Rise of the Middle
Will I actually get an 08 Presidential candidate that I can support? Might there be a third-party, centrist, who is a recognized contender?
Howard Fineman of Newsweek says, maybe. He mainly cites the long period of time between the primaries and the actual election, due to the primaries getting moved up.
As a result, there is now a solid chance that we will know the identity of the GOP and Democratic nominees by February 6, 2008, a full seven months before the political party conventions in Minneapolis and Denver, respectively.
SEVEN MONTHS!
There has never been a period like it in presidential campaigning. Nature abhors a vacuum; so does politics. Buyers’ remorse among Republicans and Democrats will have eons of time to set in; independents, as numerous as party loyalists, will have little to do but nurse their dissatisfaction.
NYC mayor Michael Bloomberg (R)is mentioned as the most likely candidate to run as an Independent. Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb) also may run. A post from The Nation discusses a Bloomberg-Hagel ticket.
Clouding things a little is the Unity 08 party, which is trying to get on the ballot in all 50 states. It is an attempt to create bipartisan ticket as a third alternative to the Democrat and Republican candidates. And it has Sam Waterston as it's spokesman (perhaps jealous of L&O costar Thompson).
I would much rather have a nonpartisan ticket than a bipartisan one. Kucinich-Tancredo would not be a centrist option. A true centrist/Independent will completely disassociate himself from both major parties. Otherwise, he'll just be doing what Lieberman did, only he won't win the election. But it is at least an attempt at giving a centrist alternative.
I am certainly hoping that someone runs on a centrist ticket, and it would be great if they could get people to vote for them. However hopeful does not mean optimistic. People are generally afraid of voting outside the major parties [see post below], and I don't know if anyone will be willing to put the time or money into a campaign that will likely lose. Of course, if no one ends up running, there will still be at least one option for those who want to support a centrist candidate.
Howard Fineman of Newsweek says, maybe. He mainly cites the long period of time between the primaries and the actual election, due to the primaries getting moved up.
As a result, there is now a solid chance that we will know the identity of the GOP and Democratic nominees by February 6, 2008, a full seven months before the political party conventions in Minneapolis and Denver, respectively.
SEVEN MONTHS!
There has never been a period like it in presidential campaigning. Nature abhors a vacuum; so does politics. Buyers’ remorse among Republicans and Democrats will have eons of time to set in; independents, as numerous as party loyalists, will have little to do but nurse their dissatisfaction.
NYC mayor Michael Bloomberg (R)is mentioned as the most likely candidate to run as an Independent. Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb) also may run. A post from The Nation discusses a Bloomberg-Hagel ticket.
Clouding things a little is the Unity 08 party, which is trying to get on the ballot in all 50 states. It is an attempt to create bipartisan ticket as a third alternative to the Democrat and Republican candidates. And it has Sam Waterston as it's spokesman (perhaps jealous of L&O costar Thompson).
I would much rather have a nonpartisan ticket than a bipartisan one. Kucinich-Tancredo would not be a centrist option. A true centrist/Independent will completely disassociate himself from both major parties. Otherwise, he'll just be doing what Lieberman did, only he won't win the election. But it is at least an attempt at giving a centrist alternative.
I am certainly hoping that someone runs on a centrist ticket, and it would be great if they could get people to vote for them. However hopeful does not mean optimistic. People are generally afraid of voting outside the major parties [see post below], and I don't know if anyone will be willing to put the time or money into a campaign that will likely lose. Of course, if no one ends up running, there will still be at least one option for those who want to support a centrist candidate.
posted by Dorshorst at 11:11
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home