The Birth of a Party
 

This is kind of bleed over from another thread, but there is no point in completely hijacking that thread so i decided to start it here.

So first of all - would you be willing to abandon your current party for a new one? If so, what should be the basic tenets of our existence?

I believe that we could greatly improve the political game of the US by changing the very nature of the election cycle. Instead of having different terms of office with long and bitter battles for reelection we should change a few things.
We are forming a new party which will have the following four changes as the central theme for the party's activities:

1) All national offices (house, senate, president) should be limited to one, six year term
2) Elections should be held every November with a portion of the positions up for grabs at any given time
3) Lobby groups and 527's are abolished immediately (any lobbiest found in DC will be shot on site. any office holder found to have met with them is immediately dismissed
4) A flat tax on any earnings over $25,000 annually, no loopholes or deductions. percentage to be determined

Those are the basic tenets of the Party. What other planks should we have in our platform?

Big vs small gov't
isolationist, expansionist, world cop?

I guess I should point ou that i support the one, six year term because i think most politicians want to leave a positive legacy but end up spinning their wheels trying to get reelected. If they didn't have to worry about that then it would motivate them to work hard to accomplish their goals in the only term they get.

I would say that they can run for the same office after their term is over and they have gone through another 6 year cycle.
Also they can run for a different office but must sit out one year, that way they cannot take time away from their duties to worry about the next election. remember there will be elections for different offices every year.

example:

2005 - elected to house
2011 - leave office
2012 - run for senate and get elected
2018 - leave office
2019 - run for house or presidency

I've only ever been registered as an independent and am voting for Badnarik this election because I believe in many of the platforms of the candidate. In 2000, I supported John McCain. I believe him to be an independent, logical thinker.

I think some of your ideas are good, although it's hard to know how things would work in practice.
1) one term - there would be a lot of turnover in government, which could both be good and bad.
4) I am all for a flat tax.

By the way, what is the name of the new party?

No offense, but big woop. As an educated person who keeps up with political news more than the average person, I don't see that it matters a lick what party I'm a member of, except to determine which primary (if any) I vote in. As an average joe on the street, whichever party's ideas I may identify with, why does it matter to me what party I'm a "member" of? And what makes you think your effort will be any more successful than those of previous "third parties" of recent memory?

I personally think political parties have done more harm than good. So I may be more inclined to dismiss the idea out of hand.

I guess I should rephrase what I said: "I wanted to John McCain to win"
I didn't actually vote for him in the primary's because I'm not a registered Republican

I don't vote-- there are no Wiccan candidates.

*falls over grabbing chest*

holy crap brianna - we need to fix this situation immediately. they may all be slightly different versions of the central asshat theme, but you still need to vote.

I never got to choose beer before... I like voting much more now.

ok folks - thanks for voting, but let's see if we can turn my quickly sinking thread around. i know we aren't forming a new party - hell i'm a pretty die hard independent myself. the point was to see what kind of party we would create if we had the option.

if we were to create a new party what would be the important features or touchstones of the party?
you are all free to throw out suggestions.

Or use the entire six years to steal as much as possible and take care of people that might employ them in the future, seeing as they can't get retreaded anyway. :(

A corporation is not a person.

if they were assured of only one term would the real crooks really be drawn to these positions still?

Oh, oh, oh, I'm confused about selection #7 -- what happens if my Kommissar isn't in town?

You're in his eye
And you'll know why
The more you live
The faster you will die

I'll go for the beer.

Makes for a far better party.

I think we tried to start a new political party here once before. The Aloyicious Party, IIRC. Named after one of the guy's dogs.

Nice. :thumbsup:

I'll second a corporation is not a person and add the end of the Imperial Presidency.

Now I have to ask: what is a Kommissar?

The Communist official whose job it is to make sure that you are correctly politically indoctrinated and not in need of reeducation or perhaps even relocation to a special camp or school where you will learn to express proper appreciation of the Worker's Paradise in which you live.

Der Kommisar is an 80's song originally by Falco but later made more popular by a group called "After the Fire".

Momma always said parties are from the debil.

I think that a good idea would also be that in addition to your planks, to eliminate the congressional pension. I can see your party in about fifty years going bankrupt due to all those pensions draining tax dollars. One term should not entitle you to a salary for life.

No more TV or radio advertizing in National Elections. You want to know what a candidate stands for - you have to read about it in a paper or news magazine. This would serve two purposes, knock down the "billionaire factor" a couple of notches, and ensure that voters would be forced to make a somewhat more reasoned choice then that given by sound bites and media hype.

But sound bites are so delicious...especially with powdered sugar and just a bit of honey.....oh. right. :D


Unfortunately, there's very little chance of this happening. Even if a Wiccan starts to make it through the candidate ranks, someone eventually is going to pull the God card in a smear campaign and at this point that's a very strong hand to beat.

I personally would like to see and would likely vote for a candidate with the following background: went to a public school from K-12, worked summers in fast food or retail or some other minimum wage job during high school, went to college on loans/worked way through college (parents paid for little to none), worked for a period of time with a temp agency that did not provide standard benefits (health, dental, vision, etc), gets into politics at the 'average person' level (not by family ties or wealth status expectations). THIS kind of person, I feel, would have a better idea of what the average American is going through. He (or she really) will know first hand how it is to not have regular healthcare because you can't afford it, not just hear about it. They'd know first hand how our public schools are. I don't care about the schools a candidate went to or the colleges he attended or other such frills. Really don't care about a war record either. Having been in the military and/or been a veteran doesn't make a candidate any more American, any more a leader or any more patriotic than someone who hasn't. I want a candidate who has BEEN there and doesn't just sympathize (publicly) from atop his pile of cash. I would identify better with a person like this. But...the way things work around here, that person will likely never get much higher than local or state level official. Their opinions and views on things might be too 'radical' or 'uncustomary' for the other rich people at the top.

so i can count on your vote then?

One of my friends from high school is pagan. Or I should say "was."

We re-met about 18-20 years after graduation because she was a poll worker (for the Dems) at my local polling place. She recognized me, and we spent a lot of time catching up before I went in to vote. Through some very unusual coincidences, she had also ended up being my best friend's divorce lawyer, largely because she was a pagan attorney.

So ... this past primary, I see her again (the polls are where we keep in touch) and instead of her usual gauzy skirt and hand-knit sweater from organically raised, gently harvested wool, she was wearing a sensible business suit ... as we started our hugs and greetings, she whispered in my ear "You gotta know this ... I'm a Republican now and don't let anybody know that I was pagan. I'm Catholic again."

She went on to explain that she has political aspirations, and such information would not serve her well.

Not that it bothers McCain Feingold and company, but eliminating freedom of speech is the last thing I want to endorse.

You've got mine, lookout. And not just because I'm a totally ignorant voter, either! :us:

thanks... that's 2 votes for me. if only i can get my wife to change her mind, then i'll have 3.

Trouble is, a person just out of college and single is probably pretty healthy and might not care about health Ins, at that point in their lives. :confused: