tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26542777.post116104976805095366..comments2023-10-26T01:59:40.483-07:00Comments on The Dividist Papers: Disunity '06mwhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11181222537529037359noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26542777.post-1165502692501384842006-12-07T06:44:00.000-08:002006-12-07T06:44:00.000-08:00Roly,Thanks for your comment and stopping by. I am...Roly,<BR/>Thanks for your comment and stopping by. I am not going to delve into a point by point debate on your commentary here, as much of this has been rendered moot by the results of the 2006 midterms. The American electorate has (to use your metaphor) ordered the steak the way they want it (divided), and the chefs are cooking it now. I don't think we will be sending it back. <BR/><BR/>I will make a couple of points. I did <I>not</I> state that midterms in general were more important that presidential elections in general. I <I>did</I> state that the 2006 Midterm was more important than the 2008 Presidential election, an assertion I stand by. As we have seen from actual results, the government has taken a very positive turn since the midterm election, which reinforces my point. No thanks to Unity08, who failed to support any actual candidates or stake out any actual positions in the midterms. <BR/><BR/>I was indeed aware of the "Uniity Petition" campaign, and wrote about it in a subsequent post<I> <A HREF="http://westanddivided.blogspot.com/2006/11/disunity06-kicks-unity08-butt.html" REL="nofollow">"Disunity06 kicks Unity08 Butt"</A></I>. Perhaps you are the one who should have done a little more googling. I think it is great that Unity08 inspired high school and college students to get involved in the political process. Their efforts would have had more meaning if they were directed to support an actual candidate or real issues rather than a meaningless petition. <BR/><BR/>In that post I sum up my views of Unity08 with this:<BR/><BR/><I>"It is just so painfully obvious that the "unity" in Unity08 will last exactly as long as they support no actual candidates, have no platform, and have no opinion on any actual issues, and will not last one minute longer."</I><BR/><BR/>Finally, I note from your blog that you are a midshipmen at Annapolis, and will conclude by expressing my appreciation and gratitude for your commitment and service to our country. Good luck.mwhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11181222537529037359noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26542777.post-1165302959741228152006-12-04T23:15:00.000-08:002006-12-04T23:15:00.000-08:00I love discussions such as this. You and I togethe...I love discussions such as this. You and I together have an opportunity to agree to disagree and express our opinions. Amazingly, that is the very same thing that Unity08 is attempting to fight for as well. I am a follower of the Unity08 movement and am hoping to see some positive outcome from it soon. However, I saw a few flaws in your perception on what Unity08 is about, so I come now to present to you a perspective I do not believe you have seen and should you still feel it is not a good program, then I encourage you to continue blogging your opinion on it. <BR/><BR/>Primarily, I want to say that a democratic government with opposing political parties have been essential in the history of American politics. They provide different perspectives to approach whatever situation should arise. Some are realists while others are idealists and in different times and toward different countries the two different policies may be used in foreign affairs. They provide opposing viewpoints on domestic issues and how we should approach the economy. A balance of these positions are what have made this country great. <BR/><BR/>However, your reference to Morris Fiorina makes me pensive. If the people are not polarized, but they are only given polarized choices, then is America not a country polarized BY FORCE of the political elites?<BR/><BR/>Another important thing I am forced to identify is that you are either clearly mistaken in what you interpreted or that Doug Bailey had a bad interview. The polling data is is entirely clear on the website what the Princeton Survey Research found. In case it was difficult for you to find, here is the link: http://www.unity08.com/pollsummary.<BR/><BR/>Your humor is amazing, I have to give you that. Council of Elrond with hobbits and elves, great job! This is however a serious problem and we cannot just sit by and use LotR (as much as we all love it) to poke fun at something so dire. Unity08, I can guarantee you, is working very hard at doing everything it says it is trying to do. It needs time though, so don't rule them out just yet. The people behind the initiative are go-getters and straight-shooters, but like most great things time and money is needed before they can break those barricades. <BR/><BR/>A critical thing to point out is how you say that Unity08 dismisses the 2006 midterm election. They didn't. As a matter of fact, a group of high school students, part of a subgroup known as the Unity Petition campaign went out to the polls and asked voters to not only elect someone into office, but more importantly, send them a message to play their part in stopping the partisan bickering on Capitol Hill. I suggest you google that and find out more about it. You might find several news stories on these high school students across the country getting involved in our American system.<BR/><BR/>Although I disagree that mid-term elections are more important than a Presidential one, by very virtue that the President wields more power than a Senator (just my perception of politics I guess), I do agree that mid-term elections in 2006 were huge. I even agree that the House and Senate party majority leadership needed to change to bring back a balanced government.<BR/><BR/>In theory, you are absolutely right. In most decades of our history this would have solved the problem. However, I urge you to take a step back and look at the situation we face. The Democrats and Republicans would much rather filibuster the opposing party's bill than discuss and compromise over it. It is either one extreme or the other. That's like going to a steakhouse and being given the choices of bloody rare or black and burnt. And many people may like it either of those ways, but I do not believe a majority of the American people like either of those options. So back to my earliest point, if those are the only options they're given by the steakhouse waiter, then how can they get the steak they want. I'll tell you: They walk to the kitchen and force it on the chef himself.<BR/><BR/>In essence, this is exactly what Unity08 wants to do. Again, a divided government is what our Founding Fathers wanted, no doubt. However, our Founding Fathers (with the exception of a sword-carrying vice president), could get along and discuss the issues they needed to. A divided government is the answer to most democracies, however ours has become so aggressive toward one another that it leaves us with no choice but to forced upon the government such a large change that it will affect the entire Capitol. Unity08 has a bigger picture than just electing a President and Vice President from different countries. It further wants to use the information age to get Americans involved in their political parties. It also wants the elected Unity08 ticket to work together and put in straight-shooting active people from both sides of the fence that will get things done because of their expertise in the field they will be chosen into (and not just because they are friends of the family or members of the winning party). It also wants to reform the way lobbyists affect the decisions of Congress. It definitely even wants to reform the parties so that they provide more stability and less hostility toward the other ones. Now by electing a Unity08 ticket that doesn't necessarily mean it will happen, but this ticket can certainly be the catalyst that will get our country back on the right track so that we can return to the simple solution of a "divided government" as you suggest a few years down the road.<BR/><BR/>I thank you for reading and I am eager to hear your opinion.Rolyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15492904588067289058noreply@blogger.com