A Moderates Manifesto

I guess now that the latest election cycle is over (or nearly so - thanks, Alaska) and our wonderful nation is seemingly more divided than ever that it is time to take pause and think about the governing of our land.

I think it's time to level set some conditions that can be easily proven as fact:

It could be assumed that there is a group of about 30%-40% of the voting population that will only follow or vote for democratic and/or liberal causes and issues, while another 30%-40% will do the same for republican and/or conservative issues. They will not consider opposing views or alternatives and they are becoming increasingly unwilling to compromise or may even support a candidate solely because they don’t like the other candidate.

We have become a nation of black/white, right/wrong, left/right, “I win/you lose” thinking. This is non-productive at best and can lead to hostility or even violence at worst. As it is often stated in business, “You don’t manage the black or the white. They seldom change and are often absolute. You manage the gray.”

Second, the overwhelming majority of elections are decided by less than 10% of the popular vote. Even when there are the wholesale changes in the makeup of the government by party, the individual votes are along the lines of 55%-45%. The most lopsided elections may be 65%-35%. What this means is that there is a fluctuating core group of people that actually decide the outcomes of these elections. The members of this group may normally lean left or right or they may deal with each issue individually but they will make their decisions as individuals and will not subscribe to group think.

This group consists of people that are often the most informed and well-read on the issues, exhibit the least loyalty to a particular political party or ideology, and are the most willing to compromise, realizing that it is often the only rational way to govern a nation of 300 million wildly diverse people effectively. Unfortunately, it is often this same group of people that are the most turned off by the political process and tend only to participate shortly before major elections.

If thinking, rational Americans are to restore any sanity to our political process, this key group of moderate, independent, and progressive people that comprise 20%-30% of the voting population need to organize themselves and get involved in the process - start to finish. Here is a framework that they might start with:

As thinking moderate, independent, progressives they must be involved with the political process from the outset. This means that they must not allow the established parties to ensure that their favored candidates are the only options during a major election.

The parties do this by ensuring that their favored candidates receive the most money and attention while quickly dismissing or, more often, defaming those candidates that they don’t agree with or may not stand a reasonable chance of being elected. When the primary elections occur, their favored candidates are often the winners, often through a turnout of less than 10% of registered voters.

Moderate independents must not allow this to happen. They should be questioning the slate of candidates to find those who are truly qualified for the office and will carry forward ideals that we can support. If those candidates do not exist in their local areas, they should encourage those who are qualified to run and lend them our full support. And most importantly, they MUST vote and ensure that others do as well! This is critical to ensuring that the greatest breadth of candidates is considered.

The public must insist on knowing where the money supporting the candidates comes from. When a gubernatorial candidate spends $160 million of their own money for a position which pays a fraction of that in salary, you need to ask what their motivation for seeking office is. In light of recent legislation and Supreme Court decisions, this is an uphill battle but it is essential to a functioning democracy.

Finally, voters must insist on eliminating attack ads and returning civility to the political process while preserving free speech. Candidates should be limited to announcing or discussing their plans, ideas, or accomplishments that can be fact-checked. Again, this is likely an uphill battle but is essential to lower the emotional quotient that is raised by these ads.

Anyway, just my perspective - a moderate, independent, thinking, proud American who only wants the best for the finest democracy on this planet.