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During the 2000 presidential campaign, we took note of three candidates; Ralph Nader of the Green Party...for whom we voted, Harry Browne of the Libertarian Party and Patrick Buchanan of the Reform Party. This letter is also directed to Jesse Ventura, Governor of our home state of Minnesota and leader of the Independence Party...formerly the Reform Party of Minnesota.
To get right to the point, we are suggesting that you four gentlemen bring your parties together into a single entity. The name isn't really important, but we would prefer the Reform Party both for historical reasons and because all four of you gentlemen stand for significant reform of the American political system. Surely you also have a number of significant differences, since otherwise you wouldn't be in four separate political parties.
What we suggest is that your dissimilarities are far overshadowed by your similarities. Furthermore, if you ever expect to lead a third party into competition with the Republican/Democrat duopoly, you have to erect a so-called "big tent" that will encompass the real diversity among real voters. That is, there are few "pure" Greens, or "pure" Reformers or "pure" Libertarians in the real world. Party workers tend to be more dedicated to the principles of you, their leaders, but even there are significant inconsistencies. Why pretend that there are not? If reform is ever to take place, we must begin to face political facts and stop the spinning, fabrications and outright deceptions that so characterize...and stigmatize...conventional politics.
Consider the abortion question. Three of the four of you either favor "choice" or "nonintervention" and one, Buchanan, strongly favors the "right to life." Yet all four of you would probably agree that this issue is best discussed in a moral and religious context, rather than in political debates. Indeed almost ALL political parties, including the Republican/Democrats, contain members who stand on both sides of this issue. In any case, the issue boils down to at what point developing human beings should have full human rights. While question can be...and is...endlessly debated, NOBODY questions the fact that the mother has full human rights. This could be a rallying point.
All four of you politicians agree that America should cut down overseas military forces as well as their modernization and rationalization. Similarly, all four and your parties agree that the War on Drugs, in its present crimilization form is an abject failure. All four back freedom, democracy and limited government, although Nader and the Greens surely propose more statist solutions than the other three of you. All four want reform of campaign finance laws, although Browne urges the most extreme...and probably most unworkable...solution of removing all restraints. You all do agree that the current system is structured to keep third parties from having any significant voice on the national stage. Restricted from entering any of the major debates by a commission consistent entirely of members of the R/D one-party-masquerading-as-two, none of the issues on which you agree significantly were even discussed. Surely it can not be true that most Americans do not think these are as important as the trivial and banal issues that WERE discussed. Those issues that were discussed that ARE important, such as the future of Social Security, about which you all, as well as a significant proportion of the American electorate disagree, have to be settled by compromise anyway, since no one seems to either want to privatize it or invest significantly more taxpayer resources in its continuance. Fix it, don't nix it, is the operant if easier-said-than-done solution proposed by almost everybody.
Finally, although each of you has a certain amount of name recognition...and Ventura, at least, has an almost cult-like following...none of you has what it takes to win a national election under ANY party. Buchanan proved it last election, Nader and Browne this time. Ventura, while often mentioned in that context...and is dearly beloved by your truly...probably can't overcome the "pro wrestler" stigmata at the national level. We Minnesotans are simply a hardier and more open minded breed than most. Yet, with Nader providing the conscience of the left, Buchanan that of the right, Browne adding some philosophical sanity to the mix and Ventura furnishing Big Time publicity, you four make a formidable nucleus for the proposed new party.
Early this year, we began an Oprah Winfrey for President boomlet. It lasted only a couple of weeks, but during that time it became known that should this woman have run, she would have STARTED with nearly 20% of the electorate on her side, a HUGE beginning for a third party candidate! For a while, we were absolutely deluged with media requests to talk about the subject and the Web site we erected for that purpose was featured on CNN and instantly popular. To this VERY DAY, despite the fact that we have unlinked this site from any of our other Web sites, we are still receiving a regular trickle of people willing to volunteer amazing resources to her election, some of them from outside the U.S.. The only thing that put the kibosh on our effort was that Oprah, through a spokesperson, said she was absolutely not interested in the job.
Perhaps if all four of you gentlemen were to ask her to run at the head of a four...or more...way combination third party...she just might change her mind. If nothing else, it is certainly something to think about.
Talk to you later...
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