Tuesday, August 21, 2012

The Elite Eight

This blog has been on an unintentional summer hiatus the past some weeks, thanks to a combination of great weather, longer work hours and several friends' weddings on the other side of the country. A lot has happened politically in the meantime, much of it worth ignoring, but there is a semi-recent piece of news about the 2008 presidential election that I really should cover. And no, I don't mean that one.

Back on August 9th, we here in Washington state found out the list of candidates who passed certification and will appear on our ballot. It's no secret I don't like Romney, and I definitely don't like Obama either. Lucky for me, there are six other tickets on the ballot. Since most outlets are only going cover two, maybe three of these candidates, I present for your informational pleasure the eight candidates for President of the United States:


Ross C. (Rocky) Anderson, Justice Party
VP: Luis J. Rodriguez
Do they have the ballot access to win? Yes, just barely, with 26 states and exactly 270 EVs, counting write-in states.
Links: Justice Party's official site, Facebook, Twitter
Rocky Anderson's official site, Facebook, Twitter
General impression: Left of Obama, but mostly within mainstream liberalism.
Party slogan: "Economic, environmental and social justice for all."


Virgil Goode, Constitution Party
VP: James N. Clymer
Do they have the ballot access to win? Unclear, although possible; aiming for 40 states.
Links: Constitution Party's official site, Facebook, Twitter
Virgil Goode's official site, Facebook, Twitter
General impression: Mostly paleoconservative, but likes entitlements.
Campaign slogan: "Save America, citizenship matters." 


James Harris, Socialist Workers Party
VP: Alyson Kennedy
Do they have the ballot access to win? Unlikely; aiming for just 8 states plus write-ins.
Links: The best I can find is The Militant, a weekly newspaper closely associated with the Socialist Workers Party. Neither the party nor the campaign seem to have an online presence outside The Militant.
General impression: Socialist focusing on union and race issues.
Quote: “The capitalist crisis, attacks by bosses, and workers’ resistance are worldwide phenomena. Everywhere they are driven to attack us..." --James Harris, Aug. 11, 2012


Gary Johnson, Libertarian Party
VP: James P. Gray
Do they have the ballot access to win? Yes; on the ballot in 38 states so far, totalling 394 EVs.
Links: Libertarian Party's official site, Facebook, Twitter
Gary Johnson's official site, Facebook, Twitter 
General impression: A solid libertarian, the best-known third-partier.
Party slogan: "Minimum government, maximum freedom."


Peta Lindsay, Party for Socialism and Liberation
VP: Yari Osorio
Do they have the ballot access to win? Not even close, at just 60 EVs. But even if they did win, neither Lindsay nor Osorio is eligible to be President. Lindsay is only 28, too young under the Constitution, while Osorio immigrated to the US as a child and is not a natural born citizen.
Links: Party for Socialism and Liberation's official site, Facebook, Twitter
Peta Lindsay's official site, Facebook, Twitter 
General impression: Hardcore socialist focusing on economic issues.
Campaign slogan: "Seize the banks - Jobs, health care and housing for all - Fight for socialism."


Barack Obama, Democratic Party
VP: Joe Biden
Do they have the ballot access to win? Of course.
Links: Democratic Party's official site, Facebook, Twitter
Barack Obama's official site, Facebook, Twitter 
General impression: The status quo.
Campaign slogan: "Forward."


Mitt Romney, Republican Party
VP: Paul Ryan
Do they have the ballot access to win? Of course.
Links: Republican Party's official site, Facebook, Twitter
Mitt Romney's official site, Facebook, Twitter 
General impression: A Democrat's vision of a stereotypical Republican.
Campaign slogan: "America's Comeback Team."


Jill Stein, Green Party
VP: Cheri Honkalai
Do they have the ballot access to win? Yes; on the ballot in 35 states so far, totalling 442 EVs.
Links: Green Party's official site, Facebook, Twitter
Jill Stein's official site, Facebook, Twitter 
General impression: Left of Anderson, but right of the socialists.
Campaign slogan: "A Green New Deal for America."