Part I of this memo here, Part II here, Part III here.
Mayor Mike, I hope by now you’ve pulled yourself away from the bottle of whiskey, depressed because I’ve only told you how your run for the Presidency would result in a loss, elect a Republican, and divide the nation even more. I’m sorry for being all negative, but if you’re still with me, today I’m going to be positive, especially with you being at your pep rally in Oklahoma.
Assuming your run for president is about principle and not ego (a leap of faith many won’t take, but I give you the benefit of the doubt), there is a way to affect the change you want, without running. Here’s how.
There’s no real precedent for setting up a new, successful party in modern American politics. The last time it happened, it was the Republican party in the 19th Century. In the 20th century, there was the Progressive "Bullmoose" Party and the Reform Party, both of which flopped. They had one thing in common – they were formed to win the Presidency and based on one personality (Roosevelt and Perot). This is the exact wrong way to do things. If you ran and then tried to set up a party around it, you’d likely see that effort relegated to the dustbin of history as well.
Point IV - Use your billions to set up a middle of the road party from the ground up, and push for reforms that could help it out, and you’ve got a significant shot to do what’s been pretty impossible so far – break the two-party system.
Begin now setting up that new party, let’s call it "National Unity." Use your money to hire a central staff, but, more importantly, to hire state chairs and county chairs, who know their areas and can find, recruit, and train candidates and register voters. Like the Liberal Democrats in the UK, put a heavy focus on winning local offices for the time being – giving the new party some legitimacy, while acting as a farm team of candidates who, with some seasoning, could rise up to become future Congressmen and Senators. Make that half of your $2 billion budget (what people say you’d be willing to spend on a campaign).
At the same time, spend the other half of your budget - $1 billion – on a massive, massive, 5-8 year campaign for democratic reforms designed to increase the number of voices in politics and return democracy to the people. Embrace it all – Proportional Representation, Instant Runoff Voting, a National Voting Holiday, full public financing of campaigns, and, yes, a fail-safe voting system that cannot be manipulated.
Each of these proposals are good for democracy, but, for you, would give your third party a real chance to gain a serious foothold. Though the two major parties would be largely against these proposals and would think of all the reasons to not implement them, you could seriously sway public opinion with the kind of money you have. Form alliances with the other "minor" parties who could benefit from these changes – from Greens to Libertarians – and use their extensive networks to your advantage.
Finally, once you get a ballot line in all the states, take full advantage of the few states that allow for some "fusion" (candidates running on more than one line). You’ve seen what the Working Families Party has been able to achieve here in New York. Let’s face it, as a new party, you’re not going to be able to win Congressional or Senate seats. So don’t try, only to chalk up losses. But, do try to affect the positions of other politicians, making them come and kiss your ring to get your line on the ballot. This further ups your legitimacy, and influence, setting up the National Unity Party well for when you’re ready to start running candidates for Federal office, about 6-8 years down the road.
To be sure, this is a long-term plan. Your party won’t be ready to run a Presidential candidate for eight years, and by then, you’ll probably be too old to run for office. But, again, I’m assuming here that you are serious about principles, and not contemplating a run to feed your ego. If the latter is true, though, you shouldn’t be running in the first place. But, if the former is true, you can have a serious and positive impact on American history by forgoing a run, and doing what’s laid out above.
Choose wisely.