Beyond Politics: Doug Bailey, Co-Founder Unity '08

I am an Iowa Republican who dropped my independent status because of Jerry Ford's leadership. I broke my rear in '96 and '00 trying to get Lamar Alexander my party's nomination. Doug Bailey consulted both men and created Unity '08 to foster such men's attempts to refocus American Presidential politics on "us" not "them." I'm so ready for sucha a refreshing attempt.

I am a Massachusetts independent voter. I have that independent status to allow me to vote for the 'right' candidate. Federal platforms reflect the HARD right or left of the political ideology. I want a candidate that uses tolerance and follows the middle of the road philosophy. I want to show that there are many of us that are not HARD right or left.

I am a conservative Christian and have voted mostly republican (little r) in the past. I am an independent (little i) and have yet to find a candidate who can stand the muster and get noticed by the media. I and many like me are ready for a non-party leader. That's what I have liked so much about SC Gov Sanford. He's a non-party gov and seemingly goes against the grain when in actuality he's more conscious of effectual government rather than status quo. As a conservative, I am less concerned with the social agenda than I am with the cost of big government. I am hopeful of research on alternative fuel; elimination of useless gov i.e. IRS, Dept of Ed; and the restrucuring of Medicaid etc. However, I continue to have conernc over the social problems we face.

Democrats and Republicans love the two-party system. So do the lobbyists. We must break that system up if the rank and file people are to be heard and taken serious.

The Democratic and Republican parties control the system, the candidates, and what gets done accross the country. The average citizen has very little say and working for either party is limiting to any new thinking. I early California there was cross filing. Candidates could file on the ballots of both parties and voters had the opportunity to vote for the best qualified person. The system worked until the two parties brass got together, changed the system, and got control. Today on a national level the two parties fight for control and their representatives spend millions holding hearings and fighting one another. There is little done for the country. Earmarks get people reelected, spending by Congress is out of control, and we still have an immigration problem. The system needs a good shake!!

The American people need to send a message, and that message is that the time of spineless politicians must end today. Too many candidates have sold their souls to either the democratic or republican party in recent years in order to get elected. Washington fatcats sit down and draw up plans on how to get people to vote for them while Crucial issues such as foreign policy and environmental contamination spiral out of control. No one in Washington has the guts to fix this problem, but Unity08 does. I too believe that the two party system could be fixed, but we need someone new to step in to do it, and this can only happen with the support of the American people.

The large majority of Americans are fed up with the system. I for one am tired of every vote in Washington coming down to the effects on big corporations. Come on- it's we the people not we the corporation or we the stockholders of the corporation. I am one American that is tired of being so far down the ranking lists of industrialized nations in terms of education, health care,and many others.

While I like the unity08 concept thus far, we need to think bigger. We need a large number of candidates running ASAP. Imagine if we get enough votes in Washington that neither Democrats nor Republicans can control the governing bodies.

Perhaps we should also consider one new Cabinet Post- ZAR of Common Sense.

With the growing number of right wing media, it's impossiable to get a true picture of any subject matter. As the film "Sicko" points out major problems with the health care system the so called right wing talking heads spent most of there air time cutting it down. We the American middle class wants some true direction with this growing problem, not sound bites filtered down by the current administration to Fox network and paid for radio talk show hosts.