Grover Norquist: The Republican Party Has No Leader

Grover Norquist reminds me why there's ever and always, in this country, the need for a VIABLE third party. Democrats and Republicans, locked in their little game of pay to play, have made a royal mess of things. An incorruptible third party dedicated to doing things better, faster, and cheaper for ALL Americans would win in a romp.

The agendas of both major parties are at such odds with each other that there's no hope for middle ground solutions. Democrats, recognizing that too few people in this country have all the money, keep pushing what appears to Republicans to be socialism--entitlements, entitlements, entitlements. Republicans, sure that low taxes, small government, individual responsibility, states' rights, and strong national defense are all the country needs to regain Reaganesque glory, strike Democrats as callous, maybe even immoral for forgetting just plain folks and hoodwinking the rest.

Somewhere there's a middle ground. It's called a viable third party. But not to worry; Republicans and Democrats have made sure that won't happen by making the hurdles to getting on the ballot so high, by assuring that the costs of doing so are so prohibitive, and by gerrymandering election districts so thoroughly that any wannabe parties are left to small potatoes activities: marches, rallies, petition drives, and the like (think Tea Party and other doomed-from-the-start possibilities).

We can all hope, of course, that a deus ex machina resolution of our politics will someday soon surprise us. Maybe greed and self-interest will evaporate as a motive for entering politics (and staying there) and be replaced by genuine altruism and dedication to our fellow human beings.

Maybe gridlock will disappear, dispelled by recognition that going nowhere is not very scenic. Or just maybe--as unlikely as it may seem--a virtuous version of Ross Perot, totally given over to the public interest, will come forth, bankroll in tow.

Now there's a dream worth having--someone who's not in it for him/herself. Someone willing to consider the good of ALL Americans and bankroll an incorruptible party devoted only to better, faster, cheaper in the service of our country.

A pipedream? Sadly, yes. The Republicans and Democrats have foreseen the danger, bless them, and have made any such noble ideal impossible. Read the campaign regulations and see for yourself.

Ron W. Smith of UT 4:23PM March 13, 2010