VA: Four Third Party and Independent Candidates for Congress Profiled in Roanoke Times

From the Roanoke Times:

Polls suggest that people are unhappy not just with Democrats, who hold majorities in both houses of Congress, but also with Republicans. The four men running for Congress under independent and third-party banners in Western Virginia's three House districts share that frustration.

Jeff Clark in the 5th District and Jeremiah Heaton in the 9th are running as independents with the ability to perhaps at least influence the races between the major party candidates, while Libertarian Stuart Bain and Modern Whig Jeff Vanke both hope the absence of a Democrat in the 6th District will give them an opening against Republican incumbent Bob Goodlatte. All four are decided underdogs. But each is convinced that he can tap into voter discontent.

CT: Libertarian Candidate for Congress Calls for Audit of Sec. of the State

From the Norwich Bulletin:

The Libertarian Party candidate for Congress in the 2nd Congressional District is calling for an “audit” of the Secretary of the State’s office after he was denied ballot for the Nov. 2 election.

Dan Reale of Plainfield said earlier this week that he would file a lawsuit in Hartford Superior Court, claiming the Secretary of the State had confirmed his ballot access but then denied it.

Av Harris, spokesman for Secretary Susan Bysiewicz, said Reale was never considered on the ballot although the office listed him on its website. Reale only collected 90 signatures of the 3,200 he needed, Harris said. Reale disputes this, adding that the office didn’t give him enough time to correct problems with his signature submission.

VA-5: Democrat Slams Republican for Avoiding Debate that Included Independent Candidate

From C-Ville:

The Fifth District Congressional race between Democratic incumbent Tom Perriello and Republican challenger Senator Robert Hurt is heating up this week, both on TV and in print. Perriello’s latest campaign advertisement attacks Hurt for missing the first Fifth District candidate debate, held in Charlottesville on August 11. On that day, Perriello squared off against Independent candidate and Tea Party member Jeffrey Clark. Hurt had previously said he would not participate in any debates that include Clark.

OR: Michael Meo, Pacific Green and Pirate Party Candidate for Congress in OR-3

From Michael Meo for Congress:

As a voter of the 3rd District of Oregon of the United States Congress, you have the chance to vote for your real views in this election.  You have the chance to vote for peace, for health care for all, and for humane educational standards.

This is the place and time to move beyond voting for a corporate Democrat, on account of the fear, that if you don't, an ignorant and dangerous Republican will get in.  No Republican has been elected from this district since 1950.  And the present holder of the seat needs to see the result of his many sell-outs to corporate interests.

FL-2: Conservative Independent Candidates for Congress Tell Highschool Students Islam is Anti-American

From the Panama City News Herald:

A Congressional candidate told local high school and middle school students Tuesday that Islam’s plan is to destroy the American way of life. “I’m totally against it. If I had my way, it would pretty much be over my dead body,” said Ron McNeil, a candidate for the U.S. House District 2 seat, who was referring to a controversial plan to build an Islamic center and mosque near Ground Zero in New York City. “That religion is against everything America stands for. If we have to let them build it, make them build it nine stories underground, so we can walk above it as citizens and Christians.”

Some people in the audience applauded McNeil’s response. However, one student appeared up-set and asked McNeil what gave him or the federal government the right to tell an American that they can’t build an institution. . . .


Dianne Berryhill, an independent candidate for the Congressional seat now held by Rep. Allen Boyd, D-Monticello, also weighed in on the proposed mosque.
“If we were under Muslim law, you girls wouldn’t be sitting here showing any kind of skin. You would be in hot burqas and … you wouldn’t be sitting in school,” she said. . . .

The Congressional candidates in attendance Tuesday all said they were conservative constitutionalists, and each talked about the importance of self-reliance.

NY: Libertarian Candidate for Congress Running Against the Failed War on Drugs

From Syracuse.com:

Syracuse, NY - A Syracuse man who wants to make drugs legal jumped today into the 25th Congressional District race. Marc Romain, the former chairman of the Onondaga County Libertarian Party, filed petitions with the state Board of Elections to run as a Libertarian against incumbent Rep. Dan Maffei and Republican candidate Ann Marie Buerkle.. . .


"I’m running my campaign against the war on drugs. The whole drug war doesn’t make sense," said Romain. Romain said he filed petitions with 4206 signatures to get on the ballot for the Nov. 2 election. State law requires candidates for congress to collect 3,500 signatures. Today is the deadline for candidates running on unofficial party lines to file the petitions.

LOL: Ohio Libertarian Candidate for Congress, Travis Irvine, Takes on the Democrat-Republican "Kiss of Debt" in New Web Video

Press release and video link sent to TPID via email, from Irvine for Congress:

Columbus, OH – August 16, 2010  – The campaign of Libertarian Congressional candidate Travis Irvine, an independent filmmaker/journalist of Bexley and a former Bexley Mayoral Candidate, has released its latest web video, entitled “The Kiss of Debt.” The campaign is also taking to task Rep. Pat Tiberi for his recent hypocritical stance on federal government spending.

The web video features Irvine kissing a string of adorable babies while talking about the debt they will inherit due to the federal government’s irresponsible spending, a debt that is growing by almost $1 trillion each year.  It is a slippery slope that Tiberi and a Republican Congress put the country on during the Bush years, and has only been worsened by Democrats in control now . .  .

To learn more about the Irvine for Congress campaign, go to www.irvineforcongress.com.

PA-15: Jake Towne on War, Civil Liberties and Freedom of Speech

From the Jake Towne campaign for Congress in PA-15:

Concerning the recent media circus concerning the controversial band that was removed from this concert, I thought it best to say a few words not just about the freedom of expression protected by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, but also how best we should use these freedoms while moving forward as a campaign.

First of all, the Constitution is often misunderstood. It’s purpose is NOT to run everyone’s life, but rather the exact opposite – to PROTECT the people from the government. Our founders recognized that governments are capable of horrific tyrannies. If we look through history, the examples are all too frequent. While it is easy to forget the horrors of war while it is not in front of your face – especially on beautiful days like today – the last century of humankind has been extremely bloody.

Almost all of the killing has been done by governments and political groups. During the past 100 years, an estimated 170 million have died at the hands of governments, and of these perhaps up to 70% were civilians.

In my travels abroad, I’ve walked through Nazi concentration camps, the Killing Fields in Cambodia, the site of the Nanjing Massacre in China and places all over Asia where the Japanese committed WW2 atrocities, and these experiences has affected me deeply.

I used to often wondered why these state-sponsored killings occur until I came to the realization that tyranny ends only when we as individuals cease to support our own serfdom.

The politicians whisper “Give us all your liberties, and we will keep you safe.” The truth is that without the liberty and rule of law guaranteed under the Constitution, there is no safety – from the government.

Read the whole thing.

Otter Limits Interviews Clark Duffe, Libertarian Candidate in OK-5

From the Otter Limits blog:

Clark Duffe is the Libertarian Party candidate for Oklahoma's 5th Congressional District. He will be running against Independent Dave White, Democratic candidate Billy Coyle and whoever wins the August 24 Republican runoff between Kevin Calvey and James Lankford.  I had a chance to do an interview with Clark and below is the transcript of that interview:

1. Why are you a Libertarian as opposed to being a Republican?

[Duffe:] Republicans only go halfway towards freedom . . .

I suppose that implies Republicans are halfway against freedom.  

CT: Green Calls Out Congressional Democrat for War Hawking

From The Day:

Scott Deshefy, the Green Party candidate running for Congress in the 2nd District, issued a statement on Wednesday criticizing the district's representative, Democrat Joe Courtney, for voting against a resolution to pull American troops out of Pakistan.


The Green Party had urged Congress to pass House Resolution 301, introduced by Reps. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, and Ron Paul, R-Texas, which said President Barack Obama's plan to increase the number of U.S. military personnel in Pakistan would violate the 1973 War Powers Act. The bill was defeated by a vote of 372-38 in the House on Tuesday.

PA-15: Towne Campaign Cuts Ties with Controversial Band, Calls on "Republocrats" to Stop Playing Games

From the Jake Towne campaign:

Following an interview with Bobby Gunther Walsh to “do my homework,” personal remarks made by Poker Face band members in the Forum section of their website were reviewed and found to be extremely disturbing, specifically remarks about the Holocaust. These remarks were confirmed with the band and the campaign and band mutually agreed to disassociate and cancel the band’s appearance at this Friday’s Freedom Concert, which will take place at 7 pm this Friday in Northampton.

I condemn the holocaust and the deaths of ~6 million Jews as well as other groups such as Russians POWs, political prisoners and gypsies who died as well. In my travels abroad, I’ve walked through Nazi concentration camps, the Killing Fields in Cambodia, the Nanjing Massacre Museum in China and places all over Asia where the Japanese committed WW2 atrocities, and these experiences has affected me deeply.
. . .

the chief “issue” Callahan and Dent are discussing in the papers is whether Callahan’s brother-in-law received favorable treatment during a 2007 car crash. I call upon these Republocrat career politicians to stop playing their “politics-as-usual” games and make themselves available to the public to debate and focus on the crucial issues like the deficit, unemployment and the costly nation-building wars abroad.

See also the Morning Call and PA2010.

PA-15: Republican Dent Desperate to Keep Independent Jake Towne Out of All Debates at All Costs

In the Congressional race for PA-15, incumbent Republican Charlie Dent is growing ever more desperate in his attempts to keep independent Jake Towne out of any and all debates over the course of the political season. Whereas Dent was claiming just last week that he wanted to keep Towne out of the debates because the public would, somehow, be best served if they were only allowed to witness a discussion between him and some Democrat, Dent has now gone off the deep end and begun insinuating that Towne is some sort of an anti-Semite. The mudslinging Republican is now demanding that his Democratic rival boycott all events that include Towne. From the Morning Call:

In a written statement Saturday, Dent said the band has been "deemed to be anti-Semitic by the Anti Defamation League." Poker Face is one of five bands that will play at Towne's "freedom concert" Friday. In the statement, Dent also said, he is "demanding" Callahan boycott any debate for the 15th District seat that includes Towne.
"I'm calling on John Callahan to put aside politics and do the decent thing," Dent said. "Don't give a public platform to someone enmeshed in ideas of anger, violence, anarchy and bigotry."
However Callahan's campaign released a statement saying while Callahan finds anti-Semitic behavior "deplorable," "the whole idea behind 'debating' someone is that you disagree with him and his views." . . .

Poker Face, a band that often weds hard rock with anti-government lyrics and has been active on the Lehigh Valley music scene for two decades . . . Towne, popular among some tea party activists, said he is not anti-Semitic and he doesn't believe Poker Face is either.
In a written statement, he said " I condemn any and all racial and religious discrimination," and added, "the views of any the five bands present at the Freedom Concert are not necessarily the views of Towne for Congress."
He said Dent's decision is not in the voters' best interest, adding, "I think he's being very hostile and undemocratic." Towne said The Morning Call and a local tea party group had indicated they want him to participate in planned forums.

Towne has also released a statement on Youtube responding to the pseudo-scandal in which he refutes the Dent campaign's accusations and allegations point by point. Rather than launch personal attacks against Dent, Towne instead rattles off Dent's criminal history in the US Congress. Partial transcript from the Youtube video embedded below:

Dent and the rest of Congress violate their constitutional oaths on a daily basis. Dent supports three unconstitutional wars abroad; he voted for corporatist bailouts for bankers and mortgage lenders alike. He supports unconstitutional wiretapping without warrants, revoking habeas corpus, torture of enemy combatants, and much more by his unflagging support of the Patriot Act. He wants to strip American civilians living in foreign countries of their citizenship and murder them without trial or due process.

See also Dan Hirschhorn at PA2010 for more.

Exclusive: Interview with Daniel Reale, Independent Candidate for Congress in CT-2, on his Complaint Against Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz

Earlier this month Connecticut Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz began an aggressive propaganda campaign instructing voters to register with the Democratic and Republican parties ahead of the state's August 10th primary elections. Bysiewicz launched the effort at a press conference flanked by leaders of the Democratic and Republican parties and political establishment. In response to this partisan political push, Daniel Reale, an independent libertarian candidate for Congress in the state's 2nd CD, has now lodged a formal complaint against Byscewiz with the Office of State Ethics, the State Elections Enforcement Commission and the Federal Election Commission. See this post for background and details. Contacted via email, Mr. Reale says his ultimate goal is to "make sure the Secretary of State stops using public money and resources for political ends." What follows is the text of an interview with Mr. Reale conducted via email this past weekend.

First, when did you file the complaint?

Reale: Yesterday (7/23/10).

What prompted you to do so?

Reale: I'm opposed to the Secretary of State misusing her seal and public money in order to work on behalf of the Republicans and Democrats. Contrary to popular belief, the Secretary of State's office is not a political action committee. At the very least, the whole exercise is a political contribution to both major parties. It's one thing to advocate for voter registration, but it's another to use public money to prop up a private organization.

You may recall that Linda McMahon's campaign was under scrutiny because it wanted to pay people $5 for every registered voter they could sign up as a Republican. I'm no fan of Linda's, but at least she had the common sense to know the boundary on these things and back away. And you could imagine what sort of heat the Secretary of State would catch for using her office to promote the registration of Libertarians and Greens.

Otherwise, Bysiewicz has been crossing into a legal gray area for years, using her office in ethically questionable ways to say the least. While I found this to be morally objectionable, these were the sort of things you couldn't legally hang your hat on. But I didn't expect something this egregious in terms of ethics, elections, misapplication of public resources and political action committee violations - all in the same package.

I'd counted on running into illegal activity this time around with the determination to make sure those engaging in it were held to the fire. Unfortunately for Bysiewicz, we'd caught her first and all the evidence is out in the open. Given that third parties stuck to civil actions only to see this type of behavior continue, setting these cases up for prosecution is the way to go. Otherwise, they'll continue engaging in criminal acts in order to give both parties preferential treatment and paying us with our own money once we win the civil suit in court. My complaint is the first step in that process. The more elections officials we catch, the better. I'm tired of people complaining about how unfair the treatment of third parties has been - we all know that. It's time to do something about it.

Given the substance of the complaint, why do you think the Secretary of State finds it appropriate to propagandize the people of Connecticut in this way?

Reale: It could be that she means well but isn't the sharpest tool in the shed. It could also be that she knows both major parties are in trouble. I'm inclined to believe it's both. And career politicians have a weird, sociopathic way of justifying what they did after the fact. You may have noticed that in most states, there were efforts to unseat incumbents in both major parties by using the primary process, something that the Tea Party, paleoconservative groups and others had advocated.

The fact that this has failed in the vast majority of cases with a few high profile exceptions says that the electorate is rejecting this approach for the game of three card monte it is. Our Secretary of State may not be brightest (or come off that way), but she has the political savvy to see the writing on the wall.

As an independent candidate for Congress, how do the SoS's actions adversely affect you and your campaign?

Reale: The sort of two party registration drive she's pushing for will absolutely overwhelm town clerks. My petition drive is one of several planning to submit thousands of signatures. Last time, things were already complicated enough to a point where the Secretary of State's office misplaced several thousand petition pages. Even during years with low turnout and interest, it's bad enough. You also have to bear in mind that the Secretary of State's office currently overwhelms town clerks as it is, normally. Add this to a primary on August 10th and a petitioning deadline of August 4th. The Independent Party alone has submitted 11,000 signatures for the senate race. The Working Families Party is collecting around the same amount for the governor's race. My requirement is 3,300 signatures. These are only three examples out of many. And the clerks only have two weeks after that to check them all.

What kind of response are you expecting?

Reale: I'm expecting the state agencies to throw it away, in which case I use CT General Statutes 9-355, official fraud or neglect. That'll get you up to a year in jail. If I have to use 18 USC 13 to make it federal, so be it. However, I expect the Federal Election Commission to move forward, in which case, we also place the state in the highly unusual position of arguing the Tenth Amendment or owning up to what happened.

My goal is to make sure the Secretary of State stops using public money and resources for political ends. If I can't make that happen, my goal is that the Secretary will face substantial fines, jail time and/or punitive damages on the civil end. On the civil side, I'm pursuing her in her personal capacity, not in her capacity as a public official. Overall, I'm gathering additional evidence for a grand jury complaint. If we find more things to add, we'll add them - even if it includes driving a mile per hour over the speed limit.

How do you intend to follow up on it?

Reale: Considering that this was also set up as a tort letter, the Secretary of State has 60 days to respond or repair. This will inform me of what actions need to be taken on the civil end. On the prosecution side, there will be a criminal complaint filed. If the state or the feds do it, great. If not, that's where I come in.

Have you attempted to persuade others to lodge similar complaints?

Reale: Yes, and with some success for the 24 or so hours it's been sent. There were a few concerns about retaliation in terms of the petition drives, but to me, that only helps the case and gives us the opportunity to supplement the criminal complaint down the road.

Thanks for taking the time to answer these questions!

PA-15: Self-Entitled Incumbent Republican Demands Closed Debates, Fears Political Competition from Independent Rival

From PA2010:

Jake Towne says he’s collected enough signatures to gain ballot access in the 15th Congressional District as an independent. But incumbent Republican Charlie Dent’s campaign sees the race as a two-man contest, and doesn’t want Towne muddying the political waters by participating in the coming campaign debates.

Dent campaign manager Shawn Millan told pa2010.com that the campaign would prefer Towne be kept out of the debates, so that voters can focus on the contrast between Dent and Democratic challenger John Callahan.

“We believe that that’s how the electorate would be best served,” Millan said. “Ultimately you want the top two contenders to be given the most time to debate the issues.” [Emphasis added.]

Obviously, closed debates serve no one's interests except those of incumbents, the legacy parties and their political machines. The Dent campaign's undemocratic demand makes a mockery of our very system of government, and is symptomatic of the entitlement mentality that grips Republicans and Democrats alike.

See also TPID's recent interview with independent candidate for Congress in PA-15, Jake Towne.

OH: Libertarian Candidate for Congress Polling 10% Support

From the Libertarian Party blog:

According to the National Journal, a recent poll shows Libertarian congressional candidate Travis Irvine getting 10% support. Irvine is running in Ohio's 12th District. Irvine's campaign has released a web video featuring "government grant guru" Matthew Lesko.

NJ: Constitution Party Candidate for Congress Launches Campaign with Speech on Immigration

From the Daily Journal:

Millville resident Peter F. Boyce plans to launch his campaign for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives Monday night with a speech here on immigration. Millville resident Peter F. Boyce plans to launch his campaign for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives Monday night with a speech here on immigration.

FL: Independent Candidate for Congress to Host "Second Amendment Fundraiser"

From Florida Today:

an independent candidate for Congress in the Big Bend is hosting a "Second Amendment fundraiser" that offers a chance to fire an AK-47 automatic rifle. He's also raffling off a big-bore pistol.

"Fun for the whole family, but those under 18 must be accompanied by an adult," says the invitation from Paul McKain, a no-party candidate for the 2nd District congressional seat now held by U.S. Rep. Allen Boyd, D-Monticello.

MD: Conservative Congress Endorses Libertarian

From Muir Boda at the Examiner:

Maryland:  The Libertarian Party's Congressional candidate for the 1st District of Maryland, Dr. Richard Davis, has been endoresed by the Conservative Congress as "True Conservative Candidate". On their page listing Maryland candidates, it is interesting to see Dr. Davis receiving the endorsement over Andy Harris and other Republicans in the 1st District.

CA: Reader Calls Out Local Paper for Pretending Green Party Candidate Doesn't Exist

From a letter to the editor of the Union newspaper:

I'm from the old school, the school that taught me that one of the tenets of journalism is to present unbiased and accurate information. I am referring to your June 9 article, “November Congressional match-up set between McClintock, Curtis.”

There are, in fact, three candidates for Congress. Ben Emery is the Green Party candidate for the 4th District in California and your readers deserve to be given this information.

Many voters are fed up with the Democrat and Republican parties because they are beholden to well-heeled special interests. Ben Emery represents those people. Many voters would prefer to vote for a true resident of their district. Ben lives, works, volunteers, and raises his family in Nevada City with his wife Sue, and their children who attend Nevada Union High School.

Voters who believe the working and middle classes no longer get fair representation in the Congress will be happy to hear that Ben wants to represent them.

In the future, when you are presenting information about the 4th District Congressional candidates, in all fairness, tell your readers about Ben Emery. For readers who want more information, his website is BenEmery.org. Thank you.

Barbara Emery

Penn Valley

VA: Independent Green Candidate Stands on Principle rather than with Party

From the Star Exponent:

The Independent Green Party candidate for the Seventh District seat in U.S. Congress visited Culpeper last week to meet with the chairman of the American Conservative Party, a newly formed grassroots group based in Leesburg.

After lunching with the ACP’s Butch Porter at Frost Café, Floyd Bayne, 52, of Midlothian talked frankly with the Star-Exponent about his deep-rooted views and why he won’t blindly align himself with any party, including the one that will show up beside his name on the ballot in November.

Originally set to run as an independent, Bayne accepted the Independent Green Party of Virginia’s endorsement a few weeks ago because he needed access to their political infrastructure as he prepares to face incumbent Rep. Eric Cantor, the five-term incumbent who is the No. 2 Republican in the U.S. House.