For the three of you reading this who know who Buddy Roemer is and were aware that he was running for President (other than Greg, who of course already knew), this announcement from his campaign may possibly be of interest to you.
Not Buddy Roemer
Tomorrow, I will formally end my bid for the GOP nomination for President of the United States. As the GOP and the networks host debate number twenty-something this evening, they have once again turned their backs on the democratic process by choosing to exclude a former Governor and Congressman. I have decided to take my campaign directly to the American people by declaring my candidacy for Americans Elect. Also, after many discussions with The Reform Party, I am excited to announce my intentions of seeking their nomination. It is time to heal our nation and build a coalition of Americans who are fed up with the status quo and the partisan gridlock that infects Washington. Together, we will take on the special-interests that control our leaders and end the corruptive influence of money in politics so we can focus on America’s top priority – jobs.
That was sent out on Wednesday, so his Republican campaign has been formally ended. Apparently, Roemer has been talking about this for over a month; why it’s just now being formalized is unclear to me. But then, so is the purpose of Americans Elect, which is apparently hosting some kind of wankfest panel discussion at the UT Center for Politics and Governance on Wednesday. Anyway, you may now resume your blissful ignorance about what Buddy Roemer is up to these days.
Buddy certainly doesn’t seem like the type of candidate that Freidman, Frum, and others have been pining for. So it’ll be interesting to see if they ever come back around to realize that Obama was – and still is – the candidate they’ve been fantasizing about all this time.
Charles,
What bee is up your ass? Seems you have a lot of hate about Americans Elect. “Wankfest” in Austin?! A bit of an infantile comment coming from you.
Are you somehow peeved that Roemer left the Democratic party when he was governor of Louisiana?
Are you a part of the duopoly that mistakenly believes that there is a divine right to have no other candidates other than the elephants or donkeys on the ballot?
Are you the type of person that is dismissive when confronted with the facts that independents and non-affiliated voters make up the plurality in this country?
I sense some angst on your part based on your comments. Fess up? Get on the couch and talk to us for an hour. Tell us about your mother.
Brad, I have expressed the opinion for a long time now that people who pine for some third-party Presidential savior are invariably being naive or disingenuous, mostly by pointedly ignoring the massively disproportionate share of the blame that the modern Republican Party bears for the governmental dysfunction we face. Greg is right – pretty much every column that Tom Friedman writes about his fantasy candidate largely describes Barack Obama. None of them ever explain how an Americans Elect President – whose ballot access, in the true democratic tradition, is being funded by a small number of mostly anonymous donors – would deal with a partisan Congress that owes him no allegiance. It’s puerile fantasy, insulting to the intelligence of the audience they claim to speak to, and deserves to be dealt with as such. Yes, we have many problems with our current system, but some magical prince on a pony isn’t going to save us from ourselves.
And today is my mother’s birthday. Thanks for asking.
Charles,
You are entitled to your opinions, not your facts.
Americans Elect is not working for some nebulous third-party savior for the sake only of a third-party option. They have clearly stated from day one that they are interested in statesmen/women who are interested in pragmatic, work across the aisle, solution-minded approaches that will offer something other than day in day out campaigning by Dems/Reps that will certainly not go away when there is only two parties in power and no other options.
Who the flip cares what Friedman says. Americans Elect speaks only for Americans Elect. And as for Obama he was certainly talking the lefty talk when running for the Dem nomination then tacked to a centrist platform when it came to general election time and hasn’t walked the walk since then. Surely you have heard the bellyaching by liberals about Obama letting them down. And the Republicans will certainly continue kissing the conservative base’s a** during the nomination process and turn left toward the center in 2012. The disingenuous is owned by both Dems and Reps and the naivety exists in those partys’ voters who believe that they’ll get their progressive/conservative agenda everytime they’ve elected their nominee to the presidency. Only to be disappointed once again.
People take a way too simplistic view that its right and left, black and white, good and evil when it comes to Dems and Reps. There are more than two flavors out there. Where is an economic populist/social conservative voter or a fiscally conservative/socially progressive voter that recognizes other viewpoints in the minority supposed to land? Which party? Its just that the Reps and Dems prevent more options for the voting consumer for these type candidacies. I know that you’ll say they already exist. But, of course, you’ll fail to mention that they are brow beaten by their party’s caucus to be lock step in line with their party’s leadership’s menu.
As for AE, keep in mind that Americans Elect doesn’t speak for the actual platforms of the eventual nominees. AE is only providing ballot access and the technology for the AE nomination votes. I disagree with the lack of transparency in the funding for AE’s ballot access and technology, but the backlash to these funders would be tangible if there names became known to their righty and lefty friends. AE is not perfect, but it doesn’t reach the level to simply dismiss their effort in a childish manner.
I agree with you that there are many problems with our current system. AE should be applauded though for making an effort to change a system is presently and universally recognized as a hated by the American public.
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