Topic: Decline of the West
American politics never lacks for dumb ideas. This season’s howler: Americans Elect, a pricey online attempt to recruit independent, "nonpartisan" presidential and vice-presidential candidates for 2012. Reportedly, venture capitalist Peter Ackerman sank some $35 million into this eccentric scheme.
The organization’s pitch is the usual good-government line. From the Americans Elect website:
The goal of Americans Elect is to nominate a presidential ticket that answers directly to voters—not the political system.
American voters are tired of politics as usual. They want leaders that will put their country before their party, and American interests before special interests. Leaders who will work together to develop fresh solutions to the serious challenges facing our country. We believe a secure, online nominating process will prove that America is ready for a competitive, nonpartisan ticket.
This fantasy of separating politics from government is the hardy perennial of election-year hand wringing. That it amounts to an oxymoron in no way detracts from the fantasy’s seductive appeal. Who doesn’t "want leaders that will put their country before their party, and American interests before special interests”? Problems only arise when you dig down into the details. Precisely what are "American interests"? The idea—perhaps I should say the notion—that there exists a set of "American interests," distinct from and superior to "special interests" is, if you think about it, pernicious in the extreme. It’s very reminiscent, indeed, of the concept of the "general will," that doctrine of the French Revolution that justified the Reign of Terror. Once the concept of the general will is accepted, the question inevitably arises: Who shall define it? Ultimately, some Robespierre.
Now of course I’m not suggesting that Americans Elect is a bloodthirsty revolutionary cabal. But in its advocacy of the Republic of Virtue, this well-meaning group is profoundly misguided. Fortunately, however, its capacity for mischief has proved to be limited. So far, more than two million people have visited the Americans Elect website and signed its petition for a “nonpartisan” presidential ticket to appear on the ballot in November. The only missing pieces at this point are…candidates. As the Washington Post’s Dana Milbank laments in a sappy column:
The nascent third-party movement called Americans Elect assembled a dream team of prospective presidential nominees:
Mike Bloomberg!
Colin Powell!
Chris Christie!
Mitch Daniels!
Condi Rice!
Rick Santorum!
Hillary Clinton!
There was only one problem: None of these candidates wanted the nomination. Neither did the other "draft" candidates who received support on the Americans Elect Web site, including Jon Huntsman, Ron Paul, Howard Dean, Donald Trump, Al Gore, Sarah Palin and David Petraeus.
Think maybe these people know something that Dana Milbank and the folks at Americans Elect don’t know? Anyhow, Americans Elect has now admitted defeat. No candidate has managed to garner the 10,000 online supporters necessary to qualify for the nomination, so the group is closing down its online nominating process. And the good government crowd is wringing its hand afresh.
