POLITICAL PARTY COMPOSED OF THE RADICAL CENTER!

[CWO3ROBBIE]

Today I read an editoral written by Thomas Friedman. It was titled "This country Needs a Tea Party of the Radical Center".

It was in the Houston Chronicle. Friedman is a columnist for "The New York Times".

In this column he discusses how our current form of government has been taken over by the extremists on both sides of the political spectrum. He thinks that our political system of only two major parties has allowed that, and that it is only going to get worse. The extreme fringe of each party seem to be the powers that control who gets elected. That has evolved into a system where nothing can be accomplished. The vast majority of americans fall somewhere between the liberal and conservative extremes. So it would seem that our government should be composed of people who were representitive of that group. That is no longer true.

The same type of polorazation has accured here on tbd.

Not that I'm comparing tbd to a system of government; I'm addressing tbd as a large group of individuals with a wide range of political ideas. There are two Groups on tbd that I think represent the two extrems of political thought. On the right is the "We the People" Group. On the Left is the "Liberal Thinkers" with the "No Flamers" logo. Even though members of these two groups sometimes participate in inflamitory discussions in their opposite group, agreement on any subject is yet to occur.

Friedman points out one simple indication that our political system is "Broken". The fact that a Republican will be voted out of office for doing the right thing.(raising taxes when needed) Democrats will be voted out of office for doing the right thing.(cutting services when needed)

Friedman thinks that a key cause of our current political divide is the current method that most states use to establish the shape and size of voting districts. I agree.

California recently took took away the power to design congressional districts from the State Legislature and put it in the hands of an independent, politically neutral, Citizens Redistricting Commission. If this works we should see more candidates that appeal to the center.

Another thing that would produce more centerest candidates is "alternative voting".

Under our current voting system, most of us feel that if we were to vote for a third party or independent candidate, we will be actually throwing our vote away and thereby helping elect the person that we most want to not be elected.

Alternative voting allows you to rank your choices. If the person that you rank as number one does not win, your vote goes to your number two. This means that if you rank the republican #1 and the independent #2 your vote does not help the democrat to beat the republican.

"Nothing has held back the growth of independent, centrist candidates more", said Larry Diamond, a Stanford University democracy expert, "than the fear that if you vote for one of them you will be wasting your vote".

Alternative voting can overcome that.

So, let's have a Tea Party of the radical center.

I am not sure what the correct answer to the current political log jam is, but I think that most Americans are not satisfied with the current system.

[larry kremis]

And another thing! Money has been putting people in office since I can remember, so what happens recently? The supreme court says corporations can donate an unlimited amount of money to buy their candidate right into office. They should have outlawed political advertising all together. IMO, a better way to elect officials, would be to outlaw campaigning completely, now bear with me! All qualified candidates would debate on TV and possibly radio, paid for with our tax dollars. Debates not to take place more than 3 months prior to election, this frees up the incumbents to DO THEIR DAMN JOB. As soon as one is elected, he/she starts campaigning for the next election, kind of time consuming, don't you think?

[larry kremis]

I like the idea too. The voters don't really need to understand the "alternative voting" system, they just need to vote for the candidate of their choice. I've come to hate the game. I've come to hate diehard republicans and diehard democrats. I agree with Thomas Friedman, the system is broken. As it now stands, the republicans will be next to be the majority, then back to the democrats. This historic health bill passed Sunday night, I don't know what's in it, nor does anybody else, whether they be for it or against it. Who in their right mind would be against any American, who is down on his luck, getting the proper medical care. At least we something to work with now, congress didn't need to waste an entire year getting this done. We need jobs! I have zero tolerance for all of you hard-assed, closed minded democrats. I have zero tolerance for all of you hard-assed, closed minded republicans. You're an adult now, you don't need to vote for your party every fucking time, like your parents did. You're all big boys and girls, you should be able to think on your own. The problem is similar to radical terrorists, in that, these terrorists were taught by someone they admired that all non-muslims need to die. Think about it, more than likely, diehard right-wingers and diehard left-wingers are that way because they were influenced by someone they admired and respected. High school teachers and college professors know this. They can charm an impressionable young student to their way of thinking. Fine! WE CAN ALL THINK FOR OURSELVES NOW. We're not impressionable children any more.

[CWO3ROBBIE]

Yes, the devil will be in the details. Such as; where do you find independent, politically neutral citizens?

[CWO3ROBBIE]

If you are interested in this column, here is the url.
www.nytimes.com/2010/03/24/opinion/24friedman.html