There ARE alternatives................

[pam]

We really DON'T have to vote for one or the other just cause they will do the least harm. Yeah, these other guys have a snowballs chance in hell of winnin but sooner or later you gotta take a stand. I'm takin a stand. They BOTH suck.
I'm not votin for either one of em, the change we need ain't in the republican party and it ain't in the democratic party because the parties are both rotten with power hungry, greedy people in charge.
A career politician is NOT in it to change anything, change don't pay the big bucks. All that's runnin anywhere is career politicians, what does that say?



WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Republican Rep. Ron Paul of Texas called on voters to back a third-party candidate for president Wednesday, rejecting his party's nominee and offering equally harsh words for the Democratic candidate.


Rep. Ron Paul attacks the two-party system Wednesday at the National Press Club in Washington.

Paul, who unsuccessfully sought the Republican presidential nomination this year, told supporters at the National Press Club in Washington that he is not endorsing GOP nominee Sen. John McCain or Democratic nominee Sen. Barack Obama.

Instead, Paul will give his seal of approval to four candidates: Green Party nominee Cynthia McKinney, Libertarian Party nominee Bob Barr, independent candidate Ralph Nader and Constitution Party candidate Chuck Baldwin.

Paul said he's supporting the third-party candidates because the two major parties and media had "colluded" to avoid discussing issues and falsely presenting the difference between McCain and Obama as real.

"I've come to the conclusion, after having spent many years in politics, is that our presidential elections turn out to be more of a charade than anything else, and I think that is true today. It is a charade," he said.

Paul offered an open endorsement to the four candidates because each signed onto a policy statement that calls for "balancing budgets, bring troops home, personal liberties and investigating the Federal Reserve," an aide to the congressman said.

Paul said a strong showing by the third-party candidates would express the public's frustration with the current system.

"I have no doubt that the majority is on our side," Paul added, citing public opinion polls. "We represent the majority of the American people."

Paul said that he had received a call from the McCain campaign Tuesday asking for his endorsement. Paul's response: "I don't like the idea of getting 2 to 3 million people [Paul supporters] angry at me."

McCain's aides argued that the Texas Republican should endorse McCain because he would do a "little less harm" than Obama, Paul said, but "we just don't need to do that anymore."

"If you ever get to the point where you believe the two parties are essentially the same, if the majority is outside of the establishment, it's not very democratic. The process is not working," Paul said.

Paul attacked Obama, saying, "He's not for change," and the congressman argued that his efforts would help the Republican Party.

"If the Republican side realized what I'm trying to do, they should be funding me," Paul said.

Paul failed in his bid for the Republican nomination, but he found a large, diverse audience for his anti-war and anti-tax messages.

The Texas congressman's campaign was fueled by an on-line, grass-roots fundraising operation. Throughout the campaign, Paul supporters called on others to join the "Ron Paul Revolution."

[flo]

  my answer to this is, if these third party candidates, who can't win or most likely won't anyhow, pull too many republican votes away from McCain, guess who we get? Walaa -  and yes, I'm still a democrat.

[pam]

Yeah that's right Ma, but I'm sick of votin for somebody just because they suck less.
One of the freedoms we have is the right to vote for somebody because we think they are the best man or woman for the job not just because the other one is worse. There are not gonna be any of those as long as we just keep votin the way we have been.
Sooner or later we gotta bite the bullet and FORCE a change in the way it goes if that is the only way to get it done.

[mtcookson]

One problem... you need to replace all of the people in the legislature as well. The House and Senate is where most of the trouble comes from anyway and if you put a President in that doesn't agree with any of them along with having a mix of people in there that don't agree with each other and the President... simply, nothing will get done at all.

[pam]

That's what I'm sayin.....clean house, send ALL the bums home and start over. If they were there to benefit the American people and not themselves plenty would get done whether it was party policy or not.

[flo]

a politician is a politician is a politician, always has been, always will be.  Pam, I have never told you who to vote for, never will.  That is your own private business.  I couldn't tell anybody which political party any of my kids are registered, none of my business, I'm thinkin.  Anyhow, a politician can campaign and tell you all the things you want to hear, but get him/her to Washington and all that changes once they feel the power.  Once they start making that big money, they soon forget why they are there and who put them there.  So people, don't believe anything you "hear", nothing you read, and only half of what the candidate says.  Sort it out, keep the good part with you and go to the polls, then pray a lot and tighten the purse strings some more.