[Iowa-dx] Article by Pat LaMarche -

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Published on Wednesday, February 20, 2008 by Bangor Daily News (Maine)<http=
://bangornews.com/news/t/viewpoints.aspx?articleid=3D160484&zoneid=3D117>
Lack of Incumbent Creates Unique Election Year
by Pat LaMarche
Not many folks remember 1928. The few folks alive today that lived back the=
n were just kids at the time. So you might not know that 1928 was the last =
time that there was no executive branch incumbent running for president.
See, usually a current or former vice president tries for the top of the ti=
cket.
I fear that=92s not the only similarity. It was also the last election befo=
re the Great Depression.
Maybe those incumbents knew a thing or two that they weren=92t sharing, and=
 that=92s why none of them wanted his hands on the wheel when the whole thi=
ng crashed.
So once again we=92ve got a presidential race with no candidates with a pre=
sidential record.
Dick Cheney says he=92ll never run for president - some argue that=92s beca=
use he=92s already doing the job.
Others claim that Hillary Clinton has run the executive branch. But a recen=
t Slate magazine article - and a few of my own personal observations - clai=
ming that women don=92t think their husbands listen to them ought to disqua=
lify her as an incumbent.
This lack of prior executive experience allows the Democratic and Republica=
n candidates to chant the same mantra: change.
You know what? Change isn=92t a message. Change isn=92t a plan. Change is a=
 word. It=92s easy to promise, because after the fact it=92ll be impossible=
 to define.
Heck, I=92d argue that after the 1928 election, change was the one thing th=
at the United States got in abundance. From the roaring =9220s to financial=
 ruin - with change like that, who needs enemies?
No, I=92m looking for candidates grounded in reality, speaking honestly and=
 espousing a plan. And if you want that sort of clarity and candor, I=92m r=
eminded this week that you=92ll need a dark horse.
And not just the Ron Paul kind of dark horse: I mean the 2004 Libertarian c=
andidate Michael Badnarik kind of dark horse. Did you read his book, =93Goo=
d to Be King=94? He reminds us that we=92re all the sovereigns of this coun=
try.
Badnarik campaigned reiterating that the Constitution was written by men wh=
o risked being hanged for declaring that one man cannot rule as king. And t=
hat we=92re all =93kings=94 with equal right to self-determination and self=
-government.
The authorities arrested Badnarik along with Green Presidential candidate D=
avid Cobb for trying to enter a 2004 debate thereby silencing this message =
to the American people. Imagine, arrested just for trying to enter the buil=
ding; so much for self-determination in the land of the free.
I spent this past week traveling the state with a presidential challenger w=
ho in many ways is pretty typical when it comes to presidential candidates.=
 He=92s easy on the eyes and easy on the ears. He=92s got fabulous hair, a =
firm handshake and great eye contact. But he=92s different from the big guy=
s. He=92s no friend of special interest, he doesn=92t dine with Halliburton=
 or Exxon-Mobil CEOs and he cuts rapidly to the chase.
Maine=92s Green Party is caucusing this month and Jesse Johnson came to tow=
n to talk about his bid for the nomination. He spoke to anyone who would li=
sten. He spoke with the media and he spoke with ordinary folks - everywhere=
 he went. I even had to promise workers at one place that I=92d return with=
 voter registration cards so two folks who had never voted before could reg=
ister.
Michael Badnarik would be proud - two more kings.
Johnson=92s just one of many alternative candidates. He=92s educating folks=
 on the issues that turned him from a Hollywood actor into political activi=
st. Johnson is conversant about the Second Amendment, labor unions, the eco=
nomy and health care but what really jazzes this guy is a message he brings=
 from his home state of West Virginia.
Did you know that mining companies set off explosions about 800 times the s=
ize of the one that Timothy McVeigh used to destroy the Alfred P. Murrah Fe=
deral Building to blow the tops off mountains? They blow up everything from=
 trees to wildlife because it=92s easier and cheaper to get the coal.
Hey change candidates: that=92s something that needs changing.
During this unique year without an incumbent, don=92t discriminate. Listen =
to all the candidates=92 messages and then demand that the winner give you =
the kind of substantive change you want.
Pat LaMarche of Yarmouth, Maine is the author of =93Left Out In America: Th=
e State of Homelessness in the United States<http://www.amazon.com/dp/19295=
65208?tag=3Dcommondreams-20&camp=3D0&creative=3D0&linkCode=3Das1&creativeAS=
IN=3D1929565208&adid=3D1FB93RPM58PJVQDAEFDT&>.=94
=A9 2008 The Bangor Daily News