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This paper outlines the problem (capture of our democratic process by a business/political elite) quite well. Most of the solutions (fixing gerrymandering, mone

This paper outlines the problem (capture of our democratic process by a business/political elite) quite well. Most of the solutions (fixing gerrymandering, money in politics, primary access) presume a reasonable amount political leverage in order to enact. The paper proposes http://www.centristproject.org/2018plan/ http://www.centristproject.org/2018plan/ as a fulcrum. The Centrist Project’s plan includes strategically identifying a small number of states with a political climate favorable to candidates from “the sensible center,” recruiting promising candidates, and supporting them with a campaign infrastructure, as we discuss further on. The genius of this plan is that, while challenging, it is eminently doable because the number of seats required to deny either party a majority is small.

humanrebar 9y ago
I'm not sure "centrist" is really a thing because I'm not sure voters fall on a simple left/right spectrum. I thought this was especially clear in 2016 with strong populist sentiments giving strong showings in both the Republican (Trump) and Democratic (Sanders) parties. In other words, many forms of populism are neither Republican nor Democrat, does that make them part of the "sensible center"? EDIT: Do downvoters care to explain their objections?
- pchristensen 9y ago
  I think of "Centrists" the non-negotiable principle is cooperation and successful operation of government for the dignity of the most people, and other policy principles have to compete within that framework. As opposed to the Republican and Democratic parties, which have identified no-compromise principles that divide people as effectively as sporting alliances or religions. Example (of my own, not from any Centrist literature): charging a commensurate fee to pollute a river rather than strictly allowing or outlawing it. The business would prefer to be allowed to pollute for free (Republican Party principle) while the environmentalists would prefer that the pollution not be emitted under any circumstances (Democratic Party principle). But a structure that accurately prices the impacts and externalities of the pollution respects the environmental and health values, and the business can choose the most beneficial option for them: prevention, change of product or process, or just paying the fee.
  - gpvos 9y ago
    But it adds bureaucracy, instead of either nothing or some policemen.
    - bradknowles 9y ago
      There is a cost, regardless. If you do nothing and allow anyone to pollute anywhere they want, then you get a public health crisis and many people die and many more get sick. If you prohibit the pollution and heavily police the people who try to pollute anyway, then you have to pay for all the efforts to enforce the prohibition plus you have the possibility of job loss as those companies go somewhere else that does allow them to pollute freely. If you allow the pollution but charge a cleanup fee, then you have the increased beauracracy, etc.... There Is No Such Thing As A Free Lunch.
  - woah 9y ago
    Can you pay a fee for murder?
- Clubber 9y ago
  It's a label trying to simplify a large group of complex people with complex political opinions. I personally like ideas from both parties on different topics, and my preferences change over time. The whole concept of a group of independently thinking and informed people liking all or nearly all of what a particular political party of two choices stands for is illogical (and probably statistically impossible). Many people vote against a party rather than for because of the barrage of negativity each party pushes out against the other. That's why attack ads are both prevalent and distasteful: they work.
- losteric 9y ago
  > I'm not sure "centrist" is really a thing because I'm not sure voters fall on a simple left/right spectrum "Centrist" is simply the idea of focusing on agreements, areas where there exists broad consensus, and leaving the other issues for later. Americans agree on many issues, but Congress focuses on where we disagree (job security I guess). I'm not sure why you think there isn't a center in American politics... the media oversimplifies political discourse, but the center still exists in higher dimensions.

humanrebar 9y ago

I'm not sure "centrist" is really a thing because I'm not sure voters fall on a simple left/right spectrum. I thought this was especially clear in 2016 with strong populist sentiments giving strong showings in both the Republican (Trump) and Democratic (Sanders) parties. In other words, many forms of populism are neither Republican nor Democrat, does that make them part of the "sensible center"? EDIT: Do downvoters care to explain their objections?

pchristensen 9y ago
I think of "Centrists" the non-negotiable principle is cooperation and successful operation of government for the dignity of the most people, and other policy principles have to compete within that framework. As opposed to the Republican and Democratic parties, which have identified no-compromise principles that divide people as effectively as sporting alliances or religions. Example (of my own, not from any Centrist literature): charging a commensurate fee to pollute a river rather than strictly allowing or outlawing it. The business would prefer to be allowed to pollute for free (Republican Party principle) while the environmentalists would prefer that the pollution not be emitted under any circumstances (Democratic Party principle). But a structure that accurately prices the impacts and externalities of the pollution respects the environmental and health values, and the business can choose the most beneficial option for them: prevention, change of product or process, or just paying the fee.
- gpvos 9y ago
  But it adds bureaucracy, instead of either nothing or some policemen.
  - bradknowles 9y ago
    There is a cost, regardless. If you do nothing and allow anyone to pollute anywhere they want, then you get a public health crisis and many people die and many more get sick. If you prohibit the pollution and heavily police the people who try to pollute anyway, then you have to pay for all the efforts to enforce the prohibition plus you have the possibility of job loss as those companies go somewhere else that does allow them to pollute freely. If you allow the pollution but charge a cleanup fee, then you have the increased beauracracy, etc.... There Is No Such Thing As A Free Lunch.
- woah 9y ago
  Can you pay a fee for murder?
Clubber 9y ago
It's a label trying to simplify a large group of complex people with complex political opinions. I personally like ideas from both parties on different topics, and my preferences change over time. The whole concept of a group of independently thinking and informed people liking all or nearly all of what a particular political party of two choices stands for is illogical (and probably statistically impossible). Many people vote against a party rather than for because of the barrage of negativity each party pushes out against the other. That's why attack ads are both prevalent and distasteful: they work.
losteric 9y ago
> I'm not sure "centrist" is really a thing because I'm not sure voters fall on a simple left/right spectrum "Centrist" is simply the idea of focusing on agreements, areas where there exists broad consensus, and leaving the other issues for later. Americans agree on many issues, but Congress focuses on where we disagree (job security I guess). I'm not sure why you think there isn't a center in American politics... the media oversimplifies political discourse, but the center still exists in higher dimensions.