Another attempt at an Independent political party fails

Within the small community of dedicated political moderates and centrists lies a certain breed of political junkie with an attitude. They are a bit arrogant. They are frustrated and angry with Washington and hyperpartisanship. They belittle hardcore Republicans and Democrats as brain-washed ideologues who ignore rational, pragmatic solutions to political problems. Some of these high-minded centrists live by the creed that an American cannot be a partisan and a patriot at the same time.

As someone who is sometimes accused of falling into this category, I was fascinated by the farewell message from a group called California Moderates, which is folding its tent out of exasperation. Their failed attempt to rally the centrist troops under the Pragmatic Non-Ideological (PNI) banner comes on the heels of the colossal failure of Americans Elect to nominate an independent presidential candidate.

Here’s a portion of the California Moderates sign-off posted on their blog:

“Over a year ago, it became obvious to California Moderates (CM) that the general public operating in the two-party status quo wasn't in any mood for the kind of PNI politics argued here. The public was, and still is, continuing its divide into more polarized ideological camps. Within that time, the few moderates or RINOS left in the Republican Party were getting killed off in the primaries or resigning in disgust. A serious attempt to make a change -- e.g., Americans Elect -- was botched by aloof, arrogant people. That effort and the roughly $35 million behind it went down in flames with no effect on anything. Other efforts like Movement to the Middle and icPurple were also ineffective, although that is understandable because they started late and the amount of money they put into their efforts was small or nonexistent.

“The June elections here in California showed that the public was sticking with the two parties despite a fair amount of belly-aching about them. The June California primary also revealed the public's continuing disengagement with politics. Most people didn't know much about much and, the few who did vote voted mostly along party lines. The California Moderate Party discontinued its efforts from insufficient public support or interest. The California Modern Whig Party remains moribund. That is a shame since the Whigs seemed in theory to be the closest to the non-ideological logic-based thinking advocated here.

“… It is fair to say that despite real discontent, many (most?) moderate/independent voters … might say they want compromise, but some analysis suggests that means the other side has to compromise, not them. The Republicans have made it crystal clear that they simply won’t compromise and thus we can expect more fun and games with the debt ceiling, along with other predictable malarkey. The current Republican ideology and mindset is that compromise literally gives in to evil and thus it cannot and will not happen. At best, they are willing to find ‘common ground,’ which means the Democrats have to give Republicans what they demand or the gridlock continues. Maybe that isn't so bad, because it isn't clear that compromise between the two sides even makes much sense any more. Maybe options that neither side likes is what we need to be thinking about.

“The people who appear to be potentially open to non-ideological politics is the roughly 10 percent of voters who are true moderates. That amounts to maybe 7 percent of the American public. Most ‘independents’ vote along party lines but pretend to themselves and/or their friends that they are something other than garden variety Democrats or Republicans. It’s a coolness thing. The few people who call themselves moderates apparently are the repository of most of the few open minded people remaining in American politics.

“Given that landscape (reality) of political wreckage and desolation, it is easy to see that politics based on cold, unspun facts, non-ideological logic and true reality has no place in American politics at present. Emotion, ideology and illogic rules the day and will likely continue to do so for a while at least.

“… The real patriots are non-ideological pragmatists with the moral courage to set their ideology and emotion aside and face sometimes harsh, unspun reality for what it is. Ideologues don't have that kind of courage.”

CM was based on the idea that “the polarized politics colors our perceptions of reality” and the liberals and conservatives who dominate Washington and the state houses have demonized each other to such an extent that it may be many years before Democrats and Republicans can work together. “Differences of opinion amounts to a battle of good vs. evil, not a competition of reasonable ideas. Each side believes they are good and the opposition is literally evil (or maybe severely self-deluded at the least),” CM said.

In a separate wave goodbye, CM summed up their experiment this way:

“The most obvious conclusion is that Americans are not ready for reality politics. Facing harsh, unspun reality -- e.g.,the federal debt and a need for effective government -- is just too intimidating for the average politician and voter. That brand of politics could lead to real discomfort, both psychological and otherwise. We are not going to get much hope or change from either party or from politics as usual. What that will lead to is anyone's guess. Defenders of the status quo will argue that things will turn out just fine. Despite that defense, the vibe sensed here is that things are going to get very ugly fairly soon (within two to four years or so) and stay that way a very, very long time (15 to 30 years or so).

“With any luck, that sense of the future will turn out to be completely wrong. But at the moment, California Moderates would not bet any money on it. The stew just looks to be too toxic for a better outcome.”

You can read much more here.