Unity08 is trying to do something trailblazing – attract millions of Americans to a political movement that aspires to win the White House through a bipartisan “Unity Ticket” nominated by an historic online primary. While we won't have candidates until 2024, we know the talk about potential candidates is already underway. To provide that opportunity here, we are building out tools right now so our community members can discuss and rate candidates in a more structured way, formulate split-ticket scenarios, and even build caucuses around possible ticket combinations (e.g., the “Bayh-Romney Caucus” or the “Obama-Rice Caucus”).
We think that will be one meaningful way to generate the excitement we need to attract Americans here and capture their imaginations. What do you think?
Shane Kinkennon, Unity08 Communications Director
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Hello Shane Kinkennon,
Hello Shane Kinkennon,
Few questions in mind:
• Why do you think that Unity08 will be successful creating a bipartisan unity ticket?
• Are you sure that a bipartisan unity ticket is the right answer to the systemic functional ills of the current political structure?
• Could it be that more major parties will serve the… ”We the people” better?
Has the more major parties served the..."We the people" well in the past?
http://www.acaiplus.com/retta
Click on www.popopete.com, " AMERICA - 21ST CENTURY : Overhaul Of Government & Private Sector" READ/DIGEST RECENT POSTING "DO THE MATH - MAKE THE CHANGES" - everything will be made clear !!!
pke
Shane,
I can't wait for an active, community-driven dialogue to begin on who the ideal candidates for the Unity Ticket would be. The sooner we all begin this discussion, the better. Let's try to use our collective power to alert potential candidates that this truly is a powerful alternative for consideration. Let's send our Unity Ticket, whomever they will be, to the White House with a true mandate from the people!
Bo -- thanks for the questions. Time is short today so forgive my brevity.
I can't speak for everyone, but i personally think we'll successfully create a bipartisan ticket because the timing happens to be right. The midterm elections and related poll numbers showed the level of discontent. People want bipartisanship, cooperation and progress. And while the details for this idea are hard, the concept is simple and compelling. The major parties are serving their extreme "bases" and more and more voters in the political middle feel unrepresented. Who better to represent them than a movement like this?
Am i sure it's the right answer to fix today's mess? It seems like a pretty good answer to me ... it's captured my imagination, and the imagination of alot of smart people.
To your third questions, i'll leave that to the political scholars. I love America's two-party system. I just want it to work again. I'm sick of the fighting and money-grubbing. Hopefully what we're building will present the fix.
Hi Shane,
Great to see you (finally :-) creating a way for us to coalesce into self-assembling communities. But, could you please make sure the tools also allow us to:
Thanks!
Ernest N. Prabhakar, Ph.D.
RadicalCentrism.org helps individuals, communities, and systems become sustainably centered — happy, healthy & holy — by being properly rooted in humility, justice & love.
In order to keep our country working, I think we need to have a public more willing to get involved--and to make sacrifices. With global warming, diminishing oil resources, etc, etc, the time is fast approaching when we need to make hard choices as a nation. It will be easier for us to do if we feel that we are truly involved in the process. That is why I like the concept of Unity08.
Will we be successful in electing a candidate? I don't know. Even if we are not, the very actions of Unity08 will cause the major parties to change their way of thinking and doing business-much like what happened after the rise of the Progressive Party nearly 100 years ago.
I think we need to concentrate on policy first. We need to know the majority positions on issues. We take those positions, then we choose a candidate who pledges to support those positions no matter what their personal viewpoint is.
Shane thanks for your kind rational. Let’s talk technicalities. How do you plan to register Unity08 proposed initiative across the nation?
Unity08 is going to need to secure access to the ballot in all 50 states -- a process that typically involves securing a bunch of names on a state-provided petition. The requirements in each state are different. Some states require a handful of signatures, and some require alot. And some have even more stringent requirments which means we're going to be forced to jump through hoops.
We've come so far as to compile and understand each state's laws in a detailed way, and are beginning to set our sights on which states to go after first. Expect to hear more on that soon.
Possibly most importantly, we're beginning to recruit volunteer captains in the states we think we might like to pursue first, using mostly offline means -- people with whom our leaders have personal relationships. Obviously, this online community ultimately will need to be the most fertile ground for that -- we're getting there.
Unity08 Communications Director
Better start now in PA, I don't believe that anyone can get on the ballot here but a Republocrat or Democain.
Start by contacting www.paballotaccess.org
When I first arrived here, my initial question was never answered... What is Unity08?
Is it to pick candidates that fit somewhere between the Democratic and Republican positions, but still very close to both? (ex: Joe Lieberman and John McCain.)
Or is it to pick candidates that fit outside both the Democratic and Republican positions? (ex: Jim Webb and Lincoln Chafee.)
I strongly prefer the second option, as we already get the first option from the two major parties. I'd like to be able to choose candidates that put the will of the people above the large corporate lobies, and who are not the darlings of the corporations that own and control our media.
We need candidates in my view that either have 1) the oratorical ability to go over Congress and the K Street Lobbyists heads to appeal directly to the American people and/or 2) a deep intuitive sense of how Washington really works. I would have them focus on just 1 or 2 key issues (American people and politicians cannot handle more than that successfully). 1) delineation of a clear consistent Grand Foreign Policy Strategy for the US in the 21st Century; and 2) Comprehensive Entitlement Reform that resolves the growing InterGenerational financial imbalances. The continuation of the American Experiment depends on the successful addressing and resolution of those 2 key issues in the next decade. All other issues pale in comparison to me. A legitimate candidate must be able and ready to bite the bullet and use their political courage/smarts/capital to address the tough 2 issues, tick off a lot of Lobbyists and citizenry with some hard truths. Through all I would emphasize the positive in replacement of the old Entitlement Mentality extant now with a dynamic new Progressive Future-Oriented Endowment Mentality.
> "We need candidates in my view that either have 1) the oratorical ability to go over Congress and the K Street Lobbyists heads to appeal directly to the American people and/or 2) a deep intuitive sense of how Washington really works."
I agree with you, and in my opinion you just described Senator Russ Feingold of Wisconsin.
> "I would have them focus on just 1 or 2 key issues (American people and politicians cannot handle more than that successfully). 1) delineation of a clear consistent Grand Foreign Policy Strategy for the US in the 21st Century; and 2) Comprehensive Entitlement Reform that resolves the growing InterGenerational financial imbalances."
I agree with you on focusing on two main issues, and would have both those issues you mentioned in my top five. My top two are 1) Campaign Finance Reform, and 2) Media Reform. Without addressing them first, we no longer have a democtacy, and all future efforts will head out in the wrong direction.
> "A legitimate candidate must be able and ready to bite the bullet and use their political courage/smarts/capital to address the tough 2 issues, tick off a lot of Lobbyists and citizenry with some hard truths."
Taking control away from the lobbyists should be first step, and then allowing America to hear both sides of an issue the next by promoting a more diverse media not owned primarily by five corporate outlets. We no longer have a free and open media.
Have you been to Jennifer's message board yet?
http://unitysupporters.com/forum/
Campaign Finance is important for sure but as an operrtional issue and not a substantive issue that need long-termresolution to save the country for a few more generations. I hear you on the Lobbyist/PAC/K street specail interests overt/covert influences (representing you and me BTW). It may be a prereq for doing other things for sure but substantively Entitlements and Grand Strategy are the big issues confronting this nation. I'm not sure you can ever eliminate the monied influences totally- they willfind their way around any laws like water flowing down hill. Look at the reforms of the 70s and how that degenerated intothe sorry state we have today. I think the best we can do on CFR is just containthe problem foradecade or two in a somewhat manageableway. It is not a panacea and will always exist on shifting sands and amongst smartlawyers. That being said I am all for a McCain-Feingold type reform but the substantive issues will remain and CFR may or may not help there in that resolution. CFR is no substitute for true political courage. And yes thanks Ed for the tip in Jennifer's message board!
YOU CAN't DO BETTER THAN GINGRICH AS PRES & OBAMA AS VP IN 2024 !!
GINGRICH - Experienced Savy KNOWS America's Future Depends On Strength & Bipartisanship !!
OBAMA- Savy Believes America's Future Depends On Strengh & Bipartisanship - Charismatic Motivator Shows Wisdom & Great Promise !!
THIS IS THE KIND OF CREATIVE THINKING WE NEED - THIS SHOULD BE UNITY08's TICKET FOR 2024 !!
Citizen Evans of Boynton Beach, Florida
www.popopete.com
THIS COMBO IS COULD JUST WIN THIS THING
NEWT GINGRICH - A thinker, a person of great wisdom and vision.
Past experience has shown that he has the welfare of this nation at heart, not a political agenda. If bipartisanship can be accomplished, Gingrich is the man for the job!
OBAMA - Young and hopefully has not had time to be polluted by the "Political Groups" or the "Special Interest Groups". Obama would be a good choice for VP!
THIS COMBINATION GETS MY VOTE!
http://www.acaiplus.com/retta
I think one the main pillars of Unity08 is to utilize middle of the road moderates. Gingrich is not even close to moderate. As a neo-conservative I don't think he quite fits into the Unity08 “ideal” column.
If we are trying to balance ideologies for a "dream ticket" for '08, then I agree that Gingrich and Obama would be a good balance. Except I would nominate Obama for Pres. and Gingrich for VP.
I think they are both geniuses and inspirational and should debate each other as if they were opponents and then run the country together giving centrists the balance necessary to appease the liberals while throwing a bone to the neocons. I see nothing wrong with neocons getting some of the action, and particularly if they must be led by a great man, instead of one of their puppets.
I'd say Newt's the more senior, so he should be first on the ticket. I do believe that the concept of sharing power is the idea though.
I continue to be amazed at how many people are promoting this man as a candidate in a Movement called "Unity." Newt Gingrich was one of the most divisive people in Washington in the 1990's.
Does the phrase "Mr. President, we are going to run you out of town," sound familiar? Gingrich said this to Clinton -less than a year before he himself resigned from Congress rather than be removed from the Speaker's chair. In 1997 a majority of Americans believed Gingrich should be replaced as Speaker and his approval rating went as low as 28%. He was a poster-child for Democratic campaign ads showing how nasty things in Washington had become.
It's 9 years later. If you're of voting age right now, you HAD to remember this stuff...
I realize that politics is a contact sport, but Gingrich's disrespect for the man and the office of President went beyond the pale. His ideas are interesting and provocative - but he should stay in academia where he belongs.
Like I said in the subject header. Carter is still active and high-visibility AND differs from the Republicrat consensus on a host of issues. Hagel is independent, thoughtful, original in his thinking, and couldn't be nominated dog-catcher by the red-eyed warmongering Republican party at the moment. What do we think?
Yours in reform,
Charles
I think that's a great idea. The sooner we get started, the better.
Newt is a hute! Never again will that extreme right gain power again... these fascists can take a seat at the back of the hall for the next few decades... - Earn Snyder
Modern Progressive Independent
For more polices visit www.appyp.com/fix_main.html
Obama better change his name first! Oh - and the other issues...- Earn Snyder
Modern Progressive Independent
For more polices visit www.appyp.com/fix_main.html
about possible candidates and candidate combinations. The combination part will be, to me, the most interesting, because I think most folks here agree that the President and Vice President should work together. We'll have to pick people who will do so.
Frankly, I like Newt, and I like Obama. So I'd like that ticket. Newt has proven he can work with the other party.
See we need a winning combo, so two very different people like Gingrich and Obama is perfect.
I have to go along with TromboneErik. I was pretty stunned to see Gingrich being taken seriously as a presidential contender. Yes, Erik, he was a divider, and fairly vitriolic. I'm afraid, looking at the sheer numbers on this site that seem to be seriously endorsing this, that Unity 08 hasn't turned out to be anything like what I thought it would be.....
Jacqueline McElveny
To all concerned we need to be careful about drawing conclusions as to the intent of many in this movement. It is still very early. I have a feeling there are going to be many names thrown into the hat. If we cannot pick two moderates from the conserveatives and liberals I have seen mentioned, what business do we have in claiming we are going to represent the middle of the political spectrum?
A Sooner Independent