If you’re like many American’s today you value your right to
vote but feel trapped between a rock and a hard place—you don’t like either of
the primary political party candidates.
And if you’re like many others (on both sides), you might
be tempted to simply vote for your affiliated party even if you don’t like that
candidate simply because you REALLY don’t like the opposition.
But what if you had another option?
What if a third party candidate better represented your
beliefs?
Now, you might be thinking that’s a wasted vote (after all,
that’s what the media is trying to make you believe).
History (and our constitution) disagree.
4 Times in American History neither candidate reached the
needed 270 electoral votes to become president. If you’d like information on
that please click here.
So what happens if neither candidate reaches the needed 270 electoral
votes?
“If no candidate receives a majority of Electoral votes, the House of
Representatives elects the President from the 3 Presidential candidates who
received the most Electoral votes. Each state delegation has one vote. The
Senate would elect the Vice President from the 2 Vice Presidential candidates
with the most Electoral votes. Each Senator would cast one vote for Vice
President. If the House of Representatives fails to elect a President by
Inauguration Day, the Vice-President Elect serves as acting President until the
deadlock is resolved in the House.”
Here are 3 other options:
Evan
McMullin- Is a constitutional conservative. For 10 years he worked for the
CIA spearheading counterterrorism in places such as the Middle East, North
Africa, and South Asia. Later he used his Master’s in Business to help
industries such as energy, biotech, technology and more.
Here are a few of the issues he is focused on.
1.
Military- “…we will rebuild the military
and give our service members the tools they need to defend our freedoms and our
way of life—while also protecting Americans’ hard-earned dollars.”
2.
Economy-“…make the tax code fairer and
simpler, helping to spur business innovation, especially the growth of small
businesses... Small businesses should pay closer to 25 percent of their profits
in taxes, whereas now there are many that must pay almost 40 percent. Right now
America also has the highest corporate tax rate – 35 percent – of any advanced
economy.”
3.
Healthcare- “…repeal Obamacare as soon as
possible, replacing it with a more streamlined, pro-market approach to
insurance…encourage competition and innovation by putting patients, families,
and doctors for first.”
4.
Government Accountability- “…support
House Joint Resolution 100, a proposed constitutional amendment for the
re-empowerment of the states. This amendment would enable a two-thirds majority
of the states to repeal any Executive Order, regulation, or administrative
ruling issued by the executive branch.”
5.
Immigration- “The path to reform begins
with securing our borders. Once they are secured, there should be a process of
earned legalization for the illegal immigrants who are already here. There is
simply no efficient way to deport 11 million individuals; doing so would break
apart families and likely cost $100 billion. Furthermore, legalization is not
amnesty.”
6.
Trade- “…supports the Trans-Pacific
Partnership (TPP), a trade agreement recently signed by 12 countries, including
Japan, Australia, and Vietnam. The TPP will eliminate tariffs for all the
countries that sign, but it will not go into effect until ratified by Congress.”
SIDE NOTE-This is NAFTA on steroids. While there are many benefits of NAFTA,
the disadvantage of it includes “…destroying half a million American jobs and
lowering U.S. wages. In addition, NAFTA increases the U.S. trade deficit.”To learn more about NAFTA (pros
and cons) click here.
7.
National Debt- “…enact reforms that make
these essential programs more efficient while fighting pervasive fraud and
abuse…simple truth that you can’t keep spending money you never had.”
To learn more about McMullins Platform click here.
Dr. Jill Stein- 2012
Green Party candidate for president. Wants to revitalize democracy. She’s a
mother, physician, and an environmental-health advocate.
Snapshot of her platform:
1.
Jobs
as a Right- “…replacing unemployment offices with employment offices.
Advance workers rights to form unions, achieve workplace democracy, and keep a
fair share of the wealth they create.”
2.
Health Care as a Right- “Establish an
improved “Medicare For All” single-payer public health insurance program to
provide everyone with quality health care, at huge savings.”
3.
Education as a Right- “…Guarantee
tuition-free, world-class public education from pre-school through university.
End high stakes testing and public school privatization.”
4.
A Just Economy- “Set a $15/hour federal
minimum wage. Break up “too-big-to-fail” banks and democratize the Federal
Reserve. Reject gentrification as a model of economic development. Support
development of worker and community cooperatives and small businesses. Make
Wall Street, big corporations, and the rich pay their fair share of taxes.
Create democratically run public banks and utilities. Replace corporate trade
agreements with fair trade agreements.”
5.
Protect Mother Earth- “Lead on a global
treaty to halt climate change. End destructive energy extraction: fracking, tar
sands, offshore drilling, oil trains, mountaintop removal, and uranium mines.
Protect our public lands, water supplies, biological diversity, parks, and
pollinators. Label GMOs, and put a moratorium on GMOs and pesticides until they
are proven safe. Protect the rights of future generations.”
6.
Freedom and Equality- “Expand women’s
rights, protect LGBTQIA+ people from discrimination, defend indigenous rights
and lands, and create a welcoming path to citizenship for immigrants. Protect
the free Internet, legalize marijuana/hemp, and treat substance abuse as a
public health problem, not a criminal problem.”
7.
Peace and Human Rights- “…End the wars
and drone attacks, cut military spending by at least 50% and close the 700+
foreign military bases…”
Here are a few of his beliefs:
1.
Taxes-
“…elimination of special interest tax loopholes, to get rid of the
double-taxation on small businesses, and ultimately, the replacement of all
income and payroll taxes with a single consumption tax that determines your tax
burden by how much you spend, not how much you earn.”
2.
Civil Liberties- Supports Same Sex Marriage
and Abortion Rights
3.
Immigration- “we should focus on creating
a more efficient system of providing work visas, conducting background checks,
and incentivizing non-citizens to pay their taxes, obtain proof of employment,
and otherwise assimilate with our diverse society .Making it simpler and more
efficient to enter the United States legally will provide greater security than
a wall by allowing law enforcement to focus on those who threaten our country,
not those who want to be a part of it.”
4.
Environment- Believes in Climate Change. “…believe
that the federal government should prevent future harm by focusing on
regulations that protect us from real harm, rather than needlessly costing
American jobs and freedom in order to pursue a political agenda.”
5.
Education- “…believes that state and
local governments should have more control over education policy. Decisions that
affect our children should be made closer to home, not by bureaucrats and
politicians in Washington, D.C. That is why he believes we should eliminate the
federal Department of Education. Common Core and other attempts to impose
national standards and requirements on local schools are costly, overly
bureaucratic, and actually compromise our ability to provide our children with
a good education.”
6.
War on Drugs-“…remove cannabis (Marijuana)
from Schedule I of the federal Controlled Substances Act, which will allow
individual states to make their own decisions about both recreational and
medical marijuana -- just as they have done for decades with alcohol...do not
support the legalization of other recreational drugs that are currently
illegal. It is, however, their belief that drug rehabilitation and
harm-reduction programs result in a more productive society than incarceration
and arrests for drug use.”
7.
Wasteful Spending- “…pledged that his
first major act as President will be to submit to Congress a truly balanced
budget. No gimmicks, no imaginary cuts in the distant future. Real reductions
to bring spending in line with revenues, without tax increases. No line in the
budget will be immune from scrutiny and reduction. And he pledges to veto any
legislation that will result in deficit spending, forcing Congress to override
his veto in order to spend money we don’t have.”
To learn more about Johnson’s platform click here.
While no candidate is perfect, perhaps one of these lesser
known candidates better represent your beliefs and concerns.
If so, I encourage you to not buy into the lie that you must
vote for either Hilary Clinton or Donald Trump. But if you like them, vote for them. It's your choice.
You are given one vote and are free to vote however you
choose. And your vote matters.
Michelle Obama recently gave a powerful speech that
highlighted how important each vote is.
In 2012 Barack Obama won the election by a small number of
votes in certain states. Hilary Clinton recently showed a few maps of just how
powerful each vote is. Examples: If 13 people would have stayed home in Florida Obama
wouldn’t have won that state. Likewise he won Ohio by 19 votes, Wisconsin by 34
votes. Breaking it down by precinct- If 7 Obama Voters in each precinct had
chosen to vote for Romney in the state of Florida, Obama would have lost that
state.
YOUR VOTE MATTERS- To see more click here.
If you do like one of these candidates and they are not on
your state’s ballet you can WRITE IN YOUR VOTE. So just because you don’t
see your preferred candidate on the ballet doesn’t mean he/she is not an
option. It means you must WRITE in the name you want to vote for.
I encourage you- Vote
your Conscience.
