Internet Gives Voice, Power to Populist Election Wild Cards Like Victory Caucus

Independent presidential candidate Ross Perot raised lots of eyebrows in the media and the hopes of legions of political activists by garnering 19 percent of the vote in 1992, but he was barely a factor in the next run for the White House.

Aside from the personal oddities of Perot and the success of Bill Clinton in triangulating on issues and special interests, a case can be made that the strongest independent electoral movement in recent American political history faded into irrelevance between 1992 and 1996 because it was unable to sustain among its field leaders and troops the energy and focus that brought it into being in the first place.

That's how the American political system traditionally operates, with the two major parties coopting the issues and energies of independent movements before their influence has a chance to extend beyond an election or two.

N.Z. Bear of Truth Laid Bear is in the process of demonstrating another way in which the Internet is changing everything in politics. Bear is one of the major lights behind the creation of Victory Caucus, a blog for every American who thinks America can and must win the War on Terrorism in Iraq.

* Deliver the perspectives and news on the war effort which the mainstream media neglects to help the American public understand the nature of our conflict and its true progress.

* Provide tools and infrastructure to help citizens who are committed to victory organize into a recognized and influential caucus.

* Identify opportunities for the caucus to act and exert influence on America’s leaders and to directly aid and support the men and women of our military.

Victory Caucus just went live a week ago and very quickly traffic shot up to 55,000 daily visitors. I won't be suprised if Victory Caucus is soon among the most widely visited political web sites on the Internet.

Victory Caucus represents something new - an Internet-based campaign wild card with the power to shape the outcome of an election. These campaign wild cards give voice to a decisive segment of the electorate whose concerns are being ignored and/or attacked in and by the major party candidates and the mainstream media.

Unlike the pre-Internet era that saw the Perot movement slip away, I believe it is now becoming increasingly possible with the Internet to not merely conserve the energy and focus of an independent electoral movement but to grow it over time, maintain its focus and even expand its internal structure and coherence.

Sooner or later, as the tools for managing a campaign wild card are developed and become more sophisticated, and as the two major parties ignore or only give lip service to major segments of American opinion, one of these movements could pass a tipping point and become a viable political party.

In 2004, the election wild card was the Swift Boat Veterans. It was inevitable that something like the Swift Boat Veterans would appear because the mainstream media wasn't about to dig into the facts and challenge the Kerry campaign's portrayal of the Massachusetts senator's Vietnam service as heroic and emblematic of why voters could trust him with the nation's security.

Similarly, President Bush and the GOP feared being accused of questioning Kerry's patriotism by pointing to factual issues and otherwise questioning Kerry's military record.

But Establishment politiical activists in both parties and the mainstream media have long failed to appreciate the enduring intensity of the widely held view among heartland Americans of a certain age that the Vietnam cause was fundamentally honorable and noble. It was arrogant and misguided politicians who hamstrung the military and thus prevented a successful outcome.

Closely related is the continuing resentment of the role of people like Jane Fonda and other luminaries of the anti-war crowd like Kerry in forcing the American withdrawal from Vietnam. For millions of Americans, including people in both parties and especially among Baby Boomers, the sight of Kerry stepping to the podium and saluting in acceptance of the Democratic presidential nomination was too much.

Swift Boat Veterans provided a voice and an effective political channel for these voters, without whose passion and votes Bush might well have been relegated to a one-term presidency. More than 100,000 individuals contributed an average of $71 each via online credit card donations to Swift Boats, which had a specific, limited, one-time purpose.

Today, millions of Americans still think the War on Terrorism in Iraq and elsewhere is worth winning, even as the Democratic party is swept with a withdrawal fever fed by decades of ideologically induced blaming of America first for the world's ills.

Simultaneously, GOP ranks in Congress are divided over the war in Iraq, with some of its most visible and respected leaders caving in to the same fever, and most of the rest being reluctant or at best only half-hearted in labelling Democrats as a party of retreat and defeat.

In other words, virtually nobody in the Washington Establishment is speaking for those in heartland America who want victory against the terrorists in Iraq and elsewhere. That's why Victory Caucus is getting such a tremendous response so quickly. People "out there in the real world" beyond the Washington Beltway yearn for leaders who speak for them on behalf of winning.

It's not guaranteed, of course, but Victory Caucus has the look of the election wild card of the 2008 presidential campaign.

The Victory Caucus
Posted by Hugh Hewitt | 6:27 AM
Mark Tapscott:

["[V]irtually nobody in the Washington Establishment is speaking for those in heartland America who want victory against the terrorists in Iraq and elsewhere. That's why Victory Caucus is getting such a tremendous response so quickly. People "out there in the real world" beyond the Washington Beltway yearn for leaders who speak for them on behalf of winning."]

Politico notices as well.

The growth of the Victory Caucus represents the combination of the internet skills of NZ Bear and the lassitude of Beltway Republicans. If the GOP is awake it will quickly begin recruiting and publicizing the candidates with appeal to the sort of voter represented by the Victory Caucus. They will also announce to the White Flag Republicans that they have made their choice, and they cannot expect the party to order shields up.

The voters involved in the VC want the Republican Party to act as though it believes in the mission in Iraq by identifying new faces and new voices with military experience to challenge the 2006 Democrats in red districts. The opportunity exists to channel the tremendous energy unleashed by the "slow bleed" Democrats, as Mark Steyn calls them. But the GOP's Comngressional leadership needs to wake up to the fact that the activists are amazed at their inaction and defensiveness.

Why would any sane person want to start a 3rd party?

http://truthlaidbear.com/victorycaucus/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=17&Itemid=34
Our Mission

Deliver the perspectives and news on the war effort which the mainstream media neglects to help the American public understand the nature of our conflict and its true progress

Provide tools and infrastructure to help citizens who are committed to victory organize into a recognized and influential caucus

Identify opportunities for the caucus to act and exert influence on America’s leaders and to directly aid and support the men and women of our military

Our Beliefs

We support victory in the war against radical Islamists. We supported the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, and we believe victory is necessary in both countries for America's self-defense.

We believe that the radical regime in Iran, while not representative of the Iranian people, is a menace and that it cannot be allowed to obtain or build nuclear weapons.

We believe that Hezbollah is a terrorist organization that has killed hundreds of Americans and which waged war against Israel in violation of every law of war this past summer, and will do so again in the future.

We believe Israel is our ally and friend and deserves the full assistance of the United States in its battle with radical Islamists. We believe that Israel has repeatedly shown its willingness to negotiate a just and lasting peace, but that its enemies do not want peace, but the destruction of Israel.

We believe that the American military is the finest in the world and indeed in history, well led and superbly trained, and populated at every level by America's best and brightest.

We support the troops, and those organizations which assist the wounded in their recoveries and support the families of those who sacrificed everything.

We support leaders who support victory.

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