U.s.a. Political Problem

[DoWalker]

Like it or not, ours is a two-party system. I wish third parties were competetive, but they're simply not. Here's the problem -- In order to be supported by one of the two parties, a candidate must swing to the extreme. In order to be elected by the general population, they must then moderate their positions. This system gives us one of two outcomes:

1. candidates who have no strong convictions; they'll tell us what we want to hear at the time

-or-

2. candidates who are skewed to the extreme right or left, but get elected by a small margin, alienating half of the nation.

Question: Is there any hope for moderates in American politics?

[sonrisa]

what do you mean by moderate?

if you mean middle-of-the-road, the only 2 things you'll find there are a dead possum & a yellow stripe

can't be all things to everybody. Ask the Dems

[DoWalker]

can't be all things to everybody. Ask the Dems

That's what I meant by telling us what we want to hear -- I think in recent years, the Democratic candidates have overdone this, and come off as vascillating.

By "moderate," I'm talking about representative of a large portion of the overall population, instead of a small fringe segment.

Take abortion. Most Americans believe it's wrong, but the government shouldn't intrude on a woman's right to choose. However, no candidates run on this platform, because a Republican must be pro-life, and a Democrat must be pro-choice in order to win their respective primaries.

A rational person can see both sides of most issues. Our political climate has become increasingly more hostile to trying to see the other side's point and come to a concensus through acceptible compromise. Everything is either black or white, and if you stray from the party line, you are alienated.

[vicente]

Question: Is there any hope for moderates in American politics?

Moderate is a fluid thing, historically determined through the media-tion of the majority of the Sheeple.

The 2004 Democratic Convention irrefutably showed that what is now considered the Middle is in fact further Right then the Far Right during the Reagan Era.

I would certainly like to see Howard Dean bring the Democrats and most of the Country back to its Liberal Roots.

“a Liberal is someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people — their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties — someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, that is what a ‘Liberal’ means, and I’m proud to say I’m a ‘Liberal.’” John F Kennedy September 14, 1960

Liberalism is to the principles upon which America was founded, as Conservativism is to hate, arrogance and anti-Americanism

If you're not Liberal, you're Illiberal.

If the majority of US citizens continue voting Illiberal, we are going to make this Planet uninhabitable,..ie:

"We don't have to protect the environment, the Second Coming is at hand....after the last tree is felled, Christ will come back." Secretary of the Interior James Watt on Global Warming

:)

[DoWalker]

Moderate is a fluid thing, historically determined through the media-tion of the majority of the Sheeple.

Of course, as are terms such as "liberal" and "conservative." Take civil rights: in 1850, a radical idea, in 1930, a liberal one, in 1970, a moderate one, and today, to suggest that the government should infringe on people's civil liberties due to race is such a far-right concept, it's not taken seriously by most.

The 2004 Democratic Convention irrefutably showed that what is now considered the Middle is in fact further Right then the Far Right during the Reagan Era.

Sad, but true. Thankfully, the pendulum always swings back. Give it another five years, when we've been at war in Iran for a while, and I predict you'll see a crazy, 60's-like decade.

I would certainly like to see Howard Dean bring the Democrats and most of the Country back to its Liberal Roots.

You're dreaming. Dean's not the man to do it.

If the majority of US citizens continue voting Illiberal, we are going to make this Planet uninhabitable,..ie:

Amen, Brother. GW would be a bit easier to take without his constant war on the environment to fatten up his big-energy friends.