View source for Unity08

{{Short description|Political organization}}
{{dablink|"Unity08" may also refer to the 2008 convention of [[Unity Journalists of Color, Inc.]]}}
[[Image:Unity08 logo.png|200px|right|thumb|Unity08 logo]]

'''Unity08''' was an American political reform movement that sought to offer all voters an opportunity to directly engage in politics by ranking the most crucial issues facing the country, discussing them with the candidates and engaging in an online, secure vote to nominate a [[bipartisan]] alternative to the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] and [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] [[Ticket (election)|presidential tickets]] for the [[2008 United States presidential election|2008 U.S. presidential election]].<ref name="VandeHei">{{cite news |last=VandeHei |first=Jim |title=From the Internet to the White House |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/30/AR2006053001139.html |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |page=A04 |date=2006-05-31 |access-date=2006-10-20}}</ref> Founded in [[2006 in politics|2006]], the group gained attention from various media outlets, with ''[[Newsweek]]''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s [[Jonathan Alter]] dubbing the group's efforts a kind of [[Open-source model|open source]] politics.<ref name="Alter">{{cite web |title=A New Open-Source Politics |publisher=[[Newsweek]] |last=Alter |first=Jonathan |url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13006799/site/newsweek/ |access-date=2006-10-21 |date=2006-06-05 |url-status=dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061015010848/http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13006799/site/newsweek/ <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 2006-10-15}}</ref>

In January 2008, Unity08 organizers announced that the group had suspended operations due to funding problems.<ref>[http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny--unity080110jan10,0,5005029.story Group suspends ballot access project for bipartisan ticket], Newsday.com Retrieved on 2008-01-11.</ref> [[Americans Elect|Americans Elect 2012]] is an organization that was formed by many of the individuals that were responsible for Unity 08, and had substantially identical goals for the 2012 presidential election cycle. Americans Elect also failed to nominate a candidate.

== History ==
The political reform movement was founded as a [[non-profit organization]] by several political figures: Democrats [[Hamilton Jordan]], [[Gerald Rafshoon]], and Republican consultants [[Doug Bailey]]  and Jim Jonas and the former two-term [[Independent (politician)|independent]] [[Maine]] [[Governor]] [[Angus King]].<ref name="VandeHei" /> Unity08 attempted to leverage online technology, such as secure voting, to allow American voters to determine the most crucial issues facing the country, discuss them with potential nominees, and participate in an online convention to nominate a bipartisan presidential ticket.  In an interview that aired on ''[[The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer]]'' in May 2006, Unity08's founders said that the group was formed in response to the polarization between the Republican and Democratic political parties. The group also cited a poll it commissioned from Princeton Survey Research and claimed that 82 percent of Americans think that the two major political parties are unable to address the country's problems and that 73 percent of Americans are in favor of alternatives to the two parties.<ref name="newshour">{{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/politics/jan-june06/unity_05-31.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060615223539/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/politics/jan-june06/unity_05-31.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 15, 2006 |title=Online NewsHour: Unity Party Eyes 2008 election |website=[[PBS]] |access-date=2006-10-20}}</ref>

The group's status as a [[non-profit]] organization came into question when they asked the [[Federal Election Commission]] whether the group could defer registering as a [[political action committee]] until after its candidates for the 2008 presidential election were named. A draft released by the commission in July 2006 concluded that "Unity08 must register as a policy committee and therefore is subject to the reporting requirements and limitations and prohibitions."<ref name="CLC">{{cite web |url=http://www.campaignlegalcenter.org/press-2118.html |title=Roll Call: FEC Counsel Skeptical of Unity08 Request |last=Ackley |first=Kate |date=2006-07-16 |publisher=Campaign Legal Center |access-date=2006-10-20 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070207030250/http://www.campaignlegalcenter.org/press-2118.html <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 2007-02-07}}</ref> In October 2006, the commission voted on the matter and declared that the group must register as a political action committee.

However, the decision was appealed to the [[United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit]]. On March 2, 2010, the appeals court reversed the lower court and allowed Unity08 (or any entity like it) to operate without having to register with the FEC.<ref name=FEC_ruling>{{cite court
 | litigants  = Unity08 v. Federal Election Commission
 | court      = D.C. Cir.
 | date       = March 2, 2010
 | url        = http://www.fec.gov/law/litigation/u08_ac_opinion.pdf
 | access-date = February 3, 2012
 | quote      = The judgment of the district court is Reversed.
}}</ref>

Unity08’s spokesperson was actor [[Sam Waterston]].<ref>Unity08.org: [http://www.unity08.com/news/pr_120506 "Actor Sam Waterston Calls on Americans to Join Growing 2008 Political Movement, Unity08"] Retrieved 2008-01-04.</ref>  Waterston discussed the organization on programs such as ''[[The O'Reilly Factor]]'' and ''[[Hardball with Chris Matthews]]''. On June 28, 2007, Doug Bailey, the co-founder of Unity08, appeared on [[Stephen Colbert]]'s ''[[The Colbert Report]]'' and spoke about the organization. Shortly after announcing a poll to the "Colbert Nation" about whether Colbert should run for president, the web site servers crashed due to the overwhelming traffic.{{citation needed|date=September 2007}}

===Suspension of activities===

In January 2008, Bailey and Rafshoon announced that they were leaving the organization and were planning to launch a national effort to [[Draft (politics)|draft]] [[New York City]] [[Mayor]] [[Michael Bloomberg]] to run for president.<ref>{{cite web |title=Two from presidential reform group quit to draft Mayor Bloomberg for 2008 bid |last= Danis |first= Kirsten |publisher= NYDailyNews.com |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2008/01/11/2008-01-11_two_from_presidential_reform_group_quit_.html |access-date= 2008-01-11 |date= 2008-01-11}}</ref> Shortly thereafter, representatives for Unity08 announced that the organization was scaling back operations and suspending activities, citing lack of adequate funding and disputes with the [[Federal Election Commission]].<ref>{{cite web |title= Unity08 Scales Back, Co-Founders Split For Draft Bloomberg Committee |last= Benjamin |first= Elizabeth |publisher= NYDailyNews.com |url= http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/2008/01/unity08-scales-back-cofounders.html |access-date= 2008-01-12 |date= 2008-01-10 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080113112906/http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/2008/01/unity08-scales-back-cofounders.html |archive-date= 2008-01-13 |url-status= dead }}</ref> Unity08 was unable to resume operations prior to the 2008 presidential election.

==Grassroots presence==
Prior to the organization's suspension of activities, Unity08's web site was a community for members to communicate and participate via [[blogs]], [[Internet forum|forums]], and polls.

The movement also had a presence on [[Facebook]], [[MySpace]] and [[YouTube]].

Unity08 had leveraged the online event tools of [[Meetup.com]] and [[Eventful]] for members to organize local gatherings.

However, Unity08 was also characterized, by critics, as an example of [[astroturfing]].<ref>See [[Unity08#Criticism|Criticism]]</ref>

== Goals ==
Unity08 had four major goals:
*Enable Americans to rank America’s most crucial issues.
*Empower Americans to draft or evaluate Unity08 candidates and actively engage them in debate about the crucial issues.
*Empower Americans to nominate a bipartisan Unity ticket via an online convention and secure voting process.
*Elect the Unity08 presidential ticket to national office.

The Unity08 presidential ticket was to consist of two candidates that come from different political parties. This bipartisan team was to propose a bipartisan cabinet in an effort to end paralysis in government. Co-founder Doug Bailey explained "What we are trying to do is to create a forum for people who are in the middle who have been left out of politics."<ref name="VandeHei" />

== Speculated candidates ==
Actor and spokesperson [[Sam Waterston]] acknowledged in an April 25, 2007, interview on [[washingtonpost.com]]'s "PostTalk" show that Unity08 would need an appealing candidate at its center to succeed. This was in response to speculation that Unity08 was pursuing New York City Mayor [[Michael Bloomberg]], or [[Nebraska]] Senator [[Chuck Hagel]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Unity08 Seeks Middle-of-the-Road Candidate|work=[[Washingtonpost.com]] |last=Cillizza |first=Chris|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/25/AR2007042502379.html |access-date=2007-12-21 |date=2007-04-25}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://wcbstv.com/topstories/local_story_170181024.html|title=Bloomberg: 'I Intend To Be Mayor For 925 Days'|access-date=2007-12-21 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071211122037/http://wcbstv.com/topstories/local_story_170181024.html <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 2007-12-11}}</ref>

Neither Bloomberg nor Hagel chose to run for president. Former [[U.S. Senator|Senator]] [[Sam Nunn]] of [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], a one-time prospective Unity08 nominee,<ref>{{cite web |title=Sam Nunn Mulls Presidential Bid on Unity08 Ticket|publisher=OutsidetheBeltway.com |last=Joyner |first=James|url=http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/archives/2007/08/sam_nunn_mulls_presidential_bid_on_unity08_ticket/ |access-date=2008-01-03 |date=2007-08-20}}</ref> also chose not to run and instead endorsed Democratic candidate [[Barack Obama]].<ref>{{Cite news
  | title=Sam Nunn lines up behind Barack Obama as best equipped to stop political 'demonizing, dumbing down'
  | newspaper=[[Atlanta Journal-Constitution]]
  | date=2008-04-18
  | url=http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/shared-blogs/ajc/politicalinsider/entries/2008/04/18/sam_nunn_lines_up_behind_barac.html
  }}</ref>

== Criticism ==
Campaign watchdog groups such as The Campaign Legal Center and [[Democracy 21]] criticized the group's initial classification as a non-profit organization, "because Unity08 makes clear that its principal purpose is to influence the 2008 presidential election".<ref name="CLC" />

The group also came under criticism by [[political commentator]]s such as [[David Harsanyi]] of ''[[The Denver Post]]'', who contends that the Unity08 ticket would have served as a "[[spoiler effect|spoiler]]" for one party's ticket, siphoning off enough votes from one candidate and delivering the election to the other (while failing to win the election itself). Harsanyi points to the third party tickets of [[Ross Perot]] in [[1992 United States presidential election|1992]] and [[Ralph Nader]] in [[2000 United States presidential election|2000]] that he claims may have delivered those elections to [[Bill Clinton]] and [[George W. Bush]], respectively.<ref name="Harsanyi">{{cite web|last=Harsanyi|first=David|author-link=David Harsanyi|title=Unity08 should stick to Kumbaya|date=31 May 2006 |url=http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_3885250|access-date=2006-10-21|publisher=[[The Denver Post]]}}</ref>

[[Modern liberalism in the United States|Liberal]] bloggers also expressed frustration with Unity08 because they contend that the group promoted "[[The Establishment|establishment]]" [[centrist]] or [[center-right]] politicians in the molds of [[Joe Lieberman]] and [[Michael Bloomberg]] while at the same time doing little to promote the progressive values it would seemingly represent. [[Chris Bowers]] of the political blog [[MyDD]] called the group's supporters "rich, center-right, '[[non-partisan]]' donors who trash [[Progressivism in the United States|progressives]] and never criticize [[Conservatism in the United States|conservatives]] in power," and claimed that the movement has no [[grassroots]] support.<ref name="Bowers">{{cite web |url=http://www.mydd.com/story/2006/12/4/19375/7945 |title=Unity08 has no grassroots support at all |publisher=[[MyDD]] |last=Bowers |first=Chris |access-date=2006-12-04}}</ref> Other bloggers also criticized the heavy representation of [[lobbyists]] among the organization's officers.<ref name="Irregular Times">{{cite web |url=http://irregulartimes.com/unity08unansweredquestions.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070205101030/http://irregulartimes.com/unity08unansweredquestions.html |url-status=usurped |archive-date=February 5, 2007 |title=Lobbyists and Unity08 |access-date=2007-02-02}}</ref>

== References ==
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Unity08}}
[[Category:Defunct American political movements]]
[[Category:Internet-based activism]]
[[Category:Political advocacy groups in the United States]]
[[Category:American political websites]]
[[Category:Politics and technology]]
[[Category:2008 United States presidential election]]
[[Category:Centrism in the United States]]