Finally, a viable Third Party Candidate

Regardless of who I voted for and who you, the phantom beer blog reader, voted for in the 2012 election, I think that we can all agree that a viable third party would benefit many of the voters in this country.

Both President Obama and Governor Romney spent much of their time campaigning in an attempt to try to appeal to and ultimately capture the independent vote...which clearly indicates that this is a growing group of voters.  There are many issues where I agree with the Republican party and there are many issues where I agree with the Democratic party and there are many issues that I believe shouldn't be issues that require the President of the United States to address or regulate.

Despite the fact that I cannot identify myself 100% either party, every four years I am forced to cast my vote for either a Republican or a Democrat, both of which are generally either giant douche bags or turd sandwiches. 

True, there is often a third-party candidate on the ballot but often this candidate never seems to win.  In fact, the last time a third-party candidate received a vote from the electoral college (don't get me started on this) was 1832.

Furthermore, to date, there have only been three Presidents in office without a major party affiliation: George Washington, John Tyler, and Andrew Johnson.  And only one of those was elected by the people, George Washington, who served his entire term as an independent. Both John Tyler and Andrew Johnson were not elected to President but rather were Vice Presidents who ascended to office upon the death of a president.  After the transition to President, both men evolved into independents because they were unpopular with the party they were previously affiliated with. John Tyler was elected on the Whig ticket in 1840 with William Henry Harrison but was expelled by his own party. Andrew Johnson was elected with Abraham Lincoln on the National Union ticket in 1864.

Third Party Candidate Imperial Amber Ale (10% ABV)
Clown Shoes Brewery and Three Heads Brewing
Ipswich, Massachusetts and Rochester, New York

Recommendations: solid brew.  Strong.  Pour into a glass and allow it to warm to somewhere between fridge temp and room temp.  Think about what it is that matters to you and then the next time you are asked to vote --- vote for what you believe in.  And if that means voting for a third party candidate (and throwing your vote away) -- then do it.  The system, and the country that we all claim to love so much, will never change if we all continue to grit our teeth, hold our nose, roll our eyes, bitch and moan and then cast our vote for either the turd sandwich or the giant douche because we know one of them will win anyway.

Score: 4 out of 5 pint glasses on the unofficial Suburban Suds pint glass rating system