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OpEdNews Op Eds    H2'ed 4/3/12

Whitman Advocates for 'Americans Elect'

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Moderate Republican Christie Whitman is the speaker at a May 16th Dinner/fundraiser for the League of Women Voter of New Jersey where she will discuss Americans Elect. The avowed purpose of Americans Elect is to put a candidate on the ballot who is not chosen by one of the major political parties, but instead by an internet vote where everyone can participate irrespective of their party affiliation or non-affiliation. 

Sounds very democratic, but its likely effect will be to siphon away votes from the Obama base. Progressives are famously unable to unite; and the presence of a third choice, particularly a centrist candidate, offering a palatable centrist/progressive alternative to Obama would be to the advantage of the GOP in a close race. 

Here is what Ms. Whitman is quoted as saying in the dinner invitation:

Hon. Christine Todd Whitman

"While most Americans hold centrist views, the small percentage of people on the fringes of both parties vote in the primaries and determine our options for president. The nominating system as it stands now is compromising our ability to govern, and therefore our effectiveness as a nation. That's why I've joined the board of Americans Elect, a nonpartisan nonprofit that's holding the first ever national online primary this year. Any registered voter can participate, and whoever the American people choose for president through Americans Elect will be on the ballot nationwide, right next to President Obama and the Republican nominee."


I'd like to give Ms. Whitman the benefit of the doubt and think there is only idealism and a deep love and respect for the will of the people behind her support.  However, I suspect it's a pragmatic political "dirty trick" that GOP strategists hope will boost their chances of gaining the presidency in 2012.

If we could follow the money and see who's backing this it might tell the tale.

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Richmond Shreve is a retired business executive whose careers began in electronics (USN) and broadcasting in the 1960s. Over the years he has maintained a hobby interest in amateur radio, and the audio-visual arts while working in sales and (more...)
 

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