The time has come.
Our country's politics are getting stale and tired.
We need a new political party.
For years now, literally years, politics in this country has been a two party affair. There's the Democrats (boo!) and the Republicans (a very slight yay!). The democrats believe in killing babies, taxing the shit outta you, and spending your hard earned money on those who don't want to work. Republicans believe in killing baby killers, the entire middle east, parts of asia, criminals at home, and, well, anyone they can get their hands on. They also believe in not taxing the rich, so they give better campaign contributions.
The political parties in recent years, though, have been moving even further away from one another. The Democrats (as evidenced most recently by Mr. Obama's ideas for "change" in his presidency) are moving towards a socialist agenda. Healthcare for all, college for all, prostitutes for all. The government will take your paychecks from you, give you spare CHANGE for them, and then tell you to use their services. The Republicans have started becoming the fundamentalist religion party, wanting to legislate morality (as evidenced by the uproar over McCain talking about choosing a pro-choice running mate...this was obviously a dealbreaker issue). It's retarded.
From what I can tell from watching those around me, listening to voters who aren't party hardliners, and, well, from common sense, most of America is somewhere in the middle. There are voters who are "economically conservative and socially liberal," some who are just the opposite, many who are "economically conservative and socially moderate" (like yours truely), and hardly anyone who falls in step behind either party's entire platform, or even, these days, 50% of that platform. Americans nationwide have to hold their noses and pick what they perceive to be the better of two evils, and that is not right.
America should have a choice in political parties that speaks to what a majority of people believe. We need a political party that doesn't run to the far right or the far left. We need a political party that believes people should be free to choose how they spend their hard earned money, and also believes that people should be free to lead their own social lives as well. We need a party for those conservatives who still believe in fiscally responsible government. We need a party for those liberals who believe in the freedom to control your pocketbook as well as the freedom to control your personal life. We need a party for those libertarians who believe the state can be limited without being stripped to the bones. We need a party for conservatives who believe in the value of the environment, and liberals who believe in the power of the free market.
We need the Bull Moose Party.
The Bull Moose Party was a short lived third party in the 1912 election, and was the only third party to come in second in a presidential race (running Teddy Roosevelt, one of my political heroes). It was formed by members of the Republican party who had become dissatisfied with the political party, and sought to change our political system. The platform of the Bull Moose Party (known formally as the Progressive Party) stated the following: "Political parties exist to secure responsible government and to execute the will of the people. From these great tasks both of the old parties have turned aside. Instead of instruments to promote the general welfare, they have become the tools of corrupt interests which use them impartially to serve their selfish purposes." They go on to talk about more specific to the times issues, but I believe the findamental reason for their creation can still hold true today.
Political parties today have become parties of platitudes. Barack Obama's cries for change have moved a nation and invigorated a party. When looking at his platform, though, he's basically fighting for the same socialist ideals the Democratic Party has been hoping to implement for years. That's change from the current system, for sure, but it's not particularly anything earth shattering. The Republican Party has become a party of social legislation. Anti-abortion has become the central issue for the party, and anyone who believes otherwise will be ridiculed and shouted out of the Party as "Republican in Name Only (RINO)." This is ridiculous. There is no party for people who want control over their money and their social life.
We need the New Bull Moose Party.
The New Bull Moose Party would be for:
~Lower taxes
~Continued support for the decisions in Roe v. Wade (with exceptions for partial-birth abortions and an abortion when the attempt fails and the baby is born alive anyways...which are grotesque and shouldn't ever be allowed)
~A growth in states rights to determine social issues for their people (same-sex marriage, death penalty, etc.)
~A departure from government being focused on social issues, and returning to issues that matter to the country: our economy and our safety.
~Maintaining a strong military to protect ourselves at home, and only intervening abroad when it's absolutely necessary for our safety.
~Energy Independence that incorporates all forms of energy: domestic drilling, nuclear, some solar and wind (where it makes sense). An especially big focus would be on nuclear, which is clean and can produce loads of affordable energy.
I'd venture a guess to say that this is a pretty moderate platform. Economically conservative, socially moderate to somewhat liberal, a common sense focus of government.
We need to send today's political parties a message. We need them to return to fighting for us, and stop fighting one another. The federal government should be focusing on things that affect every American every day, and not social issues driven by religious morality. National defense and the domestic economy are the biggest issues facing our country, not abortion and same-sex marriage. Those social issues shouldn't even be on the table when electing a president or congressman. They have no bearing on what kind of leader they would be or how the country would be run.
We need a moderate-right party for a moderate-right population.
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Sorry, I'm just getting sick of the parties nit picking on issues that have no relevance to the country at large. I don't care if a Palin daughter is pregnant. I don't care if Obama is Muslim or Christian. I don't care if McCain got divorced or Biden plagerized a speech. I want to know how they are going to govern our economy and how they are going to keep this country safe. Obviously this country will never accept a third party. But, if one to emerge in the center, and garner, say, 22% of the vote, maybe even pick up a state or two, people would have to take notice. Then maybe, maybe, the political parties can get back on message and start governing the country, instead of our personal lives.
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