dreaming

The latest health-care reform FAIL is not a total failure – it presents a perfect opportunity to create a viable third party. Liberal Democrats who want a public option should abandon their party and plant the poles for a new tent. Such an exit would allow those distinguished Democrats to do precisely what some of their colleagues will not do – support their convictions with actions and with votes. Indeed, an exodus from the Democratic Party would draw a firm line between those who simply offer lip service to real, working Americans, and those who are willing to work on behalf of the lower- and middle-class citizens of this country. And what a statement those Senators, Congressmen and Congresswomen would make by founding a new party – and, in the process, risking their elected positions – on the ideals of the working class!

Consequently, a new party would tap into the Democrats' growing fracture. And this break is sizable. President Obama was elected thanks in large part to a fervent populous; young people who had never demonstrated interest in politics not only registered to vote for "change," but dedicated countless hours through volunteer efforts. The regression of such a volatile movement cannot be discounted; enthusiasm can quickly deform into disillusion – and this is what I'm witnessing now.

This is the Information Age, and today's voters are more educated than ever before; social networks can dictate the tide of popular opinion – and the opinion among Americans regarding the current climate of health-care reform is toxic, and I would suggest this toxicity is strongest among young people – the very people who voted to etch a brave new course into the scarred landscape of American politics. Indeed, there is nothing new about corporate interests superseding the concerns of the American people.

It's time for the third act – a third party.

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