With the Republican and Democratic 2008 presidential candidates battling each other, and the Democratic controlled Congress continuing to play partisan games with the Republican President, is it time for our fellow citizens to elect a candidate who is not from either of the major political parties.
Our citizens have had such an opportunity in almost every election in modern times to elect such candidates. None have won. In several cases, however, their presence on the ballot did have an impact on the final results of the presidential election. Once again, there are rumors and excited anticipation that a legitimate independent candidate may be on the ballot this coming November.
This year’s flavor is New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. He even attended a recent “national unity” conference in Oklahoma at which well known Democrats and Republicans came together to discuss how to break the hyperpartisan atmosphere in Washington, DC.
Before I given my thoughts on Mr. Bloomberg, let’s first digress into the reality of independent candidates in modern times. For as long as I can remember, there has always been a non major party candidate running from a derivative of the Socialist Workers Labor Party. The Libertarian Party has usually fielded a candidate (including current Republican candidate Ron Paul who ran on that label in 1988). George Wallace ran as a segregationalist candidate in 1968. There is also perennial candidate Ralph Nader of the Green Party who has run three times since 1996. And Ross Perot and Pat Buchanan have run as candidates from the Reform Party which was founded by Mr. Perot in 1992.
Of particular note have been Mr. Nader, Mr. Perot, and Mr. Buchanan. Each of their candidacies had an impact on the eventual winner of that year’s presidential race although Mr. Buchanan’s was more of an asterisk since his presence on the 2000 ballot only had an impact in Palm Beach County when he allegedly received votes from enough confused voters using the infamous butterfly ballot to allegedly cost Al Gore the election.
The Democrats continue to blame Mr. Nader for drawing votes from their candidate in 2000 and 2004 while the Republicans will never forget how Mr. Perot probably cost George H.W. Bush another term in 1992 while allowing Bill Clinton to rise to power.
Which brings me back to potential independent candidate Mayor Bloomberg. This is a man who should really form a party called the Chameleon Party since he switched his party allegiance from Democrat to Republican so he could run – and win – in the New York Mayoral race and then recently dropped the Republican party moniker to register as an Independent (also known as a Non-Affiliated Voter in some states).
Despite his enormous riches obtained in a very admirable way as the founder of a financial information company, I do not believe Mr. Bloomberg can win a national election for a number of reasons. First, and foremost, is organization. Let’s face it, any successful campaign requires a solid grass roots effort to get out the vote. While he can buy plenty of mass media ad coverage, and he can probably hire many temporary laborers to walk the neighborhoods and work the polls for him, I just do not see how he can put together a team of passionate volunteers to take his campaign to the proper level.
And then there is his record. His supporters will say he changed public education in New York City, made the city safer, and kept the city on a strong financial footing. Isn’t that what former New York Mayor and current Republican Presidential Candidate Rudy Giuliani is claiming also?
Of course Rudy put New York on a better financial path by cutting taxes multiple times while Mr. Bloomberg has raised them. Mayor Mike even attempted to institute a commuter tax on folks from New Jersey and Connecticut who work in New York. Mr. Bloomberg also has exhibited Clintonian tendencies by waiting to measure public sentiment before commenting on many major issues. Will his passive, nice guy, image play well across the country?
Recent published reports on Mayor Bloomberg have stated that he is prepared to spend up to $ 500 million of his personal wealth on his possible presidential campaign. He is also supposedly spending a notable amount of money on polling in all 50 states to determine his potential campaign strategies to put him in the White House. Most importantly, he is counting on being the media darling of the presidential campaign to aid in his positioning as the real agent of change for our country.
Mike Bloomberg sums up the potential downside of his candidacy when he jokes about whether America is ready to elect a “5′ 7″ billionaire Jew from New York who’s divorced and running as an independent to become president of the United States.” Only time will tell if his self-effacing opinion is a enough of a concern to the American voter.
Personally, I hope Mayor Bloomberg will run because I believe he will draw a large portion of his votes from Democrats unhappy with their own candidate after a brawling, racially charged, primary election. He will also draw a large portion of the independent, non-party affiliated voters throughout the country who usually provide enough of a swing to impact the presidential election. In other words, I believe he will win enough votes to keep a Republican in the White House for the next four years. Run Mike run!
