Election is a six-headed machine

By Lesley Nickus
Online Foty-Niner
Contributing Writer

To most people, the race for the presidency is simply a battle between President Bush and Senator Kerry; however, there are four other candidates on the California ballot who have their own ideals and political standpoints that have gone almost unnoticed.

The other four parties on the ballot are the American Independent Party, the Green Party, the Libertarian Party and the Peace and Freedom Party, each with their own candidates for
the presidential election.

Michael Anthony Peroutka represents the American Independent Party. His platform rests on a commitment to a "civil government in these United States that acknowledges God, defends the family, and restores the American Republic to its founding principles," according to Peroutka's Web site.

Peroutka describes himself as 100 percent pro-life and advocates a complete ban on abortion. He considers the war a "fool's errand," and would bring the troops directly home if he were elected president.

David Cobb, representative of the Green Party, adheres to the 10 values of the Green Party: grassroots democracy, social justice and equal opportunity, ecological wisdom, non-violence, decentralization, community based economics and economic justice, feminism and gender equity, respect for diversity, personal and global diversity and future focus and sustainability.

Cobb believes that the war is unjust, illegal and immoral. He supports immediate withdrawl of the troops and a foreign policy based on non-violence and cooperation. Cobb is pro-choice, opposes the death penalty and believes every person should be treated equally.

Representing the Libertarian Party is Michael Badnarik. His party refuses to cater to special interest groups and believes very strongly in personal freedoms.

He stands firmly in his belief that a woman has a right to choose and holds that the government should have no control over whether or not abortion is legal. On the other hand, he would also like to expedite the adoption process and make it easier for those who are pro-life to have effective alternate means. He strongly supports maintaining a strong military for the purpose of defending the United States but does not support a draft of any kind. He believes the war in Iraq to be a "colossal failure" and offers what he believes to be a structured exit strategy.

Leonard Peltier, of the Peace and Freedom Party, is a Native American who was wrongly accused of a crime that sent him to prison for almost 28 years. He believes in social justice for all people, environmental protection and respect for life.

Peltier's position on the war in Iraq is like the other three candidates. He believes our troops should come home immediately. He states that his first three priorities, if elected, will be to abolish the death penalty, make the government abide by its original treaties with Native Americans and other nations, and remove the troops from Iraq and Afghanistan.

For more information on the candidates background, history and political standings, visit the Web site for the California Secretary of State at www.ss.ca.gov, which provides a complete list of the candidates on the California ballot with links to their respective Web sites.