Party Three

"A third party will be a reality within the next 20 years. It will be a socially
libertarian party, that is fiscally conservative and protectionist, yet serious
and logical about national defense." - RAM

I thought I'd pull ARM's prediction from the comments section for discussion - because, to tell you the truth, it sounds pretty good to me. Maybe we take the gaps in his brief sketch and, in the words of The Police, "fill it up! fill it up!"

Socially libertarian: I am assuming that this means the government will keep its nose out of people's private lives. Overall, I think this is great. Gays can get married. No more government money to abstinence preaching. Fewer attempts to limit speech. There are also some questionable positions of true social libertarianism that will never fly with the public at large, but which I could personally agree with to some extent - like legalizing drugs and repealing gun control laws. And finally, there are libertarian principles that I just couldn't get behind, like abandoning professional licensure, eliminating mandatory school attendance, and of course the big one: ditching government-assisted health care. Overall, though, I think a third party that believes the government should butt out of our private lives would resonate with most Americans outside of the religious right.

Fiscally conservative: Like the Clinton Administration? Sorry, I just can't resist that. But seriously, I think damn near every American can agree that the government should spend as little as possible, and keep the budget balanced. The question is how. Most money goes to entitlement spending, which can and should be both trimmed and reorganized. But where will this third party come down on things like making social security a need-based system, reinstating the estate tax, and, as mentioned above, health care? In any event, our third party should push for a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution. Seriously, how about an amendment that actually means something for a change.

And what else does "fiscally conservative" mean? Is it code for "let the free market reign?" I'm all behind responsible non-deficit spending, but I'll never subscribe to the voodoo trickle down theories. Where's our third party on things like minimum wages, progressive taxation, and capital gains taxes?

Protectionist: Meaning anti-free-trade? I can't say I fall on either side of the dividing line on this issue. Protectionism seems to me to foster laziness. Free trade might punch our economy up a little bit, but it forces competition not just within our country but with the rest of the world. At the same time, I think we can use protectionist methods to affirm our commitment to the environment and global human rights, and use our trading power to force other countries to up their standards in those regards. These are all tough issues, especially politically. Farmers want subsidies. Unions want high-paying jobs.

Serious and logical about national defense: There seems to be national agreement that neither party has this characteristic. But it's also so amorphous as to be meaningless.