What the United States needs is a viable third party.  Both the Democrats and the Republicans have grown into self perpetuating behemoths whose sole purpose seems to be confiscating money from all levels of working Americans and spending it on their (the parties) pet projects.  TheseJabba -the-Hut politicians claim the differences between the parties are great, but the reality of it is that most the differences are no thicker than the width of a dollar bill.

It’s not that I haven’t tried to like both of them.

In my youth, I imagined myself a Democrat. As I reasoned at the time, the democrats were into long hair, drugs, sex, and rock and roll. What was not to love to about them? The movie Billy Jack taught me everything I needed to know about politics (hey, I was 11 at the time). Billy Jack was about an American Indian protecting a bunch of unwashed, pacifistic dope smokers from the narrow-minded Republican townies. As I matured, I saw Agnew resign in disgrace, Nixon’s presidency implode and Ford pardon Nixon for no apparent reason. Couple with that with the cutest little blond working on the Committee to Re-elect Jimmy Carter and I was hooked. I became aKool-Aide drinking dem.

Time went on and the hot little Carter blond turned into an unfunny and unshaven shrew—a hirsute Hillary. I started my own business and, by design, began to make money. Not a vulgar amount (if such a thing is possible) mind you, but enough to start questioning where my taxes were going. Itwasn’t long before I realized that, as a non-minority, self-reliant individual working in America, the dems were not my friends. The dems thought, because of my hard work and responsibility, I should be responsible for others. Never mind that some of those others were less fortunate because they would rather watch Oprah than work at a Jiffy-Mart—thedems felt I should do my ‘fair-share’ and help them out. I’m of the mind set that if you are going to enforce a ’fair-share’ at least let me pick who gets my money. Since thatwasn’t about to happen, I turned in my tie-dye tee-shirt for a three-piece suit and happily joined the Republican Party.The Republicans and I had a good thing going until the “Case of the Wandering Weenie”. The New Republican Party, which had devolved into the party of the Pompous Evangelical, decided it would be a good idea to spend 40 million dollars to find out if Clinton did indeed have sex with that woman. Was that really a good use of our money? How was this different from the dems spending my money? The dems were spending my money on programs I didn’t support and people who didn’t work; and the Republicans were spending my money to bust an adulterning president. (Of course, Clinton could have just sucked it up (perhaps that isn’t the best metaphor) and said, “Ok, I had sex with her”. He decided, instead, to waste more of our money by sending salvos of missiles into an aspirin factory (insert your own Freudian joke here)). Still, was 40 million dollars to probe into Clinton’s little advisor a wise investment?

I didn’t think so and the Republicans and I shook hands and parted as friends. I still supported the core Republican beliefs: the individual matters, small government, and uber-capitalism. Actually, I am more of a core Republican than most of the leaders of the party.

I need a third party. The Libertarians show the most potential, but they seem to want to make drug legalization their primary platform. That doesn’t stop me from voting for them. Still, I wish that at some point they put down the pot pipe and pay a little more attention to Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations. Perhaps a change in their public persona will make them more palatable to the mainstream voting public.

I don’t believe I am alone with my disillusionment with the two and a half party system. I propose a third party, one with the following core principals.

1. Freedom of speech, press, and religion is bedrock of our civilization. I think that bowing to whims of left wing political correctness, or banning a book because it scares a fundamentalist Christian in Georgia is self-defeating and emboldening to the extremists who would have worship at their particular alter.

1. Without the ability to defend our rights, we don’t really have them, and a gun is still our best method of defense. The pen may be mightier than the sword, but that fountain pen is not going to do much good against a thug with a Glock.
2. Small government is the rule, and a flat tax can pay for it.
3. I prefer the Wiccan Reed (An harm ye none, do as ye will) to the Ten Commandments. If someone disagrees with the Ten Commandments, they may just be atheists, but good people at heart. If they disagree with the reed, they are probably bad people who mean to do harm.
4. A crime is only a crime if it is committed through force or fraud. Drunk driving is a crime, smoking a cigarette is just annoying. Criminals are bad people and will be punished. Criminals may also be misunderstood, confused, and socially or economically challenged—but that doesn’t change their criminal status.
5. Personal social issues are your business (keeping number 4 in mind) as well as your responsibility. My party won’t pay for your behavior.
6. The time to choose birth control is before you have sex, not after. Beyond that, abortion is a personal thing—keeps in mind the non-payment rule of number 6.
7. Stem cell research is a good thing.
8. Do not try to pass a law on the basis that it is good for me (or the children). If I want a nanny, I will hire one. Seatbelts and helmets are options. Red lights are mandatory.
9. Capitalism is good. Socialism is bad. Socialism is also dead. Repeat.

So, who’s with me?

(Cross posted from Associated Content and revised for the Blogger News Network).

Tony Sarrecchia is a freelance writer.