Professor Charles Wheelan, founder of the Centrist Project, which is now called Unite America, discusses his project here. The interview is carried by Merion West, an on-line news source which carries news about attempts to strengthen the center in the U.S.
Ballot Access News
Edited By Richard Winger
What *center* ???
MORE/LESS control freak STATISM — for 6,000 plus years.
ALL sorts of KILLER/ENSLAVER monarchs/oligarchs NOW ready, willing and able to wipe out all humans on Mother Earth via WMD.
Danger level now is about a mere BILLION times the danger level on 1 Sep 1939 — start of WW II.
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PR and AppV
The “center” is a code-word for pluralist division-psychology for a four-party system since dividing the two-party plurality system (close to a three-party tie) requires a new sector winning with 25
% (plus two votes), the two-parties and a fourth faction, cannot reach more votes than 25% (plus one vote) each.
Prof. Wheelan is just another ivory tower academic who hopes that other people will implement his ideas. If he really cared, he would get himself elected to something – a state legislature, a US House seat, whatever, and then use that position to lead a movement based on his ideas. But like many before him, he’s just a charlatan bloviating to sell his theory (and his books).
Wheelan really can’t see the forest for the trees. Single winner FPTP elections will always result in two parties that are each held together by a code of loyalty and uniform voting. Trying to build a coalition of “the center” is a complete waste of time if he wants to change the climate of governance. He needs to join the folks at fairvote.org to change the system of elections instead. (And FWIW, “the center” is a noun that is almost completely devoid of meaning.)
DW–
How about Sam Adams in the 1760s in the lead up to 19 Apr 1775 in Mass. ???
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PR and AppV
DW – the interview does state that Wheelan ran for Congress in 2009.
Seriously? Wheelan is nothing more than an ivory tower pundit looking for his 15 minutes of fame. His idea is stupid.
Here’s his actual electoral activities: Wheelan finished in sixth place in the Democratic primary for the special election for the US House seat to replace Rahm Emmanuel who had quit mid-term to become Obama’s chief of staff. That hardly counts. And I said “get himself elected” – there’s a huge difference between actually getting elected and filing some paperwork.
And finally, DR’s comparison of pre-USA Sam Adams’ activities to Wheelan’s mildly dumb “solution” is ridiculous.
DW — What comparison ???
It was a question.
Par for the course of the many illogic/irrational/and worse comments by the pre-school folks on this list.
DR –
Answer: the implicit comparison you made between Wheelan’s book (which is reason for the interview) and Sam Adams agitation for secession from Great Britain.
What is the implicit/explicit magic RW standard for *just swell* versus *ridiculous*
— esp regarding to suggested political changes in regimes ???