There are eight ways you and Unity08 will make history and change American politics forever:
1) Unity08 will hold the first-ever online presidential nominating convention and of the United States right here.
You don’t have to leave your party.
All you have to be is an American citizen, 18 or older, and registered to vote in your State by convention time.
(Next, get your family, neighbors, relatives and friends to sign up to be delegates too. Right here, right now.)
2) Long before the Spring 2024 convention we will welcome candidates from either Party (or independents) to run for the convention nomination. We will allow them to campaign right here at Unity08.com – with streaming video of their positions on the crucial issues, with their own daily weblogs, with online debates among the candidates, and presentations of their platforms.
Anyone constitutionally qualified for the office may run.
All they need to be qualified to use the Unity08 website and get on the convention ballot is to meet a minimum threshold level of public support.
You and the convention can even decide who the next president should be and draft him or her to run (as long as they don’t rule out running if nominated).
3) For the first time ever we’re going to require that the Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates run as a Unity Team – one Republican and one Democrat, in whichever order – or an independent running with a Unity Team from both parties.
On each convention ballot each delegate will vote for one Unity Ticket (just as Presidents and Vice Presidents are elected as a team in November).
There will be as many convention ballots as are needed until one Unity Ticket wins at least 50% of all delegates voting.
(The reason for the Unity Ticket requirement is to force the two political parties to stop bickering and start working together to solve the crucial problems facing the country.)
4) Unity08 and our delegates will get the nominated Unity Ticket on the November ballot in all 50 States.
That won’t be easy because the two major parties in the states have made it very difficult for anybody else to get on the ballot. But we will do it.
(One reason why we invite your contributions to Unity08 – large and small – is to fund the organization we need to build in all 50 states.)
5) During 2024, even before presidential candidates announce their decisions to run, you will be discussing and debating the crucial issues confronting the country right here – and defining an Agenda of Crucial Issues we expect all candidates to address.
We think the next President will face very difficult and important issues that Washington is too polarized (and paralyzed) to do anything about.
Some of those issues are energy independence, affordable health care, global climate change, the education of our children, the soaring national debt. You will set the Agenda of Crucial Issues you expect the candidates to address.
Unity08 believes that when the two parties pander to their base voters, left and right, they ignore both all of us in the middle and many issues crucial to the safety and welfare of the country. Issues like gay marriage and abortion, which rile up the base voters of each party, are both important and worthy of debate; but most voters do not see them as crucial to America’s future.
6) A Unity08 Rules Committee has already begun work to recommend precise guidelines for how the website will function, how candidates can use the website to campaign for delegate support, and how the convention will be conducted.
As it proceeds, the Rules Committee will report its deliberations on the Website, ask for your ideas, and consider your recommendations in its
decision-making. The process will be transparent.The rules process will be completed before the end of calendar 2024, in order that all candidates and delegates can clearly understand the process (and be comfortable with it) before presidential candidate announcements begin.
7) After meeting initial expenses of website and start-up costs, Unity08 expects to be funded by small contributions raised off the website (and at 1-877-UNITY08) from those who believe that the American political system is broken and desperately needs a dramatic jolt to get back on track. We will take no corporate or PAC $$$.
8) We intend to win the White House. This is not some kind of spoiler effort. The political system must produce some genuine leadership, for a change. The first-ever online presidential nominating convention right here at Unity08.com will be a transforming vehicle to make 2024 a transforming moment in American history.
You don’t have to leave your party.
All you have to be is an American citizen, 18 or older, and registered to vote in your State by convention time.
(Next, get your family, neighbors, relatives and friends to sign up to be delegates too. Right here, right now.)
Subscribe
Like Google, which offers a classic uncluttered page or a cluttered page with lots of info, we need you to have a link to your "classic" home.
The classic home would have only one easy to read message from someone with weight and style on anything important he might say were he on CSPAN or Charlie Rose for one minute.
At the end of his or her compelling prose, there would be a link back to your regular homepage.
http://unity08ws.wikispaces.com
Like Google, which offers a classic uncluttered page or a cluttered page with lots of info, we need you to have a link to your "classic" home.
The classic home would have only one easy to read message from someone with weight and style on anything important he might say were he on CSPAN or Charlie Rose for one minute.
At the end of his or her compelling prose, there would be a link back to your regular homepage.
http://unity08ws.wikispaces.com
I agree with you 100% Not much is going to happen until we get the attention of the INCOMPETANT INCUMBENTS! I intend to vote ANTI-INCUMBENT right down the line. Even if we only unseat a few of them, the numbers will show that they ain't too secure. I have been posting the voting records on my ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES (Ca.) every chance I get . I also contact them on each and every bad vote they make. There is not one of my neighbors that are unaware of our Senators voting to pass that emergency funding bill that was top heavy with pork and earmarks! I'm still having trouble getting my local newspaper to accept letters to the editor.
Like many, I'm sure, I thought that there should way to develop a centrist party using the Net. I had watched the early success of the Dean campaign's use of the internet for financial support as well as the power of the MOVE.ORG model. I had also watched the lackluster performance of a polarized and "uncompromising" Congress. Most recently the immigration issue has demonstrated how extremes of the left and right can hold legislation hostage that has the support of most Americans. Finally, the Ross Perot campaign, while fatally flawed for multiple reasons, proved that a centrist party can potentially make a difference including the "pulling" of Democrats and Republicans toward the center. But to borrow a phrase, inspiration without perspiration doesn't really help much. Congratulations to Unity08 for doing the heavy lifting, having the expertise and getting the seed money together to launch this noble effort. I am sure that, thanks to Unity08 our republic will win in '08 no matter who becomes President.
...that can unite left, right, and middle. We owe it to our children and our grandchildren to stop passing our burden off on them.
Ten trillion dollars is a lot of money. That's what the debt will be when GWB leaves office, not counting another 25 or 30 trillion in unfunded liabilities for Social Security and Medicare.
How to start? How about by balancing the budget in year 1 after electing a unity president -- WITHOUT raising taxes.
Yes, that would mean spending cuts, but there is plenty of room to cut. Spending is up what, 60% since President Clinton left office? Was government too lean, too paltry then?
Propose an immediate 20% spending cut, to be followed by a spending freeze for the next 3 years. The big spending Republicans and Democrats will have no answer.
I have made a nominal contribution to Unity 08 and plan to continue to support this exciting political development as much as I can. When will you make available your financial statements so we can be sure this is not more "business as usual"? Thanks.
Our children like ourselves can always pay the national debt in cash.
The cash will then be worth whatever the nation can produce -- which is what it's always worth, with or without a national debt.
Four years ago we were about to pay down the debt to zero. It would have made no difference. Money would still be worth only what we can produce.
Senior pensions tomorrow will be paid from the work output of robots. There will be 1 worker for every retired person -- but both will be supported by the work of 100 robots.
If we let the engineers teach congress the score, all will be well in the USA.
But heaven protect us when we are out-engineered by Asia, Europe, Latin America and Africa.
Please tell me which category of youth is going to engineer the robots and future technolical manufacturing advantages .. our sons and daughters with the ipods stuck in their ears .. perhaps the illegal unskilled immigrants .. our black youth with a 50% high school drop out rate .. the womens studies graduates .. remember both china and india have twice the engineering/scientific phd's then we do.. and the gap is growing.
so unity is better than dis-unity?
guess what, we've already got unity, it's called incumbency, and we've already had a civil war over cheap labor - sound familiar? yep, this mess continues into 2024 & you'll find some real civil dis-unity, ask around
This group looks like a sham, they seem to be excluding Third Parties, including the only centrist Third Party; the Libertarian Party.
You who have detailed the problem please visit and join the wiki linked via my name.
We will not be out-engineered if you and I do not miss the chance to put us back in business as we were before the congress went beserk and started to attack labor and the Keynesian doctrines that paid for WW II.
The Treasury Fed accord must be revived to stimulate growth ahead of tax increases
I understand the concern some hold about the Unity 08 movement, especially in light of some of the folks involved at the grassroots level. What I do like about this movement is that the objective is NOT to create a third party and there is no opposition to running two totally independent candidates if that is the consensus of the group.
It has been my position for a couple of years the current two party system is dividing our country along party lines and there is no fix other than to abolish the present system. The people at the top of both parties have lost the focus of the good of the country and are only focused on getting their folks elected at any cost. Their primary means of achieving this is tearing down everything the other party suggests and a total unwillingness to work together for the good of our country.
I have my doubts about Unity 08 being the answer, but I have signed up to be a Delegate in order to try and break the hold the current political system has on us. You can rest assured I won’t vote for a Hillary/McCain ticket, but I don’t believe either of them will be willing to leave the comfort and support of their party.
What gives me hope Unity 08 just might succeed is the stated objective to bring this change about through use of the internet and the desire to get the disgruntled united, registered, and to the polls. The plan to hold all meetings online, even the vote to decide the candidates.
If nothing else, if enough people get involved, maybe it will result in UNITING the citizens against the corrupt scoundrels currently entrusted with the future of our country and initiate a totally new direction leading to elected officials who are accountable to their constituents.
Unless “we the people” unite, the current two party system of government will continue simply because they are keeping us divided. So even if we ONLY agree that the current political system is failing us, that we are UNITED in this opinion, is better than staying divided and watching our country being torn apart and heading towards ruin while doing nothing.
I doubt seriously everyone involved in the Boston Tea Party held the same political values, but they did agree on one thing: It was time to break the hold of the ruling party.
America, Let's Roll!!!
I'd sure like to see some voting on a platform.
Many things will go into my presidential decisions, but I can tell you that "global warming" WON'T be one of them.
This Unity08 is the perfect solution to our failed representative democracy. Put the voting on all major issues back into the voters hands, or terminals if you will. Let me vote from my computer; it is secured.
I suggest NOMAS as am agenda item. This means No More Arms Sales by one country to another. One day we have Rumsfield selling arms to Saddam Hussein and the next we are at War with him. It is both immoral and illogical.
Let the United States lead the world in Peace initiatives not War and pre-emptives strikes
Today the US Supreme Court refused to hear an Ohio case, challenging that state's March 1 petition deadline for independent candidates (for office other than president). Unity08 will be operating in a hostile legal environment.
I just learned of Unitey08 today via David Broder's column. For several months I have been developing an argument for a natinal internet based dialogue on American Values and a New Vision for America. Yesterday I posted an outline of topics and would serve as a kind of national Platform. While I have not argued directly for the establishment of a third party (we have had more than 200 since 1880) much of my thinking is very parallel to Unity08. Please take a look at
http://myagoraplace.blogspot.com and also my main web site at
http://www.allshouse-associates.com/editorial.htm
I look forward to working with you.
Merle Allshouse
I sit and watch both the congress and senate when they are session. It fills me with such dispair. Yes, there are a few bright lights that truly care but up against the rest of the ethically challenged group it seems so hopeless. They pass laws to make peolpe think they have done something, but oh wait they don't fund them. Its a circus and a sham up there on the hill. I watched the two gentlemen on c-span and was filled with hope and will be supportive in all ways but, I say we need to really clean house or it will still be business as usual just with a president that can't get anything done in congress because of the party system. Barrack Obama would make a great selection to run. I know that if someting isn't done we are witnessing the death throes of this country.
The U.S. Constitution says:
"WE THE PEOPLE"
there is "NO" reference to
We the Corporations!
Consequently, its "Unity" to the people.
That's the only way our celebrity-driven media pays any attention. For Unity08 to gain credibility, it should try to reach out to people like:
NY Gov. George Pataki
Former NJ Gov. Christine Todd Whitman
AZ Sen. John McCain
CA Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
Former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan
Former NY Mayor Rudy Guliani
Former NY Sen. Alfonse D'amato
CT Sen. Joe Lieberman
CA Sen. Dianne Feinstein
NY Congressman José E. Serrano
Also, if you really want to get traction, try to gain the support of Howard Stern, who is a political moderate/libertarian, and reaches millions of people every day who respect his opinions and have a history of mobilizing at his urging.
I don't think you can define moderate Republicans without using social hot button issues. If social hot button issues are essential to defining your chosen candidate, doesn't this undermine you're mission statement?
Unity 08 Ticket
John McCain for President
Richard Gephardt for Vice-President
The Republicans will be going for the same old 1, 2 punch with winning the south and the majority of the midwest states. The Dems will be focusing on the West Coast, desert Southwest along with the New England States.
A McCain/Gephardt ticket would give an even playing field for Independent voters and split both parties equally.
I just learned of your site, signed up today and added a link to Unity 08 to http://www.commonsensereform.com. You fit in perfectly with the positive, truthful and un-biased path to national leadership that we need and deserve. Ignorance and apathy have no role on the path to freedom and democracy. The challenges are to reach everyone and to define the traits and characteristics of true leaders. Some of those qualities will not be popular with everyone; but we need to reach a compromise for the common good. That is my personal goal.
I think things starting going very very wrong once this great democratic experiment called America started having CAREER POLITICIANS.
I think we need to go back to the Citizen/Statesman. Take time off from your career, serve your country for one, maybe two terms, and then resume your career. We could then get some of the greatest minds in the country making decisions for the greater good, rather than politicians making decisions based simply on keeping their job!
Your thoughts?
I would like to see a Biden/Hagel ticket. Two moderates in their respective parties.
Unity08 -- Platform
The Dept. of Education should be eliminated from the Federal Government's Executive Branch.
Education is a local issue -- and I don't mean just College.
Trade Schools, apprenticship programs, paraprofessional, and comm. colleges.
The Federal Government does not need to be involve in such oversight
These are my idea and ideals that a new party could bring into the political areana. We not only need to take back the center of political debate,we need a means to project these thoughts into the future. I feel, like most Americans, that government is not meeting the needs of it's citizens and that both parties lack the vision to do anything about it. I would like your response to these ideas.
Council of Former Presidents
Establishment of the Council of Former Presidents. This would be a senior advisory council to congress, whose charter would be to establish political, environmental and fiscal goals for the next 20 years based on their experiences governing our nation. This counsel would establish long term goals and report its’ findings on our country’s progress every 2 years. For all of our representation, only the President has a responsibility to each citizen. The Former Presidents’ have a unique understanding of foreign and domestic politics. They would be able to articulate topics a sitting President could not, while helping to maintain a consistency in policy through each administration.
Healthcare
We should develop a two tiered system of healthcare. The first tier would be basic health care coverage for all citizens. This tier would be an extension of the Veterans Administration. All new medical personnel would intern and establish residency with this agency before serving other medical agencies. As part of a military/civilian medical organization, this group would handle everyday care in each of their jurisdictions but could be mobilized within 72 hours to respond to any major catastrophe, such as a natural disaster, terrorist attack, epidemic or war. The second tier would be similar to today’s medical system. It would encompass advanced medicine, medical research and elective surgeries. Insurance policies would be crafted to these selective needs, lowering cost. Medicare would cover catastrophic care.
Equal Rights
We should dedicate ourselves to our founding beliefs that all people are created equal and that all citizens should have equal rights under our laws. We represent a society, not a theology. We should protect the individuals right to practice any religion but should not allow any religion to dictate our laws. We need to accept that the laws we set down are to govern our citizens, that those who are not yet born are not yet citizens. We should debate and intact laws as to when citizenship begins and criminalize abortions, except for the life of the mother, after that point. We should not discriminate against any citizen based on sexual orientation, nor should we have hate laws to specially and redundantly protect a segment of society against itself.
Economy
We have a national debt of close to 9 trillion dollars, the largest in the world. This is approximately $30,000 for every man woman and child living in the United States. This is a burden that cannot be sustained. This has an effect on our education, entitlements, healthcare, military, economy and influence around the world. The current political philosophy is that we are to make do with less, pay our current costs and as time goes on and inflation drives prices up, we should make do on less than that.
I propose a bold new plan. Instead of NASA spending billions of dollars in altruistic space science, we redirect their endeavors to harvesting the solar system. Outside the orbit of Mars there is an asteroid belt, rich with material from the mundane to the extraordinary. Some metallic asteroids contain trillions of dollars worth of material. Over the next 20 years, task NASA with spearheading an Apollo size program to analyze this area, determine which asteroids would be of the highest value and develop the machinery to capture them and put them in an orbit around our moon. This would be the beginning of a 21st century industry. Our government would retain the patents on the machinery developed as well as charging a transportation cost to put the material in an easily accessed orbit. NASA would not only become self sufficient and able to carry out pure science missions, the proceeds would be slated to pay down our debt, guarantee social security education and healthcare. Private industry would be responsible for mining, refining and assembling products outside of our atmosphere. This combined with the fact that all of these materials are already outside of our gravity makes them ideally suited for building spacecrafts and stations. But the benefits need not end there. We would have the technology to protect ourselves form the dinosaurs’ fate by analyzing asteroid orbits and deflecting harmful one away from us, or perhaps, into Mars itself, warming it’s atmosphere for possible future habitation. We would become a space faring people. But, if we did this as a consortium of nations, we could reduce costs, spread wealth to all nations who participate and make partners with former advisories. We could exercise the politics of commerce instead of military supremacy.
Ecology
Similarly, the ecology of Earth cannot be ignored. Our current administration, rejects scientific facts that our planet is warming. They seem to believe that the unprecedented weather we’ve been experiencing is not related to anything the 8 billion human inhabitants are doing. We have released billions of tons of greenhouse gases that has taken the Earth millions of years to sequester, all within the last 150 years. Let’s be clear, regardless of what we do, the earth will remain, but if we continue to act irresponsibly, we will not. I would propose NOAA would take a lead role of developing new ocean farming equipment and techniques. We would retain rights and patents for equipment developed and each vessel or station would be equipped with monitoring equipment so we could exponentially gain more information from the sea and air.
Energy
We need to increase research and development of new environmentally acceptable energy sources. Designing a host of energy supplies to replace fossil fuels, again, as we are able to bring new system to fruition we would be able to retain the rights of the technology until the patents expire. Meanwhile, tightening restrictions allowing for conservation and supporting incentives for private industry to do the same. We could wean ourselves off of foreign oil and the hostile politics associated with them while selling cleaner technology around the world.
Education
Education would be the foundation of our future. This plan would be reliant on well-educated generations to come. Not only should we fund or education system to the highest degree, we should look at the structure of how this system is built. We should build a system that creates the artistic, architectural and engineering prowess we will need to accomplish our tasks, with incentives for those who study these skills and allow less attractive studies to pay full price. Our children are our ultimate resource and their future must be protected.
Foreign Policy
I believe our foreign relations should be based on trade. A trading partner makes a poor enemy. We should better align our continent’s trading policies through negotiations, with all the governments of North America to better compete with Europe and Asia, not by intimidation but with cooperation. Once successful, extend that prosperity throughout our hemisphere as a single trading block to raise each of us together. Besides raising the economic standards for all that stand with us, self-sufficient countries would stabilize our immigration policies without America having to hide behind a wall.
Iraq War
I believe in a strong military defense, but I do not believe in colonization. The unprovoked invasion of Iraq was wrong. However, once set on this course it would have been equally wrong to leave it in the condition we made it. I would propose increasing US troops to this country to establish the peace that has eluded them and us. I would seek a conference with Iraq, it’s surrounding neighbors in the Middle East, including representative of hostile factions, as well as, United Nations. The nature of the conference would be the stabilization of the country, it’s economy and security in the absence of the United States Military. I would commit US troop withdrawals to begin in two years. At this point I would humbly ask the community of nations for its help and council, to end a conflict that we were warned not to start. We cannot right the wrong that we have done, but we can make every effort to do the right thing.
These efforts need all Americans. Whether you lean to the left or to the right, all the real work is done in the center. This is our time. We must come together. We must visualize our future and then achieve it. Dream not of today, but rather, hope for the promise of tomorrow. Don’t let this time escape you. We are Americans, the most innovative people of any time, anywhere …and we are needed.
Unity08 seems like a good idea, but one of the things that concerns me is that there seems to be a twist toward a Republican or a Democrat (Remember these are the types that got us into the current situation). I would like to see an independent given at least equal weight.
Please forgive me if I am missing something, but would it not be helpful to have a way of organizing the discussion by topic or issue? Those familiar with Blackboard will know what I mean. The various strings of the conversation might be organized by potential Platform topics, process issues, etc. etc. Then paraticipants could go to those topics they are most interested in discussiing rather than just plowing through a chronological list.
Here are some of the topics that we might put under the Platform string:
I. International
A. Establishment of Peace through vigorous international multi-lateral
treaties that include non-aggression agreements, non nuclear proliferation, and funding of U.N. peace keeping forces
B. Participation in all international efforts to stop environmental degradation and fight global warming.
C. Provide leadership in efforts to find alternatives to fossil fuel for energy.
D. Leadership in reaching goals to eliminate world poverty and hunger.
E. Participation in programs designed to reduce and finally eliminate diseases such as AIDS and malaria.
F. Supporting a more level trading field in world agriculture
II. National
A. Advocacy for clear separation of religion from public policy issues and affirming reason and science as the tools for policy formation, not religious faith and dogma.
B. Reduction of the national debt and foreign credit dependency
C. Closing the growing wealth gap between the upper 1% and lower three fifths of our citizens.
D. Major revision of our health and education systems.
E. Establishment of a minimum annual wage for every citizen.
F. Creation of a more equitable tax policy at every level.
You linked to the LA Times cautionary view by Ron Brownstein: I read it. Thanks. Is there an answer?
The bottom line for Brownstein is run an electric personality with an issue that's a winner.
The electric personality will be hard to draft or recruit without first raising tens of millions of dollars for someone like Juliani to agree to be our leader.
The winning issue is a different matter.
Brownstein says we want the leader we find to name the issues.
This looks like the chicken and egg riddle -- which comes first: the leader or the issues.
What Brownstein did not say is how desperately Uncle Sam will need money if any reformer gets elected to solve our acute problems.
New abundant green energy systems (1). Middle class economic security -- and moving the underslass to the middle class (2). Homeland security and national defense (3). These three goals of centrists who want changes that can make a difference will each need trillions of dollars in federal spending -- which nobody thinks is possible to raise by any known means.
So I say think of the actual economic output in goods and services that would be produced by a fully employed and committed America IF these three goals were taken seriously.
With those concrete goods and services in mind, we damn well know we can produce them: what stops us is the lack of federal spending money.
Get away from thinking about taxes: we won't get the money that way.
Is there another way to get it?
Can we assume that if we produced the material things we need, the money can be there to match production?
If we look at this question backwards, we know that if a small nation had unlimited gold, it could not turn gold into the needed goods and services.
But a great manufacturing nation can turn material assets into victory over a challenge: and that should mean it can match its money to economic output -- whenever it really wants to.
Does anyone here disagree?
Merle Allshouse just asked:
"Please forgive me if I am missing something, but would it not be helpful to have a way of organizing the discussion by topic or issue?"
The topic of the moment is "dependence on foreign oil." You'll find it at http://unity08.com/node/34
It was selected as the number one hot topic on the poll which you can find at http://unity08.com/poll/053106
It looks like we'll be dealing with the National Debt as our next topic. I would guess we're months and months away from planking out a platform.
But given how new things are here, and how quickly the landscape is evolving, who knows what might happen.
Capt Obvious, signing off.
Create a Blog index with main issues such as immigration, energy, healthcare, welfare, social security, etc as titles followed by the number of entries todate.
What better pair of candidates could there be than Zell Miller and Pat Buchanan?
They're both outspoken critics of their own parties.
Miller/Buchanan '08!
Unity with Impunity!
The obvious is either Lieberman/McCain or vice versa. Both are *the* centrists for their respective parties. Suggest running Lieberman/McCain and McCain/Lieberman and seeing which one is preferred for Pres and which for VP.
From my perspective, as a Green, www.h4gov.com, electing a Democrat and a Republican is not "non-partisan" it is extremely partisan. It means you support the corporate control of our government over the people. One cannot get out of the box by voting to stay in the box. It would be an improvemnt to at least have all states give their electoral college votes out proportionally but we have a long way to go towards making a democracy in this country and making our elections honest even down at the county level. As the Collier Brothers research in the 70s and 80s clearly showed, the national elections in this country are rigged and have been for many decades. Now they want to rig them electronically. Can you blame them? I don't think so.
WE NEED AN INDEPENDENT WHO IS CENTRIST AND CAN STEAL VOTES FROM BOTH PARTIES.
LET'S DRAFT JESSE!!
I'm 55 and so pissed at the so called political parties. I vote but often wonder why because there really is no choice. I can not believe how corrupt they are and continue to be. I have never questioned our government until the past 15 years. Our country has a price and while we build up Chinas' economy and others we are losing our status and identity as a country. I thought this kind of stuff only happened in N.Korea or Iran. I am so tired of fringe topics and would love to hear the meat&potato issues debated!!!!!!
Howard Switzer and others want to think that "electing a Democrat and a Republican is not "non-partisan" it is extremely partisan."
I think we should be pragmatic about the situation and realize that in the 08 elections a unity or third party platform MUST have influential relations in both the republican and democratic camps. Anything else is simply doomed from the start. We must take baby steps, and the fact that unity08 see's it's existence only as far as the 08 elections, is proof to me that they realize the temporal steps in the larger picture.
Some think that we can just instantly evolve to some never before seen type of neo-political movement. However, these people seem to be stuck focusing on some "absolute" ideal, and not the the micro-evolutionary development.
Unity08 also mentions an independent that can unite both parties. You may think this accomidation of "both parties" is proof that unity08 is still just playing to the 2 main political parties. Or as Howard Switzer says "It means you support the corporate control of our government over the people."
I disagree. Unity08 seems to be the best alternative that people who agree on many of these same issues have, to make an actual change in the very next presedental election cycle. And any third party that can do that, must embrace a large portion of the ever "popular" republic and democrat bases.
With that said, my proposed radical idealize solution to this whole problem is to go beyond the "polarized" president/vice-president selection that unity08 is setting up, and let us elect more people from a wider number of "parties".
Let the president and vice-president from the two parties work their magic in congress an other polarized places, but if unity is really about unity, then perhapse we can go beyond the surely polarizing president/vice-president, and have a greater number of represented officals from multiple viewpoint there to debate the issues.
I feel it would be more enlightening to explain why or why a person should be nominated.
Most discontent has come from elected officials voting for corporate interests. As a middle class American, I feel I am not represented in Congress.
For example, I could not support John McClain because a bill he sponsered would give $6 million dollars to the sugar interests in Hawaii. Fortunately, that was voted down. He also voted for the comprehensive immigration bill which is for corporate interests to help keep labor costs down.
Unity08 - Who We Are
/quote/ Unity08 is a group of citizens deeply concerned that the wheels have come off our political system, that the American Dream is slipping away, and that time is short to get things back on track. /unquote/
Unity08 - on the Issues
/quote/ Unity08 divides issues facing the country into two categories: Crucial Issues – on which America’s future safety and welfare depend; and Important Issues – which, while vital to some, will not, in our judgment, determine the fate or future of the United States. /unquote/
All 296, 000, 000 of us have issues. These (same) issues existed 150, 100, 50 years ago and will exist 50, 100, and 150+ years from today. That's their nature.
Issues are like barrels in the wagon. The wheel is off the wagon (so Unity08 says). The wagon sits (so says Unity08). Consequently, the Issue-barrels sit.
Does discussing 290,000,000 issues amongst 290,000,000 people afix the wheel back onto the wagon?
Does discussing 1 issue amongst 290,000,000 people afix the wheel back onto the wagon?
If Unity08 is about being "deeply concerned that the wheels have come off ..."
then it appears that Unity08's primary and foremost issue is replacing the wheel.
What's the PLAN?
Replace wheel back onto wagon. Wagon moves. Issues move.
The thing is, is that you reference the wagon as "our political system".
Consequently:
Replace wheel back onto "our political system" wagon. Wagon moves. Issues-barrels roll out the back of the wagon, "... slipping away" (so says Unity08).
Unity08 needs a precise and accurate declaration, writ in grade-level 5, to give those curious about and interested in Unity08 a well defined direction that they can CLEARLY understand.
Blogging and forums are okay for the kids. However, this is serious business. Yes?
The bad boys and bad girls of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government are well entrenched deep, deeper, deepest within the Ivy Halls of Capitol Hill.
They are tough. They are nasty. They are hard. They are well financed. They are Mrs. Ruth and Mr. Ruthless. They will surround your wagon and they will burn it down! They will squash you!
Are you ready? Are you tough? Are you hard? Are you nasty? Are you well financed?
If you are not looking at 2024 as being here tomorrow morning, 8 o'clock sharp, and if you are not prepared tonight, you're too late.
By the way, your web site is NOT VALID. Approx 40-60 errors per page. Tsk. Tsk. Get it right & look sharp!
Good Luck & Kind Regards
Sounds like you should head on over to the Republican and/or Democrat committee sites since they take sooo much feedback. I think you're missing the point. There's something called brainstorming that is effective in starting something like this. To have it encouraged and read by the organizers is a lot more than either of the major parties has done for me lately.
PS: If you've ever dabbled with Drupal and/or third party donation systems, you'll discover that validation is somewhat impossible... this site has a lot of accessibility elements others don't.
I do not think we will ever agree on any politician coming out of Washington! Today I spent a little time looking up the voting record of every name mentioned for candidacy and there is not one that I would even consider voting for.
Please, before throwing out a name for consideration, do a little research on their voting record. They may have great rhetoric but their voting record is the only measure of who they really are. Ignore the posturing and speeches, most of these people should be given 'Academy Awards'.
Thank you for the response.
You have clarified the persona of Unity08. This is good!
As long as Unity08 doesn't miss the point. Yes?
I'm sure that the members of your council "brain" stormed prior to developing the web site content.
I took direct quotes from it in an attempt to better understand it and subsequently Unity08.
If it isn't clear, responses such as yours are helpful. I'm sure you gave it much consideration and thought.
I'm scrutinizing Unity08's content, here. I'll post my understanding of same. Please feel free to further enlighten me on my findings.
It is importnat that we (I) get the correct picture of Unity08, yes?
ps: Yes. I dabble and dibble in web development. As well, I'm well aware of the term "accessibility". If you and Unity08 are satisfied with invalidity, it's your/their call.
I just brought it to your attention. How it is regarded and acted upon is good information about Unity08. Yes?
Good Luck and Kind Regards
Reading these comments bugged me. Who is responding to who? The topics people bring up bleed into each other. Good comments fly off the page as people respond to them and disappear into nowhere land...
I was bugged enough that I did something about it. I started a website for supporters of the unity party with links to resources for people to communicate using systems that are designed to support different ways of really *interacting* using the internet.
There's a link to a just started Unity Wiki.
There's a link to a web forum.
It also has links to a mailing list hosted by Google...
...and a second mailing list hosted by Yahoo in case you don't like Google.
The goal of the site is to let people vote with their feet and use their favorite web medium to talk about and coordinate around the Unity Party. Visit the central hub if you're curious or just go straight to the thing that sounds interesting to you.
-Jennifer
Issues like gay marriage and abortion, which rile up the base voters of each party, are both important and worthy of debate; but most voters do not see them as crucial to America’s future.
Pardon me but...
If babies are murdered and gays are married, where IS the future? I guess we can just allow all the illegal immigrants in and we will have the next 3rd world country. They definitely know how to make babies.
If being against all this is "pandering", then maybe someone ought to PANDER away.
Jennifer;
Appreciate your effort.
The founders here seemed to indicate that they were hoping for someone to improve their interface with us serfs and I think you have the right approach.
Glad someone out there actualy knows how to do these things :)
Ps: Your site is locking as of this morning .. dont know if anyone else has tried it yet ...
Enjoy~
nomad
We're not interested in promoting your catholic agenda here. This is a political reform site not a religious revival.
To both anonymous': Obviously you are both partisan, so why are you even here? Being Pro-Life and against gay marriage doesn't make you a Catholic, and harrassing someone because of what you think is their motivation is moronic. Freedom *of* religion, not freedom *from* it. It is also typically right to crowd three issues into one short comment. What, you couldn't tie in the "Death Tax", Gun Rights and mom's apple pie too?
Jenifer:
It is a move in the right direction; I just registered.
Again, let me suggest that some way of organizaing the discussioin by Topics/Issues/Platorms items down the road would be most helpful. For those academics who have used Blackboard, their way of organizaing discussiion topics is excellent, but you are moving i the right direction. You will have to do a lot of separation of the wheat from the chafe.
Is this ongoing dialogue at least being archived somewhere? When I began participating, I could page back for 13-20 pages. Now, it only goes back 2 pages. Especially for new people coming in, how are they suppose to know the history of this long-term discussion if they only have two prior pages to refer to? How, for example, are they suppose to know how angry and intent was the discussion on illegal immigration? The people need to have long-term access to their pooled ideas, so they can cross-reference and see how they evolve over time as they negotiate with each other, and as a tool of providing content to potential candidates as to the will of the people.
I thought you might appreciate the comments from an older sage who was in the trenches back in the SDS days of Tom Hayden's meetings to discuss SDS policy issues. After viewing the Unity08 web site he wrote:
"As a old time liberal Democrat, I'm comfortable with their general diagnosis of our malaise. Unfortunately their solution seems limited to finding a smoother process for making public life more efficient. No where does anyone talk seriously about the substance of politics. No one tells us whose ox will be gored? (no pun.) What directions will fiscal and monetary policy take? How do they think the tax burden should be re-distributed? How can we protect our interests on the international scene? Social issues--abortion, gay marriage, creationism, Patriot Act, prayer in schools, etc.--will have to be faced squarely with positions taken one way or another. Unity08 ducks all of these messy problems; a diversity of answers won't cut it. Politics may be tiresome, but it has content which can't, and should not, be shunned."