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Time For A Third Party
Topic Started: Jun 2 2006, 04:36 AM (115 Views)
cmoehle
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Chris - San Antonio TX
Peggy Noonan thinks we might be ready for a third party. What about you?

I also think she's right, we're closely divided as a nation despite the spun deep divide of politicians, pundits and partisans.

(Someone was on Hannity and Colmes last night who said similar, and bleeding heart Hannity said oh no the nation is deeply divided just look at me and Colmes and the guest nailed it with but you two get paid to present that schtick.)

I quote the op-ed in its entirety because you may not have access:

Third Time: America may be ready for a new political party.

Quote:
 
Thursday, June 1, 2006 12:01 a.m. EDT

Something's happening. I have a feeling we're at some new beginning, that a big breakup's coming, and that though it isn't and will not be immediately apparent, we'll someday look back on this era as the time when a shift began.

All my adult life, people have been saying that the two-party system is ending, that the Democrats' and Republicans' control of political power in America is winding down. According to the traditional critique, the two parties no longer offer the people the choice they want and deserve. Sometimes it's said they are too much alike--Tweedledum and Tweedledee. Sometimes it's said they're too polarizing--too red and too blue for a nation in which many see things through purple glasses.

In 1992 Ross Perot looked like the breakthrough, the man who would make third parties a reality. He destabilized the Republicans and then destabilized himself. By the end of his campaign he seemed to be the crazy old aunt in the attic.

The Perot experience seemed to put an end to third-party fever. But I think it's coming back, I think it's going to grow, and I think the force behind it is unique in our history.

This week there was a small boomlet of talk about a new internet entity called Unity '08--a small collection of party veterans including moderate Democrats (former Carter aide Hamilton Jordan) and liberal-leaning Republicans (former Ford hand Doug Bailey) trying to join together with college students and broaden the options in the 2008 election. In terms of composition, Unity seems like the Concord Coalition, the bipartisan group (Warren Rudman, Bob Kerrey) that warns against high spending and deficits.

Unity seems to me to have America's growing desire for more political options right. But I think they've got the description of the problem wrong.

Their idea is that the two parties are too polarized to govern well. It is certainly true that the level of partisanship in Washington seems high. (Such things, admittedly, ebb, flow and are hard to judge. We look back at the post-World War II years and see a political climate of relative amity and moderation. But Alger Hiss and Dick Nixon didn't see it that way.) Nancy Pelosi seems to be pretty much in favor of anything that hurts Republicans, and Ken Mehlman is in favor of anything that works against Democrats. They both want their teams to win. Part of winning is making sure the other guy loses, and part of the fun of politics, of any contest, of life, can be the dance in the end zone.

But the dance has gotten dark.

Partisanship is fine when it's an expression of the high animal spirits produced by real political contention based on true political belief. But the current partisanship seems sour, not joyous. The partisanship has gotten deeper as less separates the governing parties in Washington. It is like what has been said of academic infighting: that it's so vicious because the stakes are so low.

The problem is not that the two parties are polarized. In many ways they're closer than ever. The problem is that the parties in Washington, and the people on the ground in America, are polarized. There is an increasing and profound distance between the rulers of both parties and the people--between the elites and the grunts, between those in power and those who put them there.

On the ground in America, people worry terribly--really, there are people who actually worry about it every day--about endless, weird, gushing government spending. But in Washington, those in power--Republicans and Democrats--stand arm in arm as they spend and spend. (Part of the reason is that they think they can buy off your unhappiness one way or another. After all, it's worked in the past. A hunch: It's not going to work forever or much longer. They've really run that trick into the ground.)

On the ground in America, regular people worry about the changes wrought by the biggest wave of immigration in our history, much of it illegal and therefore wholly connected to the needs of the immigrant and wholly unconnected to the agreed-upon needs of our nation. Americans worry about the myriad implications of the collapse of the American border. But Washington doesn't. Democrat Ted Kennedy and Republican George W. Bush see things pretty much eye to eye. They are going to educate the American people out of their low concerns.

There is a widespread sense in America--a conviction, actually--that we are not safe in the age of terror. That the port, the local power plant, even the local school, are not protected. Is Washington worried about this? Not so you'd notice. They're only worried about seeming unconcerned.

More to the point, people see the Republicans as incapable of managing the monster they've helped create--this big Homeland Security/Intelligence apparatus that is like some huge buffed guy at the gym who looks strong but can't even put on his T-shirt without help because he's so muscle-bound. As for the Democrats, who co-created Homeland Security, no one--no one--thinks they would be more managerially competent. Nor does anyone expect the Democrats to be more visionary as to what needs to be done. The best they can hope is the Democrats competently serve their interest groups and let the benefits trickle down.

Right now the Republicans and Democrats in Washington seem, from the outside, to be an elite colluding against the voter. They're in agreement: immigration should not be controlled but increased, spending will increase, etc.

Are there some dramatic differences? Yes. But both parties act as if they see them not as important questions (gay marriage, for instance) but as wedge issues. Which is, actually, abusive of people on both sides of the question. If it's a serious issue, face it. Don't play with it.

I don't see any potential party, or potential candidate, on the scene right now who can harness the disaffection of growing portions of the electorate. But a new group or entity that could define the problem correctly--that sees the big divide not as something between the parties but between America's ruling elite and its people--would be making long strides in putting third party ideas in play in America again.
Politics is the art of achieving the maximum amount of freedom for individuals that is consistent with the maintenance of social order.
--Barry Goldwater
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Colo_Crawdad
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Lowell
Perhaps an answer?
Unity Party

"Unity" party to call Denver home

Quote:
 
A bipartisan, independent political organization named Unity08 launched nationwide today, vowing to offer voters an alternative ticket in the next presidential race.

It has named Denver as its headquarters, citing the number of moderate voters in Colorado and the fact that many political observers consider it a purple state.

The formation of what is essentially a third party comes in response to the increasing polarization between Democrats and Republicans and their focus on interest groups and issues that don't impact most Americans, said founders of Unity08.

"Increasingly, the are listening to a relatively small number of interest groups with extreme views. If you're in the middle, kind of a centrist, you don't feel either party hears you," said Hamilton Jordan, former White House Chief of Staff to President Jimmy Carter and lifelong Democrat. "My country and kids' future more important than either political party."

Unity08 differs from previous third party presidential bids in that it does not have a presidential and vice presidential candidate attached

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to it. Rather, citizens will pick the ticket - made up of a woman and/or man from each major party or by an independent - through an online convention in Spring 2008.

And while winning the White House is the primary goal, getting Republicans and Democrats to listen to mainstream voters is also high on the list.

"We want to force them to pay attention to the crucial issues," said Jim Jonas, CEO of Unity08.

Those issues, he said, include such things as global terrorism, education, universal health care, the national debt and nuclear proliferation. This is different than the "important" issues - gay marriage, control and abortion - which Unity08 says should be addressed but not dominate the national agenda and campaign rhetoric.
"WE HAVE MET THE ENEMY AND HE IS US." --- Pogo
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cmoehle
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Chris - San Antonio TX
Noonan mentions them, says they don't get the problem--but I'll check for myself.

Still, given that they are moderates from indistinguishable parties, not sure what options they'll present.

What we need may be more radical.
Politics is the art of achieving the maximum amount of freedom for individuals that is consistent with the maintenance of social order.
--Barry Goldwater
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