The emergence over the last decade of so-called third
parties has created a dilemma for voters. Is a vote for a third party candidate
wasted or is it a statement of principle? Will a vote for a third party
candidate become a vote for an opposition candidate of one of the major parties?
Did the 19% that Ross Perot garnered in 1992 result in the election of Bill
Clinton? Did the Reform Party, Libertarians, Green Party, Tax Payer Party and
other third party candidates in 1996 help reelect Clinton?
The answer to these questions is that we just don t know
for sure. After the 1992 elections political observers came down on both sides
of the issue. One camp fervently claimed that Perot's 19% vote gave the election
to Clinton. Others claimed with equal fervor that Perot drew about the same
number of votes from each major party and statistically had little or no impact
on the outcome.
The question remains; is a vote for a third party wasted
or is it a statement of principle? Deciding between two major party candidates
often becomes a Hobson's choice. It may be that neither really satisfies the
voter's wishes and thus it becomes a question of which is the lesser evil.
Either way, evil wins the election.
This often is because voters want to be on the winning
side. Nobody likes to think they voted for a loser. For example, it s hard to
find anyone who voted for Ross Perot in 1992, even though he got 19% of the
popular vote. One wonders what happened to all the Reform Party voters after
that election.
Eventually one comes to the conclusion that winning has
gained precedence over principle. This is clearly visible in the way law suits,
political wrangles, sports contests, marital disputes and other adversarial
confrontations are resolved. In virtually every human dispute, from war to
sibling rivalry, any tactic is acceptable if it leads to winning.
Ultimately, one must choose sides. Voting for the lesser
of two evils has lead us to our present circumstances. Schools do not educate,
politicians lie, bureaucrats write endless regulations, taxes are the highest in
history and good jobs are leaving in droves. The courts act as legislators, and
violent criminals are released with a slap on the wrist. Our children are into
drugs and violence, the church has been removed from our lives and we live in
fear behind locked doors with our television sets and cable systems.
We waste billions on a lost drug war, billions on
military actions where we have no national interest, billions on special
interest and pork barrel spending, and billions on social programs, many of
which are duplicated, ineffective and needless.
Individual freedoms are being lost every day. Government
is becoming more intrusive and dominates every aspect of our lives. EPA, HHS,
IRS, CIA, BATF, FBI, OSHA, DEA, the Departments of Education, Energy, Commerce
and so many others are working every day to expand their control over us.
The United Nations has become a shadow government within
the United States. It now exercises some control over many of our nations parks
and public land areas. It is seeking to impose taxation on U. S. citizens to
finance its many programs and eventually to establish a one-world government. It
has a large amount of control over our military forces and is reaching for more.
Foreign military officers command American soldiers in so-called joint peace
initiative operations.
These are some of the evils, greater or lesser, that
continued voting for either of the two national political parties has brought
upon us. At one time, there was a discernable difference between Democrats and
Republicans. Now, if one watches what they do and does not listen to what they
say, it becomes clear that both are advocates of big government and the
principles of socialism. Republicrats or Demoplicans are better names for the
two dominant political parties.
As was noted earlier, eventually we must choose sides.
Do we want to continue the status quo, or do we want to begin the process of
creating another political entity that more truly represents the values this
nation was founded upon and which we want to preserve and restore?
We must each make our choice and live with the
consequences. If we continue upon the path we are now following, the fundamental
principles upon which America was founded will be lost, probably forever.
Individual freedoms will be sacrificed for the benefit of the majority. This is
how a democracy works: fifty one percent rules the other forty nine. You might
think of it like this: What happens when three wolves and two sheep vote on what
to have for dinner? Who wins and who loses? Which was the lesser of two evils?
For whom? Do you feel like a wolf or a sheep?
Think about it. Is a vote for a third party such a bad
thing? Listen to the candidates and decide which could lead the nation back to
liberty and return to a better life for all Americans. Then vote your
conscience.
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