Fascinating "third-party" presidential candidates debate ON C-SPAN NOW!

[gauguin57]

From Cornell, Oct. 6. CHECK IT OUT, it's interesting.

It is a hoot ... it's a real debate ... the free-for-all that you wish the Repub-Dem. debate could be.

A student just stood up and argued AGAINST raising the minimum wage for himself becase he'd only spend it on music and alcohol.

We've got the socialist, Green, Libertarian and Constitution parties all putting their $.02 in. It's interesting! The moderator is having a great time!

I'm enjoying this! It's like a good round-table discussion in an economics class. Or a constitutional law class.

[deadparrot]

1. Heard about this on NPR.

I'm watching the Cards game right now, but it sounds great.

[Arkana]

2. Nader?

Is Saint Ralph lowering himself to participate in this?

[gauguin57]

4. No way. I guess if he can't play with the big boys, he doesn't

want to "slum."

To paraphrase F-9/11: "Ralph Nader is MISSING!"

[gauguin57]

3. No small businessman in his right mind should vote for Bush,

says Socialist candidate Walt Brown.

[gauguin57]

5. The Green party candidate just said its tax plan is on its Web site

"in EXCRUCIATING DETAIL."

Wow ... these guys can tell the eff-ing truth about how they feel because they don't have to worry about winning.

Why would you vote for someone, says the Libertarian, who raises your taxes, continues the war and passes unconstitutional laws? Why?

[gauguin57]

6. Systemic change has only come from alternative parties, the Green

guy (Cobb) says.

Ending child labor, votes for women, end of slavery etc. etc. all began with alternative parties, he says.

[requiem99]

7. David Cobb is awesome. I'm surprised.

[cheshire]

8. That kid is a irrisponsable ass. Take responsability for yourself. Geeze.

David Cobb is load and does not look green at all.
This is why they never get very far. Did Nadar decline?

[gauguin57]

9. Constitution party candidate is busting on Bush

and his foreign policy. American interests should be protected by the Pres. PERIOD. He should be worried about OUR interests before he starts invading other countries.

Green party guy says he's not an isolationist, thought he disagrees with Bush foreign policy.

Socialist guy (Brown) bringing up Rumsfeld shaking hands with Saddam. Says the U.N. should have been solving this instead of us alone.

[gauguin57]

10. OK. now we've got a student describing "partial-birth abortion"

as part of his "question."

Constitution guy lays it on the line that they're completely anti-abortion.

Green party is yelling "Women have the right to do what they want with their own bodies. We are 100 percent pro-woman!"

Libertarian party guy says the LP is split on abortion. But he says its not his job to tell a woman what she can do with her body.

Socialist says his party supports a right of woman to all reproductive services, including abortion. Brown (the prexy candidate) says his running mate believes a woman can abort up to 8 months, 30 days (???) ... and that he disagrees.

This is a GREAT DEBATE ... with such refreshing CANDOR!

[requiem99]

11. Hah awesome quote.

Paraphrasing here but one of the guys was quoting the constitution and said something about "The constitution doesn't state that the president should be policing the world. The president has a duty to protect his constituency, and his people, and not the rest of the world. He is president of the united states, he is not the president of the world."

OWNED.

[requiem99]

12. As far as electability goes, Badnerik is clearly electable but the rest

Are not.

[gauguin57]

13. Great quote from Libertarian guy:

He says to the students, "Politics will always be interested in YOU, even if you aren't interested in politics. So I suggest you participate!"

[gauguin57]

14. Socialist: General welfare, not corporate welfare.

(they're making closing statements).

Walt Brown quoting Orwell. Lot of that going around.

Socialism is compatible with common decency, Brown sez.

[gauguin57]

15. Green: If you don't get turned on to politics, politics will continue

to turn on us.

Green guy tells the truth: He says here we are, four guys with sharp disagreements, but who treated each other with respect. That's the kind of debate America should be able to see with the 2 big parties, he says.

[gauguin57]

16. Constitution guy definitely on message ...

... all rights come from God, and govt must protect those rights that come from God, and women have no right to murder their babies.

Wheeeeeeeeeeew!

[requiem99]

18. Yeeesh!

He must have said "All rights come from God" about 15 times. Almost like a preacher. SCARY, even worse than the socialism guy who kept looking things up in his book. Cobb was ok, but not electable. Not really presidential. Badnerik was though, VERY impressive.

[gauguin57]

17. People ... if you get to see this debate on another repeat, you MUST ...

... it was a great debate, with great frankness expressed (but, like I said, they don't have to worry about getting elected, only getting their message out).

[JohnKleeb]

19. what time is the rerun at? I may watch

[gauguin57]

20. This debate will be re-run tonight at 12:30 a.m. (eastern time)

on C-span ... check it out!

There are the participants:

Lowi, Theodore, Professor, Cornell University, American Institutions
(moderator)

Badnarik, Michael, Presidential Candidate, Libertarian Party
Brown, Walt, Presidential Candidate, Socialist Party, U.S.
Peroutka, Michael A., Presidential Candidate, Constitution Party
Cobb, David, Presidential Candidate, Green Party

[Inulro]

21. Michael Badnarik

is great. Here is a constitution class he teaches online:
http://www.archive.org/movies/details-db.php?collection=election_2004&collectionid=Michael_Badnarik

This is very informative. A lot of it may surprise you.