Monday, November 05, 2012

Third party candidates - U.S. Senate - Minnesota

I always like looking at the websites for the little-known alternative party candidates for various elected offices. The most interesting to me is the candidates for U.S. Senator in Minnesota.

Michael Cavlan -- Minnesota Open Progressives party

His website runs on the Drupal platform -- a powerful CMS but also a bit too complex for average users. I personally love the platform but leave its use to others.

His statements:
Since PayPal has been directly complicit in aiding the government to attack both Juliane Assange and Bradley Manning- we the Cavlan For US Senate 2012 campaign refuse to use PayPal. We recommend that others standing up for these two heroes do likewise and do it publicly.

So instead- we ask you to mail a check to
Committee To Elect Michael Cavlan...

His stance on issues:
Michael Cavlan is fighting for universal health care (medicare for all, everyone covered), he is fighting to end corporate personhood, avoiding a war with Iran, bringing the troops home, campaign finance reform by taking the big money out of politics, opening the debates, and he is for ranked choice voting, and supports marriage for all.

His stance on the issues sound like a fairly boilerplate response but the marriage for all statement seems to place him in the corner of the DFL party.

Read more about Michael Cavlan

Tim Davis -- Grassroots Party

With a marijuana leaf motif running as the background of his website (an instant site setup powered by GoDaddy [do better]) I can already assume what issues are important to Tim Davis of the Grassroots Party but I will go on anyhow.

His statements:
Tim Davis is a recently disabled and retired blue-collar worker who has been a social justice activist for over 30 years. He first ran for office, as a Grassroots Party candidate in 1988 and 2002 was the Green Party's candidate for U.S.Congress(D5), he has also worked with both Nader('04) and Ron Paul('08) campaigns. Tim is a homeowner in Minneapolis, and lives with his domestic partner and companion animals.
I look forward to speaking to the voters of MN.
Libertarian Party of MN. Endorsed.

His stance on the issues:
END THE WAR ON DRUGS/HALT THE PRISON-INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX
DEFEND AND UPHOLD THE BILL OF RIGHTS
REPEAL THE PATRIOT ACT AND NDAA.
ABOLISH CORPORATE PERSONHOOD/WELFARE
AUDIT (END) THE FEDERAL RESERVE
STOP THE WARS-FOREIGN AID

With his stance on the federal reserve and the war on drugs, it's clear to me why he was endorsed by the Libertarian Party of Minnesota.

Learn more about Tim Davis

Stephen Williams - Independence Party

Stephen Williams has a website that appears to be a straight-ahead HTML setup and based on the html file extensions, the website was created partially on a Mac and partially on a PC.

His statements:
Without a clear, concise statement, I'll instead condense his "About me" section. Williams is a farmer living near Austin, MN. With over 30 years spent farming, he has transitioned from traditional grains to sweet corn sold to Austin-area stores and markets. He seems to be dedicated to improving the land around him and restoring portions of it to natural plants, trees and grasses.

His stance on the issues:
We must be willing to vote to abolish payroll taxes and to provide Medicare for all Americans.
If elected, I will be ready and willing to vote for necessary cuts in military spending
It is imperative that we strive to be better stewards of our resources. Our debt-based, consumer-driven economy has squandered our economic, natural, and human resources. Our nation's economy must evolve into a stewardship economy, conserving and building the resources we will need in the future.
Justice demands that we provide healthcare for all U.S. citizens, from newborns to senior citizens.
We must eliminate the self-serving influence of industries that are corrupting our democracy. Last year alone, the healthcare industry and the financial industry combined spent approximately $1,000,000,000.00
Create Real Jobs and Increase Wages—Abolish Payroll Taxes

Learn more about Independence Party candidate Stephen Williams

No comments: