Third-party candidates have always played an important role in American politics.

Whigs, Tories, Right-to-Life, Conservative, Green ... they've all given us an opportunity to choose candidates who took strong stances on a wide variety of issues. Even though we might not always agree with them, third-party people are generally unafraid to tell us what they stand for.

They give us choices. Which is a refreshing change from what we get from the Demo-publican party.

The recent attempt by the Republican and Conservative parties in Cayuga County to enact a hostile takeover of the Independence Party is, therefore, distressing.

Over a four month period last year they sprinkled in 37 new Independence Party members, then organized a plan to take over the party by running unopposed candidates for party committee positions. Most of the people were married Republican couples or had other ties. Their purpose was to eliminate the competition and turn the Independence Party into another version of the Republicans.

Very slick. At least until the courts ordered the “new” Independence Party members to become dis-enrolled.

While that decision is under appeal, allow us to make some observations: first of all, it's a reminder that politics is a dirty business filled with tricks, maneuvers, manipulations and a philosophy of the end justifying the means.

And that's for the good guys. So the next time you see your friendly, smiling, baby-kissing politician on TV, remember what he really is.

Also, the last thing that party bosses want is for you and me to have many choices in the voting booth. The fewer the choices, the better they like it. One of the reasons that third-party candidates have such trouble getting votes is because of the organized efforts of the Demo-publicans to squash them as quickly as possible.

I've always thought it a good thing to encourage third-party politics. Whenever a candidate I'm voting for appears on more than one line in the voting booth (indicating a multiple-party endorsement), I always pull the lever on the third-party line.

A healthy third-party system is good for the voters in much the same way as competition in the free marketplace is always good for consumers. Lurking in the shadows may be a political predator ready to pounce. Gary Temple, former Independence Party chairman, said: “What alarms me is that so many of my fellow Americans are willing to deprive their fellow citizens of free and fair election options through the use of anti-American and illegal stunts like party raiding .... and then lie to cover up the truth of their illegal activities.”

I agree.

Ducayne's column appears

Tuesdays in The Citizen,

and she can be reached at

sacredheart6005@hotmail.com