So, you're not fond of George W. Bush, but John Kerry doesn't exactly make you want to stand up and cheer either. And you don't object to the possibility that you might throw your vote away. To paraphrase Norman Thomas, you would rather vote for something you want and lose, than vote for something you don't want and win. So, here's some other choices, in no particular order:
American Party - Diane Templin - attorney from California. "Templin -- in all of her recent races -- touts herself as "100% Pro-Life." She also is a strident opponent of gay rights and illegal immigration, and a vocal supporter of school vouchers and gun rights. She also likes to pepper her campaign remarks with frequent Biblical references. In fact, Templin explained it was a Biblical verse that inspired her to make runs for political office. "I thought of a verse in Isaiah, the Old Testament, and it said: 'Who will I send and who will go for me?' -- and I said, here am I, Lord, send me," explained Templin. Further, Templin said that she would only belong to a political party that "acknowledges God as creator and the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior." She describes her campaign platform as: "I support Biblical and Constitutional Principles of Life, Liberty and Property." "
Consitution Party - Mike Peroutka, attorney from Maryland. (Provisional candidate, in case Roy Moore accepts an offer to be their candidate). "The mission of the Constitution Party is to secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity through the election, at all levels of government, of Constitution Party candidates who will uphold the principles of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States. It is our goal to limit the federal government to its delegated, enumerated, Constitutional functions and to restore American jurisprudence to its original Biblical common-law foundations" (Mission Statement of the Constitution Party)
Libertarian Party - so many candidates, you'd think they were Democrats: Michael Badnarik (Texas), Jeffrey Diket,(Louisiana), David Hollist (California), Gary Nolan (Virginia), Ruben Perez (Texas), Mike Ross (Arizona), Aaron Russo (California). Badnarik is a gun-rights advocate; Diket is pro-gun, anti-abortion, anti-gay rights. Hollist bases his candidacy on something called contract insurance, that would somehow replace taxes. Nolan, a former radio host, seems to have the most classic LP platform. Perez opposes foreign workers and the Patriot Act. Ross is running to protest the Libertarian Party itself, apparently. Russo is a Hollywood producer who wants to legalize marijuana for medical purposes and restore the freedoms we've lost since 9/11.
The Green Party - another large group of candidates: Peter Camejo (California), David Cobb (Texas), Paul Glover (New York), Kent Mesplay (California), Carol Miller (New Mexico), Christina Rosetti (New York), Lorna Salzman (New York). Camejo was the Socialist Worker's Party candidate in 1976, who has morphed into a European-style democratic socialist. But he's really running as a surrogate for Ralph Nader. Cobb has been a public interest lawyer and legal counsel for the Green Party. He advocates only running Green candidates in states where they wouldn't threaten the Democrat's candidate. Glover is a massage therapist who really wants to run as VP on a Nader ticket. Mesplay wants to combine new technologies with ancient wisdom of indigenous cultures to provide for a sustainable future for all life on Earth. Miller is a former Public Health Service officer who is focused on health care reform. Rosetti is a New Age spiritualist who wants to reform the Green Party because it "is starting to look more and more to some people as the party of bigotry, hypocrisy and hatred and not the party of progressive reform". Salzman is a long-time environmental activist who seems to be really running for the VP slot.
The Reform Party has a few candidates, none of whom are named Perot: John Buchanan (Florida), Jason Pacifico (New York), Ted Weill (Mississippi). Buchanan has a serious dislike of George Bush. Pacifico is running on a plan to create a "Mortgage Achromatic Plan". Weill wants to end foreign aid and lower gas prices.
The Natural Law Party seems to be endorsing Dennis Kucinich.
Peace & Freedom Party - Leonard Peltier. Peltier, a prominent Native American activist, has been serving a life sentence in federal prison for the murder of two FBI agents at the 72-day standoff at Wounded Knee, South Dakota in 1975. If he wins, the Secret Service will have to protect him from the FBI.
For those of you even further left than me, the Socialist Party is running Walt Brown. The Socialist Equality Party is running Bill Van Auken. And the Socialist Worker's Party is running Martin Koppel. But Koppel wasn't born in the US, so we can safely discount his chances.
And then there's Ralph Nader. But since I'm still peeved at Ralph about 2000, I won't provide a link to his site.