Paul urges voters to back third-party candidates

Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) urged voters to reject John McCain and Barack Obama and choose a third-party candidate in the upcoming presidential election.

In remarks at the National Press Club, the Texas Republican did not mention himself as a possible candidate but said that he will not be supporting his party’s nominee, Sen. McCain (Ariz.)

{mosads}"Reject the two candidates who demand perpetuation of the status quo and pick one of the alternatives that you have the greatest affinity to, based on the other issues," said Paul. "A huge vote for those running on principle will be a lot more valuable by sending a message that we’ve had enough and want real change than wasting one’s vote on a supposed lesser of two evils."

Paul also said that McCain's campaign called him Tuesday to ask him to back his fellow Republican. Paul said he refused to because McCain supports the war in Iraq, the Bush administration’s warrantless wiretapping program and the anti-terrorism law know as the Patriot Act.

"My answer has always been very simple: No," Paul said. "He essentially supports none of my positions."

Paul ran for the Republican nomination this year, picking up strong support from people online and those who oppose the Iraq war. He raised $34.5 million largely from online contributions. It was Paul's second bid for president, after running in 1988 as the Libertarian Party's nominee.

On Wednesday, Paul railed against the two-party system, arguing that it offered "no real choice."

"We cannot expect withdrawal of troops from Iraq or the Middle East with either of the two major candidates," he said. "Expect continued involvement in Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Georgia. Neither hints of a non-interventionist foreign policy.

He added that neither the Democrats under Sen. Obama (Ill.) nor the Republicans would do enough to protect civil liberties, cut the national debt and reduce the power of the Federal Reserve system and corporations.

"There is only one way that these issues can get the attention they deserve: The silent majority must become the vocal majority," he said.

 Paul appeared Wednesday with three presidential candidates: Independent Ralph Nader, Green Party nominee and former Democratic Rep. Cynthia McKinney (Ga.), and Constitution Party nominee Chuck Baldwin.
 
Paul said he didn't plan to endorse any candidate for president. But he said that he hopes the third-party candidates would be included in debates and on most state ballots.
 
"I'm trying to build a coalition of people together and addressing the subject of the electoral process," Paul said.