Greenspan: 3rd Party Candidate could move Dems and Repubs "back to center"

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

Alan Greenspan Says Time Is Ripe For A Third-Party Presidential Candidate...
The Wall Street Journal | Greg Ip | Posted February 27, 2006 09:21 AM

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2006/02/27/alan-greenspan-says-time-_n_16424.html

Speaking to a Wall Street gathering Wednesday, the former Federal Reserve chairman decried the "polarization" of American politics and said the ground was ripe for a third party presidential candidate, according to several people who attended the event.

A member of the audience asked Mr. Greenspan if he would endorse a candidate for president. Mr. Greenspan said he would not, "for now." But he went on to describe the two American parties now as controlled by their extreme wings, even though the voting public is far more centrist, the people who were present said. He described the leadership of the parties as "bimodal," meaning clustered at the extreme ideological ends, whereas the voting public was "monomodal," meaning clustered near the middle.

Such situations, he said, create an opening for a third-party candidate who appeals to the center. That, he said, could prompt the candidates of the other two parties to move back to the center, for fear of losing.

[The Backlash Cometh]

1. Okay, let's ask Pat Buchanan to run again.

[kentuck]

2. So he's saying the Repub Party is too far to the right ?

That's news! We would expect him to say the Democratic Party is too far to the left.

[LincolnMcGrath]

8. This is about falsely defining where the political polar axis are.

Gop=Far right

Dems=Far Left


We know the first is true, but the second is not.

[John Q. Citizen]

3. Same old mumbo-jumbo. Perhaps Greenspan is

thinking of runnung?

[INdemo]

4. What this country doesn't need is two Republican parties

and except for a handful of Democratic leaders I believe that is what we have......there is no middle ground......it will take years and perhaps even a generation to repair the damage done by this administration. Hoover was a Saint compared to this idiot...

[LincolnMcGrath]

5. Hogwash

Al is doing the right's dirty work here.

[TexasLawyer]

15. I agree

A third-party candidate would likely split the Democratic Party vote, and would allow the GOP to become even further entrenched in Rovian ideology.

Also, the 3rd party candidate could be a convenient vehicle for explaining statistical "oddities" at the polls-- 'cause you KNOW they're going to steal the next election too.

[More Than A Feeling]

6. Alan Greenspan: out-of-touch

Newsflash, Alan: It doesn't work when one party is subverting democracy in order to stay in power despite being too conservative for the American people!

[still_one]

7. he is only half right

It is the repukes that are controlled by their EXTREME right constituients. The democrats at best are centerists and at worst just go along with what the current administration gives to them

[LincolnMcGrath]

9. Thank You

I still look for a handful of 'run to the center' types to use this advice to further there own agenda.

[BillZBubb]

10. For the idiot Greenspan, the center is right of Mussolini

No doubt idiot Greenspan believes HE is at the center.

[zulchzulu]

11. If we can split the Repug vote (Religious Reich vs. Racist), great idea!

I'd love to see the Repug vote split in half...with moderates migrating to the Dems. Excellent idea, Alan!

[...of J.Temperance]

12. I've been saying that the voting public is in the Center

I've just said that in my DLC thread.

[sadiesworld]

14. The voting public is moderate on social/cultural issue

but is to the left of (most of) the dems on trade, war, the environment, etc.

I'd say the last thing we need is a third corporate party--which is what Greenspan wants.

[Bridget Burke]

13. I agree that the Republican Party keeps moving to the Right....

But I hardly see the Democratic Party as Far Left.

Let Mr Greenspan continue to enjoy his retirement. Perhaps he needs to take up a new hobby.