The topic is the public is dissatisfied with the embedded political class. The author seeks answers among operatives in the embedded establishment pretending they're the new direction (like names from the Bush and McCain crowd). These people are bluffing. They're there to guard the status quo and sabotage good candidates should they emerge.
7/24/11, "Voters’ renewed anger at Washington spurs formation of third-party advocate groups," Washington Post, Chris Cillizza
" The numbers are startling.
Eighty percent of people in the latest Washington Post-ABC News poll described themselves as either “angry” or “dissatisfied” with the way Washington works — the highest that number has been in nearly two decades.
Additionally, 63 percent said they would prefer to vote for someone other than their current member of Congress in the 2012 election, a historic high in Post-ABC data on that question.
The poll was taken before the “grand bargain” on debt reduction being crafted by President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) collapsed late last week amid the sort of acrimony and public name-calling sure to further sour voters on the ability of the two political parties to get nearly anything done."...
- (Incorrect. Obama has known this day would come for 2 and a half years. He has chosen to make it a last minute or scenario or 'acrimonious' as the author suggests.)
(continuing, Wash. Post): "Given all of the above, advocates of a third party — or at the very least another viable option in the 2012 presidential race — seem to be sprouting up all over."...
(This story goes on to cite a group called 'No Labels' and an ex-Bush consultant as a so-called 'high profile' name. I've read about the individual named here (McKinnon) as well as the group 'No Labels.' The group's main objective (and that of Mr. McKinnon) is to diffuse the Tea Party and spread the false notion that it's a bunch of 'extremists'. Without the Tea Party, of course, the GOP almost does not exist. Everyone is fine with that including the GOP. ed.)
(continuing, Washington Post): "The two most prominent are Americans Elect, a group aimed at winning ballot access for an eventual third-party candidate, and No Labels, an organization filled with high-profile names — including former George W. Bush media consultant Mark McKinnon and former Kentucky state treasurer Jonathan Miller — designed as an online home for the politically disaffected. “If you build it (ballot access), they (candidates and voters) will come,” McKinnon said in an e-mail.
No Labels says it advocates for bipartisan solutions to problems and not a third-party presidential candidate.
There are others. Votocracy allows virtually anyone to run for president. Ruck.us, a site developed by two former Democratic operatives, sorts people by common interests rather than political leanings. The Centrist Alliance, the newest entrant into the field, formed officially on July 4.
Those who closely monitor these third-party efforts say that not only is there an array of groups with similar goals but there also is money flowing to them from wealthy individuals trying to change the two-party dynamic.
“Politics has lagged our social and business evolution,” said Scott Ehredt of the Centrist Alliance...
But a look at the recent political past suggests that there are still major hurdles to turning voter discontent with the two parties into a credible third-party bid.
In 2008, a group of former elected officials and wealthy individuals formed Unity08 to — you guessed it! — go beyond the two-party system. (Peter Ackerman, a wealthy businessman, was on the board of Unity08 and is a major financial backer for Americans Elect.) The group never went anywhere and then greatly scaled back its operations after an unfavorable ruling from the Federal Election Commission."...
- (I looked up Unity08 and its idea of a good candidate was Michael Bloomberg, an elitist far left democrat (paras. 5 and 13. ed.)
“I think you need an appealing big name, an experienced candidate to capture people’s imagination and for the movement to organize around,” said Mark Salter, a longtime aide to Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and a member of No Labels....
- (A longtime aide to McCain is in No Labels-what a shock. Just to make sure Obama is re-elected. ed.)
- (Michael Bloomberg is a Ruling Class liberal democrat and fits in well with either of the 2 existing major parties. ed.)
(continuing, Wash. Post): "So although the climate is ripe for a third-party candidacy, it’s not at all clear that such a campaign would function as anything other than a spoiler for one of the two parties’ nominees.
“As [independent 1980 candidate] John Anderson and Ross Perot can tell you, you can make a splash but you can’t win without a major party behind you,” said Matt Bennett, a co-founder of Third Way, a group aimed at pushing centrist politics and policies."
--------------------------
11/4/10, "Ruling Class GOP declare war on country class conservatives," Rush Limbaugh transcript.
------------------------
Washington Post-ABC News Poll, July 14-17, 2011
No comments:
Post a Comment