Unity08. A people's movement to take our country back.

Welcome Unity'08 to our virtual world. Wishing you all the best ,,
nomad

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I believe that the Unity Party has a really good idea here by using the web to start a movement to possibly one day elect a President that could change things for the better. However, why is this party try to do what all of the other 3rd Parties have failed to do by building from the top first? In order for this Movement to really succeed we can't just focus on winning the Presidential election; we must also strive to get people elected to Congress as well as State and Local positions of Goverment.

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Jay;
I think you have missed the point. This is not an attempt to form a party. Parties we have. What we the people lack is a workable agenda. We have no actual means of steering the debate away from the fracture issues that are the rule the day.
The parties that we see today are like specialty items on a deli menu. They cater to the few and in reality have no workable solutions to any real problems. I believe it is the hope of this effort to INFLUENCE the debate, to steer it back to addressing real world solutions to real world problems. In this effort I will certainly be glad to contribute my efforts.

PS: Might I suggest a spell check tool to assist those of us who are spelling challenged :)

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I really like this idea, and it's at the heart of what the National Centrist's Meeting proposed. Form a solid base of non-partisan support in the middle to draw candidates away from the extremes. Otherwise, it's just going to be the same old thing over and over and over again.

I'll be watching your progress intently!

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An idea right for its time! Beyond executive candidates we most also return to citizen-legislators, not Washington powerbrokers for life!

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I totally admire the concept behind what you want to accomplish, but, alas, I fear that nothing can help America's fractious political system, because it is inherently fractious. I've noted on my blog how even right at the beginning the Founding Fathers jumped into partisan politics. John Adams and George Washington were probably the only two politicians ever in the history of this fine nation of ours who did not delve into partisan politics. On the other hand, Jefferson and Hamilton, among all the rest, dove right into it.

I cannot see America escape partisan politics as long as America continues using a first-past-the-post system, instead of a proportional representation system as found in most European countries and other democracies around the world. That system lends better to multiple parties.

I'm afraid that Unity '08 will end up much like all the other attempts at making a third party (Teddy Roosevelt early last century, Perot in '92, among others) be a short-lived thing that will with time disappear.

Sorry to be so cynical, but that's reality.

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Very interested in concept, view this as an opportunity to define the issues and soloutions through proactive citizen participation. Sinerely hope the concept is constructive toward definibg the issues and and engaging all to become a part of the soloution.

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Hi,

So far, everything I have seen indicates this is a great idea. I'm more responding to the first two entries in this (I guess it's a) blog right now.

Jay brought up a very valid point regarding "top-down" politics, and Nomad responded that forming a bona fide political party was not the point.

I see merit to both sides of this, but I think forming an actual, viable third-party IS the point.

My reasoning is this: In nearly all cases, when a third party forms, it is usually even MORE far to the extremes of left or right than the major parties. I believe most American would chop off one leg if that's what it took to have a party that was dedicated the business of actually governing instead of the promotion of some ideology.

I think a true third party that was dedicated to a centrist and pragmatic approach to government would be such a novelty that it would attract the sort of attention that would force both the major parties to rethink their "playing to the base" strategies.

- P

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I believe that that the primaries have been the true downfall of the American political system. Primaries require the "base" strategies we've seen arise in the past several decades. In order to have a viable third party I think it is absolutely vital that we choose our nominees in the conventions the way it used to be. In addition we need to have a platform layed out at the convention BEFORE we have nominees for president and vice president, that way, we build the candidates around the party, not the other way around. Besides, can anyone actually say with any true honesty that they liked seeing Kerry and Bush stump in about a dozen states for eight months? I know I couldn't.

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I apologize to nomad and to the rest of you for any misspellings that I have made and might make in the future.

First off, what is Unity supposed to be if it’s not going to be a viable 3rd Party? Even if Unity was able to get someone elected to the White House it’s not going to really make a bit of a difference if Unity isn’t also working to get people elected to Congress as well as State and Local offices. If all we’re doing is focusing on electing a President then I’m going to feel real sorry for him/her as well as our movement for all we’re truly doing is setting ourselves up to fail; you can’t have a winning football team with just a QB! The Unity Movement must have broad goals when it comes to making some real changes in our Government; the more Unity Members we get elected to office the stronger our movement will become. One final thought; why do we have to say that “It’s ok to still be a Republican/Democrat”? The two parties in power is the problem; this is not a time to play nice with those who are responsible for the current situation our Nation is in, this is a time for war! If there are Republicans and Democrats who want to join our cause then they are more then welcomed to, but you can’t fight for two opposing armies in an all-out war!

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Lol ... when I mentioned the spell checker I was refering to my own wishes. people always start riding me over spelling errors :)
As far as what I would like to see, at this point any ray of light is welcome. I did some volunteer stuff for the Perot people in 92 and even though they didnt win they sure made a statement, didnt they? Got in the debates and controlled the dialogue. Made them talk about Nafta and that was something Bubba and Bush1 would certainly have prefered to avoid. If we could do that again I am certain there are a whole lot of things we would rather hear them talking about than whos daughter is gay and who ditched what military service. ISSUES :)

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I love the idea! Good luck and I hope that we can inject civility back into politics.

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This is a good start in the right direction. How to we get more people involved and have the current media outlets join us inthis open discussion and change in the political process. We need to continue to help others become involved voicing their concerns and views of our country. How do we minimumize the polarization bbrought about by many on both sides of the political spectrum.

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Congratulations on a timely and appealing idea. I will follow it with interest. I do hope that you will consider the importance of building a political movement that does not simply mimic the institutional structure of the incumbent parties, however.

MoveOn did a great job mobilizing citizens around the ludicrous Clinton impeachment, for example, but when it reconstituted itself as a PAC, it lost a great deal of its credibility in my eyes. It became simply another interest group.

The party system itself--a private investment banking monopoly for allocating political capital to preferred customers, with two competing divisions competing for the Cadillac that with winning sales team of the year--is the problem.

So, if you can build a movement based on fundamental campaign finance reform, publicly financed elections and election media, and real lobbying reform, count me in.

But I'm not donating any more money just to buy bogus TV spots from Madison Ave. It's time for the interactive network to put the corporate media out of business instead of trying to BE the corporate media.

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Let's do it!!
I am soooo tired of being cynical, frustrated, angry and depressed about what is going on and ready for a revolution of SOME kind. Sometimes a small action can lead to miracles so let's not pull the plug out of the tub before we turn on the faucet because God knows, nothin much has gone our way and we are so used to defeat but I believe a huge number of Americans are waiting for an alternative choice to the 2 fossilized parties we have now. Look at MoveOn and now it is a FORCE.

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Starting a new party makes ballot access for a presidential candidate much easier than just running an independent presidential ticket. When someone runs as an independent for president, he or she must be chosen (by the process described by the founders of this group), and only then can petitioning start for that individual candidate. But a new party, in 39 states, can qualify itself before it has chosen its presidential candidate. So members of this group could mostly get the ballot access problem solved before having to choose the candidate, if a party is formed.

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I have no idea if Unity08 will work, but I sincerely hope so! I'm excited about the possibility of finding a political outlet for someone like me - opinionated but not ideological, progressive but not a party-line liberal, discouraged (at the moment) but not completely cynical. Can't wait to see where this movement goes!

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Software and Organization... Drupal seems an excellent choice for this project. The real problem in getting this going is not technical, it is sociological. It will indeed be difficult to keep a group fielding candidates for office from becoming a "political party".

I think this idea could strike a chord with a lot of people. I would suggest that the ravaging of the Constitution by the current administration is an excellent point of departure for unity08.

But why a .com address??

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Sorry, not impressed. Unity in and of itself is not a goal. Unity for what? A political platform based on "centrism" won't inspire anyone. Nothing you've proposed has any edge to it. If you want to get people excited, don't plant your stake in the safe ground of the mushy middle. Take some tough stands that will challenge the left and the right. Call for deep reductions in CO2 emissions. As first steps toward fiscal sanity, call for the elimination of USDOT and HUD, cuts in Social Security and the rollbacks of the Bush tax cuts. Shake people up with bold ideas, not bland appeals for unity around a centrist agenda.

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You have a good idea, but you have a lot of work ahead of you. Not just getting organised in time for 2024, but keeping yourselves from being co-opted by either of the two sides.

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Hip, hip, hooray! Unity 08 is bringing Thomas Friedman's Flat World into clear focus.

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Bless each and every one of you for having the courage for recognizing a problem and doing something about it.... Many will attempt to shoot down this effort because it challenges the status quo, but you are on the right side of history.

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What do you people stand for? Something different -- but what? Sooner or later you'll have to stake out your positions on your "crucial issues." Then we'll see whether there's room for you in 2024.

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Interesting idea, but as an elections administrator, I'm a little curious on how you intend to allow "all registered voters" to participate. There are 50 different sets of registered voters, and MANY of those lists are NOT available for public use. The lists that are available are redacted (for obvious reasons in this age of identity theft), so if you use that information, you have no gurantee that the individual voting is who they say they are. Absentee voting has long been one of the easiest ways to commit election fraud. I don't see 50 different Secretaries of State and Electoral Board officials providing access to the Registered Voter lists to a third party.

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Making the parties listen..I like that. However, Unity08,in the news article I read, had no mention of the issue that galvanizes most citizens...illegal immigration. Address that correctly and Unity08 will be a force to be reckoned with. Woth what came out of the Senate we will see a repeat performance of the Reagan era law, times 10.

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You claim to be a centrist "party alternative." Certainly a laudible goal.

Your press release doesn't seem so centrist. There is no mention of any right of center national figures joining the "founders council" and the recurrent use of the grammatically incorrect phrase "ticket headed by a woman and/or a man" strikes me as pandering to feminists (who are anything but centrist.)

Show me the republican (someone whose name we all recognize.) Show me a democrat (same criteria.) Show me someone of national stature who is recognized as a person committed to reason. Then I will consider showing my support, otherwise you are just another silly third party.

Same argument for all third parties goes to you. Why start with President? If you have so much support in Colorado, why not get Hamilton Jordan to establish residency there and run for mayor of Denver?

Of course, given the press release and the list of people who have come out for you, perhaps you should start with the Mayor's race in Boulder (that bastion of "centrism").

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If you're successful it will be the best thing to happen to the country for many decades.

I've never voted because the political system has been broken for years. I turn 60 this year. I fought in VietNam and think that our government is a travesty. I'm proud to be an American but ashamed of our government.

I'm praying for the success of your endeavor.

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I believe the focus of liberal vs. conservative and then moderate misses the point. What the country has been missing in its fracturing into ideologies is pragmatism. To call a pragmatist a moderate makes them seem unimpassioned or unprincipled. This does not need to be true at all. Indeed, I see the extremes of either party as on the same side, dividing the country in the service of special interests or their own greed. On the other side are folks who just want things to work.

Let's create a mechanism to support pragmatists of either party who find innovative solutions for the good of the country, and not just apply ideological beliefs, or worse seek power while cloaked in ideological posturing.

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There is no community without unity. Communities are about working together to create a world that none of us could create on our own. The values and purposes that unite us really matter. One of the values that matters most is that of freedom--a freedom which implies a respect for and even celebration of cultural and ideological difference. In past decades, Americans seemed to invoke freedom with a sense of hope. When Martin Luther King shouted "Let freedom ring, Let freedom ring, dear God almighty, let freedom ring," he was calling on America to become better--to live up to the vision of the Declaration of Independence where every person is viewed as having inherent worth and as deserving equal opportunity for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

In recent years, however, it seems that public talk of freedom is often the clarion call of the politics of fear, not the politics of hope. Talk of freedom is used to defend ugly actions such as wiretaps, secret prisons, torture, and a costly and unneccesary war that was "sold" to the American people on false information--"sold" mostly through fear-mongering.

Fear is also regularly invoked as a negative campaign weapon in order to win elections. If we are to continue to grow into a community that lives up to the vision of America in the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution, we must reject the politics of fear. Fear divides us, courage unites us. Fear is the enemy of freedom, courage and hope are its brother and sister. It is time for us to remember that we are called to be the land of the free and the brave--not the land of red states and blue states. It is my hope that Unity08 will help Americans not only to remember, but also to live the deep values that we share in courage and in hope.

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Good luck. I guess my question is what do you stand for? A medium sized government that only partial dictates people's personal choices?

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Our government was hijacked by a self-proclaimed dictator George Bush. His quote exactly was "I told all four that there are going to be some times where we don't agree with each other, but that's OK. If this were a dictatorship, it would be a heck of a lot easier, just so long as I'm the dictator,". The republicans are ushering in his totalitarian control by stripping away our civil liberties, under the guise of security. The democrats are spineless and are not standing up to this regime. The only problem that I find with unity 08, is that our citizens are apathetic to what is going on. For example, the wiretapping of phone records, most Americans feel that 'well I have nothing to hide' so I don't care. It is not like good ol' Patrick Henry 'Give me liberty or give me death'. Now it's like 'take my liberty because I don't want to die." The trick is waking up the American people, the internet is a great way to start, but there has to be a meeting of the minds with other political organizations to make it work. I will try to help anyway I can. Good luck.

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Addressed to Spike:

A kindred spirit!

My father used to say when, in Texas long ago, politics got this ugly the people who took the worst were the ones in the middle - got caught in the cross fire.

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You are a, long overdue, breath of fresh air! An independent political bloc is exactly what is needed to break the partisan deadlock in our capitol, and across the nation. This deadlock is the result of neither party having the courage to take a stand on the "crucial" issues because they might alienate their financial backers. Campaign finance reform is working quite well up here in Maine, and I hope that it will become a rallying point for Unity08.
Wishing you great success!

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I think it's important to have a coalition of people from all ideological roots who are allied not because of ideology or affiliation but based on the process of debate and civil discourse in a national, state and local sense.
A coalition like this would only succeed if people were to come together in support of a process, not an ideology. Differing ideologies are already sucked up by the two major parties. A third party coalition based on openness, civilty, discourse and doesnt ally itself to one specific view and instead lets the American people decide is the only type fo third party organization that can succeed.
I also agree that Unity08 must plan for post-08. Two years is short in the political world and even if the Unity ticket doesn't win in 08, they need to plan to run Congressional and Gubernatiorial candidates in 2024, 2024 and beyond. By making this a movement voted on every two years instead of every four and in so many diverse elections, the Unity movement can easily become a mainstay in the American political spectrum.

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What states do people think a Unity08 ticket could actual win in the Electoral College. Without an electoral win, even if we have a popular win, either the Democrat or the Republican will take the Presidency.

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Interesting concept. Although, I have been a registered Republican for over 20 years, I switched parties last election so I could vote in the Democratic primary. I find that I vote about 50/50 usually voting for Republicans at the national level and Democrats at the state and local level. I have become very frustrated with both the Democratic and Republican Party. I usually vote for the most centric candidate, but am often disappointed in my choices. It seem that centric candidates usually don't get pass the primary because they don't appeal to the "base". Unless we address the stranglehold that the parties have over the process, I'm not sure how successful an effort like this can be; but it may be the best game in town, so count me in.

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I'd like to see a positive campaign dubbed Citizens First. We have the right to be safe, free from harm, which includes police brutality and tyranny of the majority and other people's religios beleifs, education, health care, a clean, healthful environement, and tasty, drug free food. Let's get to work.

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Another vehicle to get more people talking and ultimately acting is by giving voice to people. When people are not heard they stop talking. Create a syndicated TV/radio show that shows real people (reality show) debating issues. What's important to them. Have the audience vote people off the show till we have a team that best represents the ideas of the people. This will raise awareness and hopefully people's ability to think and speak clearly about politics. It needs to presented like a sport maybe to get people's attention w winners and losers. Points are earned for being and on message

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I've read others' comments and completed the "take 5 give 5." I changed the verbiage people's movement of the middle to people's movement about crucial issues. Middle sounds so boring wishy washy, a turnoff. What I want is politics to focus on truly the big/macro public goods and issues. Safety, education, medical, food quality, the environment - the things you can't do by yourself. We're looking for political solutions to macro problems. We are also looking for personal freedom. How people choose to live their small, private lives is their decision. For example, I think the last presidential election was decided on gay marriage. The religious base came out in force on an issue that simply does not affect most people and should not have decided a presidential election.

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I will never vote for any candidate who approved of George Bush's attacking Iraq!

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I consider myself a fiscal conservative and a social lkiberal. That said, I do not feel the socially liberal side is the more important. As a fiscal conservative, I favor a balanced budget ( which we had with a Democrat President and a Republican Congress), a sane trade policy ( what you do to us, we do to you), a realigned tax structure, both locally and at the federal level (much less regressive) and less federal interference in local issues.

As a social liberal, I believe in total equality, regardless of age, sex, race, religion, gender, sexual preference, etc. This means equal treatment under the law, not preferential treatment for any group for any reason.

But what I am NOT is a believer in Empire. I do not believe it is our moral imperative to export our version of freedom and democracy to the world. It is NOT our responsibility to assume the role of world supercop. With all of its problems, that job remains to the United Nations.

So, where are we? We are to the point we need to exert control over the political process. That can only be done through a third party movement. I believe an effort must be made to field Unity08 candidates in as many elections as possible, with the majority of support going to the most viable. We would win few seats in 2024 but the ideas would be out there and support couild grow.

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See my lengthy disquisition on this movement at the following URL: http://unity08.com/node/29#comment-168

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Al Gore and Chuck Hagel

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I read in today's Virginian-Pilot, front page that the Supreme Court of the U.S voted,5-4, that people who choose to work in the publice sector have no right of free speech as far as criticizing or whistle blowing in their organizations. The gradual, but ever escalating loss of rights and freedoms in this country far outweigh other problems but of course, are entertwined.
Oh, employees can complain about wrong-doing in their places of employment, but only as a citizen, and the complaint should be made to a journalist.
On page three of that same paper, I read that the administration upholds the punishment of journalists who will not reveal their sources for stories. Neat, huh? So, good-bye to the freedoms as we are supposedly peddling around the world.

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I agree with a previous post. Romney / Liberman never thought about those two but I like it. They should have a candidate poll going instead of the same tired whats wrong with goverment. I'll tell you whats wrong. Everything.

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http://www.secondlife.com

US presidential politics is a world affair. Lets extend the discussion...

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Al Gore and Rudy Guiliani

John McCain and Hillary Clinton

Christine Todd Whitman and Nancy Pilozi (sp?)

John Edwards and Mitt Romney

Evan Bayh and Arlen Specter

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Advocating fair trade,campaign finance/lobbying reform and other populist causes would be the best bet for a 3rd party

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Wesley Clark and Colin Powell!

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Wesley Clark and Colin Powell have been the object of my POLITICAL (hee hee) fantasies...

Military folks spend so much of their lives not in parties, and NEITHER could be accused of being a chicken or traitor.

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