Sam Waterston, star of NBC's Law and Order and Unity08 advocate, has recently written an op-ed for the online political publication, The Politico. Check it out below or read it on www.thepolitico.com .
I've recently begun speaking out in a vocal way on politics for the first time, because I believe that a significant righting of our two-party system is in order. A new entity called Unity08 is the best idea I've encountered.
It's a thoroughly modern process for doing a very old-fashioned thing: giving the people in our democracy a larger say in whom they get to vote for.
Unity08 plans to host a political convention over the Internet in spring 2024 in which any registered American voter can become a delegate, no matter their political party or where they live. Unity08 envisions it being national in scope, less expensive than traditional political conventions and more participatory. It will be a people's convention. Any registered voter can sign up, right now, at
unity08.com.
The delegates who participate, numbering in the millions, will debate and agree on the questions for which they want clear answers from presidential candidates. And with that audience of millions, the candidates will have an opportunity to be honest about exactly what they think, on the most important issues of the day. Rather than candidates fearing the consequences of candor, candor will give candidates a chance to show how they would lead.
I'm finding that Unity08 has a lot of appeal for a lot of different reasons. It appeals to people who are fed up with their lack of say, and those who are sick of partisan bickering. It appeals to voters who are tired of inaction on crucial issues, tired of seeing the way money affects the behavior of politicians and those outraged at the disproportionate influence of small factions of people. It appeals to people who seek a powerful tool to encourage -- and oblige -- the parties to stop the endless grudge match and get the country's necessary work done.
I'm no political insider. Even though my face appears on TV quite a bit, I'm not otherwise different from any other concerned citizen watching politics from the outside. I'm frustrated at the obsessive playing for petty advantage that takes the place of doing the nation's urgent business.
Every day I read stories in the newspaper that tell me something is very wrong with the way we nominate our presidential candidates, articles about candidates abandoning campaign finance reform measures so they can raise unlimited amounts of money, or about the candidates designing and redesigning their statements to suit the money people, the partisans and voters in primary states.
I'm left without any certain idea of what the candidates represent, what they stand for, what their priority issues are and what they may be counted on to do. I crave their honest opinions on the issues that I think are crucial to the future of the country and our planet.
But the experienced men and women who designed and run Unity08 aren't reacting to headlines only. They have taken a long and deep look at causes, and they have a great idea. Not everything about our presidential nominating process needs to change, but some things need to change a lot. Unity08's plan will change only what needs improving; it aims at a moderate revolution, or a revolution of moderates, like the one that founded this nation. It doesn't intend to upset the apple cart. It means to set it right again, and put it back on track. With enough delegates signing on, it looks to me as if it has a really good shot at doing it. I hope a lot of people will join us at unity08.com.
