The Birth of a Party

[lookout123]

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?

[lookout123]

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

[TheSnake]

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.

[TheSnake]

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

[SteveDallas]

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.

[TheSnake]

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

[Trilby]

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

[lookout123]

Originally Posted by Brianna

I don't vote

*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.

[Griff]

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

[lookout123]

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.

[xoxoxoBruce]

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.

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.

[Cyber Wolf]

Originally Posted by marichiko

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.

Originally Posted by Brianna

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

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.

[lookout123]

Originally Posted by Cyber Wolf

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)

so i can count on your vote then?

[Trilby]

Originally Posted by lookout123

so i can count on your vote then?

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

[lookout123]

Originally Posted by Brianna

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

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