Long shots: 3rd-party candidates keep plugging away

Third-party candidacies remind Bowler of that Norman Rockwell painting of the resolute man speaking his mind at a town meeting: "I think that's what motivates a lot of people — the idea that 'I have something I want to say.' They have a commitment to an idea, even if it's not very popular. It sounds trite and civic textbookish, but good for them and good for us, that we live in a society that tolerates dissent."

In most campaigns, he says, "the voices get narrowed down. Often, it's the minor candidates who can say 'The emperor has no clothes.' "

On a rainy October morning, LaBonte sits in his rig at a truck stop off I-215. He has just returned from a cross-country haul. Soon he'll be driving to Las Vegas. Campaigning starts when he stops. From the confines of the cab, which on this particular morning has just been perfumed with air freshener, he's returning e-mails from voters who have read about him in the "Utah Voter Information Pamphlet."

He has a laptop, a scanner-faxer-printer, a makeshift plywood desk and plenty of hours of solitude to ponder life's inequities. Spend a couple of hours with him, and he'll bend your ear about the court system, historical narrative, health care and the new economic paradigm. On the road he listens to C-span, the BBC and NPR.

He knows he's not a typical truck driver or a typical candidate. His work history includes 12 years as a dancer in a community ballet company in Florida, farming in his native New Hampshire and volunteer work with Utah's Goshute Indian tribe.

"Most of my life," he said, "I've seen the ineptitude and disingenuousness of people in politics."

Three years ago, LaBonte started the Being Human Party, whose mission statement he recites from memory: "To promote world peace through nonviolent, global, political, spiritual and ethical initiatives that foster respect for and protect the relevancy and sovereignty of each human being."

The core of his beliefs, he says, is that "our politics and our way of life are not about our children" but should be. The government, he said, is currently run and owned by corporations and special interests. His party accepts donations only from individuals and only $100 or less.

It takes 2,000 verifiable signatures to get a political party on the Utah ballot, so when that didn't happen for the Being Human Party by the deadline last winter, LaBonte signed on with the Personal Choice Party, which has no platform and welcomes all candidates and their platforms, under its cheerful political umbrella. The party's logo is the yellow smiley face. The pursuit of happiness — with no government interference — is a key element of the party's credo.