grego Posted April 1, 2017 Share Posted April 1, 2017 Shelbi Lewark was a paid field organizer in Colorado for the Republican National Committee until Donald Trump became the party’s nominee for president. Lewark, 26, was so turned off by Trump that she quit her RNC job last summer and is now working to elect independent candidates in the Centennial State....... The Centrist Project’s organizing principles are vague. The group wants candidates to seek cooperation rather than conflict, to represent people before political parties or special interests, and to be motivated by public service rather than self-interest. The messy business of hammering out a more precise agenda or platform will come down the road if the Centrist Project has electoral success. At the moment, it is trying simply to achieve liftoff. More at link https://www.yahoo.com/news/fed-up-with-the-2-parties-a-group-of-centrists-rises-up-120032723.html Fed up? Me too. I'm in. Who's with me? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LD0506 Posted April 1, 2017 Share Posted April 1, 2017 Hell of an idea I'd like to see a Pragmatist Party, not necessarily inclined right or left but supporting practical, meaningful solutions. Let the D and R factions court them for support and votes, based on realistic answers instead of rhetoric. Get away from the political factionalism and build on common sense and common ground. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Posted April 1, 2017 Share Posted April 1, 2017 Pointing out (for probably the 20th time) that one of the two parties just nominated a Presidential candidate who nearly lost her primary because her opponent successfully accused her of being a moderate pragmatist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gamebreaker Posted April 1, 2017 Share Posted April 1, 2017 I'm glad people are trying to do this. I've always been an independent, which has pissed my liberal family off. I'm sick of people, on both sides of the aisle, voting against their personal beliefs or self-interest in order to help the party win. When is someone going to vote to help the country win? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elessar78 Posted April 1, 2017 Share Posted April 1, 2017 1 hour ago, Larry said: Pointing out (for probably the 20th time) that one of the two parties just nominated a Presidential candidate who nearly lost her primary because her opponent successfully accused her of being a moderate pragmatist. That because too many of the Dems thought conservatism was dead and swung too far left? If one looks at positions of Bush 41 and Reagan, they are closer to the center almost current Democrat stances. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Sisko Posted April 1, 2017 Share Posted April 1, 2017 50 minutes ago, Elessar78 said: That because too many of the Dems thought conservatism was dead and swung too far left? If one looks at positions of Bush 41 and Reagan, they are closer to the center almost current Democrat stances. No. The reason for that is that the GOP via Faux News propaganda, gerrymandering and legalizing the auctioning off of politicians to the highest bidder has pulled the Dems to the right. Dem politicians since Slick Willie have essentially become the moderate wing of the GOP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Springfield Posted April 1, 2017 Share Posted April 1, 2017 So this isn't an April fools joke? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burgold Posted April 1, 2017 Share Posted April 1, 2017 I think this is a half good idea. The Democrats have been the party of the middle and moderates for a while now. In part, that's because since Reagan the "L" word has been kind of toxic. With the Bernie movement and the rise of Warren, I think they have been tilting more left in this last cycle, but generally, they have been pretty moderate despite how they are characterized. What the Ds really needs is more courage. They often seem afraid to take a stand or push their agenda. I think that is another reason why Bernie became popular. He took a stand while Hillary was another careful Centrist which sometimes felt like she didn't have a core ideology. You couldn't really pin down what her campaign was really about. You couldn't bumper sticker her. One of the reasons for that is because she was trying to tight rope walk the median strip and steal Republicans, moderates, and everyone who wasn't extreme. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riggo-toni Posted April 1, 2017 Share Posted April 1, 2017 So far this sounds like compromise for compromise's sake - I'll give my opinion once this 3rd party has some actual positions/policies other than a nebulous commitment to non-extremism. What are the "centrist" positions on free trade, or immigration? I bet these alone would have ESers arguing, with everyone insisting wherever they stand is the pragmatic, centrist position. I am a firm believer in free trade and allowing immigrants to come and stay here as long as they work, learn English, and obey the law. In particular, an open door for those with advanced STEM degrees. Am I centrist, far right, or far left? I want an end to our losing war on drugs, legalizing mj and prostitution, and lowering corporate tax rates offset by limiting deductions. Centrist or extremist? I'm in favor of a carbon tax to replace cap and trade and I want all regulations evaluated for cost benefit analyses. What party is for that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gamebreaker Posted April 1, 2017 Share Posted April 1, 2017 22 minutes ago, Riggo-toni said: What party is for that? There isn't and will likely never will be one, and there is nothing wrong with that. We are all complex individuals. I can agree with some of the things you want, but as a Christian I disagree with some of the others. Having to tote party lines and compromise issues I believe in is counterproductive. And sure, we're never going to get a candidate that agrees with everything we say. But I believe the political parties we have right now, and the way our politics is setup, you're rarely going to get the candidate that actually believes what they're saying and isn't pushing the party's agenda. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Wiggles Posted April 1, 2017 Share Posted April 1, 2017 2 hours ago, The Sisko said: No. The reason for that is that the GOP via Faux News propaganda, gerrymandering and legalizing the auctioning off of politicians to the highest bidder has pulled the Dems to the right. Dem politicians since Slick Willie have essentially become the moderate wing of the GOP. Exactly. A centrist party already exists. It's called the Democratic Party. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Going Commando Posted April 1, 2017 Share Posted April 1, 2017 Democrats are fairly unified. The far left wing of American politics is small and its presence in elected office at the Federal level is pretty much contained inside the Democratic party and they generally go along with the party. Democrats also don't face any major long term demographic weaknesses. Most of their positions are mainstream. A new "centrist" party like the one described in the article is for conservatives who can't stand the GoP and want a more moderate conservative party. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twa Posted April 2, 2017 Share Posted April 2, 2017 3 hours ago, clietas said: Exactly. A centrist party already exists. It's called the Democratic Party. April 1st strikes again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Wiggles Posted April 2, 2017 Share Posted April 2, 2017 1 minute ago, twa said: April 1st strikes again. I wouldn't expect a right wing nutter from Texas to understand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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