Is there a "Third Way"?

To the casual and not so casual observer it is apparent that our country is in one hellavu mess. Unemployment is most likely higher than reported, the deficit is unbelievable, we are involved in conflicts that may eventually fail due to politics and, dare I say, cowardice on the part of our elected leaders, our southern border is not secure, etc. etc. ad nauseum. There is plenty of blame to go around and both of our major political organizations have proven themselves to be incapable at best and in some individual cases, downright treasonous.
As a recovering left of center thinker with still some definite liberal ideas (according to some) I should find it very difficult to believe that the Democrat(ic) Party has evolved (or devolved) into spouting borderline Marxist ideology. I should find it difficult to believe but I don't. I would have a few years ago, but I have educated myself on those that sit to the left. Perhaps it is because I grew up in the South and still remember (or more accurately heard talk of) some of the old line Southern Democrats. A good many of those folks were not what one could call liberal. Before educating myself I knew little of the policies of Woodrow Wilson and FDR. I did know a good deal about the antebellum Democratic Party that of course split at the Charleston Convention just prior to the Civil War. Stephen Douglas, not a liberal man by any stretch of the imagination, was just not quite "right" on the slavery issue and southerners would not dream of nominating him. The election had the anomaly of having two separate Democratic candidates for President. Of course that all but ensured that the Republican candidate, one A. Lincoln, would win the office. It is funny that old Abe himself was not by any means "liberal" on the slavery question, but that is another story for another time perhaps. Before I ramble too much more, I guess the point would be that the Democratic Party is now in the hands of an extremest faction that some believe could be every bit as damaging to the nation as the "southern" Democrats of the 1850's and 60's. That group should be held most responsible for starting the ball in motion that led to the Civil War and in retrospect can be labeled extremist. Of course those so subscribed in that era believed their arguments to be perfectly rational. I would imagine that current Democrats believe their positions and ideology to be perfectly rational also. It is quite possible that they will be remembered in history as fools and dangerous extremists.

That does not let the Republican Party off the hook by any means. The two Bush's have not been what one could call very effective. It is true that the recent Bush did a pretty fair job of protecting the country and probably did the best he could to get the ball rolling in Iraq and Afghanistan, but under his watch the whole "War on Terror" evolved into nation building, which by the way, does not have a very good track record. It has become apparent that there will be no real vengeance unleashed for the assault on our soil. Certainly not now with the current administration will there be proper payback. Bush also absolutely refused to take care of the border problem and indeed the problem exacerbated under his watch. We now have a war on our southern border that will spill over into this country. Already has I fear. This is not his fault alone, but he and the Republican Party in general, must share with the Democrats blame for selling America short on this issue. It is a national defense problem, every bit as important to deal with as the issue with the Mohammedans. I think the final straw for me and the Republican Party was when that supposed party stalwart, Lindsey Graham, praised Sonia Sotomayor for having "an open mind" on the Second Amendment to the Constitution. "Open mind?" I thought to myself. That is nuts, there is no room for an "open mind" on the issue. It is dead issue; an open and shut case if you will. There should be no further room for discussion. This cowardly performance by Graham sealed the deal for me. The current Republican Party is near as out of touch as the Democrats. Oh and of course we now have another leftist nut on the Court.

With the current state of the nation there are many of us now who are searching for another way. Perhaps another party that would better represent the majority of us. So I began to explore and investigate other parties and unfortunately find myself still somewhat disillusioned.

I first began my quest by automatically disregarding any party with the words "labor" or "social" in any way associated with their respective names. Those small parties are nothing more than small groups of disaffected citizens who erroneously believe that some brand of Marxism or other silly "ism" is the way of the future. They don't know, understand, or perhaps they just disregard the historical lessons that various "isms" pass down to us.

I disregarded the Libertarian Party out of hand simply because I do not believe that real honest to God Libertarianism (another ism) is realistic. I would suspect that many who are advocates of true Libertarianism have not any idea where that road would take the nation. I would further suspect that a good many that associate themselves with the "Tea Party" subscribe to Libertarian thinking. Now that is good to a point, but Libertarianism taken to the extreme would be anarchic.

The Green Party I lump with the various minor Socialist styled parties. They have some good ideas of course but for the most part they are unrealistic and silly folks.

Now I will tell you now that I am a nationalist. I make no apologies for this. Of course nationalist can certainly be misconstrued. The left has successfully equated anyone who considers themselves a nationalist with extreme far right wing, racist, and intolerant tendencies. They believe them to be dangerous individuals. That is hogwash of course. A true nationalist is not a racist, on the contrary, a nationalist believes that America is a indeed a melting pot and should be so. A nationalist does believe that when one becomes an American then they become an American "firster" if you will. Ancestral origin and actual origin matter little (with perhaps an exception; read on). As long as a person is here in a legal fashion, puts America first, and strives to be a productive citizen then they are welcome. Being a legal immigrant, (emphais on legal) with an eye on becoming a citizen, is no crime and in fact is to be commended. Now here comes the rub. If one looks up any sort of "Nationalist Party" one does indeed find groups that are racially intolerant (to say the least). Some of these political organizations might even be dangerous.

 I have some knowledge of Dr. Duke, having lived in Louisiana for quite a time, and he would be considered tolerant when compared to some of these so called "nationalist" groups. That is saying a lot. Funny thing, a while back those supporters of Duke and his organization had some sort of convention in Memphis. Now I was stationed in Memphis for a bit and can tell you that the demographics are for the most part non Caucasian. Many African Americans work in the hotel/convention industry in that city and I just wonder how many of the racist conventioneers had "a little wang" added to their souffle? Mark my words, I am sure it happened. At any rate, it is a shame that the word "nationalism" is associated with such odious groups. They are not nationalists rather they are ignorant, separatist, racist scum. It would be easy to laugh them off but to do so may be as dangerous as disregarding Mohammedans in our midst. I must say a word about followers of the Prophet before I close. I must admit that I do have some prejudice toward them, no matter the country of origin. I do not believe however that there is any conflict in my belief that a true nationalists embraces this nation as a melting pot. There is a deep seated suspicion on my part (am I alone?) that many followers of Islam may well put their religious beliefs before the well being of the nation with possible disastrous results. Sorry if that logic bothers you.

I am still researching third parties and may well find one that is to my liking. Or perhaps not.