THE GREEN PARTY

NOMINEE: DAVID COBB

PARTY PLATFORM:

GREEN PARTY (Founded 1991)
The Green Party of the United States regards itself as part of a global political movement dedicated to “environmentalism, non-violence, social justice and grassroots organizing.” Greens are particularly strongest in Europe, Australia and New Zealand, where they have won seats in parliament. Greens also cite feminism as one of their Ten Key Values, lamenting an “inherited social system based on male domination of politics and economics.”

• Pushes for a 50 percent cut in the Pentagon budget phased over the next 10 years.
• Wants to abolish the Electoral College.
• Aims to decentralize the federal government by “forming bioregional confederations to coordinate regional issues based on natural and ecosystem boundaries”
• Wants to close down America’s nuclear power plants within the next five years.
• Opposes off-shore oil drilling and seeks to phase out the use of fossil fuels in favor of solar energy and other eco-friendly energy sources.
• Seeks a mandatory minimum fuel efficiency of 45 mpg on new vehicles starting in 2005
• Calls for a special “environmental tax” on polluters.
• Supports reparation payments for the descendants of American slaves.

(For more information on the Green Party platform, visit www.gp.org)

 

 

THE LIBERTARIAN PARTY

NOMINEE: MICHAEL BADNARIK

PARTY PLATFORM:

LIBERTARIAN PARTY (Founded 1971)
The Libertarian Party stands for reducing the role and influence of the government as much as possible and for allowing unlimited personal freedoms, with the exceptions of acts which harm others. The LP touts itself as the party of “self ownership,” arguing that every “individual has the right to control his or her own body, action, speech, and property” and that “government's only role is to help individuals defend themselves from force and fraud.”

• Calls for abolishing the Internal Revenue Service and most other federal agencies.
• Supports withdrawing foreign aid to all countries.
• Supports closing all U.S. military bases overseas.
• Supports the legalization of all drugs, from marijuana to crack cocaine.
• Favors abolishing all gun control laws.
• Opposes any form of censorship, including laws regulating obscenity and pornography.
• Advocates an open immigration policy with no limitations, with the caveat that “the right to enter the United States does not include the right to economic entitlements such as welfare.”
• Pushes for an option for individuals to decline participation in the social security system, allowing for contributions to be deposited in private retirement accounts instead.

(For more information on the Libertarian Party platform, visit www.lp.org)

RALPH NADER -- INDEPENDENT

THE NADER PLATFORM:

RALPH NADER (INDEPENDENT)
Frequently referring to Washington D.C. as “corporate occupied territory,” Ralph Nader argues that both Democrat and Republican politicians are “slaves to their corporate paymasters.” In addition to the consumer rights and economic issues he’s championed for decades, he mirrors the Green Party on numerous environmental and health care positions. Nader is also framing the 2004 election as a battle for “candidate choice,” lamenting the various obstacles in place making it difficult for independents to get on the ballot and participate in debates.

• Supports an additional “sin tax” on gambling, alcohol, tobacco and “extreme luxuries.”
• Supports further shifting the tax burden on America’s richest 2 percent of the population.
• Favors a “living wage” instead of a minimum wage.
• Against government subsidies for corporations, including the use of taxpayer funds to build professional sports stadiums.
• Against electronic “paperless” voting machines.
• Supports publicly financed elections.
• Supports the “Youth Suffrage” movement, calling for the voting age to be lowered to 16.
• Advocates a new holiday dedicated to maids and janitorial workers – National Cleaner’s Day on June 15.
• Favors an international commando force to apprehend individual terrorists and prosecute them on criminal grounds, rather than hold a foreign government responsible for their acts.

(For more information on Ralph Nader’s platform, visit www.votenader.org)

THE CONSTITUTION PARTY

NOMINEE: MICHAEL PEROUTKA

PARTY PLATFORM:

CONSTITUTION PARTY (Founded 1992)
Formerly known as the U.S. Taxpayers Party (when U.S. Sen. Bob Smith (R-NH) briefly accepted their nomination in 2000), the CP says its platform adheres to a strict interpretation of the U.S. Constitution. However, nothing in the party’s name hints that its view of the Constitution is based on a fundamentalist religious doctrine. The party was originally founded as a vehicle for the presidential aspirations of Pat Buchanan, who ultimately decided to challenge the first President Bush in the Republican Primary.

• Is against the separation of Church and State
• Is “100 Percent Pro-Life, No Exceptions”
• Opposes gambling, including state lotteries, and calls for state governments to claim legal jurisdiction over Native American tribal lands operating casinos.
• Favors an immediate moratorium on immigration “except in extreme hardship cases or in other individual special circumstances.”
• Against “homosexual rights.”
• Opposes women training or fighting in combat and the “radical feminization of the military.”
• Wants to restore a U.S military presence in the Panama Canal Zone
• Wants to ban the United Nations “and its subsidiaries” from operating on U.S. territory, including fundraising activity.
• Against gun control.

(For more information on the Constitution Party platform, visit www.constitutionparty.org)