Third-Party Candidates Get "Equal Time"

ATLANTA (AllPolitics, Oct. 16) -- Barred from taking part in the presidential debates, the Natural Law Party's John Hagelin, Libertarian's Harry Browne and U.S. Taxpayer Party's Howard Phillips got air time on CNN's "Larry King Live" to voice their stances on the issues.

The third-party candidates' appearance followed the final face-off between President Bill Clinton and Republican nominee Bob Dole Wednesday night. As with the earlier debate, the sponsors used a town hall meeting format, with audience members asking questions ranging from the economy to the environment to education, and King moderating.

In his opening statement, Hagelin focused on his party's dedication to environmental issues and the importance of preserving and developing our natural resources. The Natural Law Party candidate offered his own agenda for solving the nation's problems that included, "improving preventive health care. Rescuing Medicare from impending bankruptcy. Like ending our energy dependence on foreign oil by developing our clean, abundant renewable energy resources."

Browne repeatedly criticized the federal government for being the problem and reitereated his skepticism that it can ever be the solution. The Libertarian advocated an abandonment of most federal programs in exchange for a repeal of the federal income tax and called for the legalization of drugs.

Browne told the audience, "We've had 60 years of government programs coming to us from Washington and nothing works. The education system has been decimated, our health care system is a mess after 30 years of government interference, Social Security is about to go bankrupt, and Medicare is about to go bankrupt."

"You will never hear me propose a new government law to solve some social problem because it is government laws that are drowning us today and we have to get rid of as many of them as we can," Browne said.

Calling the U.S. Taxpayer's Party, "the party of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States," Phillips called for an end to legalized abortion and opposed any U.S. role in United Nations missions. He said that his group wants to cut the federal government down to "its consitutional size" and return control to the state and local levels.

"The framers (of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution) wanted us to be able to hold public policy accountable to elected officials. We departed from that and other entities have been able to set policy at home and abroad We need to restore the American Constitution," Phillips said.

The independent candidates, plus Green Party nominee Ralph Nader, met on "Larry King Live" following the first presidential debate Oct. 6. Nader declined to join this time around.

Related Story:

• Alternative Parties Get A Turn - Oct. 6, 1996

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