Diary Of A Mad Voter: Heath Haussamen

Can Unity ‘08 Succeed?

By Heath Haussamen, 12-06-07

A high percentage of Americans frequently identify themselves in polls as moderates. The majority of Americans are dissatisfied with the direction of the nation. They’re about as unhappy with Democrats in Congress as they are fed up with Republicans. They believe the nation is too polarized, and that is keeping us from moving forward.

And yet, a movement with the potential to change that has, thus far, failed to spark the interest it needs to succeed.

The goal of the Unity08 movement is simple: By electing a bipartisan ticket to the White House in 2008 through a grassroots effort that doesn’t involve huge amounts of money, it hopes to end the partisan bickering and restore cooperation that will help people of different beliefs work through difficult issues including education, health care, immigration and the Iraq war to find solutions.

“Its commonsense assumptions are that if you give moderates a place to rally and the chance to vote for action at the center, the days of divisive politics will be numbered,” Unity08 activist and Law and Order star Sam Waterston said during a recent speech. “Do it inexpensively, relying on small contributions alone, and K-Street corruption and money influence will begin to fade. Change this one thing, and all things to do with Washington politics will change with it.”

The group set a goal of singing up 1 million members when it formed in the spring of 2006. About 18 months later - and less than a year from the 2008 election - the group is only 12 percent of the way toward reaching that goal, having recruited 120,000 members, including 578 from New Mexico.

It’s doing better in fundraising, having raised almost $1.5 million, or 30 percent, of its $5 million goal, but it’s also far from reaching that objective.

Unity08’s idea is simple, but it requires a lot of participation. Why aren’t people signing up?

“We appear to be frozen in the belief that we have no other choice than between a Republican and a Democrat who get to stand for election only by playing to the extremes of their parties and who inevitably compromise themselves because of the cost of running,” Waterston said at the speech before the National Press Club. “But we have other options.”

Unity08 is attempting to make itself a viable option by organizing through its Web site. Joining the site is how people become members of the group. Through the Web site, people can volunteer and tell friends about the movement, but Unity08 also allows them to be uniquely involved: By answering online survey questions and ranking their top issues, members actually set the platform for the group.

And the group plans to hold, in June, the first-ever online nominating convention. Members will vote through the Web site to select the bipartisan Unity08 ticket for the 2008 presidential election.

“With anything like the numbers who share its views,” Waterston said, “Unity08 will win in a landslide.”

Thus far, there isn’t evidence that it’s going to happen.

One independent activist I recently spoke with suggested the Internet-only nature of Unity08 may be elitist. It certainly does make it difficult for some people living in rural areas to participate. But millions of people who say they agree with the beliefs of those behind Unity08 live in urban areas and have fast, reliable Internet access in their homes. They’re still not signing up.

I think the answer is most likely that people are dissatisfied with their government, but not to the point that they’re willing to step outside the box to try to change it, at least in large numbers.

After six years of a Republican administration that has earned the disdain of the majority of Americans, candidates from both major parties are spending, combined, hundreds of millions of dollars in the quest for Americans’ votes. Is it any wonder Americans have a difficult time seeing past the two-party system?

Washington Democrats are spending all their money trying to convince voters that they are the antithesis of the administration that has created the mess in Iraq and other problems. They have the momentum, and they’re not talking - at least in 2008 congressional races - about bipartisanship. They’re talking about building a majority that’s filibuster- and veto-proof and continuing to play the partisan game that has Washington paralyzed.

That’s the opposite of the goal of Unity08, which wants to create an atmosphere of bipartisanship that will encourage cooperation even as the pendulum of control swings back and forth between Democrats and Republicans.

It’s a worthy goal, but the movement won’t see much success unless people quickly begin joining in larger numbers.

Editor’s note: Heath Haussamen’s weekly blogs are part of a new feature on NewWest.Net/Politics called “Diary of a Mad Voter,” a group blog, published in partnership with the Denver Post’s Politics West intended give a glimpse into the hearts and minds of several independent-minded voters and thinkers in the Rocky Mountain West in the ‘08 election cycle. Check back this week at www.newwest.net/madvoter.

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