The emergence over the last decade of so-called third parties has created a dilemma for voters. Is a vote for a third party candidate wasted or is it a statement of principle? Will a vote for a third party candidate become a vote for an opposition candidate of one of the major parties? Did the 19% that Ross Perot garnered in 1992 result in the election of Bill Clinton? Did the Reform Party, Libertarians, Green Party, Tax Payer Party and other third party candidates in 1996 help reelect Clinton?

The answer to these questions is that we just don t know for sure. After the 1992 elections political observers came down on both sides of the issue. One camp fervently claimed that Perot's 19% vote gave the election to Clinton. Others claimed with equal fervor that Perot drew about the same number of votes from each major party and statistically had little or no impact on the outcome.

The question remains; is a vote for a third party wasted or is it a statement of principle? Deciding between two major party candidates often becomes a Hobson's choice. It may be that neither really satisfies the voter's wishes and thus it becomes a question of which is the lesser evil. Either way, evil wins the election.

This often is because voters want to be on the winning side. Nobody likes to think they voted for a loser. For example, it s hard to find anyone who voted for Ross Perot in 1992, even though he got 19% of the popular vote. One wonders what happened to all the Reform Party voters after that election.

Eventually one comes to the conclusion that winning has gained precedence over principle. This is clearly visible in the way law suits, political wrangles, sports contests, marital disputes and other adversarial confrontations are resolved. In virtually every human dispute, from war to sibling rivalry, any tactic is acceptable if it leads to winning.

Ultimately, one must choose sides. Voting for the lesser of two evils has lead us to our present circumstances. Schools do not educate, politicians lie, bureaucrats write endless regulations, taxes are the highest in history and good jobs are leaving in droves. The courts act as legislators, and violent criminals are released with a slap on the wrist. Our children are into drugs and violence, the church has been removed from our lives and we live in fear behind locked doors with our television sets and cable systems.

We waste billions on a lost drug war, billions on military actions where we have no national interest, billions on special interest and pork barrel spending, and billions on social programs, many of which are duplicated, ineffective and needless.

Individual freedoms are being lost every day. Government is becoming more intrusive and dominates every aspect of our lives. EPA, HHS, IRS, CIA, BATF, FBI, OSHA, DEA, the Departments of Education, Energy, Commerce and so many others are working every day to expand their control over us.

The United Nations has become a shadow government within the United States. It now exercises some control over many of our nations parks and public land areas. It is seeking to impose taxation on U. S. citizens to finance its many programs and eventually to establish a one-world government. It has a large amount of control over our military forces and is reaching for more. Foreign military officers command American soldiers in so-called joint peace initiative operations.

These are some of the evils, greater or lesser, that continued voting for either of the two national political parties has brought upon us. At one time, there was a discernable difference between Democrats and Republicans. Now, if one watches what they do and does not listen to what they say, it becomes clear that both are advocates of big government and the principles of socialism. Republicrats or Demoplicans are better names for the two dominant political parties.

As was noted earlier, eventually we must choose sides. Do we want to continue the status quo, or do we want to begin the process of creating another political entity that more truly represents the values this nation was founded upon and which we want to preserve and restore?

We must each make our choice and live with the consequences. If we continue upon the path we are now following, the fundamental principles upon which America was founded will be lost, probably forever. Individual freedoms will be sacrificed for the benefit of the majority. This is how a democracy works: fifty one percent rules the other forty nine. You might think of it like this: What happens when three wolves and two sheep vote on what to have for dinner? Who wins and who loses? Which was the lesser of two evils? For whom? Do you feel like a wolf or a sheep?

Think about it. Is a vote for a third party such a bad thing? Listen to the candidates and decide which could lead the nation back to liberty and return to a better life for all Americans. Then vote your conscience.

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