Robin Laverne Wilson, the Green Party challenger to U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said she is "sick and tired" of the label "third party."

"We're railing against a system and messaging that constantly discredits us as a third party," she said in a speech at Rock Hill Bakehouse Café in Glens Falls on Sunday.

"How many presidential candidates are on the ballot, yall?" she asked the audience of about 40 people.

Several people said four, referring to the four candidates on the New York ballot: Republican candidate Donald Trump, Democrat candidate Hillary Clinton, Green Party candidate Jill Stein and Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson.

One man in the audience said, "five," to which Wilson asked, "Who is number five?"

The man responded, "the guy from Utah, " an apparent reference to independent candidate Evan McMullen.

"They keep calling us a third party when there is already four major candidates on four major parties on the ballot," Wilson said. "Please tell me which one is the third one and which one is the fourth one? They're insulting us as if we can't do basic math."

"And further more, every time you hear the word 'third,' it's usually used as an insult," she continued. "'Man, we don't need a third wheel.' -- 'Third-class citizen.'-- One of my favorites is 'third world country,' when really it should be called is 'a purposely exploited and underdeveloped country.'"

The Post Star
By Maury Thompson
October 24, 2016