This is NOT an Endorsement-3 Third Party Candidates

Constitution Party candidate Virgil Goode, a former Congressman from Rocky Mount, Va., is trying to become Virginia's ninth president. Good luck!

Here is a look at Goode and two other individuals running for president as third party candidates, and yes_ one of them is actress/comedian Roseanne Barr, who also turns 60 today.

Virgil Goode: In an interview with "Huffington Post Politics," Goode, who served in Congress from 1997-2009, said that President Barack Obama had done a bad job in the White House, and if elected Mitt Romney would be just as ineffective.

Ironically, Goode, who went from Democrat to Republican to the Constitution Party, a third party with a far right agenda, could help Obama win a second term since he man from Franklin County has a loyal following in south central and southwest Virginia. He is expected to take votes away from Romney, and "Politico" shows Virginia, our home state, as a virtual dead heat which is very slightly leaning towards the Republican Party candidate.

Goode also helped Doug Wilder become Virginia's first black governor, but this was when Goode was a Democrat. No one seems to be sure if Goode actually underwent an ideological change as he has been known for being fiercely independent. Even when he was a Democrat, Goode had a more conservative voting record than the likes of Cong. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va).

The Rocky Mount native has also been a strong supporter of guns and the tobacco industry, which went through his congressional district in areas, such as Danville and South Boston.

Goode was defeated by Democrat Tom Perriello in 2008; though Perriello was respected on the Hill for being a hard-working freshman, he was voted out by the conservative constituents in his district who favored Robert Hunt, who is now running against John Douglass to keep his house seat.

Jim Clymer is Goode's running mate.

Gary Johnson: The former Republican who served as governor of New Mexico from 1995-2003 is known for supporting radically low taxes. But, he is most known for calling for the legalization of marijuana. During his time in Santa Fe, Johnson worked to decriminalize pot. Johnson also opposes the war in Afghanistan and he has called for immediate troop withdrawal. Interestingly,  Johnson has received support from ardent liberals who see Barack Obama as being 'conservative.' And, as one might expect, Johnson is popular with the Ron Paul crowd, and he has been supported by the libertarian magazine "Reason." Johnson's running mate is Jim Gary, a California judge, who supports legalization of marijuana.

Roseanne Barr: Surprisingly, there are two presidential candidates who were born in Utah. Neither of them is Mitt Romney, who was born in Michigan, and both Barr and Rocky Anderson, who are both running to the left of Obama, are not Mormons.

Barr won an Emmy for her title role in the sitcom "Roseanne" (1998-1997), and she was a standup comedian before that. After losing the Green Party bid to Jill Stein, Barr joined the Peace and Freedom Party, which has actually been in existence since it dawned as a protest group opposed to the Vietnam war in 1968.

Cindy Sheehan, who became well-known as an anti-war activist after her son who was serving in the military was killed in Iraq, is Barr's running mate; neither of them has held political office. 


http://www.goodeforpresident2012.com

http://www.garyjohnson2012.com

http://www.reason.com

http://www.roseanneforpresident2012.org/

For a look at three other third party candidates, go to our other blog "Politics, Culture and Other Wastes of Time:" http://www.politicscultureandotherwastesoft.blogspot.com

Tweet of the Day_ From Larry King???

We have decided to just post one tweet from today instead of the usual 6-to-12 that we normally post, so we can get some pancakes at Denny's or something....and, the tweet of the day comes from former CNN talk show host Larry King, 78, who recently moderated a third party candidate debate between the likes of Gary Johnson, Jill Stein and Virgil Goode, who is highly unlikely to become Virginia's ninth president, in Chicago.

We should also point out that the man in the middle is Toledo, Ohio, mayor Michael Bell, and the bottom image is of a very young Reese Whitherspoon in the film "Election" (1999).

Here is the tweet: "The way #election2012 is going, it could be one person in Toledo that will decide the race."

10 People Who Will Decide the Election (7 of 10) Donna Scott of Portland, Maine

Yikes! "Politico," on the last objective sources for news in the United States, along with "The Washington Post," has stated Mitt Romney has made tremendous gains on President Barack Obama following last week's debate in Denver, Colo., in which Romney interrupted moderator Jim Lehrer at least 17 times (more or less). NPR, which the likes of Bill O'Reilly seem to proclaim as being as radical left-wing as Radio Havana, Cuba, said that the race is now a 'virtual dead heat.'

But, 'Politco' also shows Obama winning the race 303-235 though the president is only winning Colorado 47.4 to 47.2 percent. Conversely, the numbers are also close in a very politically divided Virginia, my home state, in which one congressional district represents the rural hamlet Boones Mill, where one can see signs for far-right third party candidate Virgil Goode (from nearby Rocky Mount) and the collegetown of Charlottesville, by a margin of 47.8-47.5 percent.

Today, we are turning our attention to Maine, which seemed like a possible swing state when we planned this project over the summer, where Obama is winning 53.3-38.0 percent.

And, we are choosing a fictitious person named Donna Scott, whom we will say works at an independent bookstore in Portland (Maine). We will say she is 37, white, pro-choice and would likely vote for Obama.

Lastly, welcome to our Armenian-American blog readers. This afternoon, I posted a comment on the web site for "USA Armenian Life," (I am a Turkish-American, there are some differences between the two groups- to put it mildly) where I endorsed Cong. Howard Berman (D-Calif.) over his arch rival Cong. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) or was it the other way around?

For those of who reside in Provo, Utah, or Tashkent, Uzbekistan, who might be oblivious to American national politics, Berman and Sherman, who both represent the suburban area around Los Angeles, which has a large Armenian-American population, are entangled in a congressional race with each other due to gerrymandering, even though both are Democrats.

http://www.politico.com

http://www.armenianlife.com

http://www.ataa.org (ATAA is the leading Turkish-American group in the United States and Canada)

Portland, Maine, independent bookstores, hopefully, none of their employees has the name of Donna Scott:

http://www.nonesuchbooks.com

http://www.longfellowbooks.com

Ten People Who Will Decide Who Becomes President (4 of 10)

Well, kids, it has been a long time since we last posted in this series, July 6th was the latest one in fact. And, since the American presidential election is less than two months away, we have some catching up to do.

Today, we focus on my home state of Virginia, with this fictional person in mind:

Name: Nelson Faulk

Occupation: Naval Officer

Party Affiliation: Independent

Race: Afrircan-American

Age: 24

Residency: Norfolk, Va.

Will Likely Vote For: Obama on a coin-toss

In 2008, then-candidate Barack Obama got 71 percent of the vote in Norfolk. While the city is overwhelmingly Democratic surrounding areas, such as Virginia Beach, tend to vote Republican.

The Hampton Roads area is home to both a large naval base and the Rev. Pat Robertson's headquarters, so it's not surprising that both Obama and Mitt Romney have sought this region out on the campaign trail. In fact, Romney declared Paul Ryan to be his running mate aboard the U.S.S. Wisconsin in Norfolk.

Radical right-wing candidate Virgil Goode, a former member of Congress from Rocky Mount, Va., who served as a Republican and (before that) ironically as a Democrat, will take a long-shot at becoming Virginia's ninth president as he represents the Constitution Party. 

http://www.barackobama.com

http://www.mittromney.com

http://www.vademocrats.org

http://www.rpv.org

Political Confusion Quiz (Entry 1 of 21)

This will be the first of a 21 entry weekly series in which one can figure out where they stand politically. It is not going to ask you where you stand on the minimum wage, abortion or alternative forms of energy, but rather would you rather see a Broadway revival of "The Crucible" in New York or take in a Lee Greenwood show in Branson, Mo.
There is a personal reason for this entry as I actually went through political confusion last year mainly due to a major legislative dispute I had with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. As a life-long Democrat, this was a great awakening, but in the end, it really did not change my politics at all. I voted for Barack Obama with no doubt in my mind that I made the right choice.
Ultimately if Pelosi made me think of leaving the party, Sarah Palin and her zealous right-wing extremism reaffirmed my commitment to center-left politics, and we are having great makeup sex!

Which brings us to today's question, if you were given a choice would you vote for ultra right-winger Cong. Virgil Goode (R-Va), who seems to have it in for blacks, gays, Hispanics and Muslims/Arabs (though I suppose he pleases those who really care about other people's baby fetuses__ironically Goode like David Duke was a Democrat) or fanatical liberal Cong.Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), a kooky guy whose worst gaffe seems to be admitting to have seen an UFO.

Yes, both are people I would want to seriously distance myself from )politically or otherwise), but ultimately, Kucinich is, in my view, a far better person than Goode, who is in an unexpectedly tough battle with Tom Perriello of Charlottesville to maintain his congressional seat today.

But, it is your decision which matters here.

So, here are your choices for Quiz One:


A) Dennis Kucinich


B) Virgil Goode

Ultimately, when all 21 questions have been submitted, we will show where you stand politically!

SIDEBAR: Not everyone is voting for Obama or McCain today. My friend Chris Knight of Reidsville, NC, has endorsed Constitution Party candidate Chuck Baldwin for president even though the Orlando minister is not even on the ballot in The Tarheel State.

John McCain jokingly said yesterday that he was endorsed by aliens during a campaign rally in Rosewell, New Mex. This makes one wonder if the planet Jupiter will one day become a swing state.