There are not two candidates for our president this year; there are six. Of course, these other four do not have hundreds of millions in campaign money to get the attention of the media. I was stunned when I got a call asking me to donate to the campaign of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
Here are the other four candidates:
Jill Stein, Green Party: Stein is a physician from Lexington, Mass., who is an environmental health expert and has won many awards. Among many issues, she is concerned about stopping drone warfare and protecting our environment.
Peta Lindsay, Socialism and Liberation Party: The Los Angeles resident has a 10-point program. Some of her concerns are jobs, health care, military spending and campaign finance reform.
Virgil Goode, Constitution Party: Goode is a former Virginia congressman. Some of his concerns are stopping illegal immigration, balancing the budget and limiting campaign donations.
Gary Johnson, Libertarian Party: Johnson is a former Republican governor of New Mexico. His concerns include ending wars, lowering taxes, cutting spending on foreign countries, improving our economy and jobs outlook and ending the war on drugs.
None of these candidates will be included in the presidential debates. And, even though it has been nearly 18 months since we first started receiving messages from candidates, we still don't have a true look at all of them. Talk about a waste of time and money.
I do not feel that either of the two main candidates can fix the mess we are in. Like you, it is up to me to learn about these people and the issues concerning our future before making a decision.
RITA REDLICH
Albany