[Lonesome in Massachussets]

Realistically, your choice is to cast a protest vote and re-elect Obama or grit your teeth and vote for Romney. Ross Perot brought us eight years of Clinton.

[paul51]

third party is not a viable option at this point. waste of time

[newzjunkey]

I'd expect if your TN vote matters one way or the other to the outcome of it going Red or Blue the election is a landslide for Obama.

Just FYI, former NM Gov. Gary Johnson ran as a Republican last spring but appears to have switched to running Libertarian for the 2012 General.

[Blood of Tyrants]

As much as I dislike Obama, voting third party is a vote for Obama. Your choice. Third party and Obama or Romney.

[Revolting cat!]

Third party will not be an option until the 1 and 1/2 party starts having some rules and principles violating which would result in expulsion. As things stand, Barack Obama could join the Publican Party, find enough financial support and run for POTUS as a Pubbie. KKK Dragon could run as a RAT, a Stalinist can run as a GO Pee. A fine mess, Stanley!

[kempster]

With Obama as President this is an irresponsible waste of a vote.

[Salgak]

Voting Third-Party this year is only viable IF you’re not in a swing state, i.e. either Ogabe or Mittens already has it sewn up (i.e. California, NY, Mass for the Dems, Texas, Georgia, etc for the GOP).

As much as I hate to say it (and yes, I’m doing it as well. . .), anything but a vote for Mittens is a vote for Ogabe in any swing state. . .

[RC one]

good idea, go form a third party so you can be completely powerless and ineffectual.

[factoryrat]

The fact that there are so many parties involved says a lot. The nation is so splintered and divided that no single party can bring the nation together. This point we have reached has been carefully engineered to completely and totally divide the nation to suit the interests of those who profit from creating chaos from order, under the guise of adhering to party principal, for for the sole purpose of personal accumulation of wealth and control. The only way out of this shitstorm is to can all of the fed lackeys and to start from scratch, forcing those who are willing to serve in federal service to abide by the constitution, or else.

[doc1019]

This is the fun part of my day ... I absolutely refuse to vote for Romney, there. Now for the fun. And no I'm not voting for Obamass, just won't vote for Romney. If my one vote (or lack thereof) makes a difference, so be it. I will not vote against my principles.

[DarthVader]

Third party at this time is no option. It is just a fool’s act of futility. We must get America out of danger first.

[Shadowstrike]

Sad to say itm but Third Party = Obama, President for Life.

[Vince Ferrer]

Whatever people do this November, please do not stay home. And vote for someone for president. If you can’t vote for Romney, vote for someone else, but do not leave any choice blank on your ballot. Leaving blanks just invites someone at the polling place to help out by filling the blanks with their own choices.

[Gay State Conservative]

Osama Obama wants you to write in Ross Perot's name.So does David Axelrod,"Reverend" Wright,Skip Gates,Bill Ayers,Bernadine Dorn,Bella Pelosi,George Soros,Warren Buffett,Keith Olberman,Van Jones....

And Saul Alinsky.

[LibFreeUSA]

This Party option for Presidential election only (do the math) is a guarantee to elect the person you least want elected!

If you are serious about starting a real ‘third party’ option, you do it at the local /state level first, then you branch out to the national level, in order to establish real power and control in the legislative arena.

‘Principle’ over math is a recipe for ‘suiciding’ your own principled agenda.

Even Palin herself said that a ‘third party’ option would guarantee Obama’s re-election.

[HotHunt]

The notion that voting for a third party candidate is good for your conscience is naive. You might as well vote for Obama. This country is in real trouble right now with the radical liberals in charge. We don’t have the luxury of having this guy in office another four years if we can help it. Now is not the time, right before the election, to think about voting for a third party candidate. A viable third party will take years, if not decades, to build up and get the support it needs to be competitive with the two major parties.

Elections are almost always about holding your nose and voting for someone who is not your perfect candidate. The same will be true in this election.

ABO. Anybody But Obama. ANYBODY!

[Yashcheritsiy]

Relying on one of the currently existing third parties is not an option. Most of them simply exist as their founders' ego trips. Most of them don't even make a pretense at trying to have a broad-based, Reaganesque appeal. However, simply giving up and voting for Romney is not an option, either. What we need is a broad-based "coalition" type organisation that may not even necessarily be a traditional "party," and which would operate outside the usual Party system. It would seek to unite conservatives, running its own candidate for President in an attempt to win using the 40% of self-professed conservatives (inside and OUTSIDE the GOP) as its starting point, while displaying resolution and leadership that will bring in the moderates. At the senatorial and congressional level, this organisation would support those candidates worth supporting, and would challenge those not.

I already see people on this thread trying to use Perot as a reason for sticking with the GOP, regardless of what happens.

Those who do so apprently need to relearn a little history.

Perot could well have won in 1992. He was leading in the polls starting in June. The trick was that he was NOT supposed to win. He was only supposed to draw enough support to elect Clinton. This is why Perot dropped out - he was doing TOO WELL and threatened to take it from Clinton, as well as from Bush. He got back in once his support dropped back just to the die-hards, and even then, despite it all, he pulled 19%. If he'd stayed in, he'd have had 40% and won the EV.

[jveritas]

Wake up folks... you are advocating insanity by voting third party. Insanity... Either Obama or Romney would be elected President this coming November. Voting a third party in particular in battleground states where the election would be won or lost is insanity because it would help Obama re-election. If you want Obama re-elected then go ahead and vote third party or not vote for President...

[TomGuy]

Most of these 3rd parties tend to nominate ‘who?’ candidates few ever heard of or old, washed out politicians.

For one to be successful, it would need a vibrant, energetic, strong political person. Few have one available.

How many 3rd party candidates of the last half century can most Americans even name?

[greene66]

An amazing five years...

Geo. W. Bush calling the border Minutemen “vigilantes;” the nomination of psycho McCain in ‘08; the backstabbing of Palin and the unwillingness of the GOP to defend her when Dems made efforts to bankrupt her family, slime her kids, and not to mention when the media accused her of complicity in mass-murder in Tucson; the current GOP Congressional leaders caving to Obama on virtually every issue both fiscal/social after getting the Bush tax cuts following the mid-terms; the apparent upcoming nomination of a Massachusetts liberal to be GOP nominee.

Yeah, a lifelong Republican here, who, thanks to all the above, for the first time in his life, is more than ready to bolt at the drop of a hat.