By Dan Murphy
As I watched the first Presidential debate on September 29 between President Donald Trump and former Vice-President Joe Biden, it finalized my decision not to vote for either of the two and to seek another party to cast my vote.
A recent poll by John Zogby finds that I am not alone. Instead of most Presidential polls, which find voters forced to choose between the democrat and the republican, Zogby’s poll offered voters a true choice, including the Libertarian and Green Party candidates. And when those two candidates are added to the poll, the race between Trump and Biden tightens.
“Zogby Analytics will always include third parties in our polls. It’s a shame when you have a respected, intelligent woman as a party nominee, and the mainstream media is pretending she doesn’t exist. Now who is sexist? Don’t give us that business that “voting for a third party is a vote for Trump or Biden!” So, if you don’t fall in line with the duopoly you don’t have a voice? That’s not what the founders of our republic and constitution ever intended to happen. Everyone has a voice: Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, and Greens etc,” writes Zogby.
“The race is close and is a far better representation when you include third parties, who historically receive nearly 5%, or sometimes more, in presidential elections. The contest is also close in battleground states (likely voters who resided in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina), with Trump narrowly losing against Biden 46% to 43%, while Jorgensen received 7% and Hawkins 1%.
“Biden is making things tough for Trump with older voters aged 65+ (Biden leads Trump 58% to 38%), but Trump is winning big with voters aged 30-49 (Trump leads Biden 51% to 38%, Jorgensen 4%, Hawkins 1%) and Generation X (Trump leads Biden 50% to 42%, Jorgensen 2%, Hawkins 1%). The President is also coming back with Independents (Biden leads Trump 39% to 34%, Jorgensen 10%, Hawkins 4%, 13% not sure).
“The other areas Biden should be concerned about are Millennials (Trump leads Biden 46% to 40%, Jorgensen 7%, Hawkins 1%) and large city voters (Trump leads Biden 49% to 46%, Jorgensen 3%, and Hawkins 0%). Trump is beating Biden among both groups, who historically lean Democrat,” writes Zogby.
One question that I like to ask friends and voters is, have our leaders in Washington proven themselves worthy of re-election? We just found out that this year’s deficit will be $3 TRILLION dollars, the highest deficit since 1945, at the end of World War II.
One election where we can cast a vote for a third-party candidate with confidence is for Congress in the 18th District of NY. This district has been represented by a republican and a democrat over the past 10 years and includes 30% of the electorate not registered to either major party.
The 18th District includes Northern Westchester and the Hudson Valley and is currently represented by Democrat Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney. His republican opponent this year is Chele Farley.
The third-party candidate in the race is SAM Party candidate Scott Smith. Yes Mr. Smith wants to go to Washington, and we endorse him to do just that.
Smith is a “regular American” that is needed to bring our leaders in Washington DC back to reality. He is a middle school science teacher who has lived in the district all of his life. “If you have been seeking an alternative to the two-party status quo, then I offer you such a choice. With more than one-third of the voters in the district rejecting both major party labels, the time to try something different is now,” said Smith.
We agree with Smith when he says, “In government, politics has become the main event, doing the actual work is a distraction.” The greatest example of this is the lack of ability for both parties and the President to agree to another stimulus package for millions of Americans who can’t find work. “Relief checks to households is the most direct form of assistance, and surveys on how these funds are spent show that most used the money for expenses including food,” said Smith.
Both of the major party candidates, including the current member of Congress in NY-18, seem more concerned about being beholden to their own political party, and in pointing the finger at the other for the problems in our country. The Democrat ties the Republican to President Trump, while the Republican calls the Democrat a socialist. And yes, like Mr. Smith says, after all the nonsense, very little gets done.
There seems to be very little concern for how the decisions we make today will affect our children and grandchildren. One of Scott Smith’s major goals if elected is that he will work to restore trust and integrity to our government and will lead by example.
We endorse Scott Smith for Congress in the 18th District of NY because we are embarrassed by what we see offered by both political parties in the United States of America.
We reject the way in which both parties have governed and do not believe they deserve our vote. We are willing to try something different. Are you?
The Zogby poll identifies 12% of Americans not supporting either candidate for President. And that 12% is just the tip of the iceberg of Americans who are dissatisfied with the job of our elected officials and the choices they are being offered.
Now is the time for all who share that dissatisfaction to speak with one voice, we are many and we span the political spectrum. Together we can begin the work of reclaiming our government. We believe there is no better place to begin that effort than in NY-18 and by electing Scott Smith, the SAM candidate for Congress. Send Mr. Smith to Washington!
