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This election year, 2006, even in Minnesota the Independent Party did poorly, gaining only 6.3 percent of the votes in the race for governor and 3.23 in the race for U.S. Senate. The Green Party in the race for governor received 0.49 percent. In the race for governor in California the Green Party received only 2.3 percent of the vote and the Libertarian Party 1.3 percent. Small political parties and movements have not been growing. People can most effectively work for their political ideas under one of the two big tents, left-of-center or right-of-center. It is false of those running as "third party" candidates to claim that only they represent the ideas they proclaim. There are, for example, Republicans with strong libertarian views and Democrats with strong views concerning the environment. Changes in public opinion will continue to benefit either the Republican or Democratic Party. This is not the middle of the 1800s when the Republican Party was born. "Third party" candidates will continue to be ineffective and people voting for them will continue to throw their votes away. If you are right-of-center and label the Republican candidate evil, or left-of-center and label the Democratic Party candidate evil you are in a never-never land purism that is politically impotent.