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Do Something Useful: Join Unity08
A lot of Americans complain about the overpartisanship in American politics these days: both sides are more busy fighting and insulting each other, than persuing policies that are actually worthwhile. Sometimes, to an outsider like me, Washington seems to be ruled by little children, who all try to bully each other, and steal each other’s money, instead of by adults who believe in what they do and actually try get things done.
If there is one thing wrong with American politics – and, again, I am speaking from the perspective of an outsider looking in – it is that America is incredibly divided, that there are two sides constantly waging war on each other and that, in the end, partisanship always wins.
Furthermore, sometimes it feels as if lobbyists rule America, instead of the people. Again, this is from the perspective of an outsider looking in, which means that you all can easily dismiss it, but you can also understand that I really have no stake in this matter (at least no partisan stake), and am therefore more objective than many ‘insiders.’ If I were American, I’d say that something needs to be done against it. American politics need to be fixed. The system, perhaps, even.
If you agree with me, I greatly encourage you to check out Unity 08. Unity 08 is “a diverse group of Americans who believe that neither of today’s parties reflects the aspirations, concerns or will of the majority of Americans. Both parties have polarized and alienated voters. Both are unduly influenced by single-issue groups. Both are excessively dominated by money.”
Therefore, “Unity08 is committed to presenting a third presidential ticket and platform – one that addresses the issues and challenges of the 21st Century – to the American voters in 2008.”
Unity08 is the only organization that might actually have an impact in 08. I am sure that many of you have heard rumors that mayor Michael Bloomberg might join forces with Unity08. I do not know whether that is true or not, but I do know that these rumors alone, offer ample evidence of Unity08′s (predicted) success and impact.
There are several ways to support Unity08: you can become a delegate, you can donate money but you can also do something that is simple, yet effective: you can become a Trailblazer. What is a Trailblazer you ask?
Every Unity08 Trailblazer on every team makes two pretty simple but powerful promises: To find at least eight new Unity08 Delegates over the next two weeks—friends, colleagues, neighbors, tennis partners, or anyone else –and to turn at least two of them into Trailblazers themselves for the following two weeks.
Now, I would like to encourage all of you to join this program. It does not take that much time from you, but once everyone does her or his part, things will get going. I have to admit that I find it a pity that I am not American – if I were, I would become a trailblazer instantly. Sadly, because I’m not, I cannot be a trainblazer but I can inform you all about the work Unity08 is doing and encourage you all to join forces with them.
So – join forces with Unity08!
Of course, Unity08 does not just need trailblazers, Unity08 also needs people to spread the word: this is why it needs American bloggers to publish a post about this program and about what Unity08 is doing as well. I think – and hope – that, especially my TMV colleagues like Marc Schulman, Jason Steck, David Schraub, Joe Gandelman and Justin Gardner, and of course columnist at this blog, Richard Horton, are willing to help Unity08 out, by either signing up as a Trailblazer, delegate or (and) by publishing a post about this project.
Same goes for other bloggers and friends such as the Gun Toting Liberal, Libby Spencer, Michael Linn Jones, PatHMV and Dave Schuler.
It’s time for action, I’d say.
O, and if you design to sign up as a trailblazer you might just win:
Presidential Rewards
Grand Marshals: The top 1,000 Trailblazers at the end of the competition will be Grand Marshals of the Unity08 Inaugural Parade in January 2009.
Guests-of-Honor: The top 100 Trailblazers at the end of the competition will receive tickets to the Unity08 Inaugural Ball in January 2009.
Guest-of-the-President: The top 10 Trailblazers at the end of the competition will each spend fifteen minutes in the reviewing stand with Unity08’s President-elect on Inauguration Day, 2009.
Not bad. Not bad at all.
UPDATE
Also – watch The Colbert Report tonight: Steven Colbert will be interviewing Unity08 co-founder, Doug Bailey. If you miss the show, you can watch the rerun here.
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10 Responses to “Do Something Useful: Join Unity08”
I figure I have a lot better chance winning the lottery.
This presents a lot more questions than solutions.
The first question concerns financing the campaign.
How can this ticket be competitive financially?
I like the idea that this is limited to Pres+VP, but then what? How would that, in itself, affect the problem with lobbyists and special interests? The right kind of leadership in the WH would be important, I grant, but I doubt that alone can
overcome the giant hurdles
I also like the idea that the most divisive issues have been delegated to a second tier status.
The trouble is that the public will probably not follow suit, and Congress will keep the issues alive and dividing as a result.
I’ve come to the conclusion that the problem in Washington stems from the problems in our society, and Washington is more of a reflection than a cause.
I can’t imagine a unity Immigration bill, no matter who is in the WH.
In the meantime, the effect of third parties can be good or bad, and no one can predict which it will be today. My conservative side, for the present, has the upper hand. I’m not ready yet to abandon the 2-party system that has worked since day 1 of this country.
I favor reforming the parties from within. For now.
BTW, claims by MVDG to be ian impartial observer seem odd in the face of his ardent advocacy for both domestin and foreign US policies.
As an ardent critic of today’s two party system, I welcome the possibility of a strong third party candidate emerging during the 2008 Presidential Campaign. Over at the Centrist Coalition, I’ve written about the stranglehold the Democrats and Republicans have on our political system through unfair ballot access laws as well as the corrosive effect of black-and-white partisan thinking. Unity08, if successful, has the potential to weaken the two-party duopoly we have and fundamentally change our political system.
However, the problem I see with Unity08 is that it is extremely vague on the issues. It intends to allow Unity08 members to vote to nominate two centrist-leaning candidates (one for president and one for vice president) whose views will be the centerpiece of the campaign.
Apparently, the strategy of Unity08 seems to be to build the framework for a third party system first and then decide its stances on the issues later. In my view, this is exactly the OPPOSITE way that third parties should form. In my view, third parties should coalesce around issues first and then build the party only once there is a solid foundation on which their beliefs rest. I argue this because:
1) Successful grassroots campaigns mobilize around issues.
Consider Ralph Nader in 2000. His message wasn’t simply that he was an independent candidate that hated the polarization and partisanship in Washington. He promoted a progressive agenda that talked about the control that corporations had on the political systems.
Consider Howard Dean in 2003. His rapid rise in popularity came from the fact that he spoke out against a war at a time when few people were willing to do so.
Consider Ron Paul today. His surge in support on the internet has come about because of his consistent anti-war stance and courage to take on the establishment within his own party.
2) The long term stability of a third party depends should depend on policy–not personality. Ross Perot was immensely popular during his 1992 Presidential Campaign, but support for his Reform Party quickly fizzled out afterward. Although Perot did bring up some important issues, his candidacy was largely about style over substance. The party didn’t seem to have any core values, leading it to nominate Pat Buchanan in 2000.
3) The cohesiveness of a third party relies upon an acknowledgement of at least some common underlying principals. It is not enough to form a third party on the basis that its members are all “independent-thinkers” who have grown tired of the polarization in Washington. People may consider themselves to be “independent-thinkers” and have completely opposite positions on key political issues. If a third party opens the doors to all “independent-thinkers” regardless of their stances on key political issues, all this does is inoculate this new party with the same polarization and bickering that goes on in Washington.
What is Unity08′s stance on the various issues that dominate the political landscape today?
Here they are in Unity08′s own words:
Apparently, Unity08 wants to focus on foreign policy and fiscal/economic policy and ignore personal/social issues. As a civil libertarian, I find this troubling. While I agree with Unity08 that the debate over personal/social issues (i.e. the culture war) has overshadowed the debate over fiscal/economic issues in recent years, the answer is not to simply not address these issues.
American politics during the early and middle portions of the twentieth century was largely dominated by fiscal/economic issues, with “big government” types on the left and “smaller government” types on the right. However, this left-right dichotomy was fundamentally altered during the 1970′s with the emergence of the “New Left” and the “Christian Right.” Now, much of the most heated political arguments arises over social/personal issues such as abortion, gay marriage, euthanasia, gun control, and lifestyle issues.
By refusing to address these issues, Unity08 is effectively supporting the status quo–leaving us in a limbo-like state in which some of our most basic rights are left undefined and/or unacknowledged. Nowhere in its Issues section does Unity08 even mention the issue of civil liberties. Given the furor over civil liberties that has occurred during Bush’s six and a half years in office, I think Unity08 owes it to the American people to state its basic stance on civil liberties BEFORE people invest countless dollars and hours to its campaign.
Finally, as I’ve often said before, defining what we are talking about is paramount in politics. We throw the terms “liberal” and “conservative” around as if everyone agrees what these terms mean, when this is not at all the case. But if it can be said that “liberal” and “conservative” are ambiguous terms, then that argument is even truer with the terms “moderate.” Moderates do not typically take “centrist” positions on every single issue, but rather, take a mixture of “liberal” and “conservative” stances. As such, one person’s “moderate” may be radically different than another person’s “moderate.”
Among those who are deeply dissatisfied with the platforms of the two major parties, there are those who feel that the government overtaxes, overspends, over-regulates, and spends too much time and resources policing what goes on in our bedrooms as well as the rest of the world while there are also those who conversely feel that the government should tax the rich more, spend more on government programs, regulate businesses more, legislate morality, and rely upon the military to solve the world’s problems. These two groups, the libertarian-leaning types and the communitarian-leaning types have as little in common with each other as liberals do with conservatives, and there’s little incentive for these two groups should work together under a single party’s banner (other than the fact that they both oppose the two major parties).
I would like to see Unity08 challenge our two-party system. But I will withhold any endorsement of Unity08 until its members provide a modest platform spelling out their underlying positions on fiscal/economic issues, social/personal issues, and foreign policy issues.
[...] I wrote this post in response to the Unity08 article that was posted by Michael earlier today. Although posted in the comments section following that [...]
Shocking as some may find it, on this issue I agree 100% with Nick Rivera.
Mr. van der Galien, thank you for posting about Unity08.
I have posted corrections to Mr. Rivera’s comment, which can be read on his original post here:
http://themoderatevoice.com/politics/2008-elections/13773/should-inpendent-minded-voters-rally-to-unity08/
Sincerely,
Bob Roth
VP Online Marketing, Unity08
Traffic from Colbert’s show caused a temporary shut down of unity08′s site.
[...] I wrote this post in response to the Unity08 article that was posted by Michael earlier today. Although posted in the comments section following that [...]
[...] I wrote this post in response to the Unity08 article that was posted by Michael earlier today. Although posted in the comments section following that [...]
[...] Themoderatevoice.com [...]