Cc: Everyone

Subject: The Unification of the Third Parties – A Call to Action

It is clear that the corporations have bought out Washington. The passage of the Bailout Plan has demonstrated that the voice of the people has fallen on deaf ears. The American people need at Unified Third Party that represents the American people and not the corporations.

The time for action is now. According to a Rasmussen Report from May of 2007:

“Fifty-eight percent (58%) of American adults say it would be good for the United States to have a truly competitive third political party. A Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that just 23% disagree while 19% are not sure.”

With the current state of the economy and the passage of this unpopular Wall Street bailout, there is an unprecedented opportunity for a Third Party President. However, the Third Party candidates and messages cannot get the exposure they need while the mainstream media ignores them, the CPD blocks participation in the debates, and while the 4 main third parties divide the independent vote.

The Plan of Action is as follows:

• Unite behind the Nader/Gonzalez ticket.
• Announce intended cabinet positions that include Bob Barr, and Cynthia McKinney; along with their respective running mates where appropriate.
• Use the upcoming Third Party Debate as an opportunity to unite the third parties, not to divide them further.
• Pool resources and unite supporters.

This is understandably a difficult proposal to accept for the Barr, and McKinney campaigns. However, it is necessary to prevent four more years of a corporate controlled government. By unifying and pre-announcing an intended cabinet the following is achieved:

• Media Exposure: It is unprecedented for four presidential candidates to put the American people ahead of their own desire to be president and ahead of their own respective parties. It is not possible for this change to be ignored.
• Access to the Mainstream Debate: The unification and media exposure is the best chance to meet the 15% requirement to participate in the last televised debate. The third party message, delivered on prime time television, would resonate with a disgusted American public in ways unprecedented.
• Pressure on Obama and McCain: Obama and McCain would be forced to show their hands. The American people would get a preview of what is to come related to cabinet positions.
• Pooling of Resources: All four candidates have done a remarkable job of gaining support and funding during their individual campaigns. United under one ticket, these resources become focused and therefore more effective.

As stated above, this is not an easy course of action to take. We are at a unique point in our history as a country where the government has degraded so significantly that such an opportunity is present.

During the 2008 Presidential Campaign, each of you has asked your supporters to “take action”. Will all of you in turn do the same?

The popular analogy in the media is to say that Main Street bailed out Wall Street. I believe this to be an understatement. “Main Street” is a calm, peaceful place where American’s thrive. We are NOT on Main Street. We are on Elm Street and the nightmare is real.

Please take this action to help the American people wake up from this terrible reality the main stream, corporate controlled parties have put us in. Please help us reclaim representation and our country.

Ryan Ripley

In 1988 the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) took control of the debates from the League of Women Voters. The CPD is currently run by former head of the both the Republican and Democratic parties. During this change of power, the president of the League of Women Voters correctly predicted the outcome of the main two political parties taking over the debates:

“Since their [CPD] press conference that day, the League has argued that an organization set up by the political parties is not an appropriate sponsor of presidential debates. Obviously, the political parties have a huge stake in the outcome of debates and elections. And obviously, a political party will not be party to an event that puts its titular head at risk. Under partisan sponsorship debates will become just another risk-free stop along the campaign trail.”
–STATEMENT BY NANCY M. NEUMAN PRESIDENT, LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS

Due to the stranglehold on access to the debates, the American people were denied the opportunity to be exposed to an excellent Vice Presidential candidate, Matt Gonzalez of the Nader/Gonzalez ticket.

John Nichols of The Nation pointed out that:

“the independent candidate for vice president [Matt Gonzalez] has credible experience helping to run a unit of government that is significantly larger than anyplace Palin has run … if Palin and the Republicans want to suggest that the former mayor’s municipal service is part of what gives her stature, Gonzalez might merit some attention — including a place at the table in the vice-presidential debate.”

An opportunity to hear a voice of TRUE CHANGE was taken from us tonight. If you are tired of the same old politics, and want to see what true progressives have to offer, I encourage you to spend 5 minutes at Ralph Nader’s site.

Obama and McCain have already demonstrated that the corporations own them. They both voted on the bail out bill that feeds money to the greedy financial industry and bails out BOTH of their long lists of wealthy friends.

Two debates have come and gone, only two are left. Nader is a long time consumer advocate and has not sold out his ideals. This is a crazy time in the United States. Please explore all options before you decide to “settle” for the lesser of two evils.

Representative Donnelly,

Please vote against the bail out bill. We as a country should not try fix a problem caused by the abuse of debt by throwing more debt at it. Government intervention as laid out in this bill bails out those that deserve to suffer the consequences of their casino style dealings within the financial markets.

Please also consider the remarks made by Ralph Nader:
http://www.counterpunch.org/nader09252008.html

The bill in its current form does not protect the American tax payer as pointed out by Mr. Nader. It contain pork and concessions for other politicians and a hefty gift to the reckless and irresponsible.

By passing this bill you are covering the bad bets of the financial industry, falling for the bribes and breadcrumbs the Senate dropped, and will leave the American people holding the bag.

Sincerest Regards,
Ryan Ripley

Now is the time for action. Contact your representative and encourage them not to pass this terrible bill. If you do not know who your representative is, you can find out at http://www.house.gov.

Attached to this bill is a number of tax extenders that by some counts is only half budgeted. Worse of all, this bailout was attached to the mental health parity bill.  This bill requires that health insurers treat mental health problems the same as medical and surgical problems.

I have no issues with the addons if they can stand on their own, however; they are a clear sign of negotiating and swapping within the Senate. Furthermore, these addons reek of a bribe to the American people. The fact of the matter is that without sweetening the pot, the politicians could not have gotten this bill passed. With that being the case, why was it even worthy of consideration?

Did you notice what was sorely lacking from the addons?  That’s right, provisions to crack down on the corporate crime and greed that would help prevent situations like this from happening.  Provisions such as the following are essential:

1. Prosecute the corporate crooks.
2. Set and enforce tough regulatory standards for disclosure, solvency, risk assessment, auditing, and ratings.
3. Greatly expand the ranks of - and resources available to - the corporate crime prosecutors, including those at the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice’s Fraud Section. Their budgets are now considered a joke compared to the corporate crime wave they facing.
4. Overhaul the powerless state of the corporate owners - the individual investors and institutional shareholders - and empower them to control the corporations that they own and to hold their top executives accountable.

These ideas sound pretty good, almost like common sense, right?  They are not from the Obama or McCain camp.  Nor do they originate within our government.  They come from Ralph Nader.

It is now clear that the Democrats and Republicans only answer to their parties, lobbyist, corporations and NOT the American people. If you are fed up with “business as usual” in Washington DC, I highly recommend that you take a look at Ralph Nader His views on the bailout mirror those of the American public. He is for the cleanup of our government and for keeping Americans ahead of corporations when deciding policy for the country. Spend 5 minutes on his site. If you disagree, you’ve lost nothing. If what he has to say makes sense, you may have found a better way to spend your vote.

Read More:
opencongress.org
Ralph Nader for President 2008