Time to Break the Mold

From the West Virginia Mountain Party's Jesse Johnson, in the Register Herald:

The other thing is overcoming business as usual with the two-party system. I think that every American and every West Virginian looks at the two-party system, looks at the Democrats and Republicans and says, “We have a problem.”

There’s corruption, and both parties have sold out to Wall Street. We’re having billion-dollar elections now, and this is absolutely insane.

If we have public financing of elections, which is one of the things that I would certainly do, and a restoration, somewhat, of the fairness within the media in regards to those elections. In ’87, I believe it was, the Fairness Doctrine was eradicated, so there is no equal time for anything other than the two-party system. So, if you control, it’s just like a ball team. If you own the stadium and you have two teams come in, whether they are shirts and skins, or whatever, if you are on those two teams, you are going to profit.

That’s what we get handed to us repeatedly. Here are two seemingly different choices, but they line up the same. You saw that with the U.S. Senate race. The New York Times showed that Joe Manchin and John Raese were the two closest as far as platforms of any two Democrats or Republicans in the nation. They acted in the media as if they were drastically different. They weren’t.

I’m giving West Virginia a true opportunity to define itself as a leader, truly define itself as a state that respects fairness, truly define itself as a state that is willing to break that broken mold of business as usual in politics and take the opportunity to find out if their vote really counts.

WV: Constitution Party Candidate Vies for Byrd's Vacant Senate Seat, Calls for Audit of Fed

From the Parthenon:

A third-party candidate is seeking to be elected to the U.S. Senate to fill the seat left vacant by Robert C. Byrd. Jeff Becker, the Constitution Party's candidate for the election of West Virginia's new U.S. Senator, said he wants to help government make a return to Constitutional values.

Becker said if he is elected, initiating an audit of the Federal Reserve will be a top priority. "It's a shadowy organization," Becker said. "There's nothing federal about it. It's a private bank. "We need to get back to sound constitutional money. Our money is supposed to be based on silver and gold, but the paper money that is being printed isn't backed by anything."

WV: Independent Surge Among Registered Voters

From Hoppy Kercheval at the West Virginia Metro News:

In West Virginia, the two major parties still dominate, but voter registration figures show a growing number of independents in the state. Figures released recently by the Secretary of State’s Office show that nearly 208,000 registered voters, or 17 percent, list themselves as having no party affiliation or belong to a party other than Democrat or Republican. . . .

Since 2004, while Republican registration has held steady and Democratic registration has declined, the number of voters registering as independents or belonging to another party has risen by nearly 50 percent.

A History of Recent Third Party Showings in West Virginia

From West Virginia Metro News:

West Virginia has a recent tradition of third party candidates in statewide races. Rarely have they made a difference in the outcome, but that could change this year in the U.S. Senate race. It’s self-evident that either Democrat Gov. Joe Manchin or Republican John Raese will win, but Mountain Party candidate Jesse Johnson and Constitution Party candidate Jeff Becker are also on the ballot. Johnson and Becker both got a chance to participate in the only statewide debate of the race and each has garnered at least some media coverage, though Johnson has gotten more than Becker. Here is a brief history of how several non-traditional candidates have fared in races in recent elections . . . 

WV: Constitution Party Senate Candidate Calls for New Investigation of 9/11 Attacks

From Info Wars:

Jeff Becker, running for Senate in West Virginia in the Constitution Party, raised questions about the “foreknowledge” of WTC Building 7′s collapse on September 11th during a live televised debate that was carried nationally on C-SPAN. Indeed, even Becker’s campaign website announces proudly at the very top of his homepage that he “calls for new Senate investigation of 9/11.”

During the October 18 debate for the special election to replace the deceased Sen. Robert Byrd, Jeff Becker responded to a question about the “continued build-up of troops in Afghanistan” by telling the audience that “We need to first take a look at what happened on 9/11. There were actually three buildings that collapsed on September 11th.”

WV: At Least One Four-Way Debate in US Senate Race Likely

From WHSV:

The U.S. Senate campaigns of Democrat Gov. Joe Manchin and Republican John Raese both support holding at least one debate that would include all the candidates . . . Scarbro says the campaign's offer includes Raese, Mountain Party candidate Jesse Johnson and Constitution Party candidate Jeff Becker.

WV: Constitution Party Senate Candidate on the Ballot

From the Constitution Party of West Virginia:

Berkeley County resident Jeff Becker, chairman of the Constitution Party of West Virginia, has successfully petitioned to run for the U.S. Senate seat held by the late U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd in the Nov. 2 general election. “He got the required number of signatures. He will be on the ballot,” Jake Glance, spokesman for Secretary of State Natalie Tennant’s office, said Thursday.

WV: Independent Files for State Legislature

From the Intelligencer:

A Weirton resident has filed as an Independent candidate in the race for a 1st District seat in the West Virginia House of Delegates. Lawyer Amanda Mesler, 29, will face two Democrats - incumbent Delegate Randy Swartzmiller, D-Hancock, and Weirton Councilman Ronnie Jones - on the Nov. 2 general election ballot. Two candidates will be elected, and there are no Republicans in the race.