From the BBC:
“US election
2020: The other 1,214 candidates running for president”
The US has had
presidents for more than 230 years, but only the first - George Washington -
has ever been elected as an independent candidate. The twin peaks of US
politics, the Republican and Democratic parties, dominate media coverage and
campaign donations so completely that the chances of an outsider winning are
virtually nil. What kind of person looks at those near-insurmountable odds and
thinks - I'm running anyway? Quite a range as it turns out: As of 9 October,
some 1,216 candidates (of varying levels of seriousness) have filed with the
Federal Election Commission to run for president. The BBC asked three of them -
a concert pianist and motivational speaker, a Native American IT technician,
and a crypto billionaire - what they stand for, and why they deserve the votes
of Americans. Jade Simmons is a multi-hyphenated woman. A former beauty queen,
professional concert pianist, motivational speaker, rapper, mother, and
ordained pastor. As she puts it, she is an unconventional candidate, "but
these are unconventional times". "This seemed to me to be a time when
we couldn't afford to do business as usual," she says. "I'm the
daughter of a civil rights activist, and the way my father raised me was that
if you see voids, if you see injustices, you need to ask yourself if that might
be you that needs to be leaning in." She says her goal is to create equal
access to opportunity, through economic, educational and criminal justice
reform. And in that spirit, she's aiming to run "the least expensive
campaign in the history of our nation". "We think it's abominable
that it costs now almost a billion dollars to run for president when the
qualifications are that you are 35 years old, a US-born resident, and have
lived here 14 years," says Ms Simmons. "We'd rather spend that money
on helping people."
So is she a
liberal or a conservative? "It depends on who you ask!" she says.
"Everything from disgruntled Bernie bros to conservative Christian pastors
are liking our policy." Her background as a minister and a person of faith
does not automatically denote conservatism, she says. "I think Jesus is
one of the most radical figures we have in history. And I think if you look at
how he operated you might end up calling him progressive." The coronavirus
pandemic has upended this year's White House race, curtailing mass gatherings,
pushing party conventions online and dominating news headlines. But for Jade,
the major challenge of her campaign has been simply letting people know she
exists. "Even in a time where black lives supposedly matter, and black
voices matter, and we saw statements of solidarity coming from the media and
corporations, those same media outlets - including black media outlets - have
refused to tell the story that I'm here. "You have maybe a celebrity like
a Kanye West who didn't even file his papers, and on the Fourth of July when he
announced, within 30 minutes he was covered by every major network. So we were
a little bit shocked that the narrative of democracy is not carried out as much
as American voters think when you look behind the scenes."
While the
Republican and Democratic nominees will be on the ballot in all states,
independents must meet an array of state deadlines and access requirements. Ms
Simmons' name will appear on the ballot in Oklahoma and Louisiana, but in 31
other states she's registered as a write-in candidate - meaning that if voters
physically write her name down, their vote will count. She acknowledges the
odds are absolutely against her, but still believes she can make it to the Oval
Office - and if not this year, then at some point. "I know it sounds wild,
given the history of independents! We believe that if we stay standing long
enough, there's still some more disruption coming in - that most Americans are
going to see that the current two options are not the choice. "[…] We've
been saying from day one, that we must restore the fabric of the nation. That's
a spiritual fabric, that's a cultural fabric, a social and a racial fabric, and
we feel that's been ripped to shreds - primarily and intentionally by both
political parties. "So if I were to close my eyes and envision a nation…
This can't be just a flip-flop of power and revenge - 'We get to get back at
you.' I see a palate-cleansing season where we can take a deep breath and say,
'Where do we go from here?'"
Brock Pierce is
a former child actor who appeared in the Mighty Ducks franchise and starred as
the president's son in the 1996 comedy First Kid. But thanks to his second
career as a tech entrepreneur, he's also probably a crypto currency
billionaire. Why is he running for president? Partly because he is deeply
concerned by the state of the country. "I think that we lack a real vision
for the future - I mean, what kind of world do we want to live in, in the year
2030? What is the plan? Where are we trying to get to, you know? You have to
aim for something. And I see mostly just a lot of mud being thrown around, not
a lot of people putting forth game-changing ideas. It's getting scary. And I
have a view of what to do." For the last four years, Mr Pierce has focused
on philanthropic work in Puerto Rico, where his foundation recently raised a
million dollars for PPE to give to first responders. Asked what America's
priorities should be for the next four years, he suggests the country stops
pursuing "growth for growth's sake", and measures its success by how
well life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are upheld. It's hard to pin
Mr Pierce down politically. The man described by Rolling Stone as "the
hippie king of crypto currency" favours legalising cannabis, held a
unicorn-themed wedding ceremony at Burning Man, and was so unimpressed at being
placed on a Forbes rich-list that he vowed to give away his first billion
dollars. He also believes strongly in personal freedom, and has donated
thousands to Republican candidates. "I have many liberal tendencies, just
like I have conservative tendencies," Mr Pierce says. "And I think
it's time we take a collective breath and a brave step into the future, because
all of these ideologies have something to teach us." The 39-year-old's
life has not been free of controversy. When he was 19, three male actors
accused him and two business partners of sexual assault. Mr Pierce denied any
wrongdoing, and was never charged with a crime. The three plaintiffs withdrew
their cases against him and never received any personal compensation. But
inevitably, the headlines linked to that episode have made a presidential run a
tougher prospect. "Having your name in a story like that is… it causes
immense harm," he says. "But the positive thing out of it is, it
taught me not to judge people." Federal Election Commission data shows
Brock Pierce has pumped $3.7m into his campaign. He says his strategy is to end
up in the White House not by winning the election outright, but by taking a
single state in a close race, then forcing the House of Representatives to pick
a winner. "Every time that this has happened before, 100% of the time,
they've always chosen the third-place or last-place candidate to be president
as a compromise. Now it's only happened once - 1824. And so our goal is to win
a single state. And if we knock it out of the park, to win three. "I turn
40 in November, which means I also have time on my side. And so we are also
laying the groundwork for the future - not just for me as a candidate, but for
all independent candidates going forward."
'We don't
like either candidate' And if he doesn't pull it off? Mr Pierce says he has
offers. "I'm constantly invited to run for Governor of New York,
Governor of Minnesota. I mean basically everywhere I go they're like, Brock,
you could actually fix this. Like if you don't become president next year, would
you try and run our state, would you run our city? "I wouldn't even
spend a moment thinking about this until November 4th, and that's what I tell
everyone. Call me November 4th. But I made a decision, you know, to live my
life in service, and so however I can be of greatest service I'm prepared to do
that work well." One factor that unites independent candidates is
that they haven't had to please a party majority to get a platform - so they
run as themselves, on the issues that really speak to them personally.
Mark Charles is
a prime example. Professionally he's worked as a computer programmer and in
tech support, but he's also an ardent social justice campaigner on issues
affecting Native Americans and people of colour. His goal is to be an
alternative candidate for voters who don't feel a kinship with the Trump or Biden
tickets. Mr Charles is of Navajo heritage, an identity which has deeply shaped
his candidacy and his view of what America should be. The land upon which
Washington DC was built belonged to the Piscataway people. "These were
their lands, long before Columbus got lost at sea - and they are still here.
And I am humbled to be living on these lands, on their lands, and I want to
honour them as the host people." In the early 2000s, Mr Charles chose to
move his family to a remote home on a Navajo reservation, "because I
wanted to experience the more traditional life". They would stay for 11
years. "I saw several presidential elections from that vantage
point," he says. "We were six miles off the nearest paved road, lived
in the one-room Hogan - the traditional Navajo dwelling. There was no running
water, no electricity in our community, our neighbours were rug weavers and
shepherds." The family prepared to cook on a camping stove, haul water,
and live by candle-light. What they hadn't anticipated was how marginalised
they would feel. "The only groups of non-Natives we ever saw on the
reservation were those who came to take our picture or those who came to give
us charity. Almost no one came to build relationships with us," says Mr
Charles. "On top of that, I was understanding and seeing some of the
historical trauma that came from the very unjust history against our people. "I
[could] feel myself becoming both more insecure and more angry." He made a
resolution to reach outwards and foster understanding instead of growing
bitter. Now he says he's fighting for a truly inclusive, modern America which
rejects inequality. "Our Constitution, which starts with the words 'We the
people' […] never mentions women, it specifically excludes Natives, and it
counts Africans as three-fifths of a person," says Mr Charles. "And
so this is what my campaign is all about: if we want to be a nation where 'we
the people' truly means all the people, we have to do some foundational-level
work. We can't just say it and wish it was so: we actually have to go in and
change some things that this nation was founded on, such as the racism, the
sexism and the explicit white supremacy."
^ it’s cute to
think that Americans will break over 200 years of tradition and vote a
non-Republican or a non-Democrat as President. ^
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