In the world of two-party politics, third parties, though small, can have an impact on races and the issues at hand.

Looming above them are the established juggernauts of politics; however, many alternative groups across the United States work to get important messages out and claim the coveted third-party status.

Although their messages may vary, such parties as the Green Party, Libertarian Party, Constitution Party or the Reform Party generally unite around a centralizing theme: The current two-party system doesn’t work.

“You should call them second parties, because there really is only one party with two wings,” said Theodore Webster, Iowa Reform Party chairman.

Webster said the influence of big money in politics has distorted the messages of the two biggest parties, and has eliminated any real difference between the two.

Richard Campagna, Libertarian Party vice-presidential candidate, said third parties are almost mocked by the major parties.

“It’s an unbelievably horrific experience of a third party in the way they are treated by the major parties,” Campagna said. “It’s a major travesty of our electoral process.”

The importance, Webster said, can be seen in history. The triumph of Abraham Lincoln helped catapult the Republican Party, a third party with anti-slavery stances, to an establishment position.

Other presidents to claim membership in third parties include Zachary Taylor, who was elected in 1848 as a member of the Whig Party.

Iowa Libertarian Party chairman Mark Nelson said many of the most innovative ideas have come from third parties, which helps aid the process of democracy.

“I think they’re very important, and a very under-appreciated asset, especially when the main parties begin to sound alike — especially in their effectiveness,” Nelson said.

David Cobb, Green Party presidential candidate, shared Nelson’s views on the party system.

“The Libertarian Party, the Constitution Party and the Green Party are the three alternatives that are growing,” Cobb said in Ames on Tuesday. “I’m glad they all exist; there should be more choices and more voices for the voters.”

One key issue for Cobb’s party has been the environment. Cobb said it was important to realize the world is locked in an environmental crisis, and governments need to take a pro-active stance on the issue.

Other concerns such as raising the minimum wage to a living wage, repealing the Patriot Act and an end to the drug war have occupied the party’s platform as well.

In the 2000 election, the Green Party made waves when the party’s presidential candidate, Ralph Nader, captured 2.73 percent of the popular vote nationally. In Iowa, Nader managed to receive 2.23 percent of the vote.

Now in 2004, Nader has made waves again both by declining his former party’s nomination and accepting the endorsement of a rival group, the Reform Party.

“Ralph chose to not seek or accept the Green Party’s nomination,” Cobb said.

“Instead he is running an independent campaign where he’s sometimes on the Reform ballot, sometimes he’s on other political parties he’s made up just to get on the ticket.

“I can’t tell what Ralph’s goal is, much less his strategy. I don’t understand what he’s doing or why.”

Webster said the Iowa Reform Party hasn’t endorsed Nader. The endorsement, he said, has caused problems in the nearly dead party, which doesn’t have any candidates running in Iowa.

“We are basically running in neutral,” he said.

“We aren’t doing anything because the national party has all but destroyed itself. We are in the process of rebuilding it under a different name.”

The national committee, he said, has been mired in controversy ever since a presidential bid by Pat Buchanan on the Reform ticket. A coalition of state parties has began to rewrite the party’s constitution, which will be revealed along with a new name, the New Frontier Coalition.