Posted on 03/09/2008 7:35:41 PM PDT by Kurt Evans
This year, the Constitution Party’s national convention is scheduled for April. The Libertarian Party will convene to nominate its 2008 presidential slate in late May. The Green Party won’t choose its ticket until July.
This may not seem unusual (the Republicans and Democrats usually hold their conventions in August or even early September), but third parties and “major parties” face very different sets of obstacles in publicizing their presidential prospects.
The Democratic and Republican presidential candidates have been the subject of fawning media coverage for close to two years now. They’ve been debating each other on prime time television for nearly a year. They’ve battled each other in highly-publicized primaries and caucuses all over the nation. Everyone knows who John McCain is. Everyone’s heard of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.
I’m not one for silver bullets—no one thing will put third party candidates into contention for the presidency—but some changes just make sense. One of those changes is nominating earlier. My recollection is that the Libertarian Party used to nominate its presidential candidates the year before the election. Andre Marrou was nominated for president in 1991. Ron Paul was nominated in 1987. And so on, and so forth. It was only in 1996 that the LP moved its nominating convention into the year of the election itself.
Late nominating conventions handicap third parties. We can’t expect the kind of pre-nomination media coverage that “major party” candidates get. The sooner a party positions itself behind a nominee, the sooner that nominee has access to the party’s full pool of presidential contributors and can get to work reaching beyond the party to the American public. It’s all well and good to hope that a pre-nomination third party candidate will “break out” and catch the mainstream media eye … but it seldom works out that way.
This year, the LP and Constitution party nominations are very much up in the air only a few weeks ahead of their national conventions, with credible rumors of two possible late entrants (Bob Barr and Mary Ruwart) in the LP race, and Alan Keyes mulling a Constitution Party bid. And while Cynthia McKinney is probably a lock for the Green nomination, she’s not yet free to take that for granted and start running her general election campaign with the assurance that her new party will remain behind her.
These parties’ nominees will only have a few short months to go from zero to general election speed. They’ll be facing “major party” opponents who’ve enjoyed 24/7 media coverage for the past year, coverage which will only intensify as November draweth nigh—and even post-nomination third party candidates are doing well to wrangle 1% of the mainstream media’s attention during the general election cycle.
It’s time for third parties to re-think their nomination convention timing. While an election-year convention has some media potential, that potential probably doesn’t outweigh the benefits of giving our nominees a full year in the general election campaign saddle.
Ambassador Keyes on the issues:
http://www.alankeyes.com/issues.php
Video excerpts from the 2000 Arizona debate:
http://www.alankeyes.com/video?clip=0000991206debate
Green Papers Vote Totals:
http://www.thegreenpapers.com/P08/R.phtml
Will Alan Keyes Bolt The GOP?
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1982358/posts
“The longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth: that God governs the affairs of man [Romans 8:28]. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice [Matthew 10:29], is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid? We have been assured in the Sacred Writings that except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it [Psalms 127:1]. I firmly believe this. I also believe that, without His concurring aid, we shall succeed in this political building no better than the builders of Babel [Genesis 11:1-9].”
—Benjamin Franklin, arguing the need for prayer at the Constitutional Convention
“Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty as well as the privilege and interest of our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers.”
—John Jay, a Founding Father and the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
“It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For this very reason peoples of other faiths have been afforded asylum, prosperity, and freedom of worship here.”
—Patrick Henry
“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.”
—The Holy Bible (Second Corinthians 3:17)
I hope that Wayne Allyn Root is the Libertarian Party candidate.
Bump
Consider the word: green. The first three letters only lack a big empty o to spell Algore’s name with perfect symbology - the o represents Algore’s head, so does the emptiness within the outline.
Run Algore run!!!!
Cynthia McKinney????
oh goodness
What we need is a list of Conservatives running so we can support them. Republicans, Yellow Dog Democrats, Independents, Reform, Constitutionalists, libertarian, Even Green just as long as they are Real Conservatives. lets put together a list. I will start out by listing Tom McClintock of California and Duncan Hunter. Is someone lists a RINO then its up to the Pajamahadim to expose them (and they will).
“with credible rumors of two possible late entrants (Bob Barr and Mary Ruwart)”
Well, if Bob Barr runs, he has my vote!
Ambassador Keyes would bte the best President of any of these folks.
It could be an interesting election if it includes McCain, either Clinton or Obama, Keyes, Barr, Nader, and McKinney. Somethign for almost every taste. Wouldn’t those 6 candidates make an interesting debate?
Why not just vote democrat as that is where your vote goes when voting third party.
The goal of the third party is to commit suicide taking everyone with you.
1992 presidental election
Bill Clinton 43%
GHW Bush 37%
Perot 19%
Third Party voters assisted Clinton with all his disasters
Mary Ruwart spoke here once, a very nice lady, but politically clueless. Let everyone do what they want, it’ll be ok. She thinks the border should be wide open.
With Clinton, McCain, and Obama sharing very similar positions on amnesty for illegal aliens, federal health insurance scams meant to prop up insurance companies, and global warming initiatives that will place steep financial burdens on Americans, this is the year a third party candidate could win if the candidate is someone already known, and that candidate offers a stark platform that counters what Clinton, McCain and Obama are offering.
“Bill Clinton 43%
GHW Bush 37%
Perot 19%”
Sooo... Bush cost Perot the election it seems. It’s for damn sure Perot would have made a better president than “read My Lips” Bush or Clinton.
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