Immoderate centrists are exhorted to mount up and ride to the call of the Moose! "Dominated by narrow, self-interested elites, America's political parties have built a dysfunctional system that's run aground on the constant conflict between two flawed ideologies. "Neither of these ideologies seems equipped to deal with the wrenching challenges we face. We need a new political model that rejects the narrow and sectarian for a broader notion of national interest, a politics of reason rather than one that appeals to peoples' fears. We need something like the early 20th-century Progressives." Let the insurrection begin!
Buckle up, fellow Mooseketeers, we are headed for some turbulence - and that is a good thing. As the Bushies implode, who willl take their place? Will it be a reformed Republican Party? Will the Democrats get their act together and convince the mighty middle that the party is not beholden to its liberal interest groups?
Will a force emerge within or outside the major parties that puts the national interest first? A faction which comes forth that argues that we must have a strong national defense, reform entitlements, requires national service and promotes progressive, pro-capitalist economics? Independent voters have largely given up on this Administration, but do they have anywhere to go?
Mooseketeers, the nation calls us. We must seek converts to this grand effort - to unite the country around a new politics of national unity that transcends the petty, partisan divisions. In a major development, a prominent conservative columnist today responds to the call of the Moose.
David Brooks in today's New York Times,
"After a while, you get sick of the DeLays of the right and the Deans of the left. After a while, you tire of the current Republicans, who lack a coherent governing philosophy, and the current Democrats, who are completely bereft of ideas. After a while you begin to wonder: Did I really get engaged in politics so I could spend months arguing about the confirmation of Harriet Miers, the John Major of American jurisprudence?
"And when you begin thinking this way, you find yourself emotionally disengaging from the exhausted clans that dominate the present. You find yourself going back to basics and considering the fundamental questions: What visions originally excited me about politics and government? If it were completely up to me, where would I plant my flag?
"Here's where I would plant mine.
"I believe in the lost tradition of American politics, the tradition of Hamilton, Lincoln and the Bull Moose. In other words, I believe that social mobility is the core of the American experience. I believe that society should be structured so that as many boys and girls as possible can work, and rise the way young Hamilton and Lincoln did...
"I know, having learned it from Lincoln and Roosevelt, that individual initiative should always be tied to national union. I know we need a national service program to bind our segmented youth through citizenship. I know we need to protect the natural heritage that defines us. I know America has to persevere in its exceptional mission to promote freedom, and the effort to promote democracy in the Arab world is one of the most difficult and noble endeavors any great power has undertaken.
"When I cut myself loose from the push and shove of today's weary political titans, and go back to basics, I find myself strangely invigorated.
"It's time for an insurrection."
Yes indeed, it is time for a revolt of the middle - a rebellion of the immoderate centrists . Mavericks in and outside of the two parties should step forward, throw caution to the wind, and make their voices heard to represent the unrepresented middle. Where are the statesmen, columnists, bloggers and activists who will connect with their inner Bull Moose?
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