“The sad truth of the matter is that American politics is, on some level, a bit dull. If you strongly object to the current direction of the country, you have to support giving the other party a chance to run things. There’s no other way around it, and anyone who says otherwise is part of the problem.”
Mr. Yglesias is upset that Jonathan Alter and David Broder wrote positively about a bipartisan internet project that seeks to form a third-party ticket for the ’08 presidential race. Unity08 explains how the candidates would be chosen “in the first half of 2008 – via a virtual and secure online convention in which all American voters will be qualified to vote.”
It is our plan that convention delegates would vote not for each office separately, but for the combined ticket. Each candidate for President would have chosen his/her candidate for Vice President before the balloting begins. (Independents may run for the nomination if they present a Unity Team from both parties.)
Any registered voter is eligible to become a delegate but further information on how the delegates will actually be chosen requires one to volunteer for consideration.
Jonathan Alter writes:
The Unity08 plan is for an online third-party convention in mid-2008, following the early primaries. Any registered voter could be a delegate; their identities would be confirmed by cross-referencing with voter registration rolls (which would also prevent people from casting more than one ballot). That would likely include a much larger number than the few thousand primary voters who all but nominate the major party candidates in Iowa and New Hampshire. This virtual process will vote on a centrist platform and nominate a bipartisan ticket. The idea is that even if the third-party nominee didn’t win, he would wield serious power in the ’08 election, which will likely be close.
The disgusted Ygelsias forsees trouble for the two-party system. I’m bored to tears.
This is not the Ron Paul (fill in the blank)/Ralph Nader (fill in the blank) ticket I’d like to see.
This is an extravagant campaign to convince Americans that mediocrity is revolutionary.