A NEW WAY?

    Is there another way to rescue the American government?

Maybe. Some thoughts, rooted in history, follow below.

first, a breath of fresh air

fiscalini ranch preserve-cambria ca. 

nap time

a few of our marine cousins observing rest hour

 the guy below brings us back to the us congress

a third way

    Whether it becomes more than speculative, or a pipe dream, remains to be seen, but we are hearing more about political reform. Could a third party be a method of reform?

      There is no shortage of third parties in our federal elections, but to this point they have been merely symbolic or protest choices. Ralph Nader's campaign helped elect George W. Bush. They've had more impact, historically.

       In 1912 Teddy Roosevelt's Progressive Party, aka the Bull Moose Party, shook up the nation and the Republican party by winning 88 electoral votes and 27% of the popular vote. 

       Racist George Wallace and his American Independent party won 13.5 % of the popular vote and 46 electoral votes in 1968.  

       Reform candidate H. Ross Perot won 18.9% of the popular vote, but no electoral votes in 1992.

minimum appeal

       The Third Party strategy began to play a role and shape parties and policies in the early 1800's. The list includes:

• Anti Masonic
• Free Soil
• Whig Americans
• Southern Democrats
• Constitutional Union
• Populist

      Today's list includes:

• Libertarian
• Green Party
• America's Party
• Constitution Party
• Solidarity Party
• Citizens Party
• Modern Whig Party
• Reform Party
• Unity Party
• Veterans Party 
• United States Pirate Party
• Communist Party
• Socialist Party
• Party for Socialism and Liberation
• Peace and Freedom Party
• Justice Party
• Socialist Workers Party
• Workers World Party
• Working Families Party
• Black Riders Liberation Party
• New Afrikan Black Panther Party
• Human Party
• Legal Marijuana Now Party
• Objectivist Party
• Prohibitionist party

  and believe it or not, there are more.  Clearly these parties cater to specific positions, splinter groups and attitudes-they are not mainstream.  

    So as observers ranging from party professionals, academics, analysts and voters look upon the failure and disgrace of the trump White House, the collapse of the Republican Party's ability to govern and the Democrats inability to keep their act together, there is growing talk about a new way.

maximum appeal

a platform for all

     I wonder if a kind of grass roots movement, pragmatic in nature, focused on mass appeal objectives only and deliberately geared to be anti polarizing, might not shake things up?   

•      Conservatives and liberals might agree with the idea that members of the federal government, especially the house and senate, must offer all Americans the same insurance and health care benefits they have, or theirs are revoked. 
•      Same for the practice of special "friends and family" insider investment information and opportunities. 
•      The salary and benefits of Senate and House membership would be trimmed to match the median wage of American workers. They would no longer vote for their own raises, instead they would be tied to COLA standards. 
•  PACs and Leadership Funds would be forbidden. Money could not be used personally or kept after leaving office. 
•      Once a member of the Senate or the House leaves office they would be forbidden from working for a consultancy or in a lobbying effort for as many years as they served. The exception is they could accept a position in a presidential administration or department. 

   There are probably other common core values that would appeal across party and ideological lines. 
    If the very definition and nature of the job and its benefits were changed we would find a different quality person willing to "serve."

    By backing out the influence of private wealth and organizational funding we could see a change in the character of the Congress and amongst seekers of public office. 

    I'd like to see restrictions on campaign funding-eliminating the legal influence of special interests of every stripe especially including those President Eisenhower warned us about-the military industrial complex that now controls and benefits from the federal dollar. 

excising the rot

    Donald Trump is the poster boy for a failure of government and the caving of American values.  He is the worst of America and millions of us, in fact the majority of Americans wonder why the hell he was not, or has not been stopped or removed from office. He's not the cause of the rot in our federal election system and inefficiency in government, but he is the face of the cancer and toxic in his own way. 

    Electoral politics is now an industry.  Government is now a business. It is time for a fundamental change and realignment or we are doomed to become a Greece, or Italy, if we survive the antics of the jack ass who is president. 

    A well organized and structured third party-or middle way effort that can unite D's, R's, Liberals, Conservatives, and appeals to all demographic subgroups could change the way the game is played and the power is brokered. 
    There will always be ideological and philosophical differences, but if the idea is about governance and not the aggregation of power or politics by bludgeoning, we could witness our government work the way it was imagined and created by the founders-give and take-compromise-governing for all.

    A fanciful though perhaps, but there have been "inflection" moments in our history and this is certainly one.  Wouldn't you hate to see it stay the same or get worse. It is action time. 

    See you down the trail.

    

STARTING ANEW?

WHAT WOULD THOMAS JEFFERSON DO?

     As a prelude to the notion, is a notion itself.  Back in the early 70's I read a proposal that American electoral politics

would be more efficient if everything was done like a television rating service.  Well it was an idea before its time and not a particularly good one at that, but novel and bespeaking the need to "modernize" campaigning.

       Fast forward to what seems to be another endless and even more expensive campaign cycle and there is a new idea being floated.  Michael Eisner, ceo of The Walt Disney Company from 1984 to 2005 took to the pages of the LA Times to plug Americans Elect which will hold what they call the nation's first national online primary. You can learn more
by linking here to their web site.  
      I'm not sure of what to make of this particular iteration of an idea that has been kicking around for a while.  What I'm struck by is the logic Eisner employs in his advocacy. His dissection of the silliness and over weighting of Iowa and New Hampshire is spot on.
      American electoral politics has been through previous changes.  Information technology and systems have changed our ways of behavior in profound ways.  While the Americans Elect concept may not be the great salvation of the now costly and money influenced campaign process, it is a novel response and statement of dis-sastifaction with the way it is.
As Eisner says the current system is "mired in the past."  He adds "...we are burdened with a system that gives the bullhorn to the smallest voices and makes the majority feel unheard." 

DAY BOOK

CACTUS AND SUCCULENTS
Thorns of another type 

See you down the trail.