Gruesome Road for Independent Parties

     Independent parties have always had the struggle to appeal to the general, American audience. With the upcoming presidential election, independent parties such as the Libertarian and Green parties have a tremendous hill to climb to reach to the audience. However, some lucky candidates have broken through this barrier and caused a ruckus with the two party system. These candidates, such as George Wallace and Ross Perot, had successful candidates, each winning at least 5% of the popular vote (http://polmeth.wustl.edu/ ). These particular candidates had unique skills in establishing rhetoric, attracting the audience, and sending a message to change their political stances. 

     This advertisement shows off how George Wallace attracted so many voters in 1968 because of the Deep South.  "He carried five of those states in the general election, won forty-six electoral votes, and drew over 9.9 million popular votes" ( http://www.ucumberlands.edu/ ). His political success was due to his pro-segregation policies, collecting many votes in the Deep South. This illustration shows his loyalty to the confederacy and the rhetor    of this image allowed Wallace to send a message to the Southern states. The confederate flag symbolizes his political stance on pro segregation. This background sends a more significant impact than words because some of the Southern voters served for the Confederacy. Also, this advertisement caught the attention of the general American audience because he was on the ballot in all 50 states ( http://www.ucumberlands.edu/ ). 

     This advertisement is a simple political pin for Ross Perot, who won about 19% of the popular vote (http://pss.iga.ucdavis.edu). Even though he attracted the highest percentage of popular votes, this pin does not help Perot stand out from the other two candidates, Bush and Clinton. If the audience wants to vote for someone who is different from Washington, than their political pins and other advertisements need to be significantly more drastic. In this election, he wanted to incorporate electronic town halls to promote direct democracy. For the situation of personal computers taking storm around the 90s, this could have been used to attract more technical voters. However, the rhetoric of this pin did not illustrate a drastic view from either Democrat or Republican candidates. 

     Currently, Gary Johnson does not have enough votes to really make a political difference in this year's election. However, the rhetoric of this campaign advertisement perfectly demonstrates his views political beliefs. The "Live Free" side of this illustration symbolizes the aspect of releasing the grip of the government in the economy. Also, his political stance on the decriminalization of marijuana allows weed enthusiasts to live  their own lifestyle. "The People's President" attracts the audience and sends a message to an average American who cannot stand either Romney or Obama. This 3 words can send chills through political junkies spines because his views are for the general public, not the rich public.        

      

http://www.ucumberlands.edu/academics/history/files/vol4/MarianneWorthington92.html

http://pss.iga.ucdavis.edu/perotrpt.html    

http://polmeth.wustl.edu/media/Paper/lacy00.pdf