake placed on hold, for re-nomination. CBS MarketWatch is reporting Independent Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders is placing a hold on the nomination of Ben Bernanke for a second term as chairman of the Federal Reserve.

Senator Sanders was quoted saying, “the American people did not bargain for ... another four years for one of the key architects of the Bush economy.” Senator Sanders was also critical of not providing enough credit to small and medium-sized businesses.

SOURCE:

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/sen-sanders-to-place-hold-on-bernanke-nomination-2009-12-02-2153530?siteid=bnbh

Illinois Gubernatorial candidate not releasing income tax returns…

2009-11-30T12:15:00.000-08:00

Illinois Green Party Gubernatorial candidate Rich Whitney is not releasing his income tax returns. A posting on NBCChicago.com, is critical of a number of candidates for Illinois Governor are not releasing their tax statements. Whitney did not want to release the documents because of his wife's privacy.

Two Republicans also have refused to release their information and another Republican will only release the income tax information if “everybody else does”.

Two Democrats mentioned in the piece said they would release their information, but have not done it yet.

SOURCE:

http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/politics/Guv-Candidates-Withhold-Tax-Returns-78126587.html

http://www.southtownstar.com/news/1910864,113009transparency.article

Jesse Ventura: MSNBC paid for my silence

2009-11-30T11:49:00.000-08:00

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times’ Scott Collins, Jesse Ventura talked about his new television show on truTV and a few other surprising things.

The former Independent Governor of Minnesota also touched on his time on cable television on MSNBC. He said “weird phone calls” started happening asking if Ventura was against the war in Iraq. Which Ventura was against.

Ventura said he was being groomed to get a five day-a-week TV show, then he was taken off the air and not even being used as a consultant, but was still paid for three years. Ventura was quoted saying, “Why do you think you didn't hear from me for three years?”

The interview also focus on Ventura’s conspiracy based show “Conspiracy Theory”. Ventura talked about 9/11 terror attack conspiracies and weather control conspiracies.

SOURCE:

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-ca-conversation29-2009nov29,0,1777742.story

Is the door opening to Third Party conservatives?

2009-11-30T10:19:00.000-08:00

Two recent polls show there may be an opening for conservative Third Parties in the upcoming 2010 elections.

Democracy Corp said in a recent poll, “only 16 percent have a positive view of the current economy and only a third think the economy is ‘starting’ to improve.” The results of the poll shows that Independents “are particularly pessimistic” on economic issues. People vote with their pocketbooks and if voters are not will to accept the economy is doing well Democrats will fall.

But what about Republicans? When you look at numbers from an “excitement” poll conducted by Research 2000 for the DailyKos, the chances for conservative independent or Third Party candidates are high. The poll shows more than half of the country has negative views of Congressional Democrats and Republicans, and the parties in general.

The excitement gap is where the big news happens. The Research 2000/DailyKos poll asked, “In the 2010 Congressional elections will you definitely vote, probably vote, not likely vote, or definitely will not vote?” 81% of Republican Voters said they are Definitely or Probably Voting in 2010, 65% of Independent voters also felt the same way, with only 56% Democratic voters feeling the same way.

If a conservative candidate can strike a credible message on the economy a third party candidate could get some traction. We saw how in just one month a Third Party candidate in upstate New York (Doug Hoffman) turned the race on its head. It took visits from the Vice President, and the endorsement from the Republican to beat the Third Party challenger.

If Democrats fail to garner excitement and support an independent/Third Party candidate could take some of their votes and then battle for votes from the right and make it into Congress.

SOURCE:

http://www.democracycorps.com/strategy/2009/11/the-economy-at-a-sensitive-juncture/

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/11/27/808503/-Weekly-Tracking-Poll:-New-Feature-Paints-Ugly-2010-Picture

Bloomberg for Mayor: The $100 Million Dollar Mayoral Campaign

2009-11-30T09:48:00.000-08:00

The final numbers are in on the New York’s Mayor Michael Bloomberg's re-election spending. The New York Times says Mayor Bloomberg spent about $102,000,000 to get re-elected to a third term as mayor. That equals about $183 per vote.

Bloomberg is now top-spending self-financed politician in U.S. history. In previous campaigns he spent $85,000,000 and $74,000,000.

SOURCE:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34180267/ns/politics-more_politics/

http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE5AR08320091128

Bernie Sanders makes some news on Sunday talk shows…

2009-11-30T09:34:00.000-08:00

Vermont Independent Senator Bernie Sanders makes some news on Sunday talk shows.

Senator Sanders said he would not vote for Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke to be reappointment to his position. Sanders said on ABC’s ‘This Week’ program, “I absolutely will not vote for Mr. Bernanke. He is part of the problem. He's the smartest guy in the world, why didn't he do anything to prevent us from sinking into this disaster that Wall Street caused and which he was a part of?"

The Progressive Senator also said he would not force a public option in the health care reform bill. Senator Sanders said he would like get a public option, but does not believe is worth destroying the rest of the bill over the public option issue.

SOURCE:

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/11/29/sanders-says-second-term-federal-reserve-chief/

http://blogs.abcnews.com/george/2009/11/sanders-no-line-in-sand-on-health-care.html

Progressive Party of Vermont comes out with it’s own loyalty-ish pledge…

2009-11-30T09:11:00.000-08:00

The Vermont’s Progressive Party comes out with it’s own loyalty-ish pledge. Martha Abbott, the Chairwoman of the Vermont Progressive Party, explains on the party blog what it will take to keep a Progressive candidate out of the 2010 Governor’s race.

Abbott says these the key issues are:

*Enacting a Single Payer Health Insurance System

*Closing (or not extending the license of) Entergy Nuclear (formerly known as VT Yankee)

*Fixing the insolvency of Vermont’s Unemployment Insurance fund without doing it on the backs of the workers who are unemployed.

*Fixing the state employees retirement fund (where retired teachers currently receive an average of slightly more than $10,000 per year and retired state employees currently receive an average of slightly more than $14,000 per year) without gouging current and future retirees.

Abbott wrote, “…it is not about what candidates say, but about what they do… We are looking for someone who will be proactive at trying to rally people behind the needed changes.” So it appears the Progressive Party is willing to let the Democrats have the only major candidate on the left, but only it the Progressives are happy with the choice.

Abbott suggested a number of possible Progressive candidates. Interestingly Anthony Pollina, former Progressive candidate for Governor, was not mentioned in the list. Is that because Abbott felt people knew enough about Pollina, is this a sign that Pollina will not be for Governor again, or could this mean Pollina will look for the Democratic nod?

SOURCE:

http://www.progressiveparty.org/blog/?p=1038

Nader “absorbing” information about possible run for Senate…

2009-11-29T18:43:00.000-08:00

Ralph Nader is “absorbing” information about possible run for Senate. Susan Haigh writes for the Associated Press, “Ralph Nader says he wants to gauge the level of grass-roots support before deciding whether to make a bid to represent Connecticut in the Senate.”

The Connecticut Green Party is trying to persuade the consumer advocate and former President candidate to challenge Democratic Senator Chris Dodd in 2010. State Green Party spokesman Tim McKee says social networking Web pages are springing up urging him to run for Senate.

SOURCE:

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jvGky28IfeN9Eygc6iwhqYjriJMAD9C85A3G2

Cook Political: Third Parties making a difference…

2009-11-29T18:17:00.000-08:00

Third Parties are making a difference in New England according to an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal. Jennifer Duffy from the Cook Political Report writes on WSJ.com, “Third-party candidates rarely win elections. So what does it say about the deep blue states of Massachusetts and Rhode Island that they now have credible independents running for governor next year?”

Duffy writes that because of Democratic dominance in New England the opportunity has arisen, the opening is there for a third party or independent candidate to take the wind from the Democrat.

Duffy points out that in Massachusetts, state Treasurer Tim Cahill now has more than six times the amount of money that incumbent Democratic Governor Deval Patrick has in his bank account the end of the last quarter. Cahill was a Democrat, but resigned to run as an independent. She continues to write about former Republican Sen. Lincoln Chafee who is running for Governor in Rhode Island as an independent, recent polls show him getting about one third of the vote.

Duffy argued that the rise of Chafee and Cahill mostly depends upon their personality and winning disaffected voters.

SOURCE:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704782304574541903184382532.html

Greens picket Nader – begging him to run for Senate…

2009-11-27T12:00:00.000-08:00

Green Party members are picket Ralph Nader, asking him to run for Senate. In an Associated Press article posted on Courant.com, Connecticut Green Party Spokesman Tim McKee was quoted saying weak polling numbers from Senator Chris Dodd get the Greens a great shot to pick-up the U.S. Senate seat. McKee was quoted, “A lot of Democrats would be upset about the prospect (of Nader entering the race). But we look at it as (he's) already lost the seat."

The Connecticut Greens planned a rally for Friday afternoon in West Hartford, where Nader is scheduled to speak at a book-signing. The rally will beg Nader to run for Senate.

McKee estimates Nader will need $3 million to $5 million for the campaign.

SOURCE:

http://www.courant.com/news/local/statewire/hc-ap-ct-connecticutsenatenov26,0,7968327.story

Husband & Wife running for office in Maryland…

2009-11-27T11:35:00.000-08:00

A news release from the Libertarian Party of Maryland announced they selected candidates for Governor & Lieutenant Governor. They selected Susan Gaztañaga as their candidate for Governor and Doug McNeil as their candidate for Lieutenant Governor.

They also selected Dr. Richard Davis is running in the 1st Congressional District and Lorenzo Gaztañaga, Susan’s husband, to run for Congress in the 2nd District.

SOURCE:

http://www.lp.org/blogs/staff/maryland-libertarians-nominate-governor-and-lt-governor-candidates

Independence Party of Minnesota makes major change…

2009-11-27T11:18:00.000-08:00

Independence Party of Minnesota makes major change to its endorsement process. The party ended its experiment with cross-endorsement. Eric Black writes in MinnPost.com, “The party has gone back and forth on this issue over the years… but the 2008 experience with cross-endorsement was very negative and [Party Chairman Jack] Uldrich said he thinks the party will be firm in the new policy."

It’s a move to protect the independence of the Independence Party brand. Black continued to write, “The most immediate impact of the change is that Dr. Maureen Reed, who was seeking the endorsement of both the DFL and IP in her race for Congress in the 6th District, will completely focus on the DFL process.” Reed is running against Republican incumbent Representative Michelle Bachmann.

In 2008 the party did endorse two DFL (Minnesota’s Democrats) congressional candidates, both candidates lost. Party Chair Uldrich said the dual endorsements “didn't provide any tangible benefit” to the Independence Party.

SOURCE:

http://www.minnpost.com/ericblack/2009/11/24/13752/ip_bans_cross-endorsement_with_implications_for_bachmann_race

New Rhode Island party facing one of the largest fines in a campaign-finance dispute...

2009-11-27T08:00:00.000-08:00

A new Rhode Island political party may face one of the largest fines in a campaign-finance dispute. Steve Peoples writes on ProJo.com, “The state Board of Elections has quietly offered to settle a campaign-finance dispute with the newly established Moderate Party of Rhode Island for what may be the largest fine in the board’s history.”

The report says the state is asking three-month-old party to forfeit a $10,000 donation and its chairman to pay another $10,000 from his own pocket. If they did not agree to the terms, officials threatened to have the attorney general’s office launch civil or criminal investigations into party officials for violating Rhode Island’s finance laws.

The article quotes party chairman Kenneth J. Block, “That was a rotten deal any which way you sliced it. And frankly, a deal designed to be rejected… I’m ready to go to war on this… [the investigation is] 100-percent politically motivated… We are threats to the establishment.”

ProJo.com says the battle comes from these moves, “On Sept. 21, Block donated $10,000 to his organization’s state committee, the annual individual maximum allowed by state law for party building, which covers expenses related to staffing, rent and utilities, but not specific elections. On Sept. 26, Block, a Barrington software engineer, wrote another $10,000 check to the Barrington Moderate Party Town Committee, which had been formed just two days before. And on Sept. 28, the Barrington committee sent $10,000 –– all but $100 in its bank account –– to the state committee.”

SOURCE:

http://www.projo.com/news/politics/content/MODERATE_DONATION_FIGHT_11-24-09_I5GHJBP_v18.3a643ac.html