Greenspan: Third-party candidate coming

[swag]

http://money.cnn.com/2006/03/10/news/newsmakers/greenspan_book/index.htm

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Recently retired Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan believes that there will be a major independent candidate for president from the nation's political center, according to a published report.

In an interview with The New York Times about his post-Fed activities, Greenspan said he makes that prediction in a memoir, for which he recently got an estimated $8.5 million advance from Penguin Press, a unit of British publishing concern Pearson (Research).

Greenspan told the Times he plans to argue that the current "ideological divide" separating conservative Republicans and liberal Democrats leaves "a vast untended center from which a well-financed independent presidential candidate is likely to emerge in 2008 or, if not then, in 2012."
. . .
He told the newspaper he plans to write some of his early life history, including the influence of his mentor, the author and novelist Ayn Rand, who shaped him as a young man into a libertarian. And he promised the newspaper he also will describe his "encounters with, and impressions of" numerous politicians, cabinet members, presidents and world leaders.

[Nickster]

1. From the man that said paying off the National Debt too soon would be bad.

[blm]

2. It wiil happen - ever since the centrists in Israel abandoned the left and

right there and formed their own party, I expected the centrists in the US to follow suit.

If their is a centrist party, you can say goodbye to the far left and the far right. The American people will get behind the centrists and their message - the corporate media will make certain of it.

[BR_Parkway]

3. Joe-mentum!

[AndyTiedye]

12. That's Not Center

[Mythsaje]

4. What...does he think we have a new Teddy Roosevelt

hiding in the wings?

Okay, whatever...

[OKNancy]

5. thread about this last month in GD-P

if anyone wants to check discussion
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=2483157

[VirginiaDem]

6. Or the 3rd party could come from fringes

if a non-fundy (i.e. McCain, Guiliani, Rice) get the nomination.

[AlinPA]

13. What might be good would be another Pat Robertson candidate to

suck up all those religious, intolerant, hate mongering conservatives from across 'murca who can run with their bibles in their hand and so called "Christian" issues. That's 30% of the vote that R's wouldn't get.

[VirginiaDem]

17. It's highly likely as the party already exists.

It's called the Constitution Party. They're bonified wingnuts--the party was a joke in 2004 but as they will be able to get on the ballot relatively easily, they make a great wingnut resting place in case a moderate gets the nomination.

[SquireJons]

15. Not worried about that

A fringe 3rd party candidate will not attract anyone. A true moderate would do very well. Unfortunately, the party most likely to fall would be the democratic party. The hard core pugs will never abandon their party. They'll go down with the ship (and stay there). Democrats tend to be more open minded and are willing to change if they think it's in the best interest of the country. I can see what happened to the Whigs, happening to the Democrats.

What is a Democrat these days? Are we the party of Clinton / Lieberman? Or are we the party of Mondale / JFK? I think there is too much internal discord inside of our party. My favorite quote:

"I don't belong to an organized political party. I'm a Democrat" -Will Rogers

[VirginiaDem]

18. Under specific circumstances, a fringe party could

attract a whole big chunk of Republican voters. The Constitution Party already runs candidates and knows how to get on ballots, is Fundy, and would attract a lot of supporters, especially in the South, with the right candidate IF a non-Fundy gets the Repub'n nomination.

Giuliani and Rice would push a lot of Southern fundies toward the Constitutionalists. McCain might be able to shore it up a bit better as he's anti-choice/pro-life but even he might alienate enough voters.

[meegbear]

7. Is he whoring for a libertarian?

That's all we fucking need.

[newscott]

8. Ayn Rand are you f-ing kidding me?????????

We let this guy near our money?????

Holy crap!!!!

[swag]

9. I shit you not.

She was there when he assumed duties as Chair of the Council of Economic Advisors at the Ford White House, leering at the cameras, declaring "He is my disciple!" through her nicotine-coated choppers.

on edit: corrected historical details.

[newscott]

11. Damn I missed that!

My in-laws used to be into her. They went to see her speak many times in Cambridge.

[swag]

19. I hope his memoir clears up whether Ayn demanded his sexual services

as she had demanded Nathaniel Branden's.

[katty]

22. this has been common knowledge for decades

[bullimiami]

10. its not the center thats missing.

the republican party has turned into a party of totalitarian christofascists, they have abandoned the entire conservative ideal.

if there is a 3rd party candidate i think it will be a perot type conservative and it will split the republican vote.

[Copperred]

14. That would be great

I would love to see an old line ANTI RELIGION, PRO BUSINESS, PRO DEFENSE, ANTI SOCIAL CONTROL (no drug laws, speech laws, do what you want America, etc) type party......

[yurbud]

20. it's the non-business owned that's missing. Dean wasn't a far lefty

just not "on the team" which was enough to scare the bejesus out of the business-owned Dems and the GOP.

[AnneD]

16. Washed up partisan hack

opens mouth, spews bilge.
Do we need to put a wooden stake through his heart, assuming he has one...oh, wait, it's Cheney that doesn't have a hear. Meanspan is just the hack.

[katty]

21. over a yr ago Atlantic Monthly published an extensive

scenario for 3rd party candidate demand and election 'upset' in '08.