The Invisible Third Party


During the early to mid 20th century, the American Congress was highlighted by the normal division of political operatives and partisanship. Among the populace however, there was a unity of mind and culture that since, has evaporated.

Much of the Congressional wrangling then was about representing opposing points of view and even the art of compromise. In effect the country was so unified in its common beliefs that there effectively was only one political party. They were not left or right, but simply a product of the majority of our cultural commonality. Often the Democrat Party encompassed the values of the country at the time. People needed protection and entitlement of a mild socialism crept into the culture. In doing so people found their lives improved with a financial and organizational safety net. Because corporate America at the time was wealthy enough and viewed with an eye of suspicion they operated on their own under a watchful eye of regulatory constraint.

After World War II, the last time the country was truly united on everything for more than a few months, the 1950’s became a golden age of American life. Peace reigned over the land, albeit briefly. There were Soviets to contend with and a paranoia that led us into The Cold War. The 1960’s brought the unraveling of everything including unity that the U.S. had achieved since the depression of the 1930’s.

It seemed we don’t learn our lessons very well. Only by coming together with a common purpose can the nation’s people rise above any circumstance, any enemy, and any condition; achieve victory and reach nirvana. The problem we have is that once we attain success, we can’t hold it for long. We are destined to screw it up. History is replete with such examples.

Now 50 years later we witness the greatest threat to not only America, but mankind itself. Evil is showing its face once again and this time instead of German Nazi Fascism, Japanese Imperialism, or Communist Chinese advancement, it comes to us in the image of radical Muslim fundamentalism. Where the early 20th century’s cultural moral fiber had us uniting, the current derision has the country fractured.

The liberal left under the banner of self flagellation vocalized by the likes of Michael Moore, and Nancy Pelosi, offers us its poster boy and girl. Bill Maher and Rosie O'Donnell are on one side. The conservative right whose figure head Rush Limbaugh is credited as the source from which all conservatism flows is on the other side. These two factions which have drawn a line in the sand have both done irreparable harm to a country they reportedly love.

The rise of Limbaugh however can be argued owes its elevation as a response from commercial media being a liberal entity from the 1960’s through the 1980’s. Nevertheless now that both sides are being heard, civility as a commodity is a rare sight. Name calling is the norm and so is the hold your breath until you turn blue politics of both sides with their unwillingness to compromise. They are teaching this and future generations that holding to ones principals is a good thing even at the cost of the welfare of the nation. What does it value a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul? The country is suffering from unbridled freedom and the lack of discipline within that liberty.

So entrenched are both sides in their rhetorical gymnastics that anyone who does not believe as they do is not worthy of respect or consideration in the family of man. This polarization has all but paralyzed the nation, its progress, and its national security. No longer can we debate one another and agree to disagree. We must heap epithets upon the opposition in order to inflate our position. It might be entertaining but like termites do more damage in places unseen. The politics of personal destruction buried within our national history, brought to light in the Nixon era, and perfected during the Clinton Administration is disintegrating the underlying fabric of our society.

The political party that we don’t believe exists is the viable third one. However it is right under out nose. It is illustrated in the difficulties of the 20th century as President Roosevelt tapped it as a resource in World War II. John Kennedy’s charisma brought idealism to which this party could believe before one side or the other sent the country into a tailspin of disillusionment. The last time we saw the invisible party in the lead was just after September 11, 2001. This party is not right, nor left. It does not adhere to the "it’s my way or the highway" mentality. Its nature is not one of extremes. It is comprised of both moderate liberals and moderate conservatives. They consist of the bulk of the political middle. Together this coalition dwarfs both left and right extremists and their idealistic adherence to stubborn scorched earth policy views at all cost. All someone needs to do is tap this political middle to set the ship properly afloat.

Bill Richardson and Rudy Giuliani are examples of the type of people who could fill this political and cultural void. Neither one is completely right or left, but actually issue oriented with a bit of something for everyone. They are what the country needs in 2008. Only if you are willing to compromise and bring back the grace of our history can this political party take hold. The next time you mutter something about needing a third party, look within your own. You hold the power to join these forces and return America to the civil and righteous throne that the people are seeking.

The Invisible Third Party

During the early to mid 20th century, the American Congress was highlighted by the normal division of political operatives and partisanship. Among the populace however, there was a unity of mind and culture that since, has evaporated over the last several decades.

Much of the Congressional wrangling then was about representing opposing points of view and even the art of compromise. In effect the country was so unified in its common beliefs that there effectively was only one political party. They were not left or right, but simply a product of the majority of our cultural commonality. Often the Democrat Party encompassed the values of the country at the time. People needed protection and entitlement of a mild socialism crept into the culture. In doing so people found their lives improved with a financial and organizational safety net. Because corporate America at the time was wealthy enough and viewed with an eye of suspicion they operated on their own under a watchful eye of regulatory constraint.

After World War II, the last time the country was truly united on everything for more than a few months, the 1950’s became a golden age of American life. Peace reigned over the land, albeit briefly. There were Soviets to contend with and a paranoia that led us into The Cold War. The 1960’s brought the unraveling of everything including unity that the U.S. had achieved since the depression of the 1930’s.

It seemed we don’t learn our lessons very well. Only by coming together with a common purpose can the nation’s people rise above any circumstance, any enemy, and any condition; achieve victory and reach nirvana. The problem we have is that once we attain success, we can’t hold it for long. We are destined to screw it up. History is replete with such examples

Now 50 years later we witness the greatest threat to not only America, but mankind itself. Evil is showing its face once again and this time instead of German Nazi Fascism, Japanese Imperialism, or Communist China advancement, it comes to us in the image of radical Muslim fundamentalism. Where the early 20th century’s cultural moral fiber had us uniting, the current derision has the country fractured.

The liberal left under the banner of self flagellation vocalized by the likes of Michael Moore, and Nancy Pelosi, offers us its poster boy, Bill Maher is on one side. The conservative right whose figure head Rush Limbaugh is credited as the source from which all conservatism flows is on the other side. These two factions which have drawn a line in the sand have both done irreparable harm to a country they reportedly love. The rise of Limbaugh however can be argued owes its elevation as a response from commercial media being a liberal entity from the 1960’s through the 1980’s. Nevertheless now that both sides are being heard, civility as a commodity is a rare sitting. Name calling is the norm and so is the hold your breath until you turn blue politics of both sides with their unwillingness to compromise. They are teaching this and future generations that holding to ones principals is a good thing even at the cost of the welfare of the nation. What does it value a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul? The country is suffering from unbridled freedom and the lack of discipline within that freedom.

So entrenched are both sides in their rhetorical gymnastics that anyone who does not believe as they do is not worthy of respect or consideration in the family of man. This polarization has all but paralyzed the nation, its progress, and its national security. No longer can we debate one another and agree to disagree. We must heap epithets upon the opposition in order to inflate our position. It might be entertaining but like termites do more damage in places unseen. The politics of personal destruction buried within our national history, brought to light in the Nixon era, and perfected during the Clinton Administration is disintegrating the underlying fabric of our society.

The political party that we don’t believe exists is the viable third one. However it is right under out nose. It is illustrated in the difficulties of the 20th century as President Roosevelt tapped it as a resource in World War II. John Kennedy’s charisma brought idealism to which this party could believe before one side or the other sent the country into a tailspin of disillusionment. The last time we saw the invisible party in the lead was just after September 11, 2001. This party is not right, nor left. It does not adhere to the "it’s my way or the highway" mentality. Its nature is not one of extremes. It is comprised of both moderate liberals and moderate conservatives. They consist of the bulk of the political middle. Together this coalition dwarfs both left and right extremists and their idealistic adherence to stubborn scorched earth policy views at all cost. All someone needs to do is tap this political middle to set the ship properly afloat.

Bill Richardson and Rudy Giuliani are examples of the type of people who could fill this political and cultural void. Neither one is completely right or left, but actually issue oriented with a bit of something for everyone. They are what the country needs in 2008. Only if you are willing to compromise and bring back the grace of our history can this political party take hold. The next time you mutter something about needing a third party, look within your own. You hold the power to join these forces and return America to the civil and righteous throne that the people are seeking.

Libby and the Liars


After ten long days of deliberation a jury found Scooter Libby guilty of lying and obstructing justice during an investigation. What were they doing that took them so long to come to that conclusion? Much of what you have been hearing and will continue to hear is the inference of some connection between Libby’s apparent misjudgments of the facts with the initial underlying investigation. Everyone with an agenda will spin this decision in their own favor.

Like President Clinton, lying under oath to investigators is not acceptable. In both cases the underlying facts of the investigation turned up very serious ethical questions but probably no crimes in a legal sense. President Clinton was as fast and loose with the facts under oath as he was with an intern in the oval office. The lie under oath is a crime, the activity in the White House merely immoral. The same applied in the Libby case. The crime was in the lie to investigators. There was no crime in the leak to reporters; just something perhaps a bit depraved.

Patrick Fitzgerald the prosecutor in the Libby case basically brought no charges on what he was charged to investigate. This trial only came to be a magnet for everyone with an ax to grind against the Bush administration because Mr. Libby didn’t tell the truth while under oath. Sound familiar, ala impeachment? The case is justified and Mr. Fitzgerald is correct to say that perjury goes to the heart of the judicial system. People under oath must not be allowed to lie. However, for a prosecutor to hang his hat on that as being the same as having done the job, one he never set out to do, is somewhat indicative of the politically charged times in which we live. Please shout it loud from the mountain tops, there was no leak of a CIA covert operative’s identity. There certainly wasn’t enough evidence to charge anyone. That is what this case was supposed to be about.

If Mr. Libby hadn’t lied there would be no cameras, no salivating political hacks, , no pundants, and no possible attempt by enemies of the administration to link them to a crime that apparently the prosecutor in the case thinks never happened. If some can infer Libby’s conviction means there was a White House strategy to retaliate against Joe Wilson’s wife, then we can equally conclude that no charges brought regarding the C.I. A. identity leak means there was no crime committed. What you've heard publically by some on both sides of the issue is their own tornado-like spinning funnel of lies.

Ms. Plame’s identity regarding being outed or not really was never addressed in court, nor resolved. At this point it is still in contention. Now that question is marred by politics and the corruption that taints both the political and legal arenas. However it is Mr. Fitzgerald’s desire not to have that question answered in the first place which has spurred on the Libby story into something much larger than it really is; it’s just a rallying point for politics on both sides.

The Libby jury person who spoke publicly afterward bemoaning the fact that others from the administration were not on trial too, goes to show that politics and corruption exist in all of our institutions. This warped commentary threatens the very foundations of the legal system that Mr. Fitzgerald and jurors are to hold sacrosanct. There is not supposed to be bias or political agendas in those holding such public trust, but their words and actions speak for themselves. Anyone who tells you differently is lying to you. In today’s political and legal worlds you have graphic examples of the reward for lying. It is really a shame that all lying is not condemned especially that which is wrapped in the guise of justice.