Unity 08, The New Third Way

How many times have you heard it said, the Democratic Party is too far to the left and the Republican’s are too far to the right. Why isn’t there a party for the guy in the middle? Well believe it or not there will be a party that represents itself as the third party that represents the middle. It’s going to call itself Unity 08.

In the January / February Issue of The Atlantic, Joshua Green writes about three political consultants, who admittedly caused the problem with political campaigns today, feeling enough remorse to do something about the situation.(Surprise Party Page 114) Their solution is to create a third party that will challenge the candidates to campaign and recognize the middle. Jerry Rofshoon, Doug Baily and Rodger Craver have come up with a modern and innovative way of creating the next great political party.

(I’m going to simplify this to much, so go to the back issue and read the story in its entirety.) In essence what they are going to do is create an online entity, Unity 08 that will organize, co ordinate, nominate and campaign for a viable third party candidate selected by its registered members.

They all worked with internet campaigns in one form or another and, as a group, have come to the conclusion that the internet has gained the status as the technical development that will impact the political selection process as much as television did in the sixties. Television took the process out of the smoky back rooms of the conventions and brought it out into the primary battle of the so-called impact states. No longer did candidates o into the convention marshalling strength to gain a nomination they have it in hand.

What Unity 08 proposes is not necessarily fielding candidates that they expect will win, but a genuine place for people to get the issues of the great center of the political mainstream a home and force the candidates in the other two parties to debate them.

Mathematics’ tell you this is a great idea. The past election is an example. The great middle had skewed toward the Republicans in 2000, 2002 and 2004. (About 30% of the population consider themselves Democrat and about the same number proclaim themselves Republican.) The middle 40% skewed back toward the Democrats in 2006 and changed the majorities in both the House of Representatives and The Senate. Note I said skewed. By this I mean both parties may hold or have held commanding positions, but neither of them, regardless of the rhetoric, held mandates.

I believe the problem is that when neither of the candidates represents the main concerns of a large proportion of the voting public, disaffected citizens vote with their feet and abstain.

If this population had a candidate to rally behind, it could activate them, in much the same way as Howard Dean and Barak Obama have brought new and here-to-fore uninvolved voters into the fray. If these guys can do as well as moveon .com they will undoubtedly become a factor in the 2008 election. Who knows they might surprise even themselves and back a winner?