St. Paul Topics - This Week: Light Rail http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul-topics -----------------------------------------
If we're going to get into a philosophical discussion here on the Center, not to be confused with the Independent Politico, then lets begin. I think the center is the mushy middle. I do not consider myself a centrist although at one time in a galaxy faraway and long ago, I was part of the Minnesota Independence Party. Then I learned that I was not a party animal, because the party becomes more important than the quest to elect fresh new candidates with ideas that are not partisan, but based on good judgement and a whole lot of passion. Both of the major parties have been trying hopelessly to define and Independent, and the whole notion of a centrist is a little too ethereal or shall I say surreal for my tastes. I consider myself an Independent and I think most of the time most people use Independence, Centrist and Moderate as interchangeable concepts yet nothing could be further from the truth in my estimation. Centrist and Moderate indicate femce sitting or lack of passion, and Independent mean neither. Moving close to the middle isn't the answer, I would say that most people may be moderate, but moderate doesn't change the world or make things better necessarily. I think the problem with both major parties is they are trying to capture the "moderate" vote and have moved too close to the middle, and have lost their own identities in the process. The reason that most people don't vote and keep themselves out of the equation, is they don't want to vote for either candidate, as they do not reflect how they view the world. When both parties strive to get the middle of the road voter, guess what? They both end up in the same place, the middle of the road. What was it that Jim Hightower stated as the title to one of his books. "The only thing in the middle of the road is a yellow line and dead armadillos", and as time goes on, both major parties. Pam Ellison Como Park Saint Paul ----- Original Message ----- From: "Joelle" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Mike Fratto" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Thursday, November 04, 2004 11:51 AM Subject: Re: [StPaul] Mayoral candidates > What's On Your Ballot? Find out...... > http://www.e-democracy.org/myballot/ > ----------------------------------------- > > > This is one of those things that really gets me going so I'll try to > keep it reigned in. > > First let me say, as a caviat, I'm really unclear about what *you mean > when you say "center". It can mean a great many things; it's a rather > ambiguous term. > > If by center you mean where most of America really is at, then yes, we > should talk to the center. Whe should start talking about people. We > should talk about health care, social security, small business, etc. > And we should talk about it in terms of the morality of what's right > and wrong. We should have health care for every child in America > because it's the right thing to do. We should have a support network > for our elders because it's the right thign to do. We are our > neighbors' keeper. > > If you are talking about that ever-moving target of the "political > center" then I say no. We should not engage in a race to the bottom. We > should not try to out do the Republicans at their own game. After all > why vote Republican-lite when you can have the real thing? When we go > back to our values we are the party that values life. We are the party > that values families. We are the party that values people. We've just > lost our clarity on these issues. > > I think it's a good thing that the DFL machine is not what it used to > be. We don't need mafia bosses kneecapping people. We need to stand up > for our values. We need to hold firm to our moral center and we need to > frame everything in terms of that moral center. > > The insiders need to understand that what people want is a party that > will stand up for what is right, not what they think people want to > hear. > > Thanks. I feel much better now. > > Joelle Tegwen > West Side > > > --- Mike Fratto <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > What's On Your Ballot? Find out...... > > http://www.e-democracy.org/myballot/ > > ----------------------------------------- > > > > > > John makes some valid points in his post. The one if fails to make, > > though is that the DFL is not those who show up to endorse a > > candidate. Those are the insiders. I many cases the outsider, the > > voter, is looking for someone more centrist. > > > > John is right the DFL "machine" is not what it once might have > > been. The insiders need to understand that the candidate in line, > > or the one who paid his or her dues, may not be the one the > > electorate wants. > > > > That is why I believe its necessary to go to early primaries to > > determine a party's candidate. > > > > Mike Fratto > > Payne Phalen > > > > ===== > Help bring them home! http://www.missingchildrenmn.org > > Big Media - "No News is Good News!" > > > > __________________________________ > Do you Yahoo!? > Check out the new Yahoo! Front Page. > www.yahoo.com > > > _____________________________________________ > To Join: St. Paul Issues Forum Rules Discussion > Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > _____________________________________________ > NEW ADDRESS FOR LIST: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > To subscribe, modify subscription, or get your password - visit: > http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul > > Archive Address: > http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/private/stpaul/ > _____________________________________________ To Join: St. Paul Issues Forum Rules Discussion Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] _____________________________________________ NEW ADDRESS FOR LIST: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, modify subscription, or get your password - visit: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul Archive Address: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/private/stpaul/
