Not to be an alarmist, but at this juncture in our nation's history, there are far too many social and political quakes of catastrophic affect taking place for one not to be concerned. Reasonable individuals must be moved to give serious consideration to future consequences such forces will have on American society. When taking stock of the entire picture, for one group, the American Middle Class, the term 'looming crisis' most certainly applies: save them and you save America.
Our country, formed by the collective intellectual brilliance of a group of 39 men, based upon a fixed set of principles, is totally dependent upon the 'good will in men's hearts.' But that very cohesive essence of America, nowrapidly breaking down on so many moral, ethical and social fronts, makes it difficult to imagine how the country of our forefathers can survive. As the saying goes, "A house divided cannot stand."
For many the term 'United States' unintentionally imparts the wrong impression as to the nature of this country. We are in reality not one country, but 50 separate 'country-states' united by a single Constitution. And from 1861-1864 in the first test of the union, we fought a brutal Civil War to establish the validity of that 'sacred document.' Now, almost 150 years after that great internal conflict, we as a nation are about to be tested a second time.
This time the threat comes not from a split in the loyalties of the populous to the union, but rather a multi fractioning of its people over various interpretations of the tenants of the Constitution.
There are those who want to override Constitutional restrictions on the inclusion of religion in public affairs, and others to restrict the teaching of specific scientific doctrines within public education. Then there are those who seek to amend the 'sacred document' to aid the efforts of groups advocating radical alternative lifestyles as 'normal', while some seek to limit the freedom of speech from those who hold 'forbidden opinions': and still others demand the conference of 'human status' upon life at conception.
In the midst of this social chaos our government is in the control - and non control, of two long established political parties: one administratively inept, the other hopelessly disoriented as to goals or clear vision as to what they stand for.
If we are to recover the lofty democratic ideals our forefathers once expoused to the world, we must first defeat the self-deprecating demons within ourselves. We must deal with the devils of partisanship that threaten to tear our society apart.
For this daunting task we require a Third political Party whose uniting theme must be: " To Define and Protect America's Silent Majority - Its Middle Class".
It is well to remember that no developed society upon loss of its Middle Class has long survived. And the beleagured Middle Class is being pushed to the edge of extinction.
Pressured by the Corporate state on the Right, and the Welfare state on the Left, the American Middle Class requires a representative party of its own to survive.
For this new political party to function as intended,it must be envisioned radically different from the other two. And though I do not know all of the requisites of such a change, I can comfortably propose what I believe are basic operational criteria that must be incorporated for any such political entity to function as intended:
(1) Candidates for President and Vice President must be voted in during the party primary - separately.
(2) Candidates from either of the other two major parties can participate, allowing for the possibility of a Republican President and a Democratic Vice President, or vice versa.
(3) The presidential ticket chosen "must" select its cabinet of seven "Key" posts before the national election for the office, and the delegates to the convention can challenge those selected. However, once this ticket has been confirmed, the presidential candidate 'cannot' make any changes in the "Key Cabinet" for 18 months should he or she be electedinto office - other than for the death, ill health, criminal conduct or demonstrated gross ineptitude by a cabinet member. The member however can resign.
(4) The candidates of this Third Party "must" agree by signed contract that, should they successfully attain the Oval Office, any and all meetings or conferences held with lobbyists or corporate representatives , must be held in the recorded presence of at least 4 of the Key Cabinet members. And no cabinet member can be excluded from any such conference or meeting should he or she desire to be present.
In the end, should such a Third Party come into being, my suggestion for its first candidates for President and Vice President are:
 Patrick J. Buchanan (R)
President
 Christine Todd Whitman (R)
Vice President
For the first "Key cabinet" posts my working recommendations are:
 Senator Joseph Biden (D)
Secretary of State
 Gen. Wesley Clark (D)
Secretary of Defense
 Rudolph Giulani (R)
Secretary of Homeland Security
 James Lee Witt (D)
Secretary of FEMA
 William Bennett (R)
Secretary of Education
 Gov. Brian Schweitzer (D)
Secretary of Energy
 Dr. Bernadine Healy (R)
Secretary of Health & Human Services
THE THIRD PARTY CANDIDATES SUGGESTED HERE WERE CHOSEN AS 'TEMPLATE' MODELS BECAUSE EACH HAS, AT ONE TIME OR ANOTHER IN THEIR RESPECTIVE POLITICAL CAREERS, STOOD UP TO AND ON OCCASION, WHEN THEY DEEMED IT NECESSARY, BUCKED THE SYSTEM.
These 'Seven Key Positions' must be part of the pre-election cabinet. The party's presidential candidate will be allowed to make all other appointments, including that of presidential advisors, at his or her own discretion either before or after successful ascention to the Oval Office.
The purpose of the specific design of this Third Party is to allow it to function as a Moral Buffer for the Constitution of the United States, through its dedication to Middle Class needs.
History has demonstrated that there is nothing intrinsically wrong with the working capability of the Constitution as written. however, what has taken place in the 230 years since its inception has been a radical change in the professional makeup of those elected to enforce and protect it's giding principles.
It has evoled to the point where the vast majority of our legislators are of the legal profession: a point made chillingly evident by the Watergate scandal. We have become a nation led and governed by Lawyers.
By the generally accepted edict of their chosen profession Lawyers have been excluded from the social bonds of Morality: justice has only to be Just' not Fair, but 'Fair' is the backbone of Morality.
Yet we have allowed Lawyers (and the Lawyer mentality) to become the arbiters of the Constitution and over the years, by their overwhelming addition of precedents to the interpretations of its provisions, cloud the true meaning of what the forefathers meant to be a- Moral Document.
Therefore, the formation of a Third Party dedicated to the Middle Class will, hopefully, force the other two parties to compromise to the ultimate benefit of the country as a whole.
This Third Party concept is by no means perfect, but like the Constitution itself it offers better 'people' options than what came before. |
