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NLP Candidates Win Major Party Endorsements

In key races across the country, Natural Law Party candidates are seeking, and gaining, endorsements from other political parties—including the Republican and Democratic parties.

“During the past 10 years since the NLP was founded, our candidates have grown in experience, poise and stature,” said National Chair Kingsley Brooks. “Our candidates offer fresh ideas and proven solutions that appeal to all parties. Now they’re being endorsed, and even recruited, by Democrats and Republicans.

“Within our party, we always support those who promote our natural-law based solutions as NLP candidates,” said Brooks. “However, we also recognize that discriminatory ballot access laws, which are a legacy of decades of special-interest politics, make it difficult to run as third-party candidates in many places. By accepting the Democrat or Republican nomination, we can allocate our precious resources to what is really important—getting out our message, rather than wasting time and money overcoming absurd ballot access hurdles.

“In addition,” noted Brooks, “a candidate running under a ‘major party’ label can take advantage of the huge human resource and publicity networks that have been built up over the years by the Democrats and Republicans. These ‘major party’ activists, just like everybody else, are hungry for good ideas, and our solutions are just what they need to hear.”

“The NLP has always stood for all-party government,” said three-time NLP presidential candidate Dr. John Hagelin. “We didn’t embark on this political journey just to form another political organization. We wanted to powerfully promote world-transforming ideas and crucial solutions—programs that can fulfill the laudable goals of all parties. If you look at the Democrat and Republican platforms, it is clear that they have laudable goals. It is equally clear that we have the unique means to fulfill those goals.”

As many as 1/3 of all Republican and Democratic incumbents run unopposed. Typically, the unrepresented party is eager to find a worthy candidate. In many states, there is still time to meet the Republican and Democratic county chairmen, and win their support for the nomination of their party.

In Iowa, former NLP Congressional candidate Jay Marcus took the NLP concept of using proven solutions and adapted it into a “business plan for a better Congress,” mandating that Congress only fund programs with a proven track record. Marcus won the Republican primary election and became the Republican candidate for Congress in 2000.

In Ohio, NLP leader and U.S. Congressional candidate Kara Anastasio is being encouraged by local Democratic leaders to seek their party’s nomination. “I am holding firm to my principles,” said Anastasio, of Yellow Springs. “I have explained to the Democratic county chairmen that I will not accept PAC money. Yet there is a lot in the Democratic platform that I support—worthy goals that can be fulfilled with the help of NLP solutions.”

“Democratic and Republican endorsements such as these bring tremendous publicity to our NLP solutions—plus a real chance of winning Congressional and other seats in 2002,” said Hagelin. “Ultimately, the best way to advance NLP solutions may be to implement them ourselves—as members of Congress. I would like to see as many candidates as possible—whatever their party label—promoting NLP principles and solutions in 2002. We can turn 2002 into a huge national victory.”