Ron Dzwonkowski’s column, “Irrelevant Parties,” in the Detroit Free Press notes Washington’s unwillingness to debate and decide on major issues. Real “Irrelevant Parties” here.
“The two major parties seem to be in the grip of the rabid noisemakers on their fringes. The goal is winning power, not moving the country forward. The rhetoric is overheated. The tone is offensive. The spinning is relentless. And through it all you get the overwhelming sense that nothing, not a damn thing that matters, is getting done. The war goes on, the deficit goes up, the states and cities go broke, and the talking heads and bloggers focus on how it's all going to play in the next election, when half the country won't even bother to vote. But the major parties don't care about that, because elections have come down to turning out your votes, not expanding the turnout. The only way Republicans and Democrats are going to play together is if neither has the ball. So is there a truly inspirational leader who can emerge from this acrid fog and change things? Someone who's not driven by ideology or beholden to special interests, someone who's open to new ideas and knows how to forge a compromise that moves an issue forward?”
Dzwonkowski’s verbiage is strikingly similar to what we’ve heard in the Shoutbox.
He wraps up his column by saying: "I don't know if [Unity08] is going to work. But I know the timing could not be better.”
What do you think about the timing of Unity08? And are the other parties simply irrelevant?
The timing is spot on and the two major parties are definitely disconnected from what is needed in government in this country. That it spite of our apparent vast knowlwdge of what everyone else in the world needs politically.
Unity08 may have, to the present, misunderstood the scope and strategy to be effective. I am appealing to the Founders Council to seriously reconsider the Presidently ticket limitation. A larger mission is very much called for.
I am not about to give up the mission as stated right into the voting booth. But I am certain more is required to be effective.
Bill"for what we are together"
We haven't had a true presidential candidate in many years. We are very late, but not necessarily too late, because the future begins today. Two party politics has revolted me since I came of voting age (a long time ago) because of the limited choices. What if I don't agree with either of the candidates? And what if I agree with some of your platform, but not all of it? Today, the major interest of both major parties is winning, and has nothing to do with what is right for the country and it's citizens. Campaining has become so "scientific" that the human element has been eliminated. Enough: I ramble. The time has come. Better Late than never. Go get em.
The dynamics the the Democrats and the Republicans may make those parties irrelvant to addressing the welfare of the nation in a meaningful way, but parties as such are not meaningless.
In every state only *parties* get access to the ballot in November. If the Unity Movement doesn't have similar access somehow then we're just another netroots/lobbying group.
If you want to give our movement teeth... If you want our online convention in mean something more than a media blurb about a popularity contest... you should be participating in this conversation.
-Jennifer
Posting articles isnt going to win anything.. nor is saying parties are irrevelant..... That is not true....
Unity has to define its role...and offer a plan... there needs to be action..not just never ending topics..
So far Unity is "All Hat and No Cattle"
and the time is ticking away .. on that timing issue....
Jen,
1. The very idea of Unity08 is the two major parties matter a great deal BUT they need a jolt. (UNLESS THEY ARE BEING VERY DECEPTIVE).
2. Evidence:
a. Not developing a party that will also go after congressional and local offices. Leaving the parties in fact in control of the government regardless of Presidential Ticket.
b. The framework that favors a ticket one REPUBLICAN & one DEMOCRATE which accepts that each is important.
c. Unity08's rulers are specifically avoiding being a party, until the last possible moment just to support the ticket.
d. The Rulers have decided against a platform and are delaying any specfic agenda items. Sure this lets you appeal, however temporarily, to anyone upset at the major parties but in the long run will cause a fracture of the Unity movement that will sink the ship.
3. I know you are putting a lot of energy into this but you are imagining the movement is what you think it is contrary to evidence.
4. You are correct action is needed but its going to be accomplished in a very different route.
5. However, please keep plugging away, exploring policy ides, and organizing what you can.
vry,
RET
I too am troubled by the evidence. I am convinced that two thirds of the American people stand somewhere in the middle – under-served by either party - as the sound and fury of the political game whirls around them. This posting, and Ron Dzwonkowski’s column, says it all and recent history backs this up. For all his faults, Bill Clinton won two solid victories by campaigning and governing toward the center. Then Al Gore lost, or at a minimum threw away an unbeatable lead, by talking about class warfare in his acceptance speech. Class warfare does not play well to middle America.
The pragmatic center of America yearns for real choice.
I agree that the evidence points to a Unity08 that aims too low.
I’ve called for a platform before to no avail. Let me rename it. How about We the People write a Contract with America -- not the partisan political stunt of years back, but a real statement of centrist principles that addresses the critical and important issues our country faces and puts most of the wedge issues where they belong – near the bottom of the list.
No matter how deeply we might care about abortion, gay marriage, etc. we should all agree that the wheels will not fly off the cart of western civilization no matter how we decide these issues. If we can’t, we should go back to our parties of origin and settle for the bad government that we get.
I, for one, am mad as *&%$# and I’m not going to take it anymore.
Once we have our Contract with America, we should endorse candidates of any party at all levels that are willing to sign it.
The centerpiece of our contract should be electoral reform including, but not limited to, Real Campaign Finance Reform, Instant-Runoff Voting and Electoral College Reform (Wikipedia search terms: Clean Elections, Instant-Runoff Voting, National Popular Vote, FairVote, Third party (politics), Third party (United States), Campaign finance, Soft Money, Gerrymandering, California Proposition 77 (2005)
You want to see real change in America:
The good news is that our political system hasn't been this disfunctional since the civil war (which BTW was when the Republicans displaced the Whigs).
The bad news is that the two major parties will fight to hold on to their power. We must fight back. The future of America depends upon it.
--Vern
"Great minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, small minds discuss people."
- Vice Adm. H.G. Rickover
The great exodus! http://appyp.com/fix_facism.html Leaving both political parties with no base at all! Independents for Unity08! - Earn Snyder
Author "$aving the bureaucracy - Killing the beast"
Modern Progressive Independent
Vern-
I agree with your focus and the bulk of your statements. I will take some issue with your observations on class warfare, as it has been waged against the middle class since the Reagan era. I strongly believe, however, that when and if we clean up the political system we will wind up with higher voter participation and a better breed of elected officials who will respond to the needs of the middle.
Also, despite some poor performances and a somewhat lackluster campaign, Al Gore didn't lose the election in 2024...
Mark Greene
Texas Democrat in the Middle