Have you ever voted for an independent or third party candidate? (Explain why in the poll comments.)
Yes
65%
No
35%
You must be signed in to vote in this poll. If you don't remember your username and password, click here. If you're not registered yet, please click here.
User
Recent blog posts
- Why We're Doing This -- Today's News (10/12)
- It's getting crazy out there!!!
- Why We're Doing This -- Today's News (10/11)
- Why We're Doing This -- Today's News (10/10)
- Your ideas make a difference
- Why We're Doing This -- Today's News (10/9)
- Help Unity08 get on the ballot in Maryland!
- Let’s Turn One Small Step for Oklahoma into a Giant Leap for Ballot Access Reform!
- Bobbie's Story: What we can all do for Unity08
- Want to help? Want a job? Here's How...
To be a nation ruled by law, we must enforce our laws or change them. In the global economy, the cost of labor is a major consideration. Companies will form where labor is the cheapest if it is possible to move the jobs and labor will come to the location where it is needed if the jobs can't be relocated.
Nothing is gained from attempting to enforce a law that is not practical or enforcable.
In this very complex global market, trying to keep the workers away from jobs they need to survive results in further violations of immigration laws. Pressuring employeers to enforce illegal immigration laws causes higher prices and loss of business for those employers. Moving the business to another country where labor is cheaper results in a loss of jobs and a loss of tax revenue.
In spite of this complexity, our congress wants us to believe that they have passed comprehensive immigration reform. We need new people who are not as incluned to use emotional, polarizing issues to turn Americans against each other and achieve nothing.
Please vote and please consider new nonpartizant candidates
The reason I voted for an independent was the Reps and Dem were so much alike. the independent was the least of two evils. Though it turned out he wasn't any better than the rest. Shouldn't the president be an example of good anh his/her interest be last, and the good of the country be first. Tough discisions must be made because in the future things will be better. Maybe I'm an idealist I stil think weAmerica can do it. And be proud we did.
I have voted for independants every election since 1980 EXCEPT for 2024.
Why? The duopoly of power is obviously counterproductive to growth. Its obvious now, and it was just as obvious then.
I guess then the question would be why change in 2024 ... hmm .. lol
Views and promises by the democrats and especially the republicans have become blatant lies and disgusting self absorbed money deals to make themselves wealthier. Where are the "good guys" or is there such a thing anymore?
I've voted for Libertarians, independents, Republicans, and even the occasional Democrat. But nothing has changed. It will require a change in our legislative structure (perhaps parlimentary-style seats allocated by votes won, rather than winner-take-all, and a requirement for majority, rather than plurality, votes) to really change things. But first we have to get some people in office interested in a change. Good luck!
...and this is why a Unity ticket makes sense. "That government that governs least, governs best." Personally, I think that's why the Clinton years worked - for most of the time, Clinton and Congress were at a standoff. Time and again, Americans have proved that they can do what government can't. The only exception I know of is World War II, and war is largely the business of government. By splitting the government, we force them to deal ONLY with issues where a broad consensus exists. That would be a very good thing.
I voted for Jim Longley in the face of vicious opposition to him from my college classmates at the University of Maine. He cleaned up a financial, taxation, education, environmental and business mess that everyone thought was hopeless. Then I voted for Angus King 20-some years later. He was the best governor Maine had had since Longley! To quote the old wisdom, "As Maine goes, so goes the nation."
I have voted for a smattering of independent or third party candidates at the state level but there has yet to be a presidential candidate that could win my vote.
Yes, i too voted for Jim Longley and i always voted for Libertarians. I voted for Ross in the first reform party bid.
I have never voted for a non party canidate because I concidered it a vote for the oppisite party. Iwould concider to vote for another canidate if I did not think it would result in spliting the result in favor of the opposing party!
In my youth, we used to laugh at the Soviets’ sham elections because only Communist Party members were permitted on their ballots, while we had a choice between two major ideologically distinct parties, and several minor ones. At this point however, I truly fail to see any difference. We effectively have one Incumbrepublocrat Party. It consists of two caucuses with little allegiance to any coherent ideology; each representing several loosely cobbled together self-interest groups, all competing for government largess. They have rather minor disagreements over how much of our earnings to confiscate, and where best to spend them to buy reelection votes, and make a lot of perplexing partisan racket in the process, but they always agree to do whatever it takes to keep the system rigged for incumbents. More at: (www.flyover-wisdom.com/incumbrepublocrats)
Yep.
I still think he's an important voice, and is consistently the only (media-covered) candidate campaigning on the big, health-of-our-democracy issues, unfortunately at the expense of ignoring more immediate concerns.
(missing the trees for the forest, perhaps?)
I am an Independant swing voter and have been since I learned that both parties lied to the American people about the progress of the Vietnam war.
To me, lying to the American people is the very worst thing a politician can do and they all do it.
The Republicans are without doubt the worst but the Dems have done their share. I can forgive many things that politicians do but I can never forgive outright endless lying.
Many changes need to be made in our political system for some real improvement to occur.
We must get rid of the electoral college. We must get rid of electronic voting machines, Diebold be damned. Diebold is nothing but a corrupt Republican force for the political destruction of America and our freedoms.
'We the people' need to take back our government from the corporations. We need more than just two political parties, England has five, I think, and Israel has something like 12 or more.
Some functions that belong to the Executive branch of government should be transferred to the Legislative or become completely independant, especially the DOJ.
Bush controls the DOJ so how can it investigate him or his cronies. The congressional ethics should be under the DOJ how can anyone expect that congress can police itself, never in a hundred years.
Corruption breeds corruption and all three branchs' of government are corrupt.
So I think that the DOJ should be a separate branch of government with powers to investigate the other branchs' of government.
Bob DAmico
Cleve, Oh.
I think of myself as an independent voter but have never voted for a third party candidate because I thought it would be a wasted vote. The main parties need a wakeup call that equality means everyone has a say, regardless of means/wealth. Thanks.
Yes, I've voted several times for a independent cadidates.
I'm now looking for a 3rd Partly platform wherein only campaign contributions can be accpeted from individuals -- we the people -- NOT WE THE CORPORATIONS AND UNIONS!!!!!
I voted for John Anderson in '80, and was scoffed at by both sides. I am really tired of the partisan bickering, and see virtually no difference in the 2 parties. The Unity '08 (or a similar idea) was discussed in the early '90s, IIRC. I hope this becomes a long-term alternative.
Up until now a vote for ANY third party candidate has been a WASTED vote. It remains to be seen if Unity 08 can change that!
Eleanore Roosevelt said that in our two party system, when neither choice is good, to always vote the lesser of the two evils.
I have always voted and will never vote outside of the two parties. To do so, to me, is a wasted vote and diminishes our unique democratic system of government. Voting one's conscience may feel noble, but there's nothing noble about enabling a bad candidate who ultimately damages the country for decades just so someone can feel good about their vote.
The people's right to vote is the most basic and vital right that a democracy offers. Notwithstanding the issues of the electoral college, gerrymandering, etc., the politicians who have been running the show in both parties today didn't get there by accident. Enough people voted for them, while the rest either wasted their votes on alternative candidates who could never win or stayed home out of indifference, ignorance or both.
An electorate that is educated and continues to educate itself on the issues and candidates of the day is necessary for a democracy to work at its best. And it is at its best when that educated electorate goes out and votes, and then follows up on that vote by communicating with and holding accountable the representative who is elected, whether it turns out to be their choice or not. The only vacuum an elected official lives in is the vacuum that the people of his or her constituencey make possible by their silence and inaction.
Yes: I have voted independent, knowing He would not win. But if enough of us send the message that we have had enough. We will see change. If enough of us contribute to the candidate we believe in, we will see a change. Look at Dean in the last election (until He self destructed), He had an enoromous amount of financial help from the populace. We have to start somewhere and the two party system we now have only helps Big Business and Unions.
I have read that the number of votes cast for other than the two major parties has been increasing in each election. This is a sign of rising discontent.
If one holds the notion that voting for one of the two largest parties is the only way one's vote counts, does this mean they think that the two major parties are so entrenched that the possibility of displacing one of them cannot be imagined? And yet this country did not start out with the Democrat and Republican parties, did it? So history shows that notion is incorrect. And if there are three parties that each hold between 20 and 40 percent of citizen's support, for which of the 3 is that vote a waste? The one that comes in third? Or the newest, that is growing most rapidly?
In my case, I no longer see anything in either of two major parties that I care to support. Both seem so misdirected and wrongheaded that I do not wish to belong to either of them. Perhaps that feeling is shared by very few others. Few or many, it matters not. I wll vote my conscience and hope others will consider doing the same. This gives me hope for a better future.
Respectfully Submitted,
Sketch
I voted Independant once. This was for Jessie Ventura in Minnesota. HE WON. I realize it was a state-wide contest, not national.
The problem with the two major parties at that time was that they were both very obviously saying nothing that could get them in trouble and they ended up saying nothing. People were so cynical,
I'm surprised that anyone voted.
This was a protest (negative) vote. I only hope people can find a positive reason to vote independant for a positive reason.
I have voted for third parties many times. The two-party system needs to change. We need to offer a larger political spectrum in this country.
Many people say that I am wasting my vote when I vote for a third party. I say it's not a wasted vote if I am expressing my political opinion through my vote.
BTW, I received my unity08 button today! We need to remember that donations are needed to keep this going.
I voted for a third party because neither major party had what I believed to have a correct stance.
I voted for Ross Perot in '92 because I didn't like George H. W. Bush or Bill Clinton.
The majority of folks in both parties are letting the radical elements in both to run amuck. The only way to solve these issues is debate, compromise, and consensus. None of us will get everything we want but if we can come up with answers that will work and that most of us can live with, we have accomplished our aims.
dtc I've voted for a third party because we need a voice in our government and don't have any with the two current parties. We are simply passengers on the train that's been driven off the track.
I proudly voted for and we as a state elected Angus King twice as Governor. He was a good leader and set the state on course by appointing credible businessmen and broad thinkers to his cabinet. I was lucky enough to work with him on several occassions on Marine Resources issues-mostly commercial fishing. Independant and third party candidates can work out well given an opportunity.
Nader is as corrupt as the rest of them. He lives in his brothers $2 million house that he bought for him and mannipulates the stocks of the competitors of those he shakes down.
I have voted for current US Rep. and future US Senator Bernie Sanders many times dating back to the 1970's because I am from Vermont.
I have voted several times for a third party canidate in several presidential elections because I felt that the canidates in the major parties were not qualified to govern. I frequently thought,"This is the best we can come up with?"Also I felt, particularly in the last presidential election, neither party had put up a viable canidate. Both canidates were very far away from my position on the major issues.At the same time, they were ignoring the serious problems facing the nation. The mess in Washington today verifies what I thought then and still think today.Both parties don't think about the middle, but pander to the fanatics on the fringe of their respective party. I am tired of listening to these"idiots" argue about inanaties while the nation falls apart.
A vote for an independent has always been a wasted vote. If we were to use automatic runoff voting we could vote for our true choice. Now we have a new worry, electronic election box tampering.
I like this Unity08 idea, could we use the color purple, half blue, half red, as the folks in So Dakota are doing.
Yes, I am not a Republican nor am I a Democrat. I believe in the freedom our founding fathers believed in and created in this great country. Now we are seeing it taken away from us by greedy self righteous power-mongers. I am a registered Libertarian and believe in the free enterprise system with minimal government oversight "Government of the people, by the people and for the people".
I voted for a third party candidate in 2024 because neither Kerry nor Bush were qualified to lead this nation. They purposely divided the country hoping it would pay off for them and their buddies. Neither knows the first thing about the constituion, economics, education, military policy, Christianity, or what the people want.
I have never voted third party.
I wanted to. But I lacked faith.
Most independents (and some primary hopefuls)
are boutique candidates who want to make a point,
but even they lack faith they can win, so why should
I vote for them?
A third party might be a little premature ... why don't we try to get a second party?
I'm all for a greater choice of parties but a combination of Republicrats and Demlicans isn't enough. We need a SOLIDLY LEFT Party.. as in Socialist.
I have never voted for a third party candidate because I try to vote for the person that would best lead the country. If none of the candidates perfectly fit the mold, then I vote for the person that usually fills the second spot (unfortunately, the Demo., the Rep., and the third party usually are found close to the bottom of "who would best lead the country," so my vote is no guarantee that they will best lead the country, they are just the only options).
I have never voted for a third party candidate because none has ever struck me with a passionate and dynamic personality tempered with enough charismatic humility to be a great leader. I am looking for a non-violent revolutionary, a philosopher king.
Yes, I've voted for third party canidates. Not only that, but when i was Nine, i helped my father hand out literture and bumper stickers for Jim Buckley when he ran(and won) for the senate in New York in 1970.
As an independent voter I don't think either major party care about what is good for majority of Americans. With both seem representing the one thing that is worst about America, greed! They only care about the money and winning elections.
I have come to believe that neither of the majority party cares about what is right or best for our country. The only way this will change is to vote them out of office. However voting them out will be tuff because when they come to power their first move is to change the system to ensure they win re-election.
I am hoping that unity08 is move toward a third party. I see unity08's current direction as the best way to get to a place in time when there will be more than two parties.
I hope one of unity08 platforms will be to make voting day a federal holiday. I think making it a holiday would allow more individuals time to get involved and add value to the process. We need to get more voters in the process and I don’t care which of the current holidays you replace.
I will be watching and listing and I truly hope unity08 is not a ploy of the two major parties. The only time I see them coming together is when there seems to be a strong third party. At that point they both viciously attack! Go unity08!
I voted for all three. Why? Because the D and R candidates were pretty indistinguishable on the big issues, despite their rhetoric.
Both wanted to increase government spending every year, involve the federal government more in our lives, continue US military interventions around the world, and both refused to do anything serious about the national debt.
In 1980 I voted for John Andereson.
He was the only candidate that talked about the Oil & Gas Problem and proposed a solution.
In 1992 I got 823 signatures to the
Petition to have Ross Perot on the ballot in the State of Maryland.
After he dropped out I lost all
confidence in him. I did not vote for him.
It is time that elected officials
truly represented the people. It seems the only goal of politicians today is to get reelected.
The extreme left and extreme right
get all the news coverage. The 80%of the which are near the center are truly the silent majority. If we
do what is right for America we will all benefit.
It is time that we look at what we agree with and not fight over our
differences.
I am concerned for my Children and their children's future.
Greed has become the driving force in America.
Never voted for one. After considering their candidacy & platforms I decided that they didn't have a chance & were not mainstream. Rather than waste my vote, I voted for who best represented my views.
I'm a registor independent and I've voted for independents lots of times. I really don't have to worry about who I vote for because I live in Nebraska and it almost always goes Republican, so I vote with my feelings, I've vote Demorcrate and Republican too. Now I just hope we can come up with a solution that has a chance to win or at least change the big money that has taken over our government and bring it back to the people.
I have recently become a registered Democrat because of the direction this country is taking under Bush, et al. But before that, since 1963, I have considered myself independent and several times voted for an independent candidate. The main reason was that I believe the primary goal of both of the major parties is obtaining and retaining power and they will say what they believe necessary to get elected and take money from and make promises to those they believe necessary to get elected. In the end, looking after what is good for the average citizen is not their primary interest.
Perhaps Unity08 can change that.
I have not voted for an independent yet, but I will certainly consider doing so in 2024. Although I've been a registered Democrat since I began voting in 2024, I have lost a lot of faith in the Democratic Party. If Al Gore chooses to run, I will stand firmly behind him; however, given that that's a long-shot, I'm not sure who else I'd consider voting for. If Michael Bloomberg were to run as an independent, I would certainly consider lobbing my vote to him.
There are no Republicans that I would even consider voting for. None. I used to support John McCain, but given his cozying up to the religious right of late, he no longer garners much of my respect.
How about Elliot Spitzer? I realize that 2024 won't happen since he's running for governor, but perhaps 2024?
Unhappy with choice of Carter or Reagan, I voted for Anderson. Eight years later I voted for Clinton. Now I'm not too happy with partisanship beyond the water's edge.
John Gelles
a unity wiki
my blog
Human rights and how to pay for them are key to a livable world.
I voted for John Anderson in 1980, even collected signatures to help get him on the ballot in my state. I believe many people are fed up with the two parties and would like a realistic third choice based on cooperation as opposed to the polarization we have now. Even if Unity08 doesn't win, if it becomes a viable force in American politics,it will push the other parties toward the center and away from the extremes.
I voted for Bubba in 92.
Why?
Because he looked the camera square in the eye and promised to "never support a trade agreement that will cost even one American job."
I had been a lifelong Democrat from a Democrat family, but when Clinton then turned around and pushed NAFTA through, that was enough for me.
I've voted for 3rd party candidates for President--Browne once, Buchanan once and Badnarik once..ever since.
Best wishes to Unity'08--we need nothing short of a good 4 or 5 party system. This will mean the break up of one or both major parties. Quite frankly, I don't care which one goes down first.
The one time I voted for a third party candidate was in 1992 for Ross Perot. I voted absentee since I was overseas and my vote was sent in before the Perot campaign blow-up. To this date I've felt my vote going to Perot made it possible for the worst President I've ever seen to gain office. Clinton crushed this great country. I've sworn I won't make that mistake again. I owe that debt to the USA.