[Hoot Gibson]

I think that it is too late for a new conservative third party candidate to mount much of a campaign. The Libertarian Party is the only third party that has a shot at making a major impact on this fall's election. I watched several hours of the LP's convention, hoping that somebody other than William Weld would win the VP nomination, but he squeaked out a very tight win.

Weld, combined with Gary Johnson's remarks on the coal industry means that I won't be voting for the ticket. I was hoping that the LP would do better than nominating two liberal former GOP governors. If they run a good campaign, they may draw support of enough Bernie supporters to make a difference for Trump. Trump supporters should worry if Trump attracts the support of many Bernie followers.

The duopoly parties have quite a racket going when it comes to third parties and access to ballots and debates. Third party candidates must poll an average of 15 percent but the national polls do not include them in the polls. The only exception was Ross Perot. State governments are dominated by Republicans and Democrats, and both parties work hard to make it difficult for other parties to get in on the action.