Third Party of the Week:

The Independent American Party is a paleoconservative party founded in Utah in 1998. The parties beliefs and platform are in large part drawn from the teachings of former United States Secretary of Agriculture and LDS Church president Ezra Taft Benson (1899-1994), particularly a 1968 address of his titled The Proper Role of Government. The party is similar to and sometimes affiliates with the larger and better known Constitution Party. The IAP's most famous member is probably Nevada cattle rancher Cliven Bundy, famous for his 2014 standoff with the BLM over a longstanding cattle grazing dispute. The party has a website but its YouTube channel is probably more interesting.

https://www.youtube.com/c/IndependentamericanpartyOrg?gvnc=1

http://www.reasonablefaith.org/

http://www.premierchristianradio.com/Shows/Saturday/Unbelievable

Third Party of the Week:

The Peace and Freedom Party is basically the hippie party and was founded largely in opposition to the Vietnam War. "Committed to socialism, democracy, ecology, feminism and racial equality" the PFP is a left wing party perhaps most notable for some of the celebrates they have nominated for POTUS. In 1972 the party nominated pediatrician and best selling child care expert Dr. Benjamin Spock, in 1984 ex-communicated Mormon ERA activist and radical feminist leader Sonia Johnson, in 2008 Ralph Nader, and in 2012 for president Rosanne Barr and vice president Cindy Sheehan. So really its anybody's guess who they nominate this time, but if your sufficiently upset when Hillary eventually beats Bernie you might find someone to your liking to vote for in the Peace and Freedom Party.

http://peaceandfreedom.org/home/

With the likely nominees of the two major political parties being so unacceptable to so many of my friends, I thought that I would take some time each week from now until the election (or until I get board doing this) to highlight some of America's myriad third parties. This week the spotlight goes to America's oldest extent third party, the Prohibition Party. Started in 1869 the Prohibition Party has run a candidate in every presidential contest since 1872. This surprisingly persistent party has of course seen better days, like before the Franklin Roosevelt presidency, but non the less just keeps going. Last election cycle the Prohibition Party garnered 518 votes for its presidential candidate Jack Fellure of West Virginia, a retired engineer who won nomination at the party convention held at the Holliday Inn Express in Cullman, Alabama. This years nominee Jim Hedges of Pennsylvania received his nomination at the party connection held .... on a conference call. Oh well. Even though they are well established as the ultimate single issue party the Probie's official website shows that they do take stance on issues other then outlawing the sale of alcohol, most of the parties positions fall into the libertarian, constitutionalist and paleoconservative end of the political spectrum. Interestingly their 2012 party platform can be read as being open to medical marijuana. The Prohibition Party, responsible for more then a decade of wide spread lawlessness throughout the United States just might be your way out of a lesser of two evils situation.

http://www.prohibitionparty.org/