Politics has been a game for as long as there has been a government. Candidates always say they are running for office to make things better in their community, state or country. Candidates often promise many things on the campaign trail and then conveniently forget about them once they get into office. They don’t address some of the issues until re-election. I am sick of candidates running onto the national stage, attempting to woo their party’s base in the presidential primaries and caucuses but then they want to appear moderate when vying for the support of the whole country. We all know politicians lie when it’s convenient and tell the truth when it suits them.
The issues often change from election cycle to election cycle and people obviously want the best person for the job. You shouldn’t want stale ideas, especially when you are not getting the results you want. Albert Einstein said, “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” This is very true in the political world because sometimes people put ideology ahead of picking the person they believe will do the best job.
Being in the center of today’s political world is oftentimes a good way of being voted out of office. The same can be true for conservative democrats and liberal republicans. Both sides of the political spectrum have what they call a “litmus test,” which can be good but oftentimes is bad. It can be bad because once many folks see a candidate isn’t liberal or conservative enough, they often want to look for another candidate.
It never ceases to amaze me how the opposite side of the political spectrum will criticize the other for being too extreme.
Having a person who will consider both the liberal and conservative viewpoints is the way to go.  People who are in the middle believe you can take the best of both sides and bring them together. Independent voters or even moderates often see the good and bad in many critical issues.
This is good because all ideas need to be considered when brought forth. But many times the opponent’s ideas aren’t even considered because a person might be too extreme which means he or she will ridicule anything his or her opponent says or does. Centrism is a real representation of America.
When you have a centrist, you would more likely have somebody who would listen to the public and enact upon the best solution for the American people. A centrist leader means he or she is reasonable, independent and cares about making things better. This implies he or she wouldn’t care about the politics as much as people would if they were liberal or conservative.
Being open-minded is something we need in government. Being open-minded would include taking the ideas that make the most sense and enacting upon them. People want real solutions to their issues, but people also will put ideology ahead of their own best interests, which is sad. Centrism encourages leaders to take each issue and make the best decision instead of being somewhat inflexible and sticking with their political party.
The political bickering has gotten old. An alternative to the left/right political system is definitely needed.
Having a centrist group can work with both sides to find a solution that sometimes would have taken longer to achieve. I know people will scream that they will stick to their principles, assuming they have any. But when the government is divided, you have to change your approach. The mindset of “my way or the highway” won’t work, and it never will. 
Christopher Webb is a junior majoring in business administration. He can be contacted at
[email protected].