Independent centrist candidates might strike chord with voters
Steve Hammons
July 31, 2006
As the 2006 congressional elections draw nearer, and then the 2008 elections and contest for the presidency, many citizens are looking with grave skepticism at both major parties.
Is it now time for independent, centrist and common-sense third-party candidates to emerge? Or, would they do more damage than good, as we have seen in the past?
Many of the domestic and foreign policies espoused and implemented by politicians from both parties sometimes seem counterproductive, destructive and even immoral. Many Americans are fed up with both parties at the local, state and national levels.
Are there honorable, brave and intelligent women and men out there who can run as independents or under the banner of centrist-oriented third parties? There must be.
If they were to step forward, how much support would they receive from American voters?
LUCRATIVE LIVING IN WASHINGTON
Both parties are full of professional politicians who make a lucrative living, sometimes a killing, from playing the games of Washington and doing favors for special interests in exchange for large campaign contributions.
Many of these politicians from both parties seem nearly "bought and paid for" by special interests such as large multinational corporations, the lobbying groups of foreign governments and others who need favors.
Some even take huge bribes. Others remain just outside the boundary of illegality and take elaborate precautions to launder funds coming their way. This can happen at the federal and local levels.
These politicians sometimes see to it that their friends, families and associates get government jobs as well as jobs in companies doing business with the government.
It´s all very profitable. All very cozy.
Sometimes the politicians in Washington and in local government look so much the same we can´t tell the difference: Equally beholden to special interests, equally willing to spread disinformation and confusion.
At other times, they seem unreasonably polarized, taking extreme opposite views, neither of which may make much sense to the average American.
Citizens rightly give Congress very low ratings in public opinion polls. Dare we say it? Our government and both parties often seem inept and corrupt.
A CENTRIST PLATFORM
What might independent and third-party candidates look like? What policies would they promote to affect the problems we face? How could they bring Americans together instead of playing the people against one another?
Maybe a centrist platform would look something like this:
National Defense: Maintain a robust military. Spend on weapons systems that make sense, not just to increase profits of companies making campaign contributions. Rule out unilateral invasions and occupations of other countries. Maintain a reasonable presence around the world without seeking dominance and empire. Attempt to truly create peace, not just mouth the words while creating war.
Intelligence: Continue an active intelligence-gathering capability including human intelligence (HUMINT), open-source intelligence (OSINT) and the other types of intel which are crucial for sound decision-making to protect the U.S. and to create peace. Discontinue torture and offshore prison camps.
Diplomacy: Reach out to our allies, who have become so disillusioned about the U.S. over the past few years. Negotiate where possible with opponents to understand their positions and grievances. Engage the international community with a sense of honor and integrity rather than deception, intimidation and conquest.
Health and Medicine: Craft some kind of health care safety net for all Americans. Work out the best way to structure it and pay for it. Continue to strongly emphasize preventive health and wellness, fitness, safety and accident prevention, and other efforts for children, teens and adults that reduce the need for unnecessary health care expenditures.
Environment: Return to the values of conservation of our natural resources. Recognize that climate change is becoming a very serious problem and take steps to remedy the situation. Increase clean air and clean water efforts. Clean up toxic sites.
Education and Youth Services: Review elementary and high school curriculum for relevance. Today´s high school students often drop out because they find no value in what is being taught. Increase apprenticeship and training programs and develop other innovative programs that keep students in school, provide valuable experiences and keep them out of trouble.
Minimum wage: Raise the minimum wage to a level that provides a decent living for a full-time worker with an average-sized family who earns the minimum wage pay rate.
Crime and Prisons: Review the immense mandatory prison sentences, especially for non-violent offenses, which have dramatically increased the incarceration rate in the U.S. These laws have made us into the nation that imprisons the highest percentage of its citizens in the world, at huge social and financial costs.
We could also imagine centrist and common-sense ideas for science and technology research, agriculture, social programs and other areas from candidates for federal and local offices.
PATRIOTS UNITE
We see honorable and intelligent people from both major parties serving in all levels of government. We also see those politicians in both parties whose self-serving agenda is transparent.
Neither side holds the exclusive claim to morality, honor, intelligent thought, courage and working in the best interests of local citizens and the American people.
While some Americans are not ready to give up on their party, their "team," there may also be a growing willingness to consider independent and centrist third-party candidates.
The desire to "kick out the bums" in power may extend to many politicians of various stripes. The awareness that the entire political system needs some kind of significant reform is dawning on many Americans.
Can it be reformed by those in the established and entrenched major political parties who are bellying up to the hog trough of the U.S. Treasury in Washington or their local political and governmental system? Maybe, maybe not.
What then are the tactics and strategies to reform these systems?
It is up to citizens at the grassroots of our country as well as good leaders to decide if independent and third-party candidates can be viable and can create solutions.
If the answer is yes, recruit candidates and do what is necessary to get them in front of the public.
Then the voters can decide – if our voting machines are not tampered with that is.
AUTHOR NOTE TO READERS: Please visit my Joint Recon Study Group blog.
Is it now time for independent, centrist and common-sense third-party candidates to emerge? Or, would they do more damage than good, as we have seen in the past?
Many of the domestic and foreign policies espoused and implemented by politicians from both parties sometimes seem counterproductive, destructive and even immoral. Many Americans are fed up with both parties at the local, state and national levels.
Are there honorable, brave and intelligent women and men out there who can run as independents or under the banner of centrist-oriented third parties? There must be.
If they were to step forward, how much support would they receive from American voters?
LUCRATIVE LIVING IN WASHINGTON
Both parties are full of professional politicians who make a lucrative living, sometimes a killing, from playing the games of Washington and doing favors for special interests in exchange for large campaign contributions.
Many of these politicians from both parties seem nearly "bought and paid for" by special interests such as large multinational corporations, the lobbying groups of foreign governments and others who need favors.
Some even take huge bribes. Others remain just outside the boundary of illegality and take elaborate precautions to launder funds coming their way. This can happen at the federal and local levels.
These politicians sometimes see to it that their friends, families and associates get government jobs as well as jobs in companies doing business with the government.
It´s all very profitable. All very cozy.
Sometimes the politicians in Washington and in local government look so much the same we can´t tell the difference: Equally beholden to special interests, equally willing to spread disinformation and confusion.
At other times, they seem unreasonably polarized, taking extreme opposite views, neither of which may make much sense to the average American.
Citizens rightly give Congress very low ratings in public opinion polls. Dare we say it? Our government and both parties often seem inept and corrupt.
A CENTRIST PLATFORM
What might independent and third-party candidates look like? What policies would they promote to affect the problems we face? How could they bring Americans together instead of playing the people against one another?
Maybe a centrist platform would look something like this:
National Defense: Maintain a robust military. Spend on weapons systems that make sense, not just to increase profits of companies making campaign contributions. Rule out unilateral invasions and occupations of other countries. Maintain a reasonable presence around the world without seeking dominance and empire. Attempt to truly create peace, not just mouth the words while creating war.
Intelligence: Continue an active intelligence-gathering capability including human intelligence (HUMINT), open-source intelligence (OSINT) and the other types of intel which are crucial for sound decision-making to protect the U.S. and to create peace. Discontinue torture and offshore prison camps.
Diplomacy: Reach out to our allies, who have become so disillusioned about the U.S. over the past few years. Negotiate where possible with opponents to understand their positions and grievances. Engage the international community with a sense of honor and integrity rather than deception, intimidation and conquest.
Health and Medicine: Craft some kind of health care safety net for all Americans. Work out the best way to structure it and pay for it. Continue to strongly emphasize preventive health and wellness, fitness, safety and accident prevention, and other efforts for children, teens and adults that reduce the need for unnecessary health care expenditures.
Environment: Return to the values of conservation of our natural resources. Recognize that climate change is becoming a very serious problem and take steps to remedy the situation. Increase clean air and clean water efforts. Clean up toxic sites.
Education and Youth Services: Review elementary and high school curriculum for relevance. Today´s high school students often drop out because they find no value in what is being taught. Increase apprenticeship and training programs and develop other innovative programs that keep students in school, provide valuable experiences and keep them out of trouble.
Minimum wage: Raise the minimum wage to a level that provides a decent living for a full-time worker with an average-sized family who earns the minimum wage pay rate.
Crime and Prisons: Review the immense mandatory prison sentences, especially for non-violent offenses, which have dramatically increased the incarceration rate in the U.S. These laws have made us into the nation that imprisons the highest percentage of its citizens in the world, at huge social and financial costs.
We could also imagine centrist and common-sense ideas for science and technology research, agriculture, social programs and other areas from candidates for federal and local offices.
PATRIOTS UNITE
We see honorable and intelligent people from both major parties serving in all levels of government. We also see those politicians in both parties whose self-serving agenda is transparent.
Neither side holds the exclusive claim to morality, honor, intelligent thought, courage and working in the best interests of local citizens and the American people.
While some Americans are not ready to give up on their party, their "team," there may also be a growing willingness to consider independent and centrist third-party candidates.
The desire to "kick out the bums" in power may extend to many politicians of various stripes. The awareness that the entire political system needs some kind of significant reform is dawning on many Americans.
Can it be reformed by those in the established and entrenched major political parties who are bellying up to the hog trough of the U.S. Treasury in Washington or their local political and governmental system? Maybe, maybe not.
What then are the tactics and strategies to reform these systems?
It is up to citizens at the grassroots of our country as well as good leaders to decide if independent and third-party candidates can be viable and can create solutions.
If the answer is yes, recruit candidates and do what is necessary to get them in front of the public.
Then the voters can decide – if our voting machines are not tampered with that is.
AUTHOR NOTE TO READERS: Please visit my Joint Recon Study Group blog.
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