Lately I’ve noticed that many people like to think in terms of black or white, right or wrong, this or that and right or left, especially when it comes to politics. You’re thought of as a Democrat or a Republican, with very few people seen as fitting in that awkward unknown space between. The Constitution party’s presidential candidate for 2020 is Don Blankenship.
But there are definitely spaces between Democrats and Republicans. Those spaces are large and they seem to keep growing as each party vies for the attention of the majority, and ultimately the vote.
What fills those spaces? Other political parties that serve as the neglected compromise between left and right. These minor political parties are often ignored, but I think 2020 is the perfect time to be looking at other options. Voters need to be informed and aware of their choices on the ballot, even if they already know who they want to vote for.
In the 2016 presidential elections the Libertarian Party gained 3.28% of the popular vote with Gary Johnson as the presidential candidate, according to 2016 federal election results. This year their presidential candidate is Jo Jorgensen, who is the first woman to receive the Libertarian nomination.
Jorgensen supports individual freedom with little government interference and has spoken against the way the United States’ current administration has handled the COVID-19 pandemic. In an interview with National Public Radio, Jorgensen condemned the stay-at-home mandates that sprung up across the country, which resulted in tanking the U.S. economy and the massive amounts of money put toward stimulus spending.
“Well, don’t forget, if the government hadn’t shut down the economy, people wouldn’t have lost their jobs in the first place,” Jorgensen said during the interview. “So this is typical where the government breaks your leg and then thinks that you should be grateful that you’re getting a crutch from them. If the government doesn’t break your leg to begin with, you don’t need the crutch.”
Other minor parties include the Green Party and the Constitution Party.
According to the 2016 election results, the Green party gained 1.07% of the popular vote with Jill Stein as the presidential nominee. This year’s candidate, Howie Hawkins, advocates for the creation of an ecosocialist Green New Deal, which would lay out the foundation for tackling climate change. Hawkins thinks the Democrats are promoting a “watered down” version of the Green New Deal, as he said in an interview with Uprise Rhode Island.
“(The Democrats) took our brand and watered down its content,” Hawkins said. “They extended the deadline to zero out carbon emissions from 2030 to 2050. They dropped the demand for a ban on fracking and new fossil fuel infrastructure, which is crucial. We build that infrastructure, we’re locked into burning fossil fuels for decades and the planet gets cooked. We want to cut military spending deeply so we can put that money into a Green New Deal. They dropped that part.”
The Constitution Party, with Darrell Castle as the presidential candidate, had 0.15% of the popular vote in the 2016 election. 2020’s Constitution presidential candidate is Don Blankenship.
While Blankenship has a rather nasty reputation for controversial ads aimed at Republicans and for the one year he spent in prison for a mine safety violation, he is still running for the third-party candidacy.
These other parties are what fill the blank between Democrats and Republicans. All of these political groups have similarities to the economic and social policies promoted by major parties in the U.S.
When the time comes to vote, be informed. Even if you do not intend to vote for a candidate from a minor party, being an informed voter is the number one responsibility of an American citizen. Look at your options before you send in your completed ballot.
Anteia McCollum can be reached at [email protected]