Unity08 is an American political reform movement that aims to offer all voters an opportunity to directly engage in politics by ranking the most crucial issues facing the country, discussing them with the candidates and engaging in an online, secure vote to nominate a bipartisan alternative to the Democratic Party and Republican Party presidential tickets for the 2008 U.S. presidential election. ^[1] Founded in 2006, the group has gained attention from various media outlets, with Newsweek's Jonathan Alter dubbing the group's efforts a kind of open source politics. ^[2] Image File history File links Unity08_logo. ... In a two-party system (such as in the United States), bipartisan refers to any bill, act, resolution, or any other action of a political body in which both of the major political parties are in agreement. ... Federal courts Supreme Court Circuit Courts of Appeal District Courts Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures (List) State Courts Local Government Other countries Atlas  Politics Portal      Further information: Politics of the United States#Organization of American political parties The Democratic... The Republican Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States of America, along with the Democratic Party. ... A ticket refers to a single election choice which fills more than one political office or seat. ... A map of the United States showing the number of electoral votes allocated to each state. ... // January 4 - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel suffers a massive stroke, resulting in his authority being transferred to Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. ... The Newsweek logo Newsweek is a weekly news magazine published in New York City and distributed throughout the United States and internationally. ... Jonathan Alter is a writer and senior editor for Newsweek Magazine. ... Open source refers to projects that are open to the public and which draw on other projects that are freely available to the general public. ...

History

The political reform movement was founded as a non-profit organization by several political figures; Democrats Hamilton Jordan and Gerald Rafshoon, Republican Doug Bailey, and the former two-term independent Maine Governor, Angus King.^[1] Unity08 is attempting to leverage online technology, such as secure voting, to allow American voters to determine the most crucial issues facing the country, discuss them with potential nominees, and participate in an online convention to nominate a bipartisan presidential ticket. In an interview that aired on The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer in May 2006, Unity08's founders said that the group was formed in response to the polarization between the Republican and Democratic political parties. The group also cited a poll it commissioned from Princeton Survey Research and claimed that 82 percent of Americans think that the two major political parties are unable to address the country's problems and that 73 percent of Americans are in favor of alternatives to the two parties. ^[3] A non-profit organization (abbreviated NPO, or non-profit or not-for-profit) is an organization whose primary objective is to support an issue or matter of private interest or public concern for non-commercial purposes, without concern for monetary profit. ... Hamilton Jordan William Hamilton McWhorter Jordan (born September 21, 1944) served as White House Chief of Staff in 1979 - 1980 and was a key advisor and strategist for President Jimmy Carter. ... Gerald Rafshoon is one of the three initial founding members of Unity08, was the White house communications director under the presidency of Jimmy Carter[1] (in doing so, Mr. ... Doug Bailey is a legendary Republican consultant and founder of The Hotline[1] and also one of the initial three men who started reaching out to others to start Unity08. ... Angus King Angus S. King, Jr. ... The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer is an evening television news program broadcast weeknights on PBS in the United States. ...

The group's status as a non-profit organization came into question when they asked the Federal Election Commission if the group could defer registering as a political action committee until after its candidates for the 2008 presidential election are named. A draft released by the commission in July 2006 concluded that, "Unity08 must register as a policy committee and therefore is subject to the reporting requirements and limitations and prohibitions." ^[4] In October 2006, the commission voted on the matter and declared that the group must register as a political action committee. The Federal Election Commission (or FEC) is an independent regulatory agency created in 1975 by the United States Congress to administer and enforce campaign finance legislation in the United States. ... In the United States, a political action committee, or PAC, is the name commonly given to a private group organized to elect or defeat government officials in order to promote legislation, often supporting the groups special interests. ...

Unity08’s spokesperson is actor Sam Waterston, who is currently cast as Jack McCoy on television’s Law & Order. On June 28, 2007, Doug Bailey, the co-founder of Unity08, went onto Stephen Colbert's The Colbert Report and spoke about the organization. Shortly after announcing a poll to the "Colbert Nation" about whether Mr. Colbert should run for President, the web site servers crashed due to the overwhelming traffic. More recent publicity includes interviews of Mr. Waterston on The O'Reilly Factor and Hardball with Chris Matthews. Samuel Atkinson Waterston (born November 15, 1940) is an Oscar nominated American actor noted particularly for his portrayal of Jack McCoy on the long-running NBC television series Law & Order. ... John James Jack McCoy is a fictional character in the television drama Law & Order, created by Michael Chernuchin and played by Sam Waterston since 1994. ... Law & Order is a long-running American television police procedural and legal drama set in New York City. ... is the 179th day of the year (180th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... This article is about Stephen Colbert, the actor. ... The Colbert Report (IPA: ) is an American satirical television program that airs from 11:30 p. ... The OReilly Factor is an American talk show on the Fox News Channel hosted by commentator Bill OReilly, who discusses current political and social issues with guests from opposing ends of the political spectrum. ... Hardball with Chris Matthews is a talk show on MSNBC broadcast weekdays at 5 and 7 PM hosted by Chris Matthews. ...

Grassroots presence

Unity 08's grassroots tools include a "Trailblazer" network, complete with groups and blog. There are also several facebook groups and a MeetUp group (for D.C. area people).

Goals

Unity08 has four major goals:

1. Enable Americans to rank America’s most crucial issues.
2. Empower Americans to draft or evaluate Unity08 candidates and actively engage them in debate about the crucial issues.
3. Empower Americans to nominate a bipartisan Unity ticket via an online convention and secure voting process.
4. Elect the Unity08 presidential ticket to national office.

The Unity08 presidential ticket must be two candidates that come from different political parties. This bipartisan team must also propose a bipartisan cabinet in an effort to end paralysis in government. Co-founder Doug Bailey claims "What we are trying to do is to create a forum for people who are in the middle who have been left out of politics."^[1]

Potential Candidates

Candidates for the Unity08 bipartisan ticket may come from many areas. Members may start a movement to draft politicians or other leaders that have not yet announced their desire to seek the presidency. Members may also start a draft movement for candidates that have announced their campaign asking them to join Unity08. Candidates, politicians, and leaders, themselves, may choose to seek the Unity08 nomination on their own, which is expected to be in full force after the major party primaries that will take place in early 2008. Actor and spokesperson Sam Waterston acknowledged in an April 25, 2007, interview on washingtonpost.com's "PostTalk" show that Unity '08 would need an appealing candidate at its center to succeed. This was in response to speculation that Unity '08 is pursuing either New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and/or Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel^[5]. [1]. Samuel Atkinson Waterston (born November 15, 1940) is an Oscar nominated American actor noted particularly for his portrayal of Jack McCoy on the long-running NBC television series Law & Order. ... is the 115th day of the year (116th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... “NY” redirects here. ... Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born 14 February 1942) is an American businessman, philanthropist, and the founder of Bloomberg L.P., currently serving as the Mayor of New York City. ... Official language(s) English Capital Lincoln Largest city Omaha Largest metro area Omaha Area  Ranked 16th  - Total 77,421 sq mi (200,520 km²)  - Width 210 miles (340 km)  - Length 430 miles (690 km)  - % water 0. ... Charles Timothy Chuck Hagel (born October 4, 1946) is the senior United States Senator from Nebraska. ...

More information on potential candidates is listed on the Unity Delegates Wiki. [2]

Criticism

Campaign watchdog groups such as The Campaign Legal Center and Democracy 21 have criticized the group's initial classification as a non-profit organization, "because Unity08 makes clear that it's [sic] principal purpose is to influence the 2008 presidential election". ^[4] A watchdog originally referred to a dogs job, but now has been used in additional contexts with the same implication of watching or safeguarding: For the dogs job, see guard dog. ...

The group has also come under criticism by political commentators such as David Harsanyi of The Denver Post, who contends that the Unity08 ticket will serve as a "spoiler" for one party's ticket, siphoning off enough votes from one candidate and delivering the election to the other (while failing to win the election itself). Harsanyi points to the third party tickets of Ross Perot in 1992 and Ralph Nader in 2000 that may have delivered those elections to Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. ^[6] The Denver Post is a daily newspaper and online website published in Denver, Colorado. ... The spoiler effect is a term to describe the effect a candidate can have on a close election, in which their candidacy results in the election being won by a candidate dissimilar to them, rather than a candidate similar to them. ... H. Ross Perot (born June 27, 1930) is an American businessman from Texas, who is best known for seeking the office of President of the United States in 1992 and 1996. ... The United States presidential elections of 1992 featured a battle between Republican George Bush, the incumbent President; Democrat Bill Clinton, the governor of Arkansas; and independent candidate Ross Perot, a Texas businessman. ... Ralph Nader (born February 27, 1934) is an American attorney and political activist in the areas of consumer rights, humanitarianism, environmentalism and democratic government. ... In the United States presidential election of 2000 Republican George W. Bush gained the US Presidency over Democrat Al Gore after the United States Supreme Court in Bush v. ... William Jefferson Bill Clinton (born William Jefferson Blythe III[1] on August 19, 1946) was the 42nd President of the United States, serving from 1993 to 2001. ... George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is the 43rd and current President of the United States, inaugurated on January 20, 2001. ...

Liberal bloggers have also expressed frustration with Unity08 because they contend that the group promotes "establishment" centrist or center-right politicians in the molds of Joe Lieberman and Michael Bloomberg while at the same time doing little to promote the progressive values it would seemingly represent. Chris Bowers of MyDD, a blog that has long denounced Unity08, called the group's supporters "rich, center-right, "non-partisan" donors who trash progressives and never criticize conservatives in power," and claimed that the movement has no grassroots support.^[7] Joseph Isadore Joe Lieberman (born February 24, 1942) is an American politician from Connecticut. ... Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born 14 February 1942) is an American businessman, philanthropist, and the founder of Bloomberg L.P., currently serving as the Mayor of New York City. ... Chris Bowers is a blogger for MyDD. He thinks he is the only person in the world named Chris Bowers and insists on listing himself in Wiki to make himself feel important. ... MyDD Icon MyDD is a popular left-wing political blog specializing in American politics started by Jerome Armstrong in 2001. ...

More recent criticism challenges the grass-roots classification and centers around the heavy representation of lobbyists among the organization's officers.^[8]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} VandeHei, Jim. "From the Internet to the White House", The Washington Post, 2006-05-31, p. A04. Retrieved on 2006-10-20. 
2. ^ Alter, Jonathan (2006-06-05). A New Open-Source Politics. Newsweek. Retrieved on 2006-10-21.
3. ^ Online NewsHour: Unity Party Eyes 2008 election. Retrieved on 2006-10-20.
4. ^ ^{a b} Ackley, Kate (2006-07-16). Roll Call: FEC Counsel Skeptical of Unity08 Request. Campaign Legal Center. Retrieved on 2006-10-20.
5. ^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/25/AR2007042502379.html
6. ^ Harsanyi, David. Unity08 should stick to Kumbaya. The Denver Post. Retrieved on 2006-10-21.
7. ^ Bowers, Chris. Unity08 has no grassroots support at all. MyDD. Retrieved on 2006-12-04.
8. ^ Lobbyists and Unity08. Retrieved on 2007-02-02.

The Washington Post is the largest newspaper in Washington, D.C.. It is also one of the citys oldest papers, having been founded in 1877. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 151st day of the year (152nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 293rd day of the year (294th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 156th day of the year (157th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Newsweek logo Newsweek is a weekly news magazine published in New York City and distributed throughout the United States and internationally. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 294th day of the year (295th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 293rd day of the year (294th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 197th day of the year (198th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 293rd day of the year (294th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Denver Post is a daily newspaper and online website published in Denver, Colorado. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 294th day of the year (295th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... MyDD Icon MyDD is a popular left-wing political blog specializing in American politics started by Jerome Armstrong in 2001. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 338th day of the year (339th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 33rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Unity08 Homepage
• Unity08 College Team
• Unity 08's first MeetUp group
• The Unity Delegates Wiki
• Campaigns Wikia on the Unity Movement