Harry Valentine Bertram, December 12, 1959 (Wheeling, W. Va.) -
VP candidate for American Third Position (aka Independent) (2012)
Running mate with nominee: Merlin Lloyd Miller (b. 1956)
Popular vote: 957 (0.00%)
Electoral vote: 0/538
The campaign:
The American Third Position Party (or A3P) was created in 2009 as a political venue for white nationalism. Historically the "third position" in 20th century Europe meant a rejection of Marxism and of mainstream traditional democracy capitalism while finding a third alternative, i.e. fascism.
The founders of the group included those with close ties to skinheads, Nazis, the KKK, Holocaust deniers, anti-Semites, League of American Patriots, and other white supremacist groups. In January 2012 the A3P nominated Merlin Miller for US President, described by the Southern Poverty Law Center as "an independent filmmaker and military veteran who has expressed dislike for interracial marriage and claimed that Hollywood is under 'Jewish-Zionist control.' He has written for the Holocaust-denying Barnes Review and the white nationalist Occidental Observer."
In Feb. 2012 the group Anonymous hacked into the A3P website. They uncovered working connections between the Party and Ron Paul, such as fundraising and organizing events. The documents revealed A3P leaders felt that Paul's mostly white, male, anti-government following would be fertile ground for recruitment.
In Sept. 2012 Miller met former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and discussed the "Zionist-controlled media" in the US. According to Salon, Miller at that meeting "stated that he believes 9/11 was a Mossad-orchestrated event carried out with 'considerable inside help.'"
During the campaign Miller had been one of the candidates attempting to gain the nomination in the ill-fated Americans Elect project.
Miller's issues included--
-Eliminating the Federal Reserve
-Pulling out of NAFTA, GATT, and WTO
-Imposing strict tariffs
-"Tax dollars are aggressively collected from our people and funneled to so-called minorities, criminals, and persons unwilling to work. We will cut all programs that provide an incentive for people to be anything other than hard-working and productive."
-"The same schools that once taught our children the knowledge, skills, culture, and traditions necessary to maintain and enhance our nation are now controlled by social and cultural Marxists ... We encourage a full curriculum of American History be taught. This will instill in our young people knowledge of and pride in the history, cultures and heritage of the pioneers of the U.S., and not the poisonous politically correct nonsense being fed to our children today."
-"Unfortunately, many white American men and women have misplaced their priorities: Individualism and hyper-materialism have become more important than family and community. Millions of our youth have been coerced into destructive Marxist politically correct philosophy through television, radio and print media. The exclusive groups that dominate these mass media outlets have methodically imposed a degenerate influence on our people. We must return to a strengthened family unit as the norm for society. We support traditional marriage. We must revitalize the sense of community in the U.S. that we had shared for two hundred years."
-Withdraw from the UN and NATO.
-Close military bases overseas.
-"Immigration. Enough is enough.
During the 1960’s, our immigration system was transformed to favor persons from Third World countries incapable of assimilating into any European homeland. If current demographic trends continue, our people will become a minority in America within only a few decades. We cannot let our children grow up in a nation that is fast becoming the Brazil of the Northern Hemisphere. The vast majority of immigrants, both legal and illegal, come from nations in Latin America, Asia and Africa lacking in education, science, art, law, governance or industrial achievements in any way comparable to ours. Numerous studies have confirmed that there is no net economic benefit to the U.S. economy from Third World immigration due to the added costs of education, infrastructure, health care, welfare programs and law enforcement.
We will deport all illegal and criminal aliens.
We will impose massive penalties for employing or assisting them.
We will use the U.S. military for border security and build an impenetrable southern fence.
We will immediately put an indefinite moratorium on all immigration.
We will provide immigrants and their children who have become citizens since 1965 with generous grants to assist their voluntary return to their respective countries of origin.
We will also eliminate birthright citizenship, chain migration and asylum."
-"A nation’s character is determined by its people – and racial demographics are a primary determinant. America’s founding fathers were European derived and this great country was settled and built through their efforts and that of their progeny. Less than 50 years ago our nation was still 90% White, with approximately 10% black, and a very small representation of other races. Since then we have been undermined by internationalists seeking to destroy the 'liberty, sovereignty, and identity' of America.
These changes have not led to utopia, as crime and discord have resulted, as well as our economic decline. American values, heritage, and even language are under massive assault and we are quickly degenerating from a predominantly White, Christian nation — which led the world by its positive example — to a third world “tower of Babel”. At our current rate of demographic change, an American born in 1965 (part of the 90% majority) will die at the modest age of 77, as a minority in their own country!
This is bizarre and not happening by accident. During the 20th century, socialist global elites hijacked American institutions and media, and began indoctrinating our people into accepting “cultural Marxism” and “political correctness” — complete with multiculturalism, miscegenation, radical feminism and unnatural characterizations. White people were made to feel “guilty” for past wrongs, real or imagined, and have been ruthlessly attacked for showing any pride in their race, traditions, or heritage.
A3P stands to protect White American interests, as no other political party has shown interest in doing. This does not make us racist, but protective of our rights – which every other race or group is encouraged and praised for doing. Discriminatory “affirmative action” programs and the invasion of illegal immigrants adversely affect the welfare of all Americans, but especially the White majority.
We hold no animosity to other races, languages, religions, or heritages — in fact, we respect their differences. Indeed, America’s Black citizens have also suffered from these vast changes in the traditional fabric of American society, as jobs have been taken by illegal immigrants, and drug use and crime have become epidemic.
The goal of A3P is therefore to restore the legitimacy of White identity and expressions of White interests. We want to stop the divisive, orchestrated destruction of America and restore her to greatness."
-"The American Third Position Party believes that government policy in the United States discriminates against white Americans, the majority population, and that white Americans need their own political party to fight this discrimination."
Miller had two running-mates, Virginia Abernethy of Tennessee and Harry Bertram of West Virginia. Abernethy seems to have been the official VP while Bertram was a stand-in.
At the same time Bertram was in the VP slot, he was also a A3P candidate for the West Virginia House of Delegates. In addition to A3P, Bertram seems to have been deeply involved with the American Nationalist Union, later called the American Freedom Union, and was their candidate for the State House in 2018 according to his ballot listing. If anything, Bertram was even more outspoken and visceral in his white nationalism than Miller.
The SPLC described Bertram's 2012 legislative run--
He is running as a candidate of the American Third Position (A3P), a political party originally founded by racist skinheads in southern California in 2009 whose goals include deporting immigrants and placing the U.S. under white rule. The group’s mission statement claims that the U.S. government discriminates against white Americans and warns that whites will soon become a minority. In 2010, the group’s chairman, William Daniel Johnson, told the white nationalist “Political Cesspool” radio show that the foundation of the party is the “racial nationalist movement.” Nevertheless, Bertram dismisses the idea that the A3P is a racist party, insisting instead that it is merely “nationalist.” That’s a noteworthy claim, given that Bertram is listed as a “senior moderator” on WhiteNewsNow, a website run by Jamie Kelso, a longtime racist activist and former member of the neo-Nazi National Alliance. In addition, during his run for governor, Bertram released a television campaign ad in which he called himself “the voice for white American issues.” A3P chief Johnson’s proposed radio ad for Bertram — the text of which included, racist websites reported, “Vote Harry Bertram for Governor because we must secure a future for White America and our children” — was rejected by the West Virginia station he approached.
Miller's total popular vote was 2,713. The Miller/Abernethy ticket received the lion's share of the vote, 1,739, where they were on the ballot in Tennessee finishing 7th out of 7 (0.07%). They were also registered write-ins in Washington, which did not report vote totals for that category. The Miller/Bertram ticket could be found on the ballot in New Jersey (664) and Colorado (267) and were write-ins in Maryland (26). Miller was not listed with a running-mate as a write-in in New York (6) and West Virginia (11).
Bertram finished 11th out of the 11 candidates for that 2012 West Virginia House of Delegates election with 0.88% of the vote.
In Feb. 2013 the A3P changed their name to the American Freedom Party.
Looks like Miller made another try in 2016 under the newly formed American Eagle Party but failed to attain ballot status in any state. Meanwhile in that year, the American Freedom Party did nominate a ticket, but both individuals resigned their positions. The Party apparently experienced a civil war over the issue of whether or not to support Donald Trump.
Election history:
2008 - West Virginia House of Delegates (Republican) - defeated
2010 - Board of Education, Monongalia, W. Va. (American Third Position) - defeated
2011 - Governor of West Virginia (American Third Position) - defeated
2012 - West Virginia House of Delegates (American Third Position) - defeated
2014 - West Virginia Senate (American Freedom Party) - defeated
2018 - West Virginia House of Delegates (American Freedom Union) - defeated
Other occupations: US Army, Maytag repairman, locomotive engineer
Notes:
I didn't know Maytag repairmen really existed.
