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Web-based political party emerging

December 20, 2011

An online nominating “convention” will seek to select an alternative presidential candidate through a unique campaign being prepared by a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit group, Americans Elect, for California’s November ballot. [SacramentoBee]

The group’s plan is to bypass the traditional caucus and convention candidate selection processes, and utilize the Web “to create a nonpartisan process allowing voters of all political leanings to choose an alternative presidential ticket.” In effect, Americans Elect becomes a political party itself, qualified by 1.6 million registered voters’ signatures.

Americans Elect’s presidential and vice-presidential nominees must belong to different political parties, and will be selected in June, in the country’s first online, national nominating convention.

The group has earned ballot access in 12 states, and brings the number of parties cleared for California’s ballot to seven.


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If Buddy Roemer is in the lead of this new movement, then I have to agree with his statement directed towards the current GOP candidates and occupants of the “Republican Clown Car”, when he stated to them: “Quit Bitching And Lead!” LOL Could it be that they don’t let Buddy in the GOP debates because of the FACT that he has been running on a serious, “Get money out of politics” reform platform his whole life? Naw.


Can you blame this “American Elect” movement? As Mary Malone quotes; “What the heII, Mel! Only the Elites need apply? This is not change. This is new-blood elites wanting to oust old-blood elites.”


Could Mary’s quote actually be true? Regarding the GOP, the current candidates started the primary season in blissful ignorance of the fact that so many of their members of their own party were hoping they’d stop talking about gay rights issues, right to life, and the act of marriage between a man and a woman, and quit attacking President Obama and present your own solutions! ENOUGH!


Instead, how about the GOP start talking about something that make them sound less insane! A novel concept would be for them to start talking about how they’re going to pull this country out of the mess that was made since the Reagan era! (Trickle down economics my %ss)


Removing the old blood as Mary proffers? Like the GOP removing the Newtster who was removed from Congress and had to pay $300,000 in fines FOR LYING TO CONGRESS, and where he wants to go against the Constitution in “arresting” judges that obviously go against his ways of thinking! Huh?


Lest we forget, Mitt Romney, who now wants to create jobs that he eliminated in the private sector that were sent overseas, and his ‘Obama-esque” healthcare system that runs contrary to his own party, and this is barring him wearing his Mormon “secret underwear!”


Relative to the removal of the semi new blood, the GOP allows a former pizza executive to further embarrass their party, no, not by his lousy Godfather pizza, but because of his spurious womanly actions. Then we have Michelle Bachman whose husband is “swishy” and where she agrees with him in “praying away the gay?” LOL Wait, it gets better, then we have Governor Perry who couldn’t debate a Ronald McDonald statue out front of a Micky D’s to save his life, no matter if it’s at 3 am or in the afternoon!


Relative to the other Republican “clown car occupants”, all they wish for is that people don’t Google them online!


Albeit, other platforms like AE will appear to try and save face relative to the current batch that the GOP have to live with at this time. Subjectively, watching the GOP debates and interviews is better than Comedy Central!


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Ted, Ted, Ted …you get it, but you are only looking at half the picture !

You are correct in your particulars. Now let’s ‘lift the hood’ and take a gander at the engine of this Republican ‘clown car’ , as you state it…in Ross Perot fashion.


Taken as a whole, this pathetic collection of “candidates” merely reflects the GOP’s long term infatuation with a race to the bottom. Their divisive politics makes enemies of Gays, of people of color ( brown, black, anything other than supposedly ‘white’ ), so-called “illegal aliens” …more racist code. These are the spin-meisters that contrived to make ‘liberal’, ‘civil rights”, and ‘compromise’ dirty words.


Is it no wonder that then these anti-American greedheads end up with a basket full of mean-spirited morons ?


These are the ‘real’ Republicans…the last rats on the ship that is now sinking fast.

The Bruce McKinnon’s are like my friends that were so full of themselves in support of Boy Bush, and before that, Reagan. They were so triumphant and blustery at the time. Then ALL of their totems of greed , money, war, and ego filled superiority have all been proven WRONG and utter failures. The smarter ones now say they are ‘independents’, but they rarely admit how wrong they have been, and how they at least partly enabled the brain damaged monsters that have caused so much misery and pain.


As for the comedic aspects, I am once again reminded of Mel Brooks’ quote: “Tragedy is when I cut my finger. Comedy is when you fall into an open sewer and die”.

Just don’t stop them.


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slowerfaster,


My main premise was addressing Mary Malone’s quote of removing the old guard and replacing it with the new guard, although it would be the same business as usual.


But, I have to say in a godly way; your eloquence in describing the GOP at this time, was equal to Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, praise Jesus!!!


I felt the light and warmth of my Savior when I was perusing your factual statements regarding the GOP, whether you know it or not, about how hypocritical they are relative their alleged Christian beliefs! Again, I am sure that Jesus is NOT smiling in their behalf.


Subjectivelly speaking, and I am sure Jesus would agree, you too should put the robe of Christ over your shoulders and join me in enlightening this faction that call themselves Republicans!


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I will wear the robe and the aluminum foil hat. Heck, I’ll even talk like a pirate …Ahhrrrr! if it allows me the opportunity to facilitate the departure of these Tories to an objectivist and atheist utopia of their choosing post haste.

Then, perhaps we can get back to being a civilized land of the free, and maybe …godly enough for people that really do follow the scriptures ; and not be bothered again by these cultist hypocrites


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slowerfaster,


With all due respect, I must make mention of the fact that you want to wear an aluminum foil hat along with a robe signifying the preaching of our Lord!


This act is truly disparaging to Jesus because it puts him in the metaphysical realm. When preaching the Gospel, all you need is the bible in hand in it’s historical literal form! Praise!


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Now I’m confused. Hat, or no hat ?


I had a Druid girlfriend that wanted me to put a tree on my head when it was raining , along with some other personal behaviors.

I thought…what the heck, if it pleases her…

Then I got ticks in my hair. WHAT A DISASTER !


WHDJW ? ( What hat did Jesus wear ? )


Was it a yarmulke ? He was Jewish, after all.

Was it one of those pointy things the Popes wear that look like a fish head ?


I don’t know. Help me out Ted. I will defer to your superior historical memory.


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Slowerfaster,


NO HAT, DUH!


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Hey, check out the article by Paul B. Farrel ( who lives here in Happytown, USA ) over on marketwatch.com > “99% plan new tax war on Super Rich” .


These naval gazing money men like AE have no idea what’s already in place.

We won’t be singing “Kumbaya”.

The enemies of civilization will see the tactics ( late ), but they will never see the strategy.


These anti-American nihilists have sown the wind, and now they will reap the whirlwind. This is history. The fabric and currency of a nation cannot be devalued and destroyed without these things coming to pass.

A country cannot long last when there is a protected, self-entitled, and invulnerable to prosecution uber-class of elite overlords; while over half of the rest of the country live near or below the poverty line, and while the true unemployment rate is close to 20%.


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“US NOW” by GardenTheives Films is a one-hour documentary that discusses the ways in which the Internet could change government by changing behavior in a positive way. The Calcoastnews article above exemplifies oneway the Internet could be a more powerful expression of the will of the people than the traditional forms of representation.


I watched some of the Republican Presidential debates and I am not happy with any of the choices. We could do better. Like the Internet community who picked the members of a rugby team that ended up going to the national finals in Britain, what would happen if Americans on the Internet were allowed to choose their presidential candidates, rather than just a relatively small number of Democratic or Republican party representatives? Could our nation voting directly from its base population, do a better job at picking better candidates? I’m going for it! Click that link!


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The assumptions are that:

1) all eligible voters have internet access

2) candidate information published online is reliable

3) the internet were secure enough to grow confidence in online voting

4) voter eligibility could be verified

5) vote tabulation could be verified


In an era of repeated electronic voting machine hacking, Internet voting has a very high hurdle to overcome. Our current system (unverifiable electronic voting) is a powerful example of the will of the elite to control election outcomes, easily overcoming the will of the majority.


Do you really think that the Internet could provide a better option????


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Do you really think that the Internet could provide a better option?

yes


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THANK YOU! for outlining issues involved with an internet-based politics.


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Totally disagree.


I’m not happy with any of the potential options for the presidential rate in 2012. I believe we must do something drastic to demonstrate (in a way that cannot be spun by the media into denigrating those involved in the movement) we simply won’t participate in the rigged election system that both parties have both allowed to happen, and facilitated happening.


However, I don’t think the answer is to support an internet party with Peter Ackerman as the chairman! If you think Washington has been able to help (both actively and passively) the wall-street elites’ rigging the system to allow flat-out looting of Americans’ investments, what do you think could occur if a party led by Michael Milken’s right-hand man controlled the WH?


Nor do I think Mark McKinnon’s role as founder of the AE party is a mark towards their credibility. McKinnon is one of GWBush’s close friends, and served as Bush’s media guru (chairman of Public Strategies). According to SourceWatch (http://sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Mark_McKinnon):


Bill McConnell wrote June 27, 2005, in Broadcasting & Cable that “McKinnon launched his career as a Democratic campaign consultant, then dropped out of politics to work for corporate clients. But the Austin, Texas, image consultant was lured back into politics by his close friend George W. Bush, this time as a Republican strategist. McKinnon “mounted a brutally effective ad campaign against John Kerry in 2004, which included the ‘Windsurfing’ spot portraying the Democratic candidate as a rich dilettante,” McConnell wrote. Half of the top 50 Bush 2004 reelection campaign expenditures went to McKinnon’s firm Maverick Media, totaling $170 million. (While the majority of the money went towards campaign ads, the standard commission for media consulting firms is 15 percent, according to Campaigns & Elections.)


If McKinnon only received a 15% commission for his media work in GWBush’s 2004 campaign, that means McKinnon made $25million.


Mark McKinnon was in good part responsible for the 8 years of GWBush’s reign of terror, where the adminstration literally used terror as a weapon against the American people. Remember those asinine color-coded security-alert pronouncements? The advice to deal with a “security alert” by buying plastic wrap and duct tape, then go into your bathroom and seal yourself in?) to keep Americans compliant as his administration steadfastly destroyed our economy? That’s the kind of media manipulation McKinnon did.


As bad as the GOP candidates (and the Democratic candidate, Obama) are, I don’t believe an internet party with such vile leadership, and that has a cabal screening the candidates who aren’t already part of the elites to see who is worthy to run for president, is the answer.


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The chairman of AE is Peter Ackerman, right-hand man to Michael Milken, junk-bond trader.


They refuse to ID their donors. They hope someone “with money,” “like Michael Bloomberg,” becomes a candidate.


On the other hand, because Obama’s cabal is criticizing it, my knee-jerk response is to support it. And I’m an old school liberal!


But Axelrod voices a legitimate concern about there being an AE panel to “screen” potential candidates who don’t automatically qualify by “screening panel that Americans Elect will use to rule on the qualification of any candidate who is not automatically eligible for its presidential nomination by virtue of being an elected official, Cabinet member, military officer or president of a university or labor union.”


What the heII, Mel! Only the Elites need apply? This is not change. This is new-blood elites wanting to oust old-blood elites.


But the Democratic Party and GOP cabals are so corrupt, so deaf to the cries of pain and outrage coming from the 99-percenters.


This concept and movement really has me torn.


——–


From the LATimes 12/20/2011 article:


QUOTE: So far, the only well-known figure to express interest in the Americans Elect ballot line is former Louisiana Gov. Buddy Roemer, whose run for the Republican presidential nomination has sputtered. Party organizers are hoping a more viable — and preferably wealthy — candidate will emerge, such as New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg….

…Obama advisors acknowledge that Americans Elect will influence the 2012 race, and they have already sought to discredit the effort.

In a briefing for reporters last week in Washington, David Axelrod, Obama’s chief campaign strategist, called the party’s nominating process “unfathomable.” He mocked a screening panel that Americans Elect will use to rule on the qualification of any candidate who is not automatically eligible for its presidential nomination by virtue of being an elected official, Cabinet member, military officer or president of a university or labor union.

“It’s a little bit odd,” Axelrod said, “because it’s supposed to be the most democratic nominating process ever, except there’s a board of censors to decide who is actually worthy of the nomination or not. So it’s kind of like uber-democracy meets backroom bosses.”

Also challenging for Americans Elect, at least politically, is its refusal to identify donors to what it says is a $30-million campaign to secure a spot on the ballots of all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Americans Elect’s chairman is Peter Ackerman, who was right-hand man to junk-bond trader Michael Milken at Drexel Burnham Lambert in the 1980s. That could leave the impression of Wall Street backing at a time when the finance industry is unpopular…

…”This is not a cabal,” he said. “This is not a conspiracy. This is a desire to help this country.”

The group’s board of advisors includes bipartisan corporate and political leaders, such as Mark McKinnon, a senior campaign advisor to President George W. Bush, and Gerald Rafshoon, White House communications director for President Carter.


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These are political operatives that have been left at the wayside, and are now looking for something to do, i.e. make money without actually working by convincing enough dopes to send in money. Then they can charge ‘consultation fees’ for telling these dopes what they want to hear. It’s all a massaged way to have a job.

McKinnon is a decent enough fellow, but he is a ‘man without a country’ that does not fit into the Republican factions of Far-Right and Ultra-Right that are now in process of cannibalizing themselves. Rafshoon is just an old loser.

Mouths without a message.


As in most cases, follow the money. Of course, this rump organization is a distraction…diversionary…’divide and conquer’. These are the “Mad Men” that now realize that it was a fatal error to let all of the homicidal maniacs out of their cages ( Tea Party ) .

We’ll see how that ultimately works for them.


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I am very, very concerned about the possibilities for abuse of this type of nomination platform.


I’ll just leave it at that.


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This is another ‘divide and conquer’ fascist Republican front group.


People have to understand that the ENEMIES to American liberty, civil rights, and freedoms most of us cherish are the CORPORATIST, FASCIST, REPUBLICAN Party.


They are the ENEMY that HATES every single one of the rest of us. They just want to kill everyone not in their own family.


NONE of our great American heroes would contemplate being a Republican today. Not Washington, not Jefferson. Not Lincoln, not Theodore Roosevelt. Not Eisenhower, not even Goldwater.


These are ENEMIES of America and of the State !


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As opposed to you and your friends who are inclusive, tolerant, and loving – making this community and the world a better, more compassionate place to live?


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I know who you are and where you are. What I don’t know is what size tin hat you are wearing.


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Idle threats from another mouth.


And it’s not a tin foil hat. It’s aluminum, and you don’t know what’s under it.


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“Idle threats from another mouth.”


I rest my case


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What makes you think this is a Republican front group?


I’m serious. I want to know. I’m very concerned about this movement, and I’d like your reasons for thinking it is a front group.


My concern is that it is a movement by the new-blood elites to unseat the old-blood elites. Either way, we are still gonna get fracked by the elites.


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I ALMOST agree. However, I disagree that R’s are the sole villains. The D’s are no better. Any “distinctions” between the two are just “show biz,” a convenient illusion for the unsophisticated, childlike, masses to argue about and remain in darkness and confusion.


The REAL enemy is the psychopathic, arrogant, elite, which knows no loyalities, borders, or bounds. They are the fascists and crony capitalists. They control the banks and the MIC (Military-Industrial Complex), and, therefore, the government. They are the “special interests” that we hear so much about. They control many things, especially information, but they control MONEY, above all, being good students of Mayer Rothschild, who made control of money the top priority.


I call them the “power elite.” Although who get elected president is certainly important, who runs the banks is even MORE important.


We are in the hands of PSYCHOPATHS.


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I get it. You’re an anti-Semite.


Look at every political advancement over the last 50 years….even 100 years. Yeah, there were some backward, racist Democrats going way back. But OVERWHELMINGLY …it is the anti-civilizationalist REPUBLICAN Party that opposes and has opposed EVERY political, social, and civil rights advances in that time period.


Republicans OWN the label of MEAN, STUPID, SELFISH, and BIGOTED.

I’m sorry…if you call yourself a Republican, these are the type of people you allow, enable and associate with.

If you don’t like that description, but never call out these haters , then I guess you are pretty much a coward.


Your false equivalency analogy is an easy ‘opt out’ position. Now, you can complain about everyone and never do anything to make it better.


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The party of the elected president can be very detrimental to the best interests of the American people by supporting and allowing the banking industry to pull the kind of fraud that led us into the 2008 economy tailpsin.


Obama has been as bad as the GWBush administration when it comes to playing patty-cake with the beedy grastards in the banking industry.


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“to create a nonpartisan process allowing voters of all political leanings to choose an alternative presidential ticket.”

Could make for an interesting race…


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An interesting race–but pure heII on earth if this unknown group, coming in during the middle of the election, has a candidate like Roemer who gets elected.


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