July 11, 2006
Straight down the middle
Because I think moderation and centrist thinking are so important to the future success of California – and of the nation – I like to highlight steps in that direction.
Today’s Los Angeles Daily News ran a solid editorial addressing exactly that issue. It is well written and another in the thousands of steps that will need to be taken before reform catches hold and our election system makes room for a few moderates.
Please send me your ideas and always send any links you think would be important to share. Thank you.
Comments
I agree that we need more moderate candidates for political office. The problem is by definition an independent candidate has trouble attraction passionate followers. It is easy to attract voters from either extreme. The extreme liberals will all be for abortions and unions etc. The extreme right will all be against abortions and for corporations etc. An independent thinker of course will not be predictable. But no two independent thinker will see things the same way. We are asking voters to ignore things they disagree with an independent candidate and vote for him anyways. If I live in Connecticut I would still vote for Lieberman even though I am agaisnt the war. But will moderate who are against the war ignore Lieberman's embrace of the war? Certainly not many of them will go out of his way to campaign for him.
And what do you do with someone like John McCain? I always felt he was a moderate that would make a good president. But now you notice that he realizes that he can't get the GOP nomination as a moderate so he is cozying up to people like Falwell. So is he still an independent thinker? If someone like Westly with his millions can't beat an extreme liberal who wants to raise lots of taxes, how do we beat the political machines of the two big parties?
It is obvious that a third party is needed. The big question is can all of us in the middle ignore our differences and work together for candidates that may disagree with each of us 30 to 40% of the time?
I agree that we need more moderate candidates for political office. The problem is by definition an independent candidate has trouble attraction passionate followers. It is easy to attract voters from either extreme. The extreme liberals will all be for abortions and unions etc. The extreme right will all be against abortions and for corporations etc. An independent thinker of course will not be predictable. But no two independent thinker will see things the same way. We are asking voters to ignore things they disagree with an independent candidate and vote for him anyways. If I live in Connecticut I would still vote for Lieberman even though I am agaisnt the war. But will moderate who are against the war ignore Lieberman's embrace of the war? Certainly not many of them will go out of his way to campaign for him.
And what do you do with someone like John McCain? I always felt he was a moderate that would make a good president. But now you notice that he realizes that he can't get the GOP nomination as a moderate so he is cozying up to people like Falwell. So is he still an independent thinker? If someone like Westly with his millions can't beat an extreme liberal who wants to raise lots of taxes, how do we beat the political machines of the two big parties?
It is obvious that a third party is needed. The big question is can all of us in the middle ignore our differences and work together for candidates that may disagree with each of us 30 to 40% of the time?
Posted by: wolverine at July 12, 2006 09:17 PM