Citizens Party

[Lerkfish]

I would like to suggest the creation of the Citizens Party.

Where there are no career politicians, ripe for lobbying by big corporations.
Simple, ordinary citizens volunteering to run for offices and do the job, without electioneering or setting up political featherbeds for later.
After your turn in the barrel, you step down and let the next citizen run for that office.
You keep working at the job to the best of your ability right up until the last day.
All funding is provided by other citizens only.
Platforms are clearly and fairly presented.
No campaign time wasted on negative attacks

I'm a dreamer, i know.

[Mass]

1. Was it not the Populist Party in the early 1900s?

[Lerkfish]

3. probably, that doesn't make it a bad idea.

and, even though I'm old, I'm not that old to remember for sure.

:)

[Mass]

9. Did I say it was a bad idea?

[acmejack]

2. You want things to be like they should be

Me too! Not in this lifetime. The only citizens that have a voice now are the moneyed elite. Welcome to my oligarchy...

[Lerkfish]

4. Yeah, I know, but remember Ghandi?

he had no avenue of power, yet he drove out the british.

He just started to move in a direction, and eventually they all followed him.

[cranston36]

5. Red Ronnie

Did Ronald Regean really destroy Communism or did he just go into business with it?
Vladimir Putin showed up in Washington, DC recently to talk with the President.
What was he talking about? President Bush was talking about Hurricane Katrina while Putin did what he does best - he stood there with his mouth shut.
I have read that each day in Moscow over 14 people are hit by cars and that 300 pedestrians have been killed this year.
There is news that a sort of political party that features skin heads, white supremacy and Russian superiority is growing.
But what was Putin in the United States for?
Russia is one of the world’s largest oil exporters. On October 1st, 2005 the export duty on petroleum will be raised. Domestic Russian prices will not be effected.
Meanwhile back in Russia Putin has his own problems. He just recently attended a memorial service for the victims of the terrorist massacre in Beslan where over 150 children were murdered.
The former CEO of Yukos Mikhail Khodorkovsky is running for office from jail and Putin apparently arranged for his appeal to be denied early so that he can stuff him into the shadows.
There were reportedly 200 police officers sent to the court to guard against the businessman from escaping.
Vladimir Putin is more concerned about keeping his monopoly on power locked up than he is on protecting Russian children.
Sounds a bit like the problems we are having here in the U.S.

[Lerkfish]

6. Que? what does your post have to do with this thread?

:shrug:

[unkachuck]

7. IMHO...

....I like the idea of a Citizens Party but what is it going to stand for and how is the average non-elected voter going to perceive this as a better political and economic deal?....

....what the Left needs is a new 21st century working ideology to compete with global corporate fascism....and the Left needs to be driven by this ideology, not by money....

....if we build this 21st century ideology, won't the 'party' follow?....

[mmonk]

8. Too many ballot access laws

I wish we were in a true democracy where a grass roots party could rise up and field cadidates broadly, but there are retrictions in trying to run against the entrenched parties and those that oil the two party only "democracy".

[durutti]

10. There actually was a Citizens Party at one point...

It was founded by Barry Commoner in 1980. He ran for President on the Citizens Party ticket, winning 0.27 percent of the vote.

[Lerkfish]

11. thanks! didn't know that.