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McCain-Palin: A Third Party?

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JOHN REINIERS In My Own Words

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 26, 2008

Is the McCain-Palin rhetoric signaling a reformed Republican Party or a new third party? Let's take a look at history:

The Democratic Party evolved from the states' rights, strict constitutionalist, anti-wealth Democratic-Republican Party of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the 1790s. It is the oldest party in the U.S., yet has clearly drifted way from some of its earlier beliefs. It was the most prominent party until the Civil War. The Republican Party was a Johnnie-come-lately anti-slavery party founded in 1854, but really came into power with the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860. It is our second oldest party. Since then the two-party system has dominated American politics. But both sure look a little different today.

Third parties emerge from time to time and their ideas are usually absorbed by either major party. Ross Perot made it big-time in 1992. He had many sensible suggestions about dealing with the federal budget and the economy but, in the end, he seemed a little too squirrelly for the average voter and dropped off the radar screen.

We Americans unfortunately tend to focus more on style rather than substance - "cool" is in; "lame" is out - a byproduct of our celebrity-obsessed culture. Considering our current market disruptions, Perot was quite prescient in his belief that government's power to intervene in the market should be expanded and that, generally, government should have a larger role in business; actions that Chairman of the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Secretary are doing right now on an ad hoc basis. Both parties would be wise to revisit some of Perot's better ideas.

Perot - like McCain - is a Maverick, but couldn't fit all his ideas into any existing party. McCain was just enough of a Republican to keep the label. Joe Lieberman had to change to an Independent because his support for the hated George Bush on the Iraq war was tantamount to heresy. McCain's 2008 campaign slowly became more mainstream Republican, endorsing such positions as offshore oil drilling, yet he isn't trusted as a loyalist.

With the addition of Palin to the ticket, he has reinforced his reputation as a maverick and, frankly, I think the game has changed. Palin's husband, Todd, had been a member of the Alaskan Independence Party and she did address their state convention this year by video, noting that, "I've always said that competition is so good, and that applies to political parties as well."

One cannot deny at times McCain and Palin competed with, and shared the same enemies - Alaskan Republicans Senator Ted Stevens and Representative Don Young come to mind. Before being tapped by McCain, Palin resigned a regulatory position she had, because a fellow commission member, the chair of the Republican Party, had misused his position to promote the Republican Party while in this state job. He subsequently resigned after being found guilty. After she got into office, she started going after corrupt legislators with four of them being sent to prison and six more indicted. No friend of Republicans was she. As one Republican from California said, "It was somewhat of an old boy's club...She defeated it."

McCain wants to reinforce his maverick roots by portraying himself and Palin as the real reformers and agents of change - not Barak Obama. They have a point. They have talked the talk and walked the walk as reformers. Obama's record is one of accommodation of the aging Democratic leadership, rather than taking them on with new ideas. It would be to Obama's credit, as leader of his party, if he pressures the Democratic Congress to take action to resolve the ongoing financial crisis, rather than discreetly letting the string run out, and then blame the Bush administration - just to win the election.

There is somewhat of a parallel with Newt Gingrich's 1994 Contract with America promising eight "reforms" to change governmental operations as practiced by the Democratic majority for most of the 20{+t}{+h} century. Agree with Gingrich or not, these ideas could just as easily been the platform of a third party candidate. It simply wasn't necessary since these were mainstream conservative ideas. And Gingrich was always a Republican's Republican - at least then.

On the other hand, both McCain and Palin have a record of bucking the Republican establishment. Regardless of what the traditional media and Democrats are saying now, Chris Matthews, MSNBC, said it best with, "The press loves McCain. We're his base." Or Joe Scarborough, MSNBC, who quipped," I think every last one of them (reporters) would move to Massachusetts and marry John McCain if they could." Salon reported that even Ralph Nader had a connection with McCain that went "back to the era when he displayed real maverick tendencies in joisting with corporate interests...as well as his strong support for campaign reform." And, of course, he sounds like a populist with his record of opposition to pork barrel spending, and an enemy of the religious right, when he expressed skepticism about the "role of the agents of intolerance" among the Christian right during the 2000 campaign.

McCain certainly moved to the right on some issues to get the nomination, just as Hillary Clinton moved to the right after she thought she had the nomination sewed up - and the Obama Nation went ballistic when Obama switched positions on Iraq - his campaign's defining issue - and on wiretapping, gun control, the death penalty etc. and moved to the right.

But McCain hasn't lost that hothead maverick streak as was evidenced by his recent emotional attacks on what he calls the cozy relationship between Washington regulators and Wall Street bankers. "We're going to put an end to the reckless conduct, corruption and unbridled greed," McCain said, and that he would go after the greedy CEO's of financial institutions. Republicans just don't talk that way. Populists do. This was exactly Palin's sentiment when she went after the good old boy Republicans in Alaska.

These two are really a long shot to win the election, but if they do, it will be because the swing voters will see them as something different - not Republicans or Democrats.

John Reiniers writes regularly for Hernando Today. He lives in Spring Hill.

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