Argument for a Third Party

Today we're going to discuss the purpose of this site; creating from the grass roots up, a new political party. Grouping those of us in the center who feel marginalized by the radical wings of both the Democratic and Republican parties. As we grind through yet another ridiculously bloated election season we witness first hand the best reasons to begin this endeavor. 

Our country has been co-opted by two parties, that in a tit for tat partisan contest, have left behind their true duties to us the taxpayers in pursuit of power for the sake of power alone. Temporary spending bills loaded with earmarks for vanity projects that do little for anyone but the special interest group lobbying for it's creation. 

Extending tax relief to the evaporating "middle class", tied to legislation that would demand an immediate vote on the Keystone pipeline bringing tar sand oil to the Texas gulf coast for refining. 

This is what passes for good governance these days.

What does the creation of a potential environmental disaster have to do with giving the average taxpayer a $1000 to spend? Everything. No legislation passed by our leaders into law stands on it's own merits. For every worthy project funded by our tax dollars, there must be a hundred more focused towards the needs of  a very narrow constituency, whose ultimate goal is to enrich a few at the expense of the many. Sometimes that enrichment takes the form of stroking an ego; ever drive down a highway and see signs commemorating stretches of the road to past politicians?

 

In West Virginia the whole highway system is a result of vast overfunding from the congress during Sen. Robert Byrd's chairing of the ways and means committee. During his tenure as chairman W. Virginia received more federal highway funds than California. We have 40 million plus people in the "Golden State", driving obsolete highways or riding a patchwork system of public transport. Meanwhile there are less than a million hearty souls in "Hillbilly Holler State" with pretty new roads going absolutely nowhere, and so few cars they're likely to stay that way for some time.

These are but a few of the many egregious examples of what happens when there is not a plurality of political representation in congress. No focus on the nations needs, no action taken in scale with the demands of the situation faced. I.E. the recession, and it's fallout, where are the projects that benefit us all while employing the greatest number of citizens? While our leaders are discussing austerity, tightening of belts and so on in relation to you and I; they award themselves pay increases and benefits that even when working we would never have enjoyed. 

Precisely why we require a third party contesting elections at every level of government, in every state of the union. Ross Perot's experiment proved, that without a party structure in each state contesting congressional seats in support of his candidacy, failure was assured. Can you imagine how things would have worked if he had won? Ross would have been a lame duck from the outset with no allies in the legislative body, immediately reduced to side show status. 

Our country needs, nee' deserves, a party treading the middle ground keeping personal choice issues in the realm of the individual facing those choices. Removing divisive discourse in favor of healthy debate aimed at restoring our nation to prominence in a world ruled by reason not greed.