Middle Class Populist

While all the chatter is about Michael Bloomberg turning independent and his potential as a third party candidate, I would love to see Lou Dobbs run for president. (Hey maybe we can DRAFT LOU DOBBS on www.Unity08.org) My views, and I believe the majority of Americans, are reflected every night on the Lou Dobbs show. Both Lou Dobbs and Bloomberg are middle of the road but with a difference. Bloomberg, while I admire him also, is a down the middle centrist. Lou Dobbs and the silent majority of Americans can be middle ground on a few issues but far left and far right on individual issues with the statistical average placing us in the center. That is far different from a boring centrist. Lou Dobbs is a “Populist Progressive Centrist”! If you are a regular reader of this blog you will note that I am a Populist Progressive Centrist like Lou Dobbs. I love to use the “lingo” of both the left and right to crack their pomposity! Let’s look at Bloomberg for a moment and the environment in which we elect our presidents.

Bloomberg could be a good candidate when he presents his ideas. As a person he is very likeable unlike his predecessor, Rudy Giuliani! Former Mayor Giuliani is making a living off 9-11. Those of you outside of NYC don’t realize what an annoying loud mouth he is. Not to mention the fact that he wanted to have the end of his term extended due to 9-11. No Rudy this city was able to live without you! If we could have elections in the midst of a Civil War and England could change its Prime Minister and government one day after elections during World War II, what makes Rudy Giuliani so special? Imagine what would happen if he were President and we had a terrorist attack?

Some have suggested that Bloomberg might team up with Senator Chuck Hagel! While Hagel is against the war he is also for destroying American middle class jobs with the H1-B Visa program. Soon this program will be expanded to all college level jobs. Simply having a third party is not the answer if the likes of Hagel will be on the ticket.

I have several issues with our election process!

1. We need more commercials not less and there should be a major matching funds effort from the government! Americans love to whine about politicians but if they are restricted to 30 second sound bites then you can expect negative ads as polls show people hate them yet they work! Ross Perot proved Americans can listen to 30 minute infomericals!
2. We must eliminate K-Street and substitute MAIN STREET USA as the focus for politicians. This can be done by ADDING not subtracting from public funding of federal candidates! We must outlaw all K-Street funding. That is not to stop individual CEO’s from making small contributions to their favorite candidates!
3. We must eliminate pork barrel spending! We need a Constitutional Amendment that gives the President a line item veto.
4. Americans must be realistic! In the late 60’s Eric Berne founded a form of psychotherapy called “Transactional Analysis”. He listed some of the destructive “Games People Play”. One was called “Ain’t It Awful”. This is where you gain intimacy with folks by endless WHINING! Well Americans of both parties do this in regard to politicians. Congress takes a recess and they bitch. Excuse me what happens when you don’t have access to your congresspersons in their home district or see him in the paper talking to local groups?
5. Pay members of Congress more! The members of Congress, both Republican and Democrat, have to maintain TWO residences for their job, one in the Capital and the other in their home district! Their responsibilities effect more lives then a corporate president so why shouldn’t they be paid a very large salary? They should live upper class lives in BOTH their residences! With that said let’s stop the lobbyists from giving them gifts. Their decisions should be a function of the philosophy that got them elected by the people not the lobbyists!

With that said let us see if a third party candidate can work to save America’s silent majority - our great Middle Class and those who aspire to be from the destruction of the corporate elitists on the right and the effete snobs of political correctness on the left!