Monday, October 6, 2008

3rd Party 'Spoilers' Could Tip Balance

The presidential election could well turn on a factor that has gotten virtually no discussion this year -- the votes drawn by Libertarian Bob Barr, Green Cynthia McKinney and independent Ralph Nader.

Recent polls show a race too tight to call: Gallup tracking from Sept. 23 showed Barack Obama up only three points with 47 percent to John McCain's 44 percent. More interesting is a CNN/Opinion Research poll released Sept. 22 that includes all five candidates for president. McCain is at 45 percent, Obama is at 48 percent, and Barr, McKinney and Nader are polling a combined 6 percent of the vote. (Nader captured 4 percent and Barr and McKinney each got 1 percent.) In a close contest, the support for any of these three could well decide which major party comes out ahead nationally and in key swing states...

There's also a wild card: Libertarian Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, who sought the GOP nomination and has continued to attract fervent supporters to his ''Campaign for Liberty'' attacking big government and the two-party system. After months of bickering with the Libertarian Barr, last week he threw his support behind yet another alternative party candidate, Chuck Baldwin of the Constitution Party. - The Miami Herald

Nader Blasts Obama and McCain

Perennial presidential hopeful Ralph Nader, who plans a rally in Amherst today, yesterday insisted he is the only candidate “who recognizes people’s necessities” and blasted the Democratic and GOP positions on the war and the economy.

Nader maintained his long-shot campaign persona as a populist gadfly, criticizing Friday’s financial bailout package, which was backed by Barack Obama and John McCain, calling it a bag of “freebies and goodies garnished with window dressing.”

The longtime consumer activist attacked both parties for their support of the package, charging it contains no criminal prosecution of the “corporate crooks who brought us this financial meltdown.” - Boston Herald

Thursday, October 2, 2008

McKinney Accuses D.O.D Of Cover-Up

Green Party presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney, known for her provocative statements when she was a congresswoman from Georgia, accused the Department of Defense this week of using Hurricane Katrina to cover up the slaughter of 5,000 prisoners.

At a news conference in Oakland, Calif., on Sunday, McKinney claimed the Pentagon authorized the execution of the prisoners with one bullet to the head three years ago and then dumped their bodies in a Louisiana swamp.

McKinney said she heard the story from the mother of a National Guard soldier who said her son was assigned to help dispose of the bodies. - Fox News