Henry Grabar, a writer for Slate, and author of many books, here points out how stunning it is that France elected a president this year who had founded his own political party just a year previously. Furthermore, that party now appears likely to win a huge majority in the French Parliament. Grabar ends his piece by asking why something like that hasn’t happened in the United States.
It will soon enough…. Somebody with a ton of cash needs to start a party and “come out of no where” though for it to happen.
Uh, Ross Perot tried in the 90s and then his Reform Party fizzled out within a few years as people fought over what it stood for.
Or a billionaire who was in the other party, or identified with it, can run against a craptacular field, get lots of free media coverage, face an incompetent in the general election, or something like that.
Brandon… The Reform Party fizzled because the party WAS Ross Perot. You need to build an entire party up, not around one central figure. It’s the same reason the Green Party tanked (Nader left) and the likely reason why the Libertarian Party will get less than 1% in 2020 again (no more Johnson).
You need a party to emerge “overnight”, suck in 250,000 registered paying members (ideally more) and 30,000 candidates (for state, county and local offices) in a matter of 8 months. And place those 30,000 candidates into races that suit their personalities. Don’t run a left-leaning candidate in a state legislature district if it leans right, but run them in a county office instead, if the county leans left.
That second paragraph also describes the LP, and 2020 is several years away, so it’s premature to judge how well the L.P. will do then, or what kind of candidate they would be running then.
They just might pick somebody that has a way better background & appeal then Gary did.
Cody… it really doesn’t. The LP has been around for 40+ years and has accomplished nothing of notable praise.
The Libertarian Party is responsible for having improved the ballot access laws of over half the states, by its lobbying and its constitutional ballot access lawsuits.
Michael Bloomberg could have been that “billionaire” to fund a new party with real infrastructure and people with the wherewithal guiding it.
I was hoping Bloomberg would take up the Americans Elect candidacy option in 2012, get people on board and lay the groundwork for 2014 and 2016.
PRESS RELEASE
6/13/2017
http://www.international-parliament.org
PACIFIC GROVE, CALIFORNIA
Global Write-in Campaign Seminar on July 4th, 2017
A global voter write-in effort is underway in Pacific Grove California, for all people of the whole earth, by the First International Parliament.
Under the new worldwide unity phenomena sweeping the earth known as pure proportional representation (PR), local artist James Orlando Ogle (AKA “joogle”) is teaching people about how all write-in names need our help with getting their names written in, because write-in names have a much lower chance of winning a seat in the “First International Parliament Election of 2017”.
On July 4th 2017, during a live audio/video International Parliament Senate Chamber Conference call, James Ogle will be leading a group of write-in candidates from all over the world, so that all new and current write-in candidates can come forward and work together with current and prospective volunteers.
The “First International Parliament Election of 2017” ends on August 5th, one month later after July 4th, and the votes elect the “First International Parliament”, a virtual elected entity using pure proportional representation as one at-large global district.
The general public is invited to the International Parliament’s home office in Pacific Grove, California, by RSVP only, while others are participating simultaneously by audio/video conferencing,
James Ogle, a candidate for mayor of Pacific Grove in 1994, campaigned as a write-in for USA President in usenet in 1996.
One year later in 1997, the founder of google.com Sergey Brin, discovered Ogle’s Pacific Grove-based activities, copied Ogle’s logo “joogle”, copied his programs and artistic flair and persona, but has also invested time and money covering up the fact that Ogle is credited with the naming of the search engine program google.
How Google Got Its Name: http://usparliament.org/how-google-got-its-name.php
RSVP James Ogle (831) 392-8087 or sign up at http://www.usparliament.org/signup.php
* * *
Aiden seems to quick to say negatives about third parties, yet doesn’t seem to have done his homework. For starters, the Libertarians currently have multiple state legislators. The Green Party is still very much around, as Howie Hawkins showed in the 2014 NY gubernatorial election, Paula Bradshaw in the IL-12 Congressional Elections from 2012-2016, and Jill Stein last year, among the more notable electoral performances. And the Reform Party had a state governor from 1998-2002; his name was Jesse Ventura. The Libertarian and Green Parties at least are surviving, despite the rather undemocratic political climate in our country.