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                       Winning the Political Games       3 Feb 10

This article explores the pendulum political cycle and possible ways to break the cycle.  Change is in the air again!  If the Democrats continue to push a financially irresponsible agenda that offers no benefit to the American people, the pendulum will swing and Republican victories will abound.  The country is in danger of the right being embolden and viewing the upcoming election results as a "mandate" to return to the devastating policies of the previous decade.  Below is my expectation of the future, analysis of why we are here and suggestions for improvement. 

What is going to happen if we keep our present system?  The 75% likelihood.  Soon, either this election or the next, we will end up with a Republican legislative branch.  It's 50/50 if the 2012 election will bring in a Republican President.  If the party holding the legislative branch is different than the party in the White House there is a moderate chance of some responsible spending bills.  There is still a strong chance one party will fail to work for the best interest of the country.  Unfortunately, one party currently believes their winning is the most important issue of the country.  There are lots of other possible make-ups of the power structure; but guessing what our current failed system will produce is much less interesting than examining why we are here and figuring out what could be done.

If you've read some of my other writings you see I believe all voters should be associated with one party or another and involved in choosing the party representative in the primary election.  I've seen some news reports that say as many as 35% of the population consider themselves as Independents.  That is they do not participate in one party or another.  In my estimation most of these people are independents because they don't like the extremes represented by either of the major parties.  But their not participating in the primaries almost definitely ensures the only choices they will have during the general election will be two extremist, one from the left and one from the right.  This country would be greatly served if there emerged a leader capable of bringing independents and conservative Democrats to the Republican party on a permanent basis.  I imagine this super Party consisting of 75% of the voters -- a combination of moderate Republicans, independents and moderate Democrats.  This super party itself will primarily concern itself with defining the economic environment and providing for the national defense.  Of course, each individual member will have a position on social topics but those positions should not define that candidate or the new Republican party.  I believe in self sacrifice for people who believe in a cause.  But I believe those people who are defined politically by a social agenda currently empower one profit oriented sect or the other to enact legislation financially beneficial only to a small portion of the populace.  In order to reduce the national debt and lower the deficit I believe we need independents to participate in the primary selection process.  Because of the likelihood of Republican victories in the mid term I would like to see them participate in Republican primaries and chose moderate Republican candidates for the general election.  This will help dampen the pendulum effect this election.  Once Republicans demonstrate fiscal responsibility and a willingness to evaluate multiple paths to a solution the party will morph into the super party I envision.

I have another idea for bringing Non-affiliated (aka independent) voters into the primary process.  Why not have a primary for independent voters?  If 35% of the voters are so disgusted with the present two parties they do not want to be associated with either one of them, lets give the people a real chance of running independent of a party.  Currently people can run as an independent in a general election but the rules are not the same as those going through the primary process.  In Ohio to get on a primary ballot you need to get 50 valid signatures.  The signatures can be from someone in your party or an unaffiliated voter.  For an independent to get on in the general election the number of signatures they need is 1% of the number of people that voted in the last election.  For an independent to get on the ballot for the U.S. House of Representatives, if 200,000 people voted in the last election they would need 2000 signatures.  To entice more candidates and a bigger turn-out of voters for primary elections I suggest that instead of just limiting people to the democratic slate or the republican slate, give them the opportunity to choose from a non-affiliated slate.  I suspect if this choice were available to people we would have dozens of non-affiliated people to chose from.  Now, I am a little concerned this process could lead an undesirable person getting elected.  To help mitigate the problem I suggest that the top two (perhaps 3) vote getters in the unaffiliated primary make it onto the general election ballot.

I've set forth a couple of ideas to get more of the independent voters to participate in the primary elections.  I feel this would enable more moderates and fiscally responsible people to succeed and be elected to public office.  I think the benefits to the country are obvious.