A new centrist opposition?

[Eientei]

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/stories/2007/12/30/nunn_1231.html

tl;dr = Former senators Sam Nunn and David Boren, both moderate Democrats, are calling together a bunch of their similarly moderate colleagues from both parties to protest the current state of American politics.  They might even support an independent presidential candidate for the general election, depending on how things go.

I think this is a very positive development.  The two-party system is stagnant, and neither party has made any real progress (much less bipartisan progress) in recent years.  And if it comes down to a choice between Hillary Clinton and Mitt Romney, let's say, I'd be happy to have a third candidate I could actually vote for.

[Of Crazed]

It is about damn time something like this happened.  Though I can't help feel but this "party" will be used in a way that doesn't help.  For example when Liberman didn't when the nomination and he switched to independant, ran, won and then switched back to his party.  I hope that doesn't happen.  We need all the chances for new ideas in Washington as possible and the more options the better.

[Gulliver]

Mind you, this in and of itself won't do in a two party system. In the past when a third party has proved viable they invariably replaced one of the two current parties and things simply returned to the standard two party model. The two party system will be only be truly broken when ballot access laws are liberalized and proportional electoral methods or ones which avoid FPTP's nasty spoiler effect are implemented.

[Eientei]

That's true, nothing's been said about the creation of a third party.  The meeting in Oklahoma is still a meeting between like-minded Democrats and Republicans to discuss certain problems with the system.  Even if they end up backing an independent candidate, it wouldn't mean the beginning of a third party.  As you say, until the electoral system itself changes, we're stuck with the two.

[Meridianland]

They're going to the center of the center...  a new era of radical centrism.