Third Party Talk Surfaces Again

NewsMax and CBS features an article on renewed third party talk.

At the center of the article is Rapid City businessman Bob Fischer. The article says that while Fischer could support McCain over Clinton or Obama,

I'll be working in other ways to see that we have additional choices as conservatives," Fischer said.

He declined to elaborate, but held out hope that Mike Huckabee might mount an improbable comeback, or that another "good conservative, Godly, Christian pro-life" GOP candidate somehow emerge to supplant McCain. The Arizona lawmaker has opposed abortion during his four terms in the Senate.

Fischer and I discussed the campaign a few evenings ago informally. I'm not going to violate confidentiality, but I think I can safely say from what's already revealed in this NewsMax story that while Huckabee isn't Fischer's first choice, he and I agree that he's the best one remaining in the race.

I admitted to Fischer at the time that I've been in a funk for the past week or two over the pathetic choices we've been left with in the election. I don' know whether he was just trying to cheer me up, or whether he genuinely has something substantive up his sleeve, but he told me to be of good cheer.

The Constitution Party is mentioned quite a bit in the article, and it would be a good choice for conservatives. I've been receiving Constitution Party material on a regular basis for a few years now, and I consider several of their officers as friends. They are a good, conservative bunch of folks.

When I reviewed their platform a couple of years ago, and again just now, the only place I really disagreed with them was on involvement in wars overseas. While I agree with them that we should return to the constitutional system of declaration of wars from Congress, given that we've been off that path for decades, I don't know how easy it'll be to get on it again--and with the terrorist and international situation being what it is, we might need to mobilize in a hurry.

Other than that, I love the Constitution Party. They are as their name says: a party that honors and respects the U.S. Constitution. They are a party of conservatives, traditionalists, who believe in the wisdom of the Founders and the great vision this country once had.

In the article, Fischer sounds as if conservatives might reconsider McCain if he gets his act together and gives conservatives some solid assurances. I can tell you, though, that this is one conservative that has zero (0) use for what a politician says on the campaign trail, when it contradicts their record.

The time for convincing me he is a conservative was prior to the campaign; he chose to blow that opportunity by playing footsie with the "mainstream" media and other liberals. There's nothing he can say or do at this point to make me trust him.

I'll hold my nose and vote for McCain over Obama or Clinton...but if I have a viable, serious alternative that will allow me to have more respect for myself and my values, I may go there.

Even if it's outside the Republican Party I've considered myself a member of since before I could even vote.