americans need a centrist 3d party combining moderate gop & dems w indies to from a natural majority.

that way the loony left & the radical right could fight their endless ideologue wars, while the majority center could solve problems.

I'm sick of the way the system is rigged by the 2 parties.

we need a new way forward thru the center.

Interesting that you should say that, Ohio. I occasionally e-mail back and forth with ricorun, and, in a recent exchange about ticket splitting, here is what I said:

It'll be interesting to see the views of some of the others here.

Not sure what happened to the excerpt from my e-mail. It's almost Halloween -- maybe the cyber goblins ate it.

I've only ever voted a straight Republican ticket once since 1966 (in 1994), so I too don't reject a candidate solely because of Party affiliation, but I think, in general, the Democrat Party has been on the wrong side of history, on most things, for most of my lifetime. The Republicans, on the other hand, are certainly not without blame. In the 12 years that they've controlled Congress, they've never really learned to govern effectively, although, in all fairness, I think the recalcitrance of Democrats has been a primary factor, and the GOP has never had the level of majorities that the Dems enjoyed during most of their 40-year reign. The nastiness and level to which each party has tried to obstruct the other has increased steadily in the last 20-25 years, and, if we are to survive as a representative republic, something has to change. A complete political realignment over the next decade or so, involving 3 or 4 parties, wouldn't surprise me in the least. There's been much said about the possibility of the Democrat Party splitting apart, but I don't see how the GOP can survive if the far right continues to be a major player. The extremes on both sides have a different vision of American than I do. I really do believe there is a potentially solid 60% governing majority in the middle, but the only way it's going to coalesce is for the extremes to break away.

RS, I don't think you'll find too many people who disagree with you in principle, it's getting them to vote for a party that doesn't have the campaign funds the Dems and Republicans have that will be the trick.

Someone like Perot or Forbes almost seems more likely than another party.

I came very close for voting for Nader in 2000 just because I wanted a third party to have a respectable showing. But I didn't. And there were probably a lot of people out there like me.

It would definitely take the likes of a McCain and Lieberman breaking ranks, pulling others with them and forming their own party. It would be interesting to see if they would.

I've posted this elsewhere but thought readers here might be interested.

There are strange things going on under the radar here in Indiana. Indiana is a traditionally Red State. However a number of our Republican Representatives are under intense pressure. There are predictions that at least some may lose to Democrat challengers.

In the Seventh Congressional District, things have been happening that no one has noticed until now. This is Julia Carson's district (previously Andy Jacobs Jr.) and has been a SAFE Democrat district for decades. Historically its geographic boundaries have included the older part of Indianapolis. Additionally middle class flight to the suburbs over the decades have made Indianapolis trend more and more Democrat. Most races over the last twenty or thirty years have had only token Republican opposition.

Other problems include the fact that the local Republican Party slates candidates. Because of the general view that a Republican in this race is just a place holder to assure a full ballot, slating does not tend to produce a strong candidate. Stronger candidates tend to look for other races where they feel that they can win.

This year an articulate African American Republican Business man bucked the entire system. He ran against the slate in the May primary and won. His name is Eric Dickerson (not the retired football player). He has largely financed his own campaign and has been ignored generally by both the local Republican Party and the RNC. But like a duck moving on the water, there has been furious action out of sight.

Today it seems to have broken into the open. In a poll released by WTHR Chanel 13 and published in the Indianapolis Star he leads Carson by 3 points. http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061020/COLUMNISTS19/610200417/1006/LOCAL The internals of the polling are even more impressive. Carson has a 49% disapproval rating.
Carson has conducted her campaign in the typical Democrat fashion. At one point she personally attacked Dickerson's character with a 15 year old arrest. Dickerson has declined to dredge up old skeletons from Carson's closet. This is turning into an interesting race.

One final note is in order. Carson historically has delivered five or more percentage points over the polling numbers. She always attributes it to an effective get out the vote effort. Vans delivering groups of voters to the polls are common. Opponents, including some members of the press have suggested that something else is involved.

Indiana has passed a voter picture I.D. requirement. It has been upheld at this point by the courts. It is presently before the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago. In oral arguments, members of the panel did not seem inclined to set aside this law. One of the weak points in the plaintiff's case is the inability to produce even one voter to stand in as a plaintiff who does not possess a picture I.D.
It will be quite interesting if the voter I.D requirement remains and the traditional super performance disappears.

By the way Dickerson could use whatever help anyone wants to deliver.

Allan, my guess is that Indiana is not the only state that has events flying "under the radar". I think this election is going to yield lots of surprises -- on both sides.

I too live in Indiana. I was unaware of the Carson/Dickerson race, but I concur with pretty much everything else you said. I live just west of Fort Wayne, and our 3rd District Congressman, Mark Souder, is in the toughest race of his career. I haven't seen the poll numbers, but his challenger is a popular Fort Wayne City Councilman who could, IMO, pull an upset.

"SEOUL, South Korea - North Korean leader Kim Jong Il expressed regret about his country’s nuclear test to a Chinese delegation and said Pyongyang would return to international nuclear talks if Washington backs off a campaign to financially isolate the country, South Korean media reported Friday.

“If the U.S. makes a concession to some degree, we will also make a concession to some degree, whether it be bilateral talks or six-party talks,” Kim was quoted as telling a Chinese envoy, the mass-circulation Chosun Ilbo reported, citing a diplomatic source in China."

Isn't this a vindication of the Bush policy? I don't believe Kim at all, but if I'm reading this correctly Kim will return to the six-party talks, which has been Bush's assertion all along.

Surely you've all heard this news:

Iraq said Friday it's deploying more troops to the southern city of Amara, where a Shiite militia loyal to anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr reportedly has seized control and at least 16 people have been killed.

This is more than just rabble rousing. This IS the civil war that people have been denying for so long. Al-Sadr has made a military and political capture of an entire city. Al-Sadr is a Shi-ite, not the Arab terrorists we've been fighting over there. But now we have to fight BOTH SIDES. Al-Sadr is not yet politically powerful nationally but he likely will be; he may inherit the government we created there. If so we will be fighting the government of Iraq at the same time we are fighting the terrorists who want to overthrow it. The only place worse than being on a circular firing squat is being in the center of a circular firing squad.

This is not Vietnam. It's worse. In Vietnam at least we had a love-hate relationship with South Vietnam; in Iraq (if al-Sadr fully takes over) it will be simply our enemy.

Almiranta, in an earlier post you gave me the impression that if we wait long enough, our troops will win. I think you are assuming that it is mathematically impossible for us to lose because we are so great as a people and our military is so unstoppable.

That's what Crassus thought when he went up against the Parthians in 53BC. He got his butt kicked and had his hed served up on a platter at a banquet for the Parthian King.

Look, our military is the best in the world. But the idea that you can do anything strategically and the troops will always pull our butts out of the fire is naive beyond imagination. They will win most (or all) of their battles but in the end can be defeated not by jerks like me back home but by the growing realization that they can outbreed us, if nothing else, in an eternal war which was incompetently planned and executed by idiots.

We will survive as a country. But is going to take new leadership (either Democrat OR Rebpuclian) to win this war. Since you Bush-lovers won't pick new Republicans, we're "left" with the Democrats (pun intended).

Thanks, George, and way to go Bushies.

Oliver,
Isn't this in the British section and not under US control?

And doesn't your cite say that the Iraqi's are sending their troops to the city? And that order has been restored by Iraqi troops? Isn't that what we wanted?

Don't worry little fella, I'm sure you can always find bad news to blame on Bush, I hear that Stephen Hawking is getting a divorce! Damn that Bush!

Muslims can Never conform to our ways
By W F Deedes
Telegraph.co.uk: Ministers appear whimsically to be shifting from the multi-cultural society towards an integrated one. They are whistling in the dark if they think that will play well with the followers of Islam in our midst. Muslims are rooted in their faith and it governs the way they live. It is the only faith on Earth that persuades its followers to seek political power and impose a law — sharia — which shapes everyone's style of life.

For some years now, I have been close to events in Sudan, north and south, on behalf of this newspaper. I find the power of Khartoum awesome. It defies the world over Darfur and will continue to do so. It has reduced Sudan to ruin in an interminable civil war, the mainspring of which was Khartoum's insistence on sharia for the Christian or animist south. [..]

It is vain to say: "Well, if they come here, they must conform with British society and its easy ways." Muslims will not do that. Their religion forbids it.

"It's almost Halloween -- maybe the cyber goblins ate it."-Retired Spook

I hate it when that happens!
:P

YouTube Video: French "Youths" Practice for Jihad

via LGF, "In the town of Grigny, near Paris, 'youths' practice for the French intifada with a crude rocket launcher."

Context: Grigny was the scene of massive rioting last year.

Amarah is in the British zone in the south, but what difference does that make? The British army is one of the most (if not the most) highly skilled, well trained armies in the world. It was succeeding until foreign terrorists started entering the country and was one of the most stable zones until recently and it's hearts and minds strategy worked also for a while. It still shows that the situation is out of control. This is civil war pure and simple now with the added problem of trying to get rid of the occupiers.

This isn't just bad news to blame on Blair and Bush, this is just very bad news. The highest ranking soldier in Britain has said the presence of Brittish troops is making the situation worse, american military authoritires have addmitted they have lost the battle for baghdad despite the presence of 12,000 troops.

All we can expect is more death of both Iraqis and coallition troops.