Third party blues

Confession time. I am a Libertarian. Yes, it's true...my party has absolutely NO chance of winning the 2008 Presidential election. Sigh. But I won't grouse. If you want to know what Libertarians stand for (besides legalizing marijuana, sheesh), check out the party site: http://www.lp.org/

Third parties get a raw deal in this country. Myself, I think we need a strong third party to challenge the sick bird that controls politics (one wing red, one wing blue, sharing a diseased, misguided body).

But that's grousing. Ahem. I hope you will join me in watching the first Democratic Presidential candidate debate tonight on MSNBC - 6 - 7:30 pm central time. My dad (a STAUNCH conservative Republican die-hard) thinks the only idea that will come of this debate is "it's all George Bush's fault."

Not sure how sound or logical that is, but we shall see. For all the pomp and circumstance of the Dems taking over both Houses of Congress, they really haven't done much - they are treading the political lake, hoping not to screw up so they can increase their chances for electability in '08. Think about it. If they were to take a strong stand on ANYTHING, the Republicans and right-leaning media would tear them apart. And in this age of "one wrong move and you're toast" a la the Howard Dean scream, no politician (no matter HOW good their ideas) is going to want to stick his or her head on the chopping block.

Power begets more power begets more power. And on, and on, and on.

Meanwhile, we the people are waving our arms desperately from shore, hoping anyone will give a shit enough to send over the life raft. Better wages, better health insurance access, more affordable everything, more say in what our elected leaders do. Alas. This government has become a bloated, inefficient, cold, calculating robot (think Terminator) with one goal in mind - become more bloated.

Barack Obama impresses me immensely, but is he for real? And more importantly, if he is really a good man with useful ideas and a plan of action, can he withstand the bloated political machine that spits out good people into the garbage heap of history? We shall see.

If you are brave enough to suffer through the canned sound bite responses, the meaningless promises, the endless "hopeful" but toothless rhetoric, the plying of warm fuzzies to gain your emotional support, I hope you consider watching these debates.

And then join a third party. Encourage your friends to do so too. Think about it. The only way we the people can regain control over the government is to FORCE change. In our current system, our options are a) take over by violence or b) take over by voting...and we don't really win with a blue or red candidate because they're all in cahoots. (Yes, I said cahoots. With a straight face.) Nominating a strong, sensible third party candidate has forced the two big parties to re-evaluate themselves in the past...it can happen again.

I dream of the day...