I just want to do something to come into agreement with those around me so that we can get on with the business of keeping and making America free, safe, self-sufficient, and responsible. If there were a political party that had that as a mission statement, I'd follow that one.
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My 2 cents
I attend TP events and feel it is more of a movement than a party.
On a second note I feel strongly we need at least 2 more political parties in our country to even things out and for those of us who do not truely fit in the parties we currently have.
I just heard of this group
I am still exploring this place and the group itself but I too am very very glad others think that it is important to work together and start civil discussions of the issues.
As for your comment about a political party I too would like to see a party formed on the core idea of working together to solve problems. I actually proposed such a party a while back on the craigs list forums I frequent.
Here is my proposal for such a party which sound very much inline with this group.
The Pragmatist Party
The unifying aspect is the focus on practical methods of solving the country's problems with an emphasis of using empirical information to guide decisions and verify the effectiveness of the solutions. Instead of holding to an ideology the idea is to solve the problems in a practical manner. In addition all Pragmatist Party bills would include clauses that require the effectiveness of the bill to be examines with specific criteria for success and if it does not meet that criteria then the bill is repealed (kind of a modified sunset clause).
The Pragmatist Party itself would only hold positions on those questions which can be answered in a practical real life way such as using empirical studies. The party would not hold position on purely philosophical questions such as the begining of a human being but the individual members could hold their own position on those questions.
The idea is to unite as many as possible on the issues which can be solved based on information that we can all agree on and all see for ourselves. That way when it comes to at least some issues we can drop ideology and just fix the problem.
I would love to hear any input you might have and I can expound on my idea (or parts of it) more if you would like. I just thought of it on the way to work, so I have not had a chance to throw stones at it yet.
Pragmatic
For those who are not affiliated to one the the Existing parties, I like your description of the Pragmatic Party. I do encourage
The Moderates and Liberals in the Democratic Party and the Moderates and Conservatives in The Republican to become more
inclusive and pragmatic as well. The main problem in all parties is their emphasis on Ideology which poisons the political landscape.
The Coffee Party itself is a great addition to the civil discourse we are trying to advance.
Pragmatism is no Vice and Extremism is No Virtue!
Sounds intelligent...
Sounds like a very pragmatic approach to politics... Almost too sensible. I'd be on board, but can the American public, at-large, have the attention span necessary to wait while a party pursues a solution (which can take years, even decades, see also: Healthcare Reform)? Of course, shouldn't we move ahead assuming the best of our fellow citizens?
To me, that sounds a lot like
To me, that sounds a lot like what the Coffee Party is trying to become. Not necessarily a political party in and of itself, but a movement very much along those lines.
That is exactly what I
That is exactly what I thought when I heard of the Coffee Party on NPR this morning. Then I took one look at the mission statement and figured I needed to check this place out more. I would really like to see a party based on working together.
PS the time stamps on the posts look wrong. My post was stamped at 1800hrs today but it isn't that late then your reply was stamped for 1030 today which is prior to my time stamp.
Yeah, I've been seeing that,
Yeah, I've been seeing that, too. It's been acting up all morning. Sometimes it will have the right time, sometimes it won't. I suspect somebody's fiddling with stuff on the site.
Btw, what state/region are you in? You wouldn't happen to be anywhere close to York, PA, would you? You'd definitely be welcome at our local meeting (and I'm sure anywhere else, though I'm only familiar with the York and State College groups).
I am in TX but originally
I am in TX but originally from AZ. I am going to look for a local group a bit later today. I would like to check one out and see what they are up to. This is the first political movement that has interested me. So far I have refused to join a political party.
My thoughts...
I really am saddened by some of the extreme viewpoints on these forums, but that is a necessary part of participating in a real Democratic movement... I bet there's someone out there that thinks the same of my ideas, too.
In short, I am really inspired by the mission statement and the idea of civil discussion. I, personally, don't think of this as a political party, more of a movement to get people back into civil discussions so that we can urge the actual system back to a more functional state of communication with the governed citizens. The idea is not to begin and end our debates in online forums but to use online forums to guide our open debates in person, over coffee, if you will...
A necessary part of political parties is to choose a set of ideals. If the Coffee Party movement began to take and select certain ideals and forming a platform, I may or may not agree with them, so I'm not sure I could call myself of that Coffee Party. However, I definitely agree that I feel like my voice, and my neighbors voices, are not really being heard by anyone in Congress at the moment. Sure, they're considering me, but more for my vote than my welfare. Call it a Party, call it a Movement, call it whatever you want... I just want to do something to come into agreement with those around me so that we can get on with the business of keeping and making America free, safe, self-sufficient, and responsible. If there were a political party that had that as a mission statement, I'd follow that one. Until then, I'll be an active participant in whatever movement I need to be where I feel I can aim for those goals. Period.