WASHINGTON – What if they held an election and nobody came? Some political analysts believe the 2008 presidential election could be historic in its levels of non-participation – at least insofar as the two major-party candidates are concerned.
With one of five Hillary Clinton supporters saying they are unlikely to vote for Barack Obama and deep dissatisfaction in Republican ranks for the nominee of their party, third party candidates have the best chance in years of scoring significant vote tallies.
But is it a "waste of a vote" to cast a protest ballot for someone other than a Republican or Democratic presidential candidate?
No, says Joseph Farah, editor of WND, who is leading a budding movement to encourage support for third party candidates or write-ins for the top slot on the ballot.
"I don't deny that either Barack Obama or John McCain will become president in January 2009," he says. "It's just that I can't be a part of supporting either one – not even as the lesser of two evils."
Farah believes whoever wins among the two major-party candidates will lead America in the wrong direction.
"How can any of us be a part of knowingly sending America on the wrong course?" he asks. "I believe there is a better way."
Farah's better way is joining the "none of the above" movement and making a major political statement in 2008 that will reverberate for years to come – helping Americans who believe in the Constitution, limited government, personal responsibility, individual rights and self-government to recapture the White House and the Congress in future elections.
"Many people who believe in these principles – principles most closely associated with the Republican Party – think holding your nose and voting for John McCain is the right thing to do in 2008," he says. "I disagree. If McCain wins, he will have done it his way – with an incoherent platform that promotes global warming hysteria, embryonic stem cell research, unconstitutional restrictions on First Amendment freedoms, more illegal immigration, etc."
He says one of the two major parties needs to be recaptured by freedom-loving Americans who believe in self-government – and that is more likely with low turnout for the major parties and high turnout for third parties and write-ins.
Farah is behind the "none of the above" bumper sticker and has completed a book due out in August also called "None of the Above."
"We need a minimal standard of acceptability for any candidate running for president," says Farah. "That standard for me is support for the Constitution. I don't see that in either of the two major-party standard-bearers. That's why I will be voting for neither of them in 2008."