Ronald Brownstein brings together two of my favorite worlds in his latest Outlook column for the LA Times: the Internet and third-party politics. Channeling Joe Trippi, who has been making this point for a while, he argues that when you combine the polarizing postures of the two major parties with the disintermediating power of Internet-based fundraising and organizing, you are creating the conditions for a potentially dynamic third-party or independent bid for the White House in 2008. He writes:
The Internet could allow an independent candidate to more easily identify an audience and financial base, just as it has allowed blogs like the liberal Daily Kos or conservative InstaPundit to find a community of like-minded readers. More precisely, the Internet has allowed readers to find those blogs. And because the audience mostly finds the product, rather than the other way around, the cost of entering the market is radically reduced.
Brownstein makes an interesting case for a John McCain-Bob Kerrey “all-maverick independent ticket” in 2008. Personally, I’d prefer an Oprah Winfrey-Jesse Ventura ticket. But I don’t doubt the underlying hypothesis has merit.