A vision—and detailed road map to power—for a new party that will champion America’s rational center. From debt ceiling standoffs to single-digit Congress approval ratings, America’s political system has never been more polarized—or paralyzed—than it is today. As best-selling author and public policy expert Charles Wheelan writes, now is the time for a pragmatic Centrist party that will identify and embrace the best Democratic and Republican ideals, moving us forward on the most urgent issues for our nation. Wheelan—who not only lectures on public policy but practices it as well (he ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 2009)—brings even more than his usual wit and clarity of vision to The Centrist Manifesto. He outlines a realistic ground game that could net at least five Centrist senators from New England, the Midwest, and elsewhere. With the power to deny a red or blue Senate majority, committed Centrists could take the first step toward giving voice and power to America’s largest, and most rational, voting bloc: the center.
A vision—and detailed road map to power—for a new party that will champion America’s rational center. From debt ceiling standoffs to single-digit Congress approval ratings, America’s political system has never been more polarized—or paralyzed—than it is today. As best-selling author and public policy expert Charles Wheelan writes, now is the time for a pragmatic Centrist party that will identify and embrace the best Democratic and Republican ideals, moving us forward on the most urgent issues for our nation. Wheelan—who not only lectures on public policy but practices it as well (he ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 2009)—brings even more than his usual wit and clarity of vision to The Centrist Manifesto. He outlines a realistic ground game that could net at least five Centrist senators from New England, the Midwest, and elsewhere. With the power to deny a red or blue Senate majority, committed Centrists could take the first step toward giving voice and power to America’s largest, and most rational, voting bloc: the center.
The four-term senator shares behind-the-scenes stories illustrating the lost art of aisle-crossing—and how to make American democracy function again. Senator Joseph Lieberman offers a master class in effective government by revealing events from his forty years in elective office—which spanned from the Vietnam War era to the Obama presidency—and shining a light on historic acts of centrism and compromise. He was an up-close witness to a not-so-distant era when Republicans and Democrats worked together (and even became friends), and problems actually got solved. Today we need these examples more than ever. Having two fiercely opposed political parties is what John Adams dreaded “as the greatest political evil under our Constitution.” If American government is to work, it must do so in the center—where open discussion, hard negotiation, and effective compromise take place. In this vivid account of his political life, Lieberman shows how legislative progress and all-inclusive government occurs when politicians reject extremism and put country before party. The Centrist Solution shines a light on ten milestones of centrist success during his time in government—from the Clean Air Act of 1990 and the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 to the creation of the Department of Homeland Security and the repeal of the military’s anti-gay “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy—as well as his vice presidential run alongside candidate Al Gore, and his experience being vetted by John McCain to be his potential running mate on the 2008 Republican ticket. In the telling, Lieberman extracts clear lessons and proven methods of collaboration that can carry us forward after years of partisan warfare and legislative inaction. The centrist solution leads to government truly of the people, by the people, and for the people—a citizenry looking for solutions, not destructive extremist standoffs. “Reprising successes and failures, he ends each chapter with ‘Lessons for Centrists.’ . . . A heartfelt plea to legislators and the constituents who elect them.” —Kirkus Reviews “The wisdom offered in this magnificently timed book serves as a reminder of history’s powerful examples of bipartisanship, almost completely forgotten in today’s environment of ever-changing party dogma and misplaced priorities.” —Jon Huntsman, former Governor of Utah (R) and US Ambassador
Charlie Wheelan and his family do what others dream of: They take a year off to travel the world. This is their story. What would happen if you quit your life for a year? In a pre–COVID-19 world, the Wheelan family decided to find out; leaving behind work, school, and even the family dogs to travel the world on a modest budget. Equal parts "how-to" and "how-not-to"—and with an eye toward a world emerging from a pandemic—We Came, We Saw, We Left is the insightful and often hilarious account of one family’s gap-year experiment. Wheelan paints a picture of adventure and connectivity, juggling themes of local politics, global economics, and family dynamics while exploring answers to questions like: How do you sneak out of a Peruvian town that has been barricaded by the local army? And where can you get treatment for a flesh-eating bacteria your daughter picked up two continents ago? From Colombia to Cambodia, We Came, We Saw, We Left chronicles nine months across six continents with three teenagers. What could go wrong?
Political backstabbing, rank hypocrisy, and dastardly deception reign in this delightfully entertaining political satire, sure to lift one’s spirits far above the national stage. America is in trouble—at the mercy of a puzzling pathogen. That ordinarily wouldn’t lead to catastrophe, thanks to modern medicine, but there’s just one problem: the government supply of Dormigen, the silver bullet of pharmaceuticals, has been depleted just as demand begins to spike. Set in the near future, The Rationing centers around a White House struggling to quell the crisis—and control the narrative. Working together, just barely, are a savvy but preoccupied president; a Speaker more interested in jockeying for position—and a potential presidential bid—than attending to the minutiae of disease control; a patriotic majority leader unable to differentiate a virus from a bacterium; a strategist with brilliant analytical abilities but abominable people skills; and, improbably, our narrator, a low-level scientist with the National Institutes of Health who happens to be the world’s leading expert in lurking viruses. Little goes according to plan during the three weeks necessary to replenish the stocks of Dormigen. Some Americans will get the life-saving drug and others will not, and nations with their own supply soon offer aid—but for a price. China senses blood and a geopolitical victory, presenting a laundry list of demands that ranges from complete domination of the South China Sea to additional parking spaces at the UN, while India claims it can save the day for the U.S.
This book is concerned with the socioeconomic and socio-political wellbeing of nations as well as the stability and security of the international community. Nigeria, from which we draw most of our examples in this work, or the Nigerian political party system, is grossly notorious for its lack of seriousness; for the subsisting inability or neglect of the parties to articulate any worthwhile and valid reasons, agenda or ideology for their emergence, operation and quest for power. At best they present or offer a comprehensive scatter of analysis and prescriptions that is merely meretricious and not efficacious to development. The Centrist Movement International (CMI) is determined to deviate completely from this norm and hereby articulate an agenda or ideology that informs its mission of rescuing Nigeria and indeed society at large from inept, irrelevant and futile strivings borne out of lack of vision. As is often stated, "my people perish for lack of vision". Accordingly, we present in this volume a concise and abridged vision or ideology whose application would, in our candid estimation, take the country, nay, the world at large to the path of sustainable development, growth, stability and greatness. As should be expected, the highpoints of this centrist intervention shall be pursued through the following routes or channels: (a) Socio-Economic Format; (b) Socio-Political Format; and (c) the standpoint of International Relations.
Seeks to provide an engaging and comprehensive primer to economics that explains key concepts without technical jargon and using common-sense examples.
A call to arms for the growing movement of "Conservatarians"--members of the right who are fiscally conservative but socially liberal--and a fascinating look at conservatism's past and future. There is an underserved movement budding among conservatives, in which fiscal responsibility, constitutional obedience, and controlled government spending remain crucial tenets, but issues like gay marriage and drug control are approached with a libertarian bent. In The Conservatarian Manifesto, Charles C.W. Cooke engages with the data and the philosophy behind this movement, applauding conservatarianism as a force that can help Republicans mend the many ills that have plagued their party in recent years. Conservatarians are vexed by Republicans' failure to cut the size and scope of Washington D.C., but they are critical of some libertarians for their unacceptable positions on abortion, national defense, and immigration. They applaud conservatives' efforts to protect Second Amendment rights--efforts that have recently been wildly successful--but they see the War on Drugs as an unmitigated disaster that goes against everything conservatives ought to value. All movements run the risk of stagnation, and of losing touch with the principles and values that made them successful in the first place. In this book, Charles Cooke shows the way back to a better and more honest conservatism that champions limited government, reality-based policy, and favor for the smallest minority of all: the individual.
