D.C. Insider Magazine, January 2009 issue
Shadowy PAC of the month: One Nation '10
The Mission: "We are not looking to build a new and permanent party. That might happen, but our objective is to fix the old parties. A Unity Ticket in office for one term or even taking part in just one election can bring new ideas, new integrity and new leaders to the fore. In the meantime, we aim to bring mass participation in politics directly to the American people by using online technology, such as secure voting, to allow 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. We consider the partisan polarization in Washington to be highly detrimental to the well-being of the republic."
The Start: Founded in late 2008 by a bipartisan group consisting of Democrat Claudia Jean Cregg, former White House Chief of Staff of the Bartlet administration, Independent Bruno Gianelli, the notorious one-time campaign manager for President Bartlet's reelection and later manager of the Vinick campaign, Independent Kelly Ludlow, the former communications director to Representative Mackenzie Allen (I- CT), and Republican Theodore Roosevelt Bridges, the Governor of California from 1991 to 2005.
The Plot: As said above in their mission statement, One Nation '10 claims to be a non-profit organization focused on developing electronic infrastructure to enable Americans to rank crucial issues, draft and evaluate candidates for debate under the banner of One Nation '10, with the ultimate shadowy endgame of selecting, then electing a One Nation '10 presidential ticket to the highest office of the land.
The Skuttlebutt: The union-ist ticket since Lincoln-Johnson? Say it
is so! Not so, claims the word on the street. Despite the presence of Ex-Guv Teddy, there's really not many politicians rallying around this group so far. So much for building a core of unity even as Congress continues to squabble with President Santos. Some commentators have already pointed out that there seems to be a high percentage of lobbyists and political operatives in One Nation '10, and despite its deceptively populist and progressive image, these are all stodgy establishment figures we've all seen before. One blogger has already accused ON10 of "constructing a fake call to 'unity' and choosing the 'unity' they want for us." Furthermore, there may not be much unity
within the group either. C.J. Cregg apparently signed up to it as a sideshow job to her Hollis Foundation activities; there's no sign she's not going to endorse Pres. Santos- or whomever's the Democratic candidate. Kelly Ludlow and Teddy Bridges seem to be backing their own stealth candidate- maybe even himself- for ON10 sneak president. Finally, "Janus" Bruno's just along for the fun, it seems.
The Verdict: A pack of hatchetmen and cronies trying to coronate a future king under a false wonderland vision of bipartisan unity. That is, if their 'movement' doesn't fall apart on its own first. Don't believe the hype.
Hope you don't mind the
Commander-in-Chief crossover. Since this is really a
The West Wing timeline, I'm having characters from that Geena Davis show only be on the sidelines. One American '10 is supposed to be the analogue of the
Unity08 group in OTL, which really never amounted to anything. I think they'll do a little more, but overall they shouldn't affect the race too much. I don't think there should be a crossover with any other show, since only
The West Wing and
Commander-in-Chief are recent American political shows.
As for Andrew Wu, he's supposed to be a Bobby Jindal analogue, so I was thinking either he's from North Carolina or Georgia, two Southern states with fast-growing Asian-American populations. Unless, of course, he's from the Midwest/Empty Quarter. Though I guess if he's supposed to be a possible dark horse candidate in 2010, he should have been running for reelection in 2008, not just election. Maybe we can retcon that.
