OntheWilderSide

(All eyes on local politician, Phil Boyle, whom Ian and I know from the Third Party Club)

(excerpt) from Ballot Access News
Who Will Be New York Independence Party Nominee for President?
September 7th, 2008

New York’s ballot-qualified Independence Party has yet to decide whom it will run for president. Here is a Newsday op-ed column from September 7 that says John McCain’s campaign manager for Long Island, New York, will be working hard to help McCain win that nomination. McCain’s Long Island campaign manager, Phil Boyle, is a New York Republican Assemblyman. Boyle is a good friend of Independence Party state chair Frank MacKay, according to the article; also Boyle’s wife is a registered member of the Independence Party.

The Independence Party has the third line on New York’s ballot…[Go to Ballot Access New for the full article and a great analysis of Independence  Party Line and its history in NY, especially in relation to Nader]One might think, there is no chance the Independence Party of New York will nominate any minor party presidential candidate this year, because the influence and power of the two major parties is so great by comparison. However, the New York Independence Party has largely been able to preserve its reputation for being somewhat independent of both major parties, because it has never nominated either major party’s presidential nominee. It has always chosen a minor party presidential nominee (it chose Ross Perot in 1996). If the Independence Party were to nominate either Obama or McCain, that would be a signal that it had irrevocably tilted toward one of the two major parties. So the party does have a strong incentive to choose a minor party or independent presidential nominee…

Filed under: Ballot issues, Barack Obama, democrat, election, Election 2008, John McCain, long island, Long Island Politics, New York State Politics, News, Political Websites, presidential race, progressive politics, Ralph Nader, republican, third party, US Politics Tagged: | Ballot Access News, Frank MacKay, Indepence Party, Phil Boyle, Ross Perot