Differences of Opinion

You often hear the cliche, "We'll never agree on everything." It is the art of politics's that we must agree on something. I hear friends of mine, and I'm sure that I am no exception, saying things and posing solutions to political and social problems that sound nothing like the liberals we are suppose to be, but I observe the same in the other camp.

There is some current thought that the major parties are primarily aligned with the extremes of their party and can't be representative of the nation as a whole. Movements like Unity08 have sprung up in response to a search for middle ground and to better represent the perceived "middle" of the political spectrum, that is alleged to be under represented, disillusioned and uninvolved.

I will buy all of this if we get candidates that are clear about their stance on the hot button issues. If they tell the public where they stand on the future involvement of our troops in Iraq, pro-life v choice, gun control and gay marriage, they are asking for a multimillion dollar public relations battle that is breathtaking in it's scope. We've witnesses the destruction of careers and reputation of potential candidates for public office for just putting their figurative toe in the water for higher office. If they can withstand this gauntlet and still be standing to face election, I will have some faith that there is change in the wind., because this would mean the "middle" actually put their votes where their sentiments are believed to be.

I think there is political will with in the established parties to go to the middle, but no one has the courage to lead the charge. I hear a lot of lip service, but the smart money still favors the son's and daughters of the extremes of both major parties. Sadly, in this game, money is everything.

Unity08 asks it's members to nominate and support, a non-aligned slate that represents the group consensus "middle of the spectrum" view. As and alternative, it will run a candidate from each party. The presidential candidate has to be either a republican or a democrat. Depending on the party of the presidential candidate, the vice presidential candidate has to come from the opposite party.

Think of the possibilities. Clinton and Powell, McCain and Obama come to mind, or reverse their positions on the ticket. What would be apparent is that the so-called middle would have to put up or shut up. The hot button issues are not going to be solved or furthered by this group. My feeling is that while their view's on these subjects are known, they would not be leading a full front assault on any of these issues.

They would hopefully be re-establishing the American reputation in the international community, working toward a solution on health care delivery, giving hope to those displaced by globalization, working on the immigrant workforce issues and bringing defense costs into line with the rest of the world.

If the voting public indicated a preference for this kind of approach by giving these candidates their support Unity 08 will have done their job. the ticket doesn't have to win. The ticket merely has to get a significant portion of the vote, 15% of better, to wake people up.
Two things would happen. Either Unity08 would morph and grow into a viable political party or one or both of the major parties would take the risk and move strongly toward a more middle position in the pursuit of power.

The lynch pin in this whole scenario is the apathetic public, who are allegedly waiting for this mythical middle of the road candidate to get off their figurative butt's to support and vote for this ticket. We'll see.