Well, I stumbled upon the Modern Whig Party. I think, in theory at least and at first glance, these may be my people. They describe their philosophy as cherry-picking the good ideas from the Republicans and Democrats and getting rid of the nonsense. This definitely appeals to my centrist, pragmatic, non-confrontational, non-fringe preferences. I've only given them a cursory look, but the concept excites me. They've got a collection of T-shirts, buttons and bumper stickers on their website just like any other party. But, instead of some Modern Whig logo golf balls or other garbage, (by the way, their logo is in the shape of an owl... also very appealing) they have a Modern Whig Party skateboard for sale. Dude! They're not a skater party by any means... but it does make them all the more intriguing. To compare interesting political propaganda items for sale: the Socialists have nothing for sale (surprise!), the Green Party has some eco-friendly bags and water bottles (makes sense), the Communists have things for sale (Surprise! not sarcastic) the highlight of which is a book with excerpts from Marx, Engel and Lenin, the Libertarians were the most comprehensive with books and materials... they have a section titled "controversial" with a few off-color items (classy), the Constitution Party has nothing interesting, and I found nothing cool from the big two parties.
I probably can't bring myself to join any one party, "independent" has suited me just fine for a good while. But, I'd love to see a legitimate third party emerge, and one that has a mainstream shot is a novel idea. Ross Perot's Reform Party had a chance, but it was really just an extension of him.
Perot won 19% of the popular vote in 1992, proving that it was possible to insert a wedge between the cracks in the two-party system. But the Party fizzled. Trying to get Jesse Ventura to squeeze into the Reform Party then squeezing him out was a disaster. For better or worse, I don't see any other big personalities poised to make the charge. I'd like for Obama to be the answer to all our political concerns, but there is a downside to his popularity. People who were energized by his campaign and are otherwise inclined to a wide field of political action may have had their moment with his election (even if he and Democrats don't fully line up with their ideology). I think they are apt to sit back and watch rather than continue to be active. Too often political activity only means getting someone elected. "We got you elected, now you do the rest. See you in four years." And also "You got me elected, now be quiet. I'll see you in four years."
Oooh, it took a cynical turn, didn't it? Anyway, I like the look of the Owl symbol for the Whigs, much better than the donkey or the elephant. How can you argue with the owl? It's wise, has excellent night vision and can turn its head around and around and around. It's like a political superhero compared to the other two. Really, the donkey? And the elephant isn't even indigenous to this half of the globe. Even at the shallow mascot-level, the two-party system is fatally flawed. Vote Owl. Owl's are cool.
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