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I know this seems silly at first glance. But I think the far right and left may have some issues that they could work on together.
Even though they differ in some basic philosophical viewpoints, they do have a common enemy: the political center. I would argue that a small minority of swing voters has been dominating our elections and political discussions for a while. Thus I actually believe a minority opinion (the center 20-30%) has actually been setting policy for the rest of us.
They also have some points that they agree on. As political minorities, they have a strong sense for individual liberties. For example, they might agree on lessening restrictions on illegal drugs, laws that promote transparency in government, the seperation of church and state, and further protections for the political minority.
One issue of mine, that has a very small following currently, and doesn't seem to have an obvious bias right or left, is the idea of changing our representative system to one that better reflects minority views and discourages the tyranny of the majority. Our current system only allows for representatives that can garner a large percentage of votes. Therefore even though 10% of the country might favor a certain political platform, they will not have a 10% of the seats in the legislature. In a country dominated by 2 party politics, this number might go up to 30 or 40% before variations in population distribution allow for the election of someone with a minority view.
Could the right and left have a strong enough common interest to work towards a proportional representation system of government and an overall agenda of rights for political minorities?
Here is a link for more information on the proportional government:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proportional_representation
I'm betting that the single transferable vote as found in Ireland or Australia may be more favorable to most americans sensibilities.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_Transferable_Vote
Even though they differ in some basic philosophical viewpoints, they do have a common enemy: the political center. I would argue that a small minority of swing voters has been dominating our elections and political discussions for a while. Thus I actually believe a minority opinion (the center 20-30%) has actually been setting policy for the rest of us.
They also have some points that they agree on. As political minorities, they have a strong sense for individual liberties. For example, they might agree on lessening restrictions on illegal drugs, laws that promote transparency in government, the seperation of church and state, and further protections for the political minority.
One issue of mine, that has a very small following currently, and doesn't seem to have an obvious bias right or left, is the idea of changing our representative system to one that better reflects minority views and discourages the tyranny of the majority. Our current system only allows for representatives that can garner a large percentage of votes. Therefore even though 10% of the country might favor a certain political platform, they will not have a 10% of the seats in the legislature. In a country dominated by 2 party politics, this number might go up to 30 or 40% before variations in population distribution allow for the election of someone with a minority view.
Could the right and left have a strong enough common interest to work towards a proportional representation system of government and an overall agenda of rights for political minorities?
Here is a link for more information on the proportional government:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proportional_representation
I'm betting that the single transferable vote as found in Ireland or Australia may be more favorable to most americans sensibilities.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_Transferable_Vote
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