Do you know who's running for president?
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October 10, 2012 |
By Mike Weland
Publisher
 Many
Idaho voters are going to be surprised when they
go to fill out their ballot in the upcoming
general election that the race for President of
the United States is not just a two man race.
Listening to most media, you only hear of two
contenders, incumbent Democrat Barack Obama and
Republican challenger Mitt Romney.
 Enough
ink has been spilled on the two to wipe out an
average-sized forest, and though my ink is
digital, I won't waste any more here.
Getting your name on a state ballot for national
office, particularly the presidency, is not an
easy undertaking, and it seems wrong that the
mainstream media all but pooh-poohs these
candidates' effort by omission even though their
odds of winning are astronomical.
Perhaps part off the reason their chances are so
slim is because the media ignores them, denying
voters the chance to know all of their options.
With that, allow me to introduce to you, in
order of their appearance on our state's 2012
general election ballot, the other four. All
material and images were gleaned from these
candidates official web sites, and the URLs are
included so that you can, if you'd like, learn
more about the choices very few journalists have
told you about.
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Justice Party
candidate Ross "Rocky" Anderson ... on
the ballot, he's listed as Independent. |
Ross "Rocky" Anderson was born in Logan, Utah in
1951. His parents, Roy and Grace Anderson, both
worked at the local lumberyard, Anderson Lumber
Company, which was founded by Rocky's
great-grandfather, a Norwegian immigrant
carpenter.
At age seven, he moved with his family to Salt
Lake City, and when his father was promoted to
president of Anderson Lumber Company When Rocky
was 10, they moved again to Ogden, Utah.
Rocky went on to attend Mt. Ogden Jr. High
School and Ogden High School. During his high
school years, Rocky worked at an Anderson Lumber
shop, building roof trusses, loading lumber, and
delivering cabinets. He also worked shingling
roofs in the late afternoons and would quickly
clean up to play lead guitar at local dances and
concerts with his rock-and-roll group, The
Viscounts.
Following graduation from high school, Rocky
attended the University of Utah, where he
graduated magna cum laude with a degree in
Philosophy. He moved to Washington, DC, to study
law at National Law Center at George Washington
University graduating with honors with honors in
1978. He then returned to Salt Lake City, where
he practicd law for 20 years.
In 1999 he ran as a Democrat and was elected
Salt Lake City's 33rd mayor. He served two
terms.
On August 11, 2011, Rocky denounced the
Democratic Party and resigned his affiliation
with it. He wrote in a letter to the Democratic
Congressional Campaign Committee that "The
Constitution has been eviscerated while
Democrats have stood by with nary a whimper. It
is a gutless, unprincipled party, bought and
paid for by the same interests that buy and pay
for the Republican Party."
On January 13, 2012, Anderson accepted the
presidential nomination of the Justice Party, a
new national political party. The Party’s
primary principles are integrity, justice, and
liberty for all.
In his bid for president, he advocates the
promotion of the public interest through the
defeat of the systemic corruption that has
caused massive failures in public policy, an
immediate end to the on-going wars, essential
health care coverage for all citizens,
international leadership by the U.S. to prevent
against the most catastrophic consequences of
climate disruption, adequate revenues to balance
the budget through fair taxation, treatment of
substance abuse as a public health rather than
criminal justice issue, an end to the legal
concept of corporate “personhood," and an end to
the stranglehold on our government by the
military-industrial complex.
His running mate is Luis J. Rodriguez, their
website is
http://www.voterocky.org.
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Constitution
Party candidate Virgil H. Goode |
Virgil H. Goode is much more succinct regarding
his background.
He was born in 1946 and he's married to Lucy
Goode. He earned his juris doctorate at the
University of Virginia School of Law and served
in the Army National Guard fom 1969 to 1975.
He served in the Virginis State Senate from 1973
to 1997 and in the U.S. House of Representatives
from 1997 to 2009.
He's a Baptist.
On issues, he's a bit more verbose.
"Emphasizing and following the Constitution," he
says, "will mean a smaller less costly
government, which is vital for the future
prosperity and progress of the United States."
On jobs, the debt and deficit; "It is incumbent
on our next President to propose a balanced
budget upon taking office and not ten years down
the road. There will be pain, but the old saying
that one will not get out of the hole by digging
the hole deeper is accurate.
"Nearly every department and agency will face
significant cuts and some will face elimination.
Veterans benefits is an example that will not be
cut. Examples of programs eliminated include the
National Endowment for the Arts, No Child Left
Behind, etc. Other programs and departments,
such as Foreign Aid and Education, will be
slashed and trimmed.
"Reducing regulations and becoming energy
independent will also mean more jobs for
America. The Canada to Texas pipeline needs to
be built and operational expeditiously and not
delayed or stopped as the current Administration
is doing. Another way to reduce unemployment,
reduce the deficit, and provide more jobs for
U.S. citizens is to reduce legal immigration.
"In recent years about 1.2 million green cards
have been issued annually and over 60% go to
foreigners who come to the United States and
take jobs from American citizens.
"I have proposed a moratorium (with a few minor
exceptions) on issuing green cards until our
unemployment rate is under five percent. America
has one of the most liberal immigration policies
in the world and it is time for the citizens of
this country to be at the head of the line for
jobs. We also need to totally end diversity
visas, reduce chain migration, and dramatically
reduce asylees and refugees and their costs to
the U.S. taxpayer."
His running mate is James N. Clymer, their
website is
http://www.goodeforpresident2012.com.
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Libertarian
candidate Gary Johnson |
Gary Johnson, who has been referred to as the
‘most fiscally conservative Governor’ in the
country, was the Republican Governor of New
Mexico from 1995-2003.
A successful businessman before running for
office in 1994, Governor Johnson started a
door-to-door handyman business to help pay his
way through college. Twenty years later, he had
grown the firm into one of the largest
construction companies in New Mexico with over
1,000 employees.
Not surprisingly, Governor Johnson brings a
distinctly business-like mentality to governing,
believing that decisions should be made based on
cost-benefit analysis rather than strict
ideology.
Johnson is best known for his veto record, which
includes over 750 vetoes during his time in
office, more than all other governors combined
and his use of the veto pen has since earned him
the nickname “Governor Veto.” He cut taxes 14
times while never raising them. When he left
office, New Mexico was one of only four states
in the country with a balanced budget.
Term-limited, Johnson retired from public office
in 2003. An avid skier, adventurer, and
bicyclist, he has reached the highest peak on
four of the seven continents, including Mt.
Everest.
In 2009, after becoming increasingly concerned
with the country’s out-of-control national debt
and precarious financial situation, the Governor
formed the OUR America Initiative, a 501c(4)
non-profit that promotes fiscal responsibility,
civil liberties, and rational public policy. He
traveled to more than 30 states and spoke to
over 150 conservative and libertarian groups
during his time as Honorary Chairman.
He has two grown children- a daughter Seah and a
son Erik and currently resides in a house he
built himself in Taos, New Mexico.
His running mate is Judge James P. Gray, their
website is
http://www.garyjohnson2012.com.
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Listed on the
ballot as an Independent, Dr. Jill Stein
is candidate of the Green-Rainbow Party.
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Dr. Jill Stein is a mother, physician, longtime
teacher of internal medicine, and pioneering
environmental-health advocate.
She is the co-author of two widely-praised
reports, "In Harm's Way: Toxic Threats to Child
Development," published in 2000, and
"Environmental Threats to Healthy Aging,"
published in 2009. The first of these has been
translated into four languages and is used
worldwide. The reports promote green local
economies, sustainable agriculture, clean power,
and freedom from toxic threats.
Her "Healthy People, Healthy Planet" teaching
program reveals the links between human health,
climate security, and green economic
revitalization. This body of work has been
presented at government, public health and
medical conferences, and has been used to
improve public policy.
Jill began to advocate for the environment as a
human health issue in 1998 when she realized
that politicians were simply not acting to
protect children from the toxic threats emerging
from current science. She offered her services
to parents, teachers, community groups and a
native Americans group seeking to protect their
communities from toxic exposure.
Jill has testified before numerous legislative
panels as well as local and state governmental
bodies. She played a key role in the effort to
get the Massachusetts fish advisories updated to
better protect women and children from mercury
contamination, which can contribute to learning
disabilities and attention deficits in children.
She also helped lead the successful campaign to
clean up the "Filthy Five" coal plants in
Massachusetts, an effort that resulted in
getting coal plant regulations signed into law
that were the most protective around at that
time. Her testimony on the effects of mercury
and dioxin contamination from the burning of
waste helped preserve the Massachusetts
moratorium on new trash incinerator construction
in the state.
Jill has appeared as an environmental health
expert on the Today Show, 20/20, Fox News, and
other programs. She was also a member of the
national and Massachusetts boards of directors
of the Physicians for Social Responsibility. Her
efforts to protect public health has won her
several awards including: Clean Water Action's
"Not in Anyone's Backyard" Award, the Children's
Health Hero" Award, and the Toxic Action
Center's Citizen Award.
Having witnessed the ability of big money to
stop health protective policies on Beacon Hill,
Jill became an advocate for campaign finance
reform, and worked to help pass the Clean
Election Law. This law was approved by the
voters by a 2-1 margin, but was later repealed
by the Massachusetts Legislature on an
unrecorded voice vote.
In 2002 ADD activists in the Massachusetts
Green-Rainbow Party approached Dr. Stein and
asked her to run for Governor of Massachusetts.
Dr. Stein accepted, and began her first foray
into electoral politics. She was widely credited
with being the best informed and most credible
candidate in the race.
She has twice been elected to town meeting in
Lexington, Massachusetts. She is the founder and
past co-chair of a local recycling committee
appointed by the Lexington Board of Selectmen.
In 2003, Jill co-founded the Massachusetts
Coalition for Healthy Communities, a non-profit
organization that addresses a variety of issues
that are important to the health and well-being
of Massachusetts communities, including health
care, local green economies, and grassroots
democracy.
Jill represented the Green-Rainbow Party in two
additional races – one for State Representative
in 2004 and one for Secretary of State in 2006.
In 2006 she won the votes of over 350,000
Massachusetts citizens – which represented the
greatest vote total ever for a Green-Rainbow
candidate.
In 2008, Jill helped formulate a "Secure Green
Future" ballot initiative that called upon
legislators to accelerate efforts to move the
Massachusetts economy to renewable energy and
make development of green jobs a priority. The
measure won over 81 per cent of the vote in the
11 districts in which it was on the ballot.
Jill was born in Chicago and raised in suburban
Highland Park, Illinois. She graduated magna cum
laude from Harvard College in 1973, and from
Harvard Medical School in 1979. Jill enjoys
writing and performing music, and enjoys long
walks with her Great Dane, Bandita. Dr. Stein
lives in Lexington with her husband, Richard
Rohrer, also a physician. She has two sons, Ben
and Noah, who have graduated from college in the
past few years.
Her running mate is Cheri Honkala, their website
is
http://www.jillstein.org.
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Perennial
Presidential candidate Rick Reed |
There is also, beneath the six names listed, a
box marked "write-in" and while most think he's
joking, a local man has been touting his
candidacy for President of the United States for
several election cycles, including the election
of 2012.
Rick Reed, a long-time resident of Poverty Flats
in Naples, hasn't yet managed to get his name on
the ballot of a single state, but that hasn't
stopped him.
He was born July 28, 1952, and he's married to
Cathy Reed.
"I'm married 35 years," he says, "two kids four
grand kids. I am a Viet Nam vet, homesteader,
farmer, bartender, logger, heavy equipment
operator, ex road house owner, carpenter and
stand up comic for over 25 years. JESUS...what's
left? I'm tired!"
Perhaps taking up residence in the White House.
He has a Facebook page,
http://www.facebook.com/rick.reed.399?fref=ts,
but no "official" website, though you can watch
him make his candidacy announcement
here.
Just make sure the kids the
kids are well out of earshot.
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