Open Discussion:
We may not have a real third party candidate threat in this presidential election, but there have been some in history that have shaken things up like H. Ross Perot and Ralph Nader.
What do you think of third party candidates? Are they the only true proponents of change, or do they simply divide the parties?
AP Photos
About The Good Feed Blog Editors
With at least 51 people dead from the giant tornado that ripped through Oklahoma, the Wheeler family was relieved to know that their son was alive.
The tornado was at least a half-mile wide and had winds up to 200 mph.
After the giant tornado ripped through Moore, Oklahoma, Melissa Newton and city manager Steven Eddy talk about being in the middle of the destruction.
The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland has taken the first step toward allowing the ordination of openly gay men and women.
Amanda Berry, a woman missing for 10 years, and two other women were rescued on May 6 by Cleveland officers; watch their emotional recounting of the rescue.
Justin Cascio talks to T Cooper, author of Real Man Adventures, about writing, crying, and being a real man.
Malbec. Robert Mitchum. Blueberries. My wife’s laugh. Phoebe Cates. Diet Ginger Ale. My Bloody Valentine. Madrid. Diane Arbus. Mean Streets. Anne Sexton. The Replacements. Cezanne. Tossing around a football in bare feet … Sean Beaudoin has one hundred words on love.
This is a comment by Anonymous on the post “Should We Forgive Apologetic Bullies?”
This is a comment by Lars Fisher on the post “I’d Benefit From a Traditional Wife”.
| Join Our Mailing List |
Do you know the way to your own heart? Men who cook and write wanted.
Sometimes, what makes us do evil is easier to understand than the reasons why we choose to do good.
Copyright © 2013 GoodMenProject.com · Powered by WordPress, Genesis Framework & 
· Privacy Policy · Log in
I plan on voting 3rd party but the choices there are not good either. I am not libertarian but I may just vote for their candidate. I just can’t bring myself to vote for Obama or Romney. I wish there was a better 3rd party.
Your either/or approach is quite simplistic, and really, strong third-party candidates do both.
In this election cycle, Gary Johnson has the best chance of being a “spoiler.” His Libertarian Party has secured him a slot on all 50 states’ ballots. He is building momentum and stands to pick off a huge group of disgusted Republicans who can’t quite bring themselves to vote for Obama. If he’s able to procure a slot in the debates (and I know that’s a big “if” but he’s well-organized and working on it), I can’t begin to predict the upheaval he could bring to the political landscape. We may finally be ready for a third party to go mainstream.
In the case of Gary Johnson, it’s an interesting question as to whether he peels of more normally Republican- or Democratic-leaning voters. His campaign has been very quick to attack Obama from a liberal position: escalation of the war on drugs (especially a dramatic increase in federal medical marijuana raids and prosecutions) and lack of courage on marriage equality (“Instead of insisting on equality as a US Constitutional guarantee, the President has thrown this question back to the states. When the smoke clears, Gay Americans will realize the President’s words have gained them nothing today and that millions of Americans in most states will continue to be denied true marriage equality . I guess the President is still more worried about losing Ohio, Colorado, North Carolina and Virginia than he is in doing the right thing. What is the President saying–that he would eat a piece of cake at a gay wedding if the state the happy couple lives in allows it ?. Where is the leadership? While I commend him for supporting the concept of Gay marriage equality, I am profoundly disappointed in the President.”).
Johnson also seems to be emphasizing attacks on Obama not being liberal enough over attacks on Romney not being conservative enough (he may figure that the GOP primaries did that job for him…): his Google+ page has the following, beyond links to articles on why he should be in the debates and event invitations.
Dividing a party IS being a force for change. Third parties, when they gain enough support, force the nearest major part to confront and deal with issues that they’d otherwise get away with ignoring. They enable voters to stand up and demand action, to avoid being taken for granted by a party that feels ‘entitled’ to their votes.
If the major party complains afterward that the third party “cost them the election,” they’re not getting the message. The major party needed to bring those voters into the fold by addressing the issues, rather than complaining that they shouldn’t have to earn votes.