Democracy, because... "There are no wise few. Every aristocracy that has ever existed has behaved, in all essential points, exactly like a small mob."
-- G. K. Chesterton
WHAT IS THE COMMON CENTER?
The Common Center is a new American political union of pro-life Democrats, main street Republicans, and independents that are attracted to the unifying principles of Christian Democracy (a centrist political philosophy common in Europe and Latin America, and profoundly resonant in our history).
Common Centrists seek to defend and nurture life before and after birth.
Democrats - the thing that most distinguishes Common Center Democrats from other Democrats is that we are pro-life, i.e. in favor of reducing the number of abortions, by reducing the felt need for abortion, and incentivizing life-affirming attitudes and actions with pro-life legislation. See also Covenant Democrats.
Common Centrists seek to uphold the common covenant (that of fraternity and solidarity) that is the floor without which freedom has no meaning and cannot stand.
Republicans - the thing that most distinguishes Common Center Republicans from other Republicans is that we are pro-solidarity, i.e. in favor of strengthening our communities, by levelling the playing field of life, reducing obscene inequalities, and bringing the weak in out from the cold with socially-conscious solutions. See also Covenant Republicans.
A life caged in poverty is not a free life.
Independents - the thing that most distinguishes Common Center independents from other independents is that we have a place to go to work within the system to help change the system, making it more accountable to the people, and reducing the number of hurdles faced by those that do not fit into the two-party system. See also Commonwealth.
WHAT IS CHRISTIAN DEMOCRACY?
Christian Democracy is not a religion.
It is not Christianity. It is a 130 year old political philosophy that is based on biblically-derived Christian principles; principles like human dignity, freedom, solidarity, and stewardship. Because these principles are not parochial, most are not unique to Christian Democracy, but they all have a root in a Christian worldview.
Christian Democracy focusses on the health of the community in all areas of community existence. This community orientation is often considered conservative in regard to moral and cultural issues and progressive in regard to social justice, labor, and socio-economic issues. Christian Democracy is common in Europe and Latin America, and is considered a centrist political philosophy.
In fact, many world leaders today consider themselves Christian Democrats; leaders like German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Mexican President Felipe Calderon.
Historically, Christian Democracy was formed along two related (and ultimately merged) paths: one Catholic under Pope Pius XIII, author of the seminal work Rerum Novarum, the foundational document of Catholic social teaching and Christian Democracy (as well as a guiding light to Pope John Paul II); and another under Reformed theologian and Dutch Prime Minister Abraham Kuyper, founder of the Anti-Revolutionary Party (the first Christian Democratic party) and the Free University in Amsterdam.
Christian Democracy is profoundly resonant in our history as well. For example, the legendary three-time Democratic presidential nominee, and Secretary of State under Pres. Woodrow Wilson, William Jennings Bryan would probably be leading this movement if he were alive today. Why? Because he was a man of the people. He spoke out loudly for the little guy; his economic interests and his cultural interests. This is what Christian Democracy and the Common Center are all about.
To be clear, there is absolutely no religious or partisan requirement to join our cause. Our members may be members of any humane religious institution or political party, or none at all. Our members are committed to the historic principles of Christian Democracy, and to the success of Christian Democracy as a movement, as well as the success of their local community, the American commonwealth at large, and all people everywhere in the struggle for a better life.
HUMAN DIGNITY
We are pro-life, believing abortion-on-demand to be a severe injustice to human dignity; and such offenses to human dignity are the business of the whole human community. We also believe that wars that are initiated by Washington political pundits and foreign policy gurus are, by definition, unjust wars that should not be waged, because so many are so often killed unnecessarily. Likewise we believe that indiscriminate bombing in war is a great offense to human dignity. Also, we believe in the goals, and in furthering the positive gains, of the civil rights movement. We believe there should be no artificial barriers to human achievement. Jim Crow laws were the height of hypocrisy. We believe in the dignity of work, and in the rights of all working people to a dignified work-life, including the right to organize. [more]
FREEDOM
We are pro-choice. We very much believe in school choice, including parent-controlled fully-funded vouchers; for public, private, religious, and home school.* This would give every young American the opportunity to go to the school that is best for them, according to the people that love them most, their parents. We very much believe in energy choice, and freedom from the whims of foreign (sometime hostile) regimes. This should begin by requiring that all vehicles sold in the US be flex-fuel vehicles. This is already very inexpensive and easy to do for Detroit. Moreover, it would give the OPEC cartel some real market competition, worldwide. It would also begin to help fight global warming to the extent that more efficient alcohol-based fuels are used, instead of gasoline. We very much believe in healthcare choice, including a fully-funded voucher system, that provides free, high quality, market-based healthcare for every American. [more]
SOLIDARITY
Again, we believe in healthcare choice, including a fully-funded voucher system that provides universal healthcare that is free at the point of enrollment and free at the point of service for every American. It would be funded by a special value-added tax (VAT) that will be built into the price of all non-food purchases, that is paid by every consumer in this country. At the same time, Medicare and Medicaid payroll taxes would be eliminated, and those that currently receive health insurance through their employer would see their wages increase. Such a proposed voucher-based universal healthcare scheme is aptly described in Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel's recent book Healthcare Guaranteed. Also, we believe in fair trade that is fair to all, with a goal of achieving genuinely free and fair trade internationally, similar to that which exists between the states. We believe in cooperation and cooperatives, including international cooperation. [more]
STEWARDSHIP
We believe in aggressively moving toward a green economy with a national focus on green building and renewable energy. Regarding vehicle fuels, creating a competitive fuel market with a flex-fuel mandate is the short-term solution; plug-in hybrid cars and better public transport are the medium-term solutions, and fully embracing renewable sources of electricity is the long-term solution. Also, we believe in traditional marriage and in preserving it in a way that provides equal protection for non-traditional Americans. We believe in strong and bright sunshine laws for government and public corporations so that citizens, consumers and investors can make truly informed choices.[more]
REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY
We need to take as many steps as are constitutionally possible toward greater proportional representation. It is more democratic, and more accurately reflects the chorus of voices that make up the American electorate. We need major electoral reform, including standardizing voting means and methods across the country, a national popular vote through state initiative, campaign finance reform, ballot access reform for all federal offices (with state offices hopefully following), and embracing better voting methods like instant-runoff voting (IRV), because the American people are tired of supporting the lesser of two evils, just so that other guy doesn't win.[more]
